Gospel for our day

Recent conversations have provoked me with a question. Friends have been telling me of their time with people who are not in Christ and have no relationship to the church. These pictures of modern life helped me see what evangelism would look like today. We are called to make Christ known clearly in our day -- do we understand what the hard work of spiritual obstetrics and pediatrics looks like?

One person told of a lady, in her 40’s, who has always been single, sexually active, but never married. This woman is now adopting a child since she does not think she will marry, but wants a baby. Another told of lesbian lovers where a similar choice has been made, but this time there is an artificial insemination so one of them carries the child. They will be the parents of this child when it is born. Or take the couple who were married, are now divorced for financial reasons, but live together. Or the lady who has sold her womb to be a surrogate mother for another couple. Another person is given to a rabid anti-Iraq War position and spends hours fighting President Bush.  Some of these are sin, some are just people doing things that I would not do because I am a conservative.

Most of my visceral reaction to such things is revulsion and sadness – and both reactions have a place, but not unless mixed with a third. I should desire their salvation. These kinds of people are modern expressions of sin – no worse than the sin of our moralistic and conservative grandfathers and grandmothers. It is the height of self-righteousness for me or others to look down our noses at them. But these are the kinds of sin we find around us today.

I am grateful that none of the folks who shared these stories with me did so in self-righteousness. They did so to describe the context in which we live out our faith. This is not a Leave it to Beaver era. We live in different times. Yet one of them made a great observation: most of the churches they have known want to engage in evangelism with people around them, but not these kinds of people. They have a fear of what disruption may come when they come to church.

What does that mean? Well, it is simple. If the lesbian lovers bring the child to term and raise it for four years and then both of them are converted – and come to church – will they be welcomed? And what will be our counsel to them? The same would be true for the singe woman who adopts a child . . . or the couple that is living together as divorced . . . or the pregnant woman whose baby has been sold to another. And how would we white evangelical respond if someone took a distinctly non-Republican position in a discussion? What would we do with such folks if they visited church? If they invited us over for dinner? Would we invite them into our homes and lives? Is our moralistic agenda greater than our Gospel agenda?  Are we ready to get our hands dirty with seeing new life in Christ brought to maturity?

We could add to this so many varieties of our modern culture – hair styles, tattoos (I don’t think they go away when people walk in the doors of the church or are converted), piercings. Or the guy who drives a Rolls Royce and throws away his substantial millions willy nilly. Or the dual income couple who sends their kids to child care and school every day and has a nanny.  Or the single Mom who has to work in order to care for her children. Or the person who is now on their third marriage.

It has occurred to me that what I am describing is what we must face if we do the hard work of evangelism. The first question is this – do I believe that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, or to make them into good people? Do I think the Gospel is at all a moral message – or is it a redemptive message? Only the true Gospel would compel me to love and bring Jesus to people so far off.

But there is a second issue: will be welcome the mess that comes with evangelism? If we are going to be friends of sinners, with discernment of course, we have to face such things. And that is messy. But so is having our own babies. Twenty five years ago God disrupted our entire world with a child – it was like a 10.0 Richter scale earthquake! Evangelism is like having babies. It cannot be otherwise. It has always been so.

Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

I read those this morning and thought – wow, what a mess of sin these people once were. And when they came to faith in Christ, they did not make a full 100% clean start – they were washed, and justified, yes – but they brought their lives and their complications with them. Does an effeminate man, upon conversion, become immediately masculine? What about the drunkards? Or the con-artists (swindlers)? Do I think that any mature Christian will vote for a particular political party? 

But this glorious Gospel was proclaimed and these people, by grace, believed. And now they are God’s people, and as they walked into the church they brought their lives and histories with them. Babies were born and made a mess of the place.

Yes, yes, we need to be discerning. No question. When the MD’s in ER treat a patient they take necessary precautions – gloves, masks, blood guards. But note this: they still treat them.

I do not think the issue is discernment. I think the issue in my heart is fear and unbelief. I think I have great moral pride. I think I have more fear of their sin than faith in the power of the Gospel. I think I love my safety more than their souls.

Comments

[Rich]

GREAT MESSAGE...
If the greatest revival in history is at our doorstep, preceding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, which I believe we are at that point in time, then we the body of Christ must be ready to take in these new converts with all of their "baggage" and raise them up to take their place in the body. But we will never be able to do it in our own strength...it will take His Love, His Power & Strength, and His Grace.

[scott b]

You said:
"I think I have great moral pride. I think I have more fear of their sin than faith in the power of the Gospel. I think I love my safety more than their souls."

Help Us Lord

I'm reminded of this article interviewing David Zac Niringye assistant Bishop of Kampala, Uganda:

"One of the gravest threats to the North American church is the deception of power—the deception of being at the center...

...The future shape of things is not in Jerusalem, but outside. It is Nazareth. It is Antioch

...who is mostly in the company of Jesus?...Who enjoys his company? The ordinary folk, so ordinary that their characterization is simply this: "sinners."

...this ability to read different passages, to read the Bible differently, won't happen until people are displaced from their comfort zones. I thank the Lord for deep friendships he has given to me beyond my comfort zone, beyond my culture, beyond my language."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/july/31.32.html

[Ricky Alcantar]

Excellent thoughts...I think this is going to be one of the big challenges to the church in the coming years.

How do we not love with world...but yet love the world...how do we respond with a humble orthodoxy?

[Jim]

The world is literally dying to hear the gospel. If we make a commitment to preach it, and not just another form of self-justification, they'll beat our doors down. Get ready. they'll be smoking pot in the parking lot and bringing their dogs to church! Hallelujah.

[Kyle G.]

Pastor -

You have spoken here for many of us. I have a hard time imagining the people with whom you had those conversations being welcomed into the congregation of which I am a part.

I think much of the criticism leveled at the "evangelicals" in America is rooted in an accurate perception of our moral pride, as you so succinctly put it. Moral pride will often look like hypocrisy to everyone else. Are we really any different than the Pharisees of old?

It may even be that the Emerging Church is, in part, a reaction to this pride. Who better to know and point out a parent's shortcomings than the children they thought they were raising to be perfect? Most of the "emergent Christians" I've known and read are looking for genuine relationships and mutual humility above all else.

For my part, I feel justly convicted on this score. My Lenten discipline this season is to make a point of reaching out to those that I find hard to approach. May God grant me the grace and humility to let them be agents of surrendering my pride.

Lord, have mercy on us all.

Kyle