"Evangelism must start with the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, the demands of the law, and the eternal consequences of evil." Dr. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones; Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 235
There is often an immediate misconception that arises at the outset of hearing this term. Indeed chronological Gospel teaching does, in part mean teaching the Gospel from Creation through to Christ and the New Testament Church. But to state it this simply is to miss a vital part of what the chronological Gospel is.
The Gospel begins with God and His holiness, this part of chronological Gospel teaching cannot be over emphasized. It then it teaches of man, who man is and our relationship to God. Teaching of man begins with creation and our relationship to God. We cannot talk of creation without teaching of the fall and of sin and of separation from God. Teaching of the fall then naturally leads into teaching just what sin is. That everything that is not of God is separation from God and is then sin. Teaching of the lost state of man and our need for redemption is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament. Every story in the Bible, and all of the Law, points to the over arching meta-narrative of the Gospel. All of God's Word points to the Gospel, man's depravity and lost condition without a savior. Once it has been clearly taught, and understood; God's Holiness, sin and separation from God, and man's depravity and need of a redeemer, then teaching begins about the beautiful redemptive work of Christ, coming as an infant, living, teaching, suffering, dying and rising again from the dead as a propitiation for our sins.
The chronology of the Gospel begins with God, is filled with God and ends with God!
The chronological Gospel is about God, it does not meet physical or felt needs, it does not satisfy hunger or illness or sadness; it clearly teaches of God and asks of us to sacrifice, to surrender our lives and our sin to the Good and Holy God. The chronological Gospel presents the Gospel completely and in truth as taught in Scripture, it meets the very real need for a savior and for redemption.
To present the Gospel simply by beginning with the redemption of Christ is to presuppose that everyone already has a clear and complete understanding of God. Yet, if they did have such an understanding, they would already be reconciled to Him. This highlights just why beginning by teaching of God is so vital.
So, as you can see, the chronological Gospel model is not simply about teaching from Creation to Christ, although this is a part of it. It is about teaching the chronology of God and mankind and sin and redemption. I think it's important to note, that this teaching does not conclude with the resurrection. Chronological Gospel teaching is a discipleship and must continue even after someone has made a profession of Faith. Teaching through the New Testament and God's desire for the life of the believer and the Church is also a vital part of discipleship and the Chronological Gospel.
When someone asks; "What does it mean to be a Christian?", the answer must always begin with God!
New Tribes Mission, with whom NCEM has begun to hold missionary training, employs the chronological Gospel model. You will see in the movie below that not only does NTM strive to present the Gospel clearly through the chronological approach, but they actively strive to labour diligently as stewards of the Gospel by engaging in cultural worldview study. This documentary is called EE-TAOW and tells the true story of Mark Zook and his work among the Mouk people of Papua New Guinea, I strongly recommend taking thirty minutes to watch it. It will perhaps clarify for you the use of chronological Gospel teaching, and will no doubt be a blessing and encouragement.
I received a copy of this book at the NCEMgeneral conference last Fall. Our guest speaker, Brian Catalucci from Answers in Genesis touched on some issues very pertinent to the work we are doing with NCEM. Worldview evangelism is very much a part of the Biblical principals and practices that NCEM is engaged in. Brian recommended this book and distributed it among the NCEM membership.
This book, Ask Them Why, written by Jay Lucas, certainly highlights some very important aspects of Worldview evangelism and some of the rather academic approaches that can be taken when communicating with people of various standpoints. Initially I found the book a bit cumbersome to read, as the author asks you to read appendices as they become topically relevant. But once I got my bearings I found the insights and experiences of the author to be invaluable. Most compelling for me was a debate in which the author was engaged. Under the heading of "Appendix C; my Debate With an Atheist", Jay shares a transcription of his opening remarks in the debate. His use of logic and the "Ask Them Why" method draw a compelling picture of how we might best communicate the truth of the Gospel.
"This book has been written to help Christians of all ages and abilities proclaim and defend the claims of the gospel. The task is not as difficult as many Christians perceive." ~ p. 18
"Ask Them Why", as a model of how best to communicate in the context of postmodernity, is an excellent example of taking into account the worldview of the hearer in evangelism and apologetics in general.
"Ask Them Why reflects an awareness that postmodernism, a dominant worldview, must be addressed... We Christians can be confident that God's truth will stand the test of time and that whenever the next major paradigm shift occurs (post-postmodernism!), the gospel of Jesus Christ will still be rescuing the hearts and minds of men and women, boys and girls." ~ p. 20
The book (the "ATW" method) outlines "the Power of Questions" as a way of communicating within the context of worldview. By communicating through questions you will have great opportunity to allow someone to expose the errors of their position using their own words. We are called to disciple and to teach, this book simply offers us a tool for doing this as effectively as possible.
"(2 Corinthians 10:5) We must rely on the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of unbelievers, but let us fulfill our obligation to speak the truth and expose error." ~ p. 25
Ask Them Why is broken into three main sections; you first read of the method and the Biblical supports and examples that go with it. The author builds a strong case for both worldview evangelism and the "ATW" method in this portion of the book. The second section of the book is accompanied by a CD that you may or may not listen to. These are dramatized examples of the "ATW" method in action. Using various scenarios and conversations with a variety of standpoints, the author demonstrates the concept in action quite effectively. The final section of the book includes the appendices which offer further insights and examples to help clarify this approach to evangelism.
