God's Evangelistic Strategy

...for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Deuteronomy 4:6-8

Recent headlines regarding the pseudo-prophet Harold Camping have been anything but flattering to the Christian faith. His misguided (and repeated) attempts at calculating the date of the end of the world have rightly been regarded as foolish. Mr. Camping can't seem to help himself from making yet another prediction after his other predictions have openly failed, and the world laughs on.

The biggest folly in the Camping debacle, as I see it, was the large sums of money--possibly millions--that his followers donated for the purposes of erecting billboards across the country warning people of the coming of the Lord that was to take place last Saturday (May 21, 2011). Presumably, this was an evangelistic outreach, because why else would you warn someone about the coming of the Lord? But God doesn't use foolishness for the purposes of evangelism.

In Deuteronomy 4, Moses summarized the law God had given to Israel by stating that if they kept it, all the nations surrounding them would be impressed with the wisdom therein. The nations would note the wisdom and righteousness in Israel's law, and also note how that the one true God was always quick to intervene for Israel's good when they were in need.

The text shows us that Israel was intended to be God's showcase which would illustrate the principles of God's righteousness, justice and wisdom to the rest of the world. God said that the nations would see this and be impressed, and ultimately long for the same relationship with Him. Israel, if she had been faithful to the covenant, would have been God's evangelist.

Fast forward to Jesus and his followers on a mountain in Galilee.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.....Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:14,16

Can you see the parallel between Christianity and Israel? As Israel was to demonstrate God's righteousness to the world around them, so is the Church to be God's object lesson to the world for truth and righteousness. See also what the Apostle Paul wrote:

To the intent that now, unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might be [made] known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:10

When God saves a new believer, He has more in view than that one believer's eternal destiny. God wants the entire world to know the Truth. He loved the world enough to send His Son to die for the world--this was the necessary price to be paid for the original sin. But now, His love is such that he sends His Church to live in the world so that the world can know Him. Believers are saved for a reason, and that is to be living examples of God's righteous ways.

To proclaim that God saves us when we profess faith in Christ even though our lives are not changed is not biblical evangelism. Like begets like. Unchanged "christians" beget more unchanged "christians", and the net result is precisely nothing. No witness to God's ways is presented to the world, and the Kingdom of God is not advanced.

The Kingdom is not advanced in the winning of theological arguments. This is not to say that having correct theology is not important. But isn't it possible, that when we stand before God and receive the ultimate revelation, that every last one of us will learn something, irregardless of our theological brand?

By Divine Design, the Kingdom is advanced when its citizens walk in accordance with the decrees of King Jesus. His ways are not oppressive, but rather, they are the very definition of abundant life. There is joy and peace when we obey the Sermon on the Mount, and these are infectious and attractive to the world around us. Jesus said that if he were lifted up, he would draw all men to him (Jn. 12:32). He was lifted up on the cross at Calvary, of course. But you and I continue to lift him up by obeying his teachings (Jn. 14:15). May His Church, wherever it be found, truly rise up to be a city set on a hill!

The Tripartite Law

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Romans 3:28

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,...for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 2:15

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. James 2:24

The verses listed above highlight an apparent discrepancy between James and Paul. Paul contended that the works of the law have no part whatsoever in the justification of the believer. James, on the other hand, stated plainly that a man is justified by works.

The German reformer Martin Luther, after having understood the revelation of salvation by faith, did not have much use for the book of James. He would have preferred that it not be in the Bible, calling the book of James "an epistle of straw." When Luther translated the Bible into German for the first time, it grated him that he had to include James.

This apparent controversy between the two New Testament writers is reconciled when we understand the tripartite nature of the Old Testament law. There are in fact three distinct aspects of the law, which are respectively treated very differently from one another in the New Testament. Consider the following:

1. The Covenant Law (I.e. The Ten Commandments). This was the series of moral commands that God spoke from the mountain and provided in tables of stone (also called the "tables of the covenant" Heb. 9:4). The ten commands governed the covenant people's relationships with both God and their fellow man.
2. The Ceremonial Law. These are the laws of the priesthood, the tabernacle and the sacrifices. They specified who was allowed to serve in the priesthood, and how they were to be ordained and prepared for service. The ceremonial law also specified the construction and order of the tabernacle, and the many various sacrifices that were to be offered therein.
3. The Civil Law. This is the aspect of the law that has the most in common with our own local and federal laws. These laws governed everything from marriage and divorce to how property disputes were to be settled. There were also numerous civil laws that appear completely arbitrary and even silly to the modern mind--like, the prohibition of yoking an ox and donkey together on the same team.

