Faithful Soldier School of Evangelism

ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

2) What about just preaching the simple gospel?

4) What about Confrontational Evangelism?

Orthodoxy in Christian theology has been measured by many different things. Volumes have been written to fill libraries and debates that have fractured whole nations have been a part of holding to and clarifying these basic ideas. Much of the controversy is justified. Theology is important. What we believe determines how we behave. Yet, it is a sad and unfortunate reality that many Christians will create untold strife and discord over matters that are of secondary importance. We love to make mountains out of mole-hills when it comes to theology.

At the school of evangelism we place great value upon Paul's teachings to “keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace”, to “esteem others better than yourselves”, as well as to “above all have fervent love between one another”. These verses and many similar ones, should temper our theological studies and how we communicate and discuss them, particularly with our brothers and sisters with whom we may disagree. After all, it is the practice of our Christianity that is of greater importance than our affirmation of a particular creed or theological position. In the words of 19^th century evangelist Charles Finney, “the church is mighty sticklish about correct doctrine, but awfully loose about correct practice.” He went on to describe how many would not allow someone behind their pulpit who didn't subscribe to the Trinity or denied the resurrection, yet we readily fill our pulpits with men who are clearly eaten up with pride, vanity, cowardice and many other blatantly ungodly characteristics, which are in many ways an even greater denial of Christ.

The Apostle Paul, when describing the qualifications of elders or deacons in the pastoral epistles of Timothy and Titus does not mention any theological litmus test (thought I think we can reasonably assume that there was a creed of which one being considered for such office would have already given assent to) but rather lists in detail everything to do with character and integrity of practice. How is their behavior? Is their character tested and proven to be solid? Will they give into the temptations of lust, drink, greed, self-glory, etc. that shipwreck the leadership of so many of our churches. Unfortunately today those qualifications are some of the last things dealt with in our Bible colleges and seminaries, and rarely sought after amongst congregations seeking leaders. Administrative skills, speaking ability, and business sense have replaced much of Paul's “qualifications”. Surely it is no surprise that we see American Christianity plagued with it's current distresses. Now, it is true that what you believe will determine how you live, and thus theology, ones beliefs about God, is extremely important. But men can fake it, what they say they believe is not always what they actually believe. If Joe says he believes x,y,z yet his behavior is consistently the opposite of x,y,z then Joe probably doesn't believe x,y,z, no matter how much he may say he believes x,y,z. Looking at ones practice is thus all the more important than looking at what one professes to believe.

So what do you believe?

I want to stress again that a humble disposition is vital to ones theological undertakings. The more one studies theology the more one realizes they have a lot to learn and that there are many, many nuances and complexities to serious theological study. All of that being said, as stated earlier, we believe that there are at least two primary or “major” doctrines that we would say one must hold to if they are to be called a brother or sister in Christ: A correct perception of God, and a correct perception of our relationship with Him.

About God

By correct perception of God I am referring to several basic attributes and qualities that the Bible ascribes to Him, which distinguish our understanding of our Creator from many of the idols that have been concocted in the imaginations of men throughout the centuries. Things like, His holiness, His love, and His rationality are important characteristics to understanding our Creator. There are also things like His being all powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and ever present (omnipresence), that would go into a proper understanding of God's nature. One could also include His incarnation in Christ. These are complex matters and although one certainly doesn't need to have a perfect or complete knowledge of these things to be a Christian, to be redeemed and to have a place in heaven, they are vitally important in defining Christianity.

About salvation

The second vital doctrine is that of salvation, how we come into right relationship with God. There is much more disagreement on this matter than on the previous and this is where we want to aim the focus of this article. Christian theologians have divided themselves into two major camps, those who place some degree of works as necessary to compliment Christ's atoning death on the cross, and those who see Christ's atoning death on the cross as wholly sufficient to justify man in God's sight. We believe that ascribing certain “good works” as a part of how one attains God's forgiveness, be it baptism, sacraments, feeding the poor, giving to the church, catechism, confirmation, or any other thing is heresy. Martin Luther helped to spark the Protestant Reformation in the 16^th century when he proclaimed the Apostle Paul's simple words, “the just shall live by faith”. From this came the phrase “justification by faith alone”, or as they called it in the Latin, Sola Fide. This simply means that what Christ did on the cross is sufficient in atoning for our sins, completely. That if we come to God in repentance and faith, He can forgive us, without us having to do anything but simply bow our hearts to Him and believe.

True conversion and life in the Spirit

Another important aspect of the Christian doctrine of salvation is regarding those who will make claims something to the effect that so long as one has prayed a prayer they are “eternally secure” and that “no one can pluck them out of God's hand”. Whether one believes they can depart from the faith or not, this teaching is clearly a line of heresy not found in Scripture and has led to the false assurance of millions.

