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Introduction

EVANGELISM--WHAT IS THE MESSAGE?

By Cameron Paine

INTRODUCTION

This meditation is written to demonstrate that ‘evangelism’ may be understood or assumed to be either of two very different ideas.

Either of these ideas excludes the other idea--according to our rules of logic.

One conception of evangelism is telling them of God’s gracious dealings with believers--effectively calling them out of darkness into his marvelous light which means bestowing upon them salvation--eternal life.

This concept of evangelism is proclaiming the truth that the death of Jesus saved every believer from the punishment that his or her sins deserved; the bestowal of salvation.

The other conception of evangelism is telling individuals how they can acquire the status of ‘being saved’ and making oneself an heir to God’s gift of eternal life.

This second answer assumes the truth of a fact which I believe is contrary to what the Bible teaches; namely, that every person on earth has the power to make the choices that God rewards with eternal life.

It is the purpose of this meditation to show some of the truths set forth in the Bible which (I believe) show that the belief that the power of sin, the control of sin over every individual is invincible--unless God has delivered him or her from the control of sin, from the ‘prison house of sin’.

This truth is considered in greater detail under "underlying assumption #3" below.

Underlying assumptions, which are unexpressed assumptions, have a tremendous ‘influence’ on the meaning of evangelism.

The major divisions of the reasons why I believe that Christians may have different conceptions of what ‘evangelism’ means are connected to the assumptions that underlie the practice of evangelism.

The underlying assumptions are:

#1 Believing that everything that God does or says is to be believed only if it conforms to the rules of human logic

#2 What we believe about God--that He is or is not in control of his creation.

#3 Believing that believing is a choice that the hearer (of the evangelistic message) has the power to make

#4 Believing that more exposure to God’s word (hearing or ‘reading’) is an indication of a ‘call of God’ or a growing belief

What is evangelism?

Is it proclaiming what God has done?

Or is it telling people what they can do?

After looking at some of the beliefs and assumptions that evangelism is based upon, prayfully, the reader will have more ideas to be taken into consideration before answering that question.

It is important to remember that each of the assumptions listed below may be connected to, overlap, or be intertwined with other underlying assumptions--(probably many more and in subtler ways than I have ever thought of).

!! Heading 2 UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION #1

BELIEVING THAT EVERYTHING THAT GOD DOES OR SAYS IS TO BE BELIEVED

ONLY IF -- IT CONFORMS TO THE RULES OF HUMAN LOGIC

Another way of expressing this assumption would be to say that God’s statements and actions are considered valid only if human standards or human criteria are met.

But I say, human logic is not a law or principle that God and his revelations has to conform to.

Human logic often says ‘if this is so’ the opposite cannot also be true.

Is there anyone of us who has not often learned such truths as ‘if Billy has one apple and he gets another, then he has two apples.

Now he has more apples, not the opposite-fewer apples.

But many statements in the Bible according to our rules of logic seem to be doing just that--saying the opposite of other statements in the Bible.

The truths that God reveals in his Word are not limited to just those conclusions that our finite laws of logic ‘say’ are acceptable.

An example of such a statement is the statement of Jesus about ‘Abraham seeing my day’ (John 8:56-58).

More about this statement of Jesus, how far ‘beyond’ our logic the truths of the Bible, and how crucial this concept is is discussed in more detail in the next heading-’Underlying Assumption #2).

Another of the many examples of how far God’s truths go ‘beyond’ what our logic would allow is the fact that according to the New Testament there were believers in Old Testament times.

They were saved and believed in the eternal dimension ('the city of God') as much as believers believe in the eternal dimension (heaven) today.

They were 'saved' before the event that saved them--the redemptive death of Christ and before his resurrection had taken place in ‘time’, in earthly history.

(Hebrews 11:1-39; 12:1-2; see also Ephesians 1:4) There are many statements in the Bible that don’t fit into our framework of human logic.

What does God say? "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

(Isaiah 55:8-9; cf.

Romans 11:33; 2 Peter 1:10; 2 Peter 3:10) Many of God’s truths and ways are more than we can understand but that fact does not make them untrue.I believe human logic puts limits on our ability to even conceive what God has revealed.

I believe human logic puts limits on our ability to think, to reason, to understand what God has revealed.

But human logic does not put limits on God.

Human logic does not limit the Creator of the universe, the Creator of life and death.

The idea that human logic could limit God is ridiculous, far more ridiculous than the idea that an earthworm could stop an erupting volcano from causing devastation.

