General Thoughts on Evangelism..

There must be a balance and that is found in prayer for discernment even at the moment of sharing with the person standing right in front of you. It would be much easier to hold seminars and tell people, "First you tell them these four points, then you do this prayer with them, then you hand them this booklet... etc.". But real-life doesn't follow simple methodology.. though I'm sure any Wesleyan would greatly disagree with me adamantly on that point. No, rather what I have seen repeatedly over the last 25 years of sharing with people is that 'God saves sinners' and we are just the medium to go out and preach the message. That means that no matter how much effort I've poured into family and friends.. their salvation is in God's hands, not my own abilities to communicate.

For awhile I thought there had to be one, single, best all-time-ever sermon to give people that would guarantee they'd see their need for salvation. No such document exists. Not even a "greatest-hits" list of scriptures can be handed out to sway people into revelation. God's Word never returns void but that doesn't mean anyone hearing scripture gets saved either. The 'return' God recieves is that His word does a work of either salvation, conviction, dread of judgment, hardening of the heart.. the Word always has an effect but it isn't always salvation.

It is my firm belief that the moment I start putting any real stock into thinking that, "..if I just do/say this.." the person will come to faith.. to that degree I have stopped relying on God's Holy Spirit to convict men of sin, judgment and righteousness. (see also; Matt. 10:19-20 & Acts 10:44-48)

Joh 16:7-11 However, I am telling you the truth. It is for your advantage that I am going away, for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (8) When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment- (9) of sin, because they do not believe in me; (10) of righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; (11) and of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

To me the difference between Arminianists and Reformists goes far beyond any observance of who seems more compassionate or harsh. The real difference is in the practical application of the theological positions. In evangelising.. an Arminianist will always be working under the heavy yoke of presenting the Gospel (or any Biblical truth) to the unregenerate with the thought in his mind that he must be mindful to do all things possible to sway that man's belief into the truth. This is because he sees evangelism as a horizontal action from one man to another. Curiously, when pegged, an Arminianist will hedge himself by saying, "Well, only God can save him.". But what he really means is only God can forgive the man's sin. Thus the Arminianist still works arduously to sway men's minds into the truth with reason alone, pleading alone, kindness alone, wooing alone, etc.

On the other hand is the Reformist approach to evangelising. The light yoke for the Reformed is that he understands that the scope of his assignment is to "preach the Gospel and teach men to obey all the Christ commanded". (Matt. 28:19-20) Everything else concerning the granting of revelation of the Truth is the commission of the Holy Spirit. There is then, not an absence of evangelism nor any half-heartedness about it.. but rather a calm, diligent desire to share with anyone who will listen. When faced with someone who will not listen.. there is no thought that "if only.." such and such is done that the man may somehow come to faith. Obedience to preach the Gospel and teach the Word is the command, so he continues in this.

Not to get off-subject, but I will say that there are plenty of Reformists who lack compassion.. just as there are many Arminianists who lack compassion. There are Reformists who take joy in both the study and the proper application of the Word.. just as there are many Arminianists seeking to do the very same. However, because bad theology preceeds bad practice there is also a trend that shows itself between orthodox and 'contemporary' groups.

To the degree that a Christian group is focused on a 'loving attitude' at the cost of being grounded in doctrine.. two interesting things occur. First is the acceptance to remain largely ignorant of the scriptures as a whole, with a focus on a minority of scriptures repeatedly referred to. Second is that, lacking a solid doctrinal position, this group becomes much more attractive to the unregenerate as a substitute for being spiritual. It is much easier to attract non-regenerates to church when there is more emphasis on simply being there with a smile rather than focusing on doctrine. Even teaching moves away from doctrine and morphs into repeated 'teaching' that is focused on self-help for family, lifestyle, career, etc.

On the other end of the scale are the orthodox Christian groups where the focus is more on studying the Word from a doctrinal perspective. This includes study and teaching, but the focus is more on doctrine than the warm/fuzzies of anecdotes and stories to spice up the message into being more 'user-friendly'. The down-side is that, by taking a stand in a very orthodox manner this group is more likely to offend the sinful lifestyle of the non-regenerate who has no interest in doctrine. The unsaved see this group as having nothing to offer in the way of self-help or their own carnal goals.. so orthodox groups tend to be composed of smaller congregations who in general have a better handle on the Word than the social-oriented group who does not want to offend the non-regenerate.

That's why I believe the best Reformists I've known have both sides of the spectrum operating. They are well grounded on the Word and are readily prepared to present Truth or oppose error. But they also allow their doctrines of grace to spur them to "love others as they have been loved" by God. They have found the balance between being true to the faith and true to God's nature in their dealings with others. Theology or Love alone has it's drawbacks. The calling to maturity in Christ, I strongly believe, is the growth in both areas such that soundness of knowledge of God works hand in hand with experiential knowledge of the heart of God.