Jesus said, “Many will say in that day, 'Lord, Lord'... and I will declare unto them, depart from me, you who work iniquity I never knew you.”(Matt.7:21-23) Jesus is saying that ones behavior demonstrates whether they actually do “know God”, whether they actually are a child of His. True faith produces a change of action, a change of behavior. Repentance (change of mind) goes hand in hand with faith and is an indispensable part of salvation.

Paul defines this concept of true conversion further in Romans 8 vs.14 when he says “they that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. The evidence of being a son of God is being led by the Spirit of God. What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God? Paul makes it clear in the context of the passage, “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”(vs. 1). In Galatians chapter 5, Paul describes the battle between the flesh and the Spirit and defines what the “works”, or “evidence” of the flesh and of the Spirit are. He says of the works of the flesh, “they that do (practice) such things will not inherit God's Kingdom”(vs. 21). He also says in the passage in Romans 8, “if you live after the flesh you will die”, clearly not talking about physical death, because he says in the same verse, “but if you through the spirit, mortify the deeds of the flesh, you will live”(vs. 13). Obviously we are all going to die physically, so this passage is not talking about physical death but spiritual death.

Paul is saying in Romans 8 as well as Galatians 5 that you either walk in the spirit and do not fulfill the lust of the flesh (5:16) and you will inherit eternal life, or you walk in the flesh, and there is therefore condemnation, you will die, you will not inherit God's Kingdom. How is this consistent with “justification by faith”? Very simply. True faith, the faith that saves, is a rational commitment and trust in God that produces in us a change of behavior; namely a Spirit-filled and Spirit led life.

Some might say, but what of His grace? Ephesians 2 tells us we are saved by “grace through faith... not of works lest any man should boast” (vs. 9). But it doesn't end there. It goes on to say we are His workmanship, created for good works (vs.10). Titus chapter 2 tells us that God's grace, “which brings salvation” teaches us “to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age.” It goes on in the next verses to tell us that we were redeemed so that He might make a people unto Himself, “zealous of good works”(vs.13).

The whole purpose of salvation is not just to save us from hell, nor to secure us a mansion in heaven, but rather to produce beings who would love Him, walk with Him, and be conformed into His image, through the power of His Spirit. That is His grace operating in our lives, both for salvation and for sanctification. This is how John could say in his first epistle,”If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1: 6,7) and again in the next chapter, “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments, he that says 'I know Him', and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.” (2: 3,4)

God wants us to be holy, to be pure, and He has provided that for us through His Spirit. Does this mean we are always perfect? No. Just the opposite, it means we recognize our fallen and sinful condition and walk in repentance, brokenness and contrition in His presence. A heart that is broken and bowed before God has no place for the lust of the flesh, nor for self-righteous “false perfection”. As Jesus told the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the one who was “not like other men” but was self-righteous, went away condemned, whereas the tax collector stood in the back of the temple, beat his chest, and declared “Be merciful to me a sinner”. This was a demonstration of true repentance and true faith. Jesus said he went away justified. “The Lord is near unto those who are of a broken and contrite heart”. One will never be more holy than when they fall on their face in genuine repentance before the cross of Christ. This is what our God requires of us. This is what our theology should bring about.

Is that all that matters?

There are many doctrinal debates that have a huge affect on how we live our lives that would not be “primary” doctrines. They are not doctrines that determine whether we are Christians or not, nor are they doctrines over which Christians should divide and break fellowship. For example, what we believe about pacifism versus the justification of the use of force, our view of divorce and remarriage, speaking in tongues, Calvinism vs Arminianism, conditional versus unconditional eternal security, the purpose and application of the Old Testament law for today, and a whole host of other issues are vitally important. Yet Christians on different sides of these issues will be standing together in the Kingdom of our Lord. If they are saved and the Holy Spirit is fellowshipping with them than so should we. A good dose of humility, and an understanding that the unity of the body of Christ is as important as any of these issues, (though they are very important issues) will go a long way in helping us not just in formulating our theological convictions but also in the broader work of the Church in advancing God's Kingdom on the earth.

“though...I understand all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing.” I Cor. 13:2

2) What about just preaching the simple gospel?

Why don’t you just stick to preaching the gospel rather than getting into all these social issues and intellectual debates?