Human logic does not limit or make impossible the truth of God’s declarations.

To believe that God’s revelations must conform to the rules of human logic is to limit God.

Is it right to think that the eternal must conform to what we whose brains and bodies are not eternal can understand?

Is it correct to think that the realities which will be present in the eternal dimension must make sense to us who have never been in (or come from) the eternal dimension?

(cf.

John 3:12,13) Many individuals do not believe in ‘heaven’ or the eternal dimension.

They cannot go beyond the logic of this world.

Therefore (according to the logic of this world) they cannot believe in Christ or Christianity.

But thank God that God's ways are mysterious and God can do the impossible!

Is there anybody he cannot call out of darkness?

Is there any individual God cannot rescue from the control of sin?While God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9; Ro 11:33) we live in a world in which time and space are realities which are basic concepts, basic components of the ‘framework’ in which our existence takes place; these basic components are components we cannot do without.

They are components which we have to use to make the world around us comprehensible to us.

We cannot even think or imagine a reality where concepts of ‘time’ and ‘space’ are not needed to make sense of the world around us.

We cannot conceive of a world without 'time', a world without 'before and after', a world without sequence, a world without change or growth or death?

We cannot form or conceive of a reality--a universe where time and space are not the framework--but the Creator God can.

The Creator God in his word speaks of realities where time and space do not seem to exist or be relevant.

(e.g., John 8:56-58 above; 2 Peter 3:8) Perhaps the most awesome truth about God’s truth, his purposes, his accomplishments is the mysteriousness of them.

What does the Bible say? --"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2.9) There are so many declarations in God's word that reveal glimpses of the 'enormousness' of God and his creation--which includes the eternal dimension.

God is too ‘big’ to be analyzed and described.

The Bible warns believers about thinking and speaking about the eternal creator God as if we could penetrate him and understand everything about him.

Believers are told: "God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few."

(Ecclesiastes 5.2)We cannot ‘out think’ God.

His ways our ‘better’ than any ways of ours, better than anything our logic or reasoning may ‘suggest’.

Being obedient to God’s word always leads to what God knows serves his purpose.

In the Bible perhaps the clearest example of an individual choosing to be obedient to God even when he couldn’t understand God’s purposes and ways is the time when God told the 100-year-old Abraham to slay his only son (Isaac).In Genesis 22:2 we read God’s words to Abraham: "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.

Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

According to our logic heeding this command of God would seem to undermine or make a previously given promise of God to Abraham impossible of fulfillment.

Back in Genesis 17:4-7 (when Abram/Abraham was a mere 99 years old!) God had said this to Abram/Abraham--"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

5 No longer will you be called Abram your name will be Abraham for I have made you a father of many nations 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." (Genesis 17:4-7)

The display of extreme faith/obedience which Abraham displayed on that occasion is referred to in the New Testament.

In the book of Hebrews, we are told this about Abraham: "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.

He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,18 even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned’.

(Genesis 21:12) 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death."

(Hebrews 11:17-19)

Yet, despite the conclusion that logic ‘proclaimed’ to him, Abraham chose to obey God’s direct command to slay his only son.

When Abraham had started to slay Isaac, God stopped him by providing a substitute sacrifice and saying, "Do not lay a hand on the boy," ... Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." (Genesis 22:12) I am reminded of a phrase the apostle Paul used to describe the Abraham’s faith.

That phrase is ‘Against all hope’.

"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (Romans 4:18) The apostle could have said, ‘Against all logic’, or ‘against all reasoning’.

The apostle Paul, speaking about Abraham’s faith in general, said this--"he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."

He (Abraham) is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."

(Romans 4:20-21) Obedience to God’s commands overrides ‘logic’ and all reasoning that might ‘say’ some other objective is more important than to obey the commands of God.

How beyond logic are God’s ways!

What we consider ‘contradictions’ are permitted.

How beyond comprehension are God’s ways!

No, God’s ways certainly do not fit into our logical slots.

The apostle Paul himself acknowledged how awesome are God’s ways, saying, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans 11:33)(Perhaps one of the best illustrations of this fact that in so many important areas of life God’s ways are ‘unsearchable’ (= are beyond human understanding), is set forth in the another section of this meditation--‘underlying assumption #3’.

There, the fundamental issue of whose actions (God’s or man’s) are decisive or controlling in the matter of salvation are discussed.)What

God says, not the rules of logic, is the standard of what is true!

The word of God-the-Creator is over all: "Where is the wise man?

Where is the scholar?