Aletheia Church Boston

Evangelism Ditches

// July 20th, 2010 // Boston, Vision

Let’s face it, not many people get too excited about evangelism. Christians don’t like it because it makes them feel weird, and nonChristians don’t like because it, well, makes them feel weird.

But, the scriptures command us to do just that. So, what are we to do?

For the Christian, there are TWO BIG DITCHES that we can fall into when it comes to sharing our faith. First, is the DITCH OF COMPLETE REJECTION. This is the view that God hates, completely, the sinner. Think Pharisee. Think the guy on the corner, usually wearing a placard while shouting epithets at passers-by. Who wants to be that guy?

The second ditch is no better. It may, in fact, be worse. The second is the DITCH OF COMPLETE ACCEPTANCE. This is the view that God is primarily love, so he couldn’t possibly be mad or angry at sin. So, he loves people just as they are, without any thought about their sin. Think hippie-style, kumbaya-singing, unitarian-universalist, chocolate-covered-sunshine, sweater-wearing, guidance-counselor type Christians.

I say the second ditch may be worse because at least the first ditch contains the warning of judgment.

Real evangelism, is neither of these and it is both of these. Christ-like Gospel-ing (after all, the word “evangelism” simply is the verb form of “Gospel”) is the demonstration and proclamation of God’s infinite love for us in the midst of our self-inflicted darkness. Consider the words of Penn Jillette, comedian, noted atheist, and vegas headliner:

How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible, and not tell them? I mean, if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe it… there’s a certain point I tackle you, and this is more important than that.

If we can be a church that lovingly tells people that they are more loved than they hoped and more sinful than they imagined, and that in the cross of Christ, God’s love for us and hatred of sin meet in a beautiful, horrible, gracious, scandalous collision… if we could actually say that, what might God do?

Let us walk the narrow path of Christ-like Gospel-ing, avoiding the ditches. That kind of church would be worth belonging to.