It is important for us to understand what the preaching of the Gospel is. Many who ask such questions cite Paul, in I Cor. 15, where he says that the gospel that he preached was that Christ was crucified, buried and rose the third day. This though is obviously not all that Paul preached, as is evidenced by the sermons recorded by him in the book of Acts (chapter 17 in particular). The Gospel is much broader than that simple message. Saying that the whole gospel is what is stated in I Cor 15:3, 4 is like saying that all there is to getting married is saying “I do”. There is a lot more that goes on before a person understands and accepts the reality of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. People make decisions based upon their basic view of reality; their worldview. Ideas and beliefs are interconnected. A person’s view of science and the origins of life will affect how he reads and interprets certain bible passages and vice versa. What this means in preaching the gospel and in our evangelistic work is that we cannot always start with simply telling somebody that Jesus died was buried and rose from the dead. What if someone believes that, confesses that, yet they believe that there is no God, only mere energy and that Jesus just had “special energy” (don’t laugh, there are lots of people who believe this) or what if they believe the “gospel” part but they don’t believe anything else in the bible, like passages dealing with specific sins. So, they accept your “gospel presentation”, but they are living in homosexuality, or maybe adultery. I think you can see the point. The “simple gospel” presupposes certain other things to be true. If a person is wrong in their thinking on these other matters it can greatly affect their understanding of and reception of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why we deal with important “intellectual” issues. Which really are not even “intellectual” issues; the church has just simply been dumbed down so much and become so shallow that basic theological knowledge is considered “intellectual”.

Now as far as dealing with “social issues”, as was stated before, the gospel is broader than just I Cor. 15:3 and 4. We are called to preach the Law of God, to show men their sins and bring them under the conviction of the Holy Spirit that they might repent and turn their hearts to the Lord. Secondly we are commanded in Scripture to speak on all matters of life. God is not silent on politics, social structure, family, crime, poverty, etc... So neither should we be.

I have seen many people broken and weeping over past sins when we display pictures of aborted babies. I know of homosexuals who have personally repented after being confronted with our challenging message that “Homosexuality is a Sin” and “Christ Can Set You Free”. Awakening the conscience of a culture ripens them to the Good News, and is a necessary part of any evangelistic endeavor.

3) What about Homosexuality?

Where in the Bible does it say anything about homosexuality?

Homosexuality is clearly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. Lev18:22 and 20:13 are both very clear wherein the punishment for such behavior was death.

In the New Testament Romans 1: 26 and 27 are very clear prohibitions. In I Cor. 6:9 Paul the Apostle states that no homosexual will inherit God’s Kingdom, and goes on to say that “such were some of you”. In I Timothy 1:9 homosexuals are numbered among the ungodly.

While Jesus never directly addressed the subject, he did very clearly lay out God’s plan from the beginning for marriage and sexuality in Mark 10, stating that “In the beginning God made them male and female; for this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife and the two shall become one.”

A few “scholars” in recent years have tried to contend that none of these verses directly condemn homosexuality. This flies in the face of any sound hermeneutical principles as well as 1900 years of Christian theology. Odd it is that no one has ever interpreted these verses that way until suddenly there has been a great amount of pressure put on certain people by homosexual lobbyists and advocates. It is always a little suspicious when ones theology changes along with the winds of political correctness.

The plain reading of Scripture makes it very clear that homosexuality is sinful behavior, and that Gods life-changing grace and mercy are extended to the homosexual conditioned upon genuine repentance and faith. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things become new.” II Cor 5:17

Why do you make homosexuality such an important issue?

Our culture as well as homosexual activists with an enormous political lobby and propaganda machine have made homosexuality a central issue. Their desire to force acceptance of their behavior and to silence those who would oppose it have made it a defining issue in our day. Does this mean we “hate” homosexuals? Absolutely not! We are commanded in Scripture to “love our neighbors as ourselves” and to even, “love our enemies” to “do good to those persecute you and despitefully use you”. It is precisely because we do love them, and are concerned about their souls, that we are compelled to speak the truth, offering hope for change. We contend that the great many Christians in our day who are silent regarding this self-destructive lifestyle are showing “hatred” through their indifference.

Why can’t you just tolerate others?

We are all intolerant of many things. We put thieves, rapists, murders, among others, in prison. That sounds a bit intolerant, but I don’t hear too many people disturbed about that sort of intolerance. Christians 150 years ago were told to be tolerant of those who owned and oppressed slaves. Thank God many Christians were not tolerant and stood for what was right, even when the prevailing cultural view was “tolerance and acceptance”.

For Christians homosexuality is clearly wrong. It is unnatural and it is unhealthy, as is evidenced by the extremely high rates of disease, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction as well as suicide. It is inherently self-depreciating. Many argue that these things exist in the “gay” community because they are victims of oppression, yet in the places where homosexuality is accepted the most, such as San Francisco, we find these statistics to be the same and in many cases even higher. As Abraham Lincoln said “one never has the right to do that which is wrong”.

What about someone who is born gay?

What if someone is born a thief? A liar? A rapist? Certainly having those desires “naturally” does not justify fulfilling those desires. A part of being a mature individual is self- control. Controlling and subduing desires that we may have which we know to be wrong. I “naturally” have a bad temper, but I must suppress that natural desire to be a mature individual. The same is true of our sex lives. I am married. My attraction for other woman has not disappeared, that natural desire has to be subdued and controlled. I am not “free to just love who I want”. No one is. To make such an argument would lead to chaos and anarchy.