Jesus stated emphatically that he did not come to destroy, or annul the law (Mat 5:17-20). Rather, Jesus told us that he came to fulfill the law. What does this mean? In fact, it means something different depending on which of the three aspects of the Law we are considering.

1. Fulfilling the Covenant Law: Jesus clearly taught a high regard for obeying the 10 Commandments. The Sermon on the Mount is full of Jesus commenting on the Decalogue. But in the teaching of Jesus, obedience to the Decalogue is not outward only, but originates inwardly. For example, Jesus stated that being angry with our brother without cause is related to the command to not kill (Mat. 5:21-22). He also stated that to look on a woman to lust after her was to commit adultery with her the heart (Mat. 5:27-28). In the case of the Covenant Law therefore, Jesus fulfilled the law by teaching them from God's perspective--that obedience requires a converted heart. Covenant Law is by no means obsolete.
2. Fulfilling the Ceremonial Law: The New Testament is full of references that indicate that the Ceremonial Law was merely temporary, and pointed to the work of Christ at Calvary. Christ is our high priest, and the sacrifice he offered was his own flesh and blood. The Ceremonial Law has been fulfilled and rendered obsolete when Christ came and replaced all the symbolic sacrifices with the sacrifice of himself. 
3. Fulfilling the Civil Law: There are two types of Old Testament civil law, which are treated differently in the New Testament. The apparently arbitrary, sometimes silly laws, like the aforementioned prohibition against yoking an ox and donkey together, are allegorized (i.e. given a spiritual meaning) in the New Testament. Paul wrote that believers should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14), which is obviously a spiritual application of the Old Testament law. Regarding other civil laws, like the "eye for an eye" law of vengeance, and the law of divorce, Christ taught that these were given to the Israelites because of the coldness of their hearts (see Mat. 5:38-39). The Civil Law is largely unnecessary when believers live together in harmony, because "the law was made for lawbreakers"

Returning to our apparent controversy between the Apostle Paul and James, we find that the controversy disappears when we understand what aspect of the law each were referring to. When Paul taught that the works of the law could not justify us, he was referring to the ceremonial law. Paul was certainly not discrediting the 10 Commandments, or teaching us that keeping them is optional! Paul's reason for writing was that Jewish teachers had been troubling the churches, trying to convince Gentile believers to become circumcised and keep the Jewish rituals. It was against this that Paul contended.

James on the other hand was contending for the works that concern the keeping of the Covenant Law. This is clearly seen when we read James 2:8-24 in its context. James directly cites the 10 Commandments in his argument for being justified by works. James was certainly not insisting that believers had to continue offering the Old Testament typical sacrifices! We know from the teachings of Christ that keeping the Decalogue requires a heart conversion, and that comes through faith in the sacrifice of Christ. It therefore follows that faith and works (in James' context) operate together to justify the believer.

The Door and the Way

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.  John 14:6

Jesus told us that he was the way to the Father. I believe there is often a subtle misunderstanding of what was meant in this passage. Typically, we have understood the Lord's statement in John 14:6 to refer to the substitutionary death of Christ, by which we obtain redemption and new life.

Previously in John's gospel, Jesus had told us that he was the door.

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9

Consider the two metaphors of a door and a way. The door is how we enter a new place. The way (or path, or road) is the path we walk after we have begun our new life in Christ. A person cannot walk in the way unless he has first been through Christ, the door. I contend that Jesus as the way is not quite the same thing as Jesus being the door.

What then did Jesus mean when he said that he was the way to the Father? Realize that he did not invent this metaphor in John 14:6. The concept of there being a divinely ordained pathway for the children of God is as old as the nation of Israel itself, who were made to follow a way through the wilderness (see Deut. 8:2).

In fact, the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, is characterized in the scriptures as being the one who prepares the way of the Lord.

For this is he that was spoken by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying, 'In the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' Mat. 3:3

And how did John prepare the way of the Lord? By preaching repentance.

Jesus followed John's ministry by preaching about a straight and narrow way, that leads to life (Mat. 7:13-14). Jesus said that relatively few would find the straight and narrow way, in contrast to the broad way that leads to destruction. It is clear from the context that the straight and narrow way that Christ calls us to is implicit in the Sermon on the Mount. Those who walk in the straight and narrow are characterized by the Beatitudes, given in Matthew 5:3-12.

Jesus could say that he was the way, inasmuch as his sinless life was the full personification of the straight and narrow way. As we emulate the life and character of Jesus Christ, by the help of the Holy Spirit, we are walking on the straight and narrow way, and coming near to God.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;  Hebrews 10:19-20

The book of Hebrews uses the imagery of the temple to give us some insight into the way to the Father. Remember that in the Old Testament, access to the presence of God was restricted. Only the High Priest could enter the holiest of holies in the tabernacle, and that was only once a year. The author of Hebrews tells us that believers are given the invitation to boldly come into the presence of God by the blood of Jesus, and by a new and living way.

