The Burden of Man-Centered Evangelism

Men have made a burden of evangelism not designed by God.  Where Jesus' yoke is easy, men have made it heavy.  The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16) and it pleased God to save them who believe by the foolishness of preaching (1 Cor 1:21).   The method of preaching itself is the gauntlet through which people must come to be saved.  If they don't want preaching, they won't get saved.

It's not a movie.  It's not a special event.  It's not a concert.  It's not a hot dog or snow cone.  It's not a building.   It's not a children's program.  Preaching is the method God designed for the conversion of the lost.

What men have done, which they do so often, is to get on God's side of the equation.  We acknowledge Him and He directs our path (Proverbs 3:6).  But we want to direct our own paths and so we take on what is only God's part.  In this case, we preach.  He saves.  But when people are not being saved, we try to help God along on His side.

Men haven't been satisfied with just preaching.  They want to get involved in the "save" part to help improve the statistics or the numbers on that side.   Earthly and temporal renown hasn't come for faithfulness in preaching.  It has come from the supposed results, what appear to be the consequences of the work.  Success for us has been attached to the part that God does.  Not by God.  No, not by Him.  By men.

So if men see more results, they are considered to be greater in some fashion.  They are a better preacher, better leader, have more power, are more clever, or are worth imitating or emulating.  The ones with the biggest numbers get the attention.  They must be better at this, be doing something that is a secret that most don't know about.

What is true is that those who are helping God, which is a sort of oxymoron, are the ones with the weak faith.  They go outside the Word of God to reach their goal.  The ones with faith are those who keep doing it God's way with less significance.  They don't panic when they are not seeing the numeric growth that signals earthly success.  The just live by faith.

Yet, the ones who go faithless and veer from the biblical method receive the fanfare from the common man.  They get the kudos.   This is ironic, but typical.  Part of avoiding deceit on this earth is ignoring the urge to follow the crowd by chasing after some fad.

Preaching is the method God uses to save people.  God gets the credit through preaching (again look at 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5).  People understand signs and wisdom and those things like them.  Preaching isn't signs and wisdom and those things like them.  Despite that, men trade preaching for signs and wisdom and those things like them.  Those things work.  They get results.  In the end, the men will say that God did it, because that is part of what is necessary to get the credit that God deserves.

Preaching is the means God uses to show who wants Him.  Men are in rebellion against God.  Preaching comes, the Word of God works, and when people reject preaching, you know it's time to move on to someone else.  God didn't say, change or add to the method or even the message.  He said dust your feet.  We dust our feet of those who say "no" to the preaching.  But we'll never know who those people are when we won't even preach to them.  We can't find out who does or doesn't want preaching except by preaching.

Man's new methods are attempts to create good listeners.  It's not "he that hath an ear, let him hear."  It's "if you don't have the ear to hear, that's OK, because I've got a corn dog to give you instead."  It's an attempt to try to take away the offense.  We shouldn't be trying to take away the sting of preaching.

All of this has added a burden to evangelism.  We can do preaching.  That's our part.  We can't do the results, but now we're responsible for the results too, and that puts a lot of pressure on men.  I'm sure many men are no longer preaching because they have felt the burden of the results.  The results are not a burden you are supposed to be carrying.  Part of the result of someone not wanting to hear is the result that God wanted you to get.  God is not just glorified by men hearing.  He is glorified by men not hearing.  He is glorified because someone was faithful to preach.  He is glorified because it won't turn out very well for people who won't hear.  It shouldn't turn out well for them.   Since it shouldn't turn out well, He is glorified by that result.

Men won't preach anymore because they don't think they have what it takes to be a success.  They see whether men listen to preaching or not to be up to them.  It isn't.  Men should just preach.  But we've made evangelism about men---about how good they are, about how talented they are, about how clever they are. It should be about how faithful they are.  Paul said he was a galley-slave (minister of Christ), who was a steward of the mysteries of God.  We are stewards.  We are faithful dispensers of truth.  That's all we are.  When we understand that, that removes the burden from us.  The burden is where it belongs---on Christ.

Paul wrote that the one who planted wasn't anything and that the one who watered wasn't anything.  The One Who was anything was the One Who gave the increase.  That's God.  You can sow.  You can water.  But you can't give the increase.

Men.  Even those who call themselves Calvinists or reformed, have taken that responsibility upon themselves.  No one says they believe more in God's sovereignty than these.  No one talks about gospel-centeredness like they do. And yet they contextualize.  They do missional things.  They bring in crooners and operatics for a Christmas concert that will attract the lost.  They bring in the kegger to the church party.  They emphasize casual dress. They shape the building like a theater.  So much pressure is put into brochure and web design.  All of these things are the signs and wisdom that attract men.  They've got to help God along, help the gospel along.  It's obviously not truly good enough for them.  Paul said he didn't come with excellency of speech.  Today its all about excellency of speech.  The packaging has become so, so important.

The proof that these new measures, these additions to preaching, have really worked are the results.  The ones who use them get bigger than the ones who don't, so they must be right.  Have you considered that churches today are full of unsaved members?

God is Omnipotent.  He doesn't decrease one iota in power when our burdens fall upon Him.  However, rather than having Him carry the burden of salvation, men have taken that upon themselves.  They've got to get creative. They've got to make everything more attractive.  It's on them to see everything grow.  If it doesn't get bigger, something must be wrong with them.  Maybe they weren't called.  Perhaps they didn't have the gifts.  Maybe they're just a loser all the way around.  Rather than have that said or thought, it would seem better just to get with the program.

On the other hand, those who just preach unleash the saving power of God everywhere.  A few want to hear.  Most don't.  It's not up to you though.  If there is going to be a church there, we'll wait and see.  We'll wait to see if people want to listen.  That's a prerequisite.  The pressure isn't on you.  You just have to be faithful.

But meanwhile, while men are brainstorming new methods that might work with a different demographic, people aren't getting preached to.  Has everyone in your area heard the gospel?  Are you working at preaching it to everyone?  The likelihood of that occurring isn't going to be increased by your joining a hobby group to build bridges with the lost.  But while you do, and spend all that time, your area is still unreached.  And when I say unreached, I mean unpreached.

Go.  Get the gospel out there.  I've been challenged here about whether the New Testament teaches us to get the gospel to everyone.  The intimation is that isn't effective.  The gospel is effective.  If that's true and you try to preach it to everyone, then you are doing everything you can do.  You are effective.  You are having the maximum effect that you possibly can have.  But when you won't preach to everyone where you live, you aren't effective.  You are unfaithful.  I don't care what new fangled idea you've cooked up to make your evangelism work, you're an unfaithful steward of the mysteries of God.  That ought to matter to everyone reading this.