The Bible says that we are born fallen creatures, separated from God with many propensities for sin. This is why Jesus said a man must be born again, with a new nature, which is created in righteousness and true holiness. If we will humble ourselves and ask the Lord Jesus to cleanse us of our sin, putting our life in His hands, we can experience this new life.

I believe every homosexual could learn to be healthy and happy in a committed, God-blessed relationship with the opposite sex. Will that be easy? Probably not. Will desire for the same sex go away overnight? Probably not. Doing what is right is not always easy. But we are assured and can take comfort in knowing that we can “do all things through Christ who strengthens us”.

What’s wrong with two men loving each other?

Nothing. Two men can and should love each other. Two men having sex with each other is something totally different. A man cannot say he is loving another man while anally sodomizing him, rupturing his anal cavity, etc… That is the reality of “gay” sex. That is why disease and such is more rampant. When we reduce love to “lust” or even “romance” we have completely distorted what the genuine sort of relational love is that is necessary for strong relationships, healthy marriages and healthy families.

4) What about Confrontational Evangelism?

Isn’t it more effective to preach with love and to build relationships with people than to aggressively confront people with condemnation?

The example set forth in Scripture for communicating the gospel is not very popular today. Many Christians believe that evangelists, if there is even to be such a thing, should at all costs avoid offending or making anyone feel uncomfortable. Often they will cite Jesus as an example (though oddly never seem to find any scriptural support for their conception of what He would or would not do).

We find this mentality to be highly destructive to the advancement of the gospel. Most Christians who are of this camp actually work against the Holy Spirit. John 16 tells us that the Comforter (Holy Spirit) has come to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; three words that have been banned from the vocabulary of many professing evangelical Christians today. When the Holy Spirit is working in an unbeliever’s life He will make them feel uncomfortable for their sins. The weight of the guilt of sin is a heavy burden that can make people upset, angry, hostile, and uncomfortable with any mention of God, Jesus, morality, or religion.

When we seek to alleviate that discomfort and get unbelievers to like us, we are working against the Holy Spirit. We are helping them to throw off the weight of their own conscience. The unfortunate reality is that many will get mad at us and offended when we are faithful ambassadors of Christ. Jesus said the world hated Him and it would hate us. All of the disciples except John were killed for their faith. Thousands of Christians are killed every year for their faith. Yet in America we have devised and propagated a theology that insulates us from any persecution. All of our evangelism is calculated to get people to like us and like the caricatured Christ we present to them. Sadly this is not the biblical model. We are called to confront sin, injustice, and evil and to communicate God’s mind and heart to a fallen world that often is in willful rebellion to Him. This will be confrontational, this will cause conflict, this will make people upset. God forbid we shy away from such out of fear and cowardice. As A.W. Tozer stated, “We love the old saints, missionaries, martyrs, and reformers. Our Luthers, Bunyans, Wesleys and Asburys, etc... We will write their biographies, reverence their memories, frame their epitaphs, and build their monuments. We will do anything except imitate them. We cherish the last drop of their blood, but watch carefully over the first drop of our own.”

Throughout history God has used bold confrontational evangelism, whether in the form of public preaching or in the context of a personal relationship, to spark the conversion of hearts and bring about cultural transformation. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Wesley, Whitefield, on down the list all engaged in public preaching, reproved sin, spoke about God’s law and the judgment associated with its violation (Luke 13:5, Gal.3:24 plus many more). Charles Spurgeon, the great eighteenth-century pastor and preacher, who was also an open-air preacher said, “Revivals of religion have usually been accompanied by, if not caused by, a considerable amount of preaching outdoors and in unusual places.” He also said that if we lighten the force of the law then we dim the light by which sinners see their need for a Savior.

That being said there are some principles that should govern the conduct of our evangelistic endeavors. I have seen many public preachers who are visibly arrogant, proud, cold-hearted, and ignorant. These things do bring reproach to Christ’s name and cause hurt to His Kingdom. This is why we wrote an article “Practical Points on Open air preaching and witnessing” that provides a balanced and biblical approach to our confrontational, public ministry.

Open-air preaching is only one aspect of evangelism. It is not to the exclusion of other methods. Relationships and personal conversation are very important. Seeing a visible Christian community walking in love and truth is a powerful and essential part of the gospel proclamation. The call is not just to preach but to also make disciples. That takes place in relationships. But these relationships and our one-on-one evangelistic work do not negate or diminish the need, importance and biblical precedent of confrontational open-air preaching. All evangelism is at some point confrontational, whether preaching out in the streets to a large crowd or in an intimate setting in your home with a friend or family member, there must at some point be the confronting of an individual with the truth they have rejected and or ignored.

May you be courageous, compassionate, and Christ-like in your evangelism and see many hearts brought to Christ as you go forward for Him.