Pump the Brakes

So, tonight I am going to rant a little on the church (body, not building) and confess my own shortcomings, and then exhort us to revisit what it means to do evangelism in truth AND love. They are mutually exclusive, you cannot divorce one from the other. I have had numerous sovereign, beautiful conversations with some unbelieving friends of mine lately, and frankly I am tired of having to spend half of the conversation apologizing for a lack of love in the life of Christ-followers. I would much rather spend more time proclaiming the riches of Christ and the mysteries of Christ instead of trying to heal unbelievers wounds from the hands of unloving christians.

Paul admonishes believers in Ephesians 4:15, saying, "but speaking the truth IN LOVE, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ." Regardless of the present context, Paul is calling for a holy, humble body of Christ to approach evangelism clothed in the love of Christ. I think it is a common misconception that we must uphold truth, and therefore out of fear of not doing so, we divorce love from our evangelism. I mean, what are we really going after? Beat up converts of convincing argument? Or could it be possible to truly make disciples of love, humble worshippers?

Conclusion: Well, lets return to Paul. He writes in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

"And when I came to you brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know NOTHING among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."

Couple things to note here. First, Paul says he did not come with "superiority of speech". This is key because alot of our evangelism is haughty and puffed up. That's not the model of Jesus. Paul goes on to say that he was "with them in weakness and fear and trembling", again "not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit". Paul humbly met people where they were in their unbelief and counteracted their unbelief and criticism NOT with wise words but with the Holy Spirit of God and His overwhelming manifestation of love. One of the "fruits of the Spirit" indeed is love.

The second key thing to note is that Paul admits to "know nothing, but Christ and Him crucified". This simply means Paul is not talking morality with those who have only a general, virtuistic approach to morality. For the unbeliever, there is no ultimate measurement of holiness or morality, therefore it can be bent and stretched and conformed to their lifestyle. For the Christian, we have an ultimate authority of morality, and its not based on a set of rules, but on a loving, personal Father God who wishes to line up His children with the way He created things to be. So, for the evangelist to try and discuss moral issues before proclaiming the riches of Christ, it is vanity and a disgrace to the Cross of Christ, the whole reason that Jesus came to the earth. God Himself did not become man to modify behavior or to win some political race. Jesus hated religion. Religion killed Jesus.

I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to sink into my chair and disappear as I sat in churches next to unbelieving friends listening to pastors tell their congregation how much God hates gays and pro-choicers. My plea is to stop preaching behavior modifaction and moral issues from the stage and in your private discussions with unbelievers. Proclaim the riches of Christ and the CROSS to your unbelieving friends and co-workers and attendees. We are tired of cleaning up the mess you have made by preaching hate, and frankly would love to be able to discuss Christ and Him crucified as the objective evidence that God is Love. Let me set the record clear and say not some fairy, hippie love kinda Gospel, but the Cross of Christ as the means by which God manifests His love for the world.

I am guilty. You are guilty. Your neighbors, co-workers, baristas, waitresses, bus drivers, and family members are guilty. But there is grace to be found at the foot of the Cross, and propitiation to be had by all who would trust in Christ for their substitute. May we all be found faithful with God's word, with His Spirit, and with the voices and love we have been given to proclaim and herald the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who will listen.

Father, You alone have the power to save. Not our intellect. Not our crafty words. It's You and You alone who calls men to repentance, and who shows mercy on whom You will show mercy. Help us in our lack of trust in this truth, and forgive us for trying to cover ALL moral issues revealing that lack of trust that You alone change hearts. Give us the meekness to approach the lost world with humility and love, and to trust You as Savior. You are good. Bring justice, bring salvation, in the mighty power of Christ Jesus.