Jesus consecrated the new and living way for us in two respects. First, he consecrated the way by walking it--we do not have to live a life for which there is no precedent. Every character trait that God has called us to can be seen in the perfect, sinless life of Christ. The WWJD movement seen a few years ago is a great practical way of expressing this. We are to grow in Christ, ever becoming more like him in our own lives.

Second, Jesus consecrated the new and living way by dying for us. No fallen son of Adam could walk the straight and narrow way without the redemption that comes through the applied blood of Christ on our hearts. We must repent and be born again in order to walk in newness of life.

May I state in conclusion that to experience Jesus as the way is an active expression of our faith. By that, I mean that we must daily choose to take up our personal crosses and follow him through our daily life choices. We do not walk in the way passively, as if we could merely agree that Christ is the way and find the benefit by our agreement. Walking in the way requires us to expend energy in picking up one foot after the other (spiritually speaking, of course), and directing our path to follow our Lord.

Balanced Evangelism

What scripture text would you give to justify the Church's mission to evangelize the world? There are several strong candidates.

Go you therefore and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  Matthew 28:19-20

Go you into all the world and preach the good news to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15-16

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his [Christ's] name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47

But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

Now based on these directives that Christ gave the Church, what would you say should be our motivation to evangelize the world? I.e., Why is the Church commanded to go into all the world with our message?

Someone might answer that it is because God loves the world and desires for men everywhere to be saved. John 3:16 tells us about God's great love for the lost world. It is not His will for anyone to be lost (2 Pet. 3:9). This person probably likes to emphasize that the message we carry is "good news". They probably always have John 3:16 on hand for them to tell the sinner that they are loved and that Christ died for them. They are particularly in tune with Mark 16:15-16 and Luke 24:47, which speaks of the good news and forgiveness of sins.

Another person emphasizes that we are to be witnesses for Christ. This person is probably impressed by Acts 1:8, which states that the Holy Spirit would give us power to be Christ's witnesses in all the world. If we understand what this means, (and I don't think we always do), we would know that the Church is to be a witness for Christ in a legal, courtroom sense. The world is on trial as we speak, and we are called to the witness stand to give evidence of what we have seen and know (see John 16:7-11). This is why the passages that speak of us being witnesses are frequently in close proximity to references to the Holy Spirit, or the Comforter. "Comforter" is from the Greek parakletos, which was originally a court term for a counselor who assisted those involved in legal proceedings. The Comforter--also known as The Spirit of Truth, bears witness to the claims of Christ through his obedient Church.

Yet another person might emphasize Matthew 28:19, also known as The Great Commission. This passage speaks of making disciples in the whole world. What is often missed in this passage is the marshall tone that Christ took. Jesus preceded Matthew 28:19 by saying, Behold, all authority in heaven and earth is given to me (28:18). The subsequent command to Go you THEREFORE, is clearly a response to the universal authority of Christ. To make disciples is to bring people under the Lord's authority. In fact, it is obvious that the word disciple is closely related to the word discipline. This passage continues by stating that we are to teach our converts to observe all things that the Lord commanded. This passage fits very well with the image of the Church Militant, which is seen as a mighty army sent forth to conquer spiritual strongholds and gain ground for their King.

My point in this exercise is to remind us that these various views on Christian evangelism are complementary. God does indeed love the world, even while the world is on trial--and their judgment will coincide with how they received the message of Christ. And the love of God is in no way contradictory to the image of the Church being sent forth as an army to conquer and subdue a lawless world under the discipline of Jesus Christ.

It is easy for us to become doctrinally eccentric when we emphasize one angle on Christian relations with the world to the detriment of others. The person who knows of nothing except the love of God can fall into the trap of calling the hardcore discipling church "legalistic." In return, the group that is strong on discipleship might find themselves thinking poorly of those who emphasize the love and forgiveness of God exclusively. And perhaps off in the third corner to themselves, those whose motivation is exclusively to be a witness for Christ might find themselves not even caring whether anyone in the world is converted. They are only to speak the Truth and be a witness--if the word is not accepted, then so be it...

I am thankful that God provided multiple writers in the New Testament, because through their diverse personalities, God has revealed more of His own personality. It is not for me to pick and choose which view of God I am most comfortable with and ignore any other views that are revealed in the scriptures. That is dangerously close to making God in my own image. It is for me to recognize that the scriptures complement themselves, and in order to be a mature believer, I need to embrace all of the many-folded wisdom of God that has been revealed through apostolic writers.