An issue that arises with both worldview evangelism and more specifically with this sort of communication style is the idea that we must not reason with the World. The idea that we must simply get out there and "preach it" and allow the Holy Spirit to work with whatever words hit the ears of those in need of the Gospel. Yet we are called to know and understand, and prepare ourselves to communicate the Truth;
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;" ~ 1 Peter 3:15
Indeed, God Himself does not reject reason;
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool." ~ Isaiah 1:18
I like how Lucas deals with this subject in his book, this excerpt is taken from "Appendix E; The Centrality of Logic";
"When Christians disparage the importance of logic, they are not demonstrating Biblical thinking and are not honoring God. When Christians construct arguments through the use of faulty logic, God is not honored. Of all people, Christians should reject faulty arguments no matter how much the conclusions appeal to them. The God of truth is not served by irrationalsim." ~ p. 249
This idea that logic and reason are of little to no import is not in line with scripture. The Gospel is offensive and confrontational and will be met with debate, question and rejection. As Christians we must be prepared to engage with the world in these respects whenever we dare to present the Gospel. To abandon logic and reason is unwise, and rather contrary to the cause of the Gospel, and to scripture.
The following quote is taken from "Appendix E" of Ask Them Why, and is a quote from the forward to Gordon Clark's book Logic.
"...The laws of logic are the way God thinks. He makes no mistakes, draws no unwarranted conclusions, constructs no invalid arguments. We do, and that is one of the reasons why we are commanded by the apostle Paul to bring all our thoughts into captivity to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We ought to think as Christ does - logically." ~ p. 250
This book is encouraging and enlightening, the concepts and methods outlined in it's pages are thought provoking and certainly of great value to the Christian. It is so important for each of us to know what we believe and why and be able to communicate that in any context; meanwhile taking into account worldviews. I highly recommend this book as a read for anyone who is sold out for the Gospel and wishes to prepare themselves to engage the World with the truth. It is a packed book and I will need to read it once again to get a firmer grasp on all of it.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ~ John 3:16
I will preface this blog entry for those of you who may have difficulty with my meaning here. I am not criticizing God's Word, in whole or in part - I am criticizing it's misuse and poor contextualization.
Yet, so seldom do we take into consideration just what that means, and by what method we might best achieve making disciples of Christ. It is a very common idea that we need do no work, that God's Word can and will do all of the work and we need to simply "get it out there"; that being stewardly in method is a waste of time.
We live in a culture that is absolutely bent on ease and on convenience, ultimately self is the supreme end goal of man (this is commonly known as humanism). Our "fast food culture" can be easily seen in the way many choose to live, to work, to interact, to worship, to pray, and (wait for it) to evangelize. We've allowed the attitudes of our culture to infect our Faith and the way in which we share it - or don't.
Focus on the Family (which is shrouded in controversy itself) produced and aired a new commercial on January 14, 2012 during the Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots NFL Playoff game. The video was almost immediately available on YouTube accompanied by the following message;
"Nothing is more important than sharing the life changing message of Jesus Christ's love. Tell someone you know today."
Aside from the fact that The Gospel is about more than the Love of Christ alone and that John 3:16 teaches only one aspect of the Love of Christ; there is also the issue that Christ's Love also perfectly and completely includes God's wrath and fury (Romans 2:6-11), God's hatred (Psalm 5:5), His jealousy (Exodus 20:4-5), His Justice (Job 34:12), His judgement (1 Corinthians 5:13, Psalm 7:11), indeed ALL of His attributes. The Biblical definition of God's perfect Love is far deeper than the inference drawn from John 3:16 alone. So, for Focus on the Family to present this as the message of God's Love is not a complete picture and misrepresents just what the atoning work of Christ is.
It has long been a tradition for John 3:16 to be painted on faces, chests, and emblazoned on banners during football games. In 1993, Steve Taylor even dedicated a song to "Bannerman", touting the honorable brazenness at thwarting the establishment for the sake of the Gospel. Even very recently Timothy Tebow was seen to have the scripture reference painted on his face. Not to mention the mystecism developing around the fact that he passed for 316 yards against the Steelers, and set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion; which only serves to prove out the varied response that can come from this sort of Biblical representation. It is true that the passage (John 3:16) was highly Googled following the game, and perhaps it will cause some people to "reach for a Bible", but what then? And what of all the people who now seem to recognize it as a totem instead of a passage from God's Word?
In kind, this is the offering of Focus on the Family to the cause of the Gospel (ostensibly);
God's Word is precious, and will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). It is inerrant and perfect and we must certainly hold tightly to the ultimate Truths therein. John 3:16 is a fantastic passage of scripture, it is filled with Hope and Promise. It is a piece of God's Word. But it simply does not give the complete picture of the gospel. It is a portion of the frame around a beautiful picture of salvation. Without the contents of the frame you are left with a deep mystery.
Indeed there will be many who will see the video of the cute children reciting the well known passage and be filled with a warm feeling, comforted that they have done their part in standing for Christ in America simply by being a Christian. It is true, that there are those who come to Christ simply by reading His Word, in fact I have some good friends whose testimony of Faith is just so. They had no personal influence in their life, they simply had a Bible and they read it and the Holy Spirit worked in them. I am not suggesting that God's Word has no power - but God's Word out of context, in a single verse, is a different story altogether, and often it paints a picture contrary to God's Word.
My concern here lies in the presentation of the gospel, and the utter inadequacy of simplifying it to the point of making it palatable. John 3:16, all by itself says; God sent Jesus, His Son - and whoever believes in Him will go to heaven forever. As Christians we have a context for all of these phrases. But, break it down for the audience and you have a sheer plethora of possibilities;
Who is God? This will get as varied an answer as the number of times you ask the question. So, we've assumed right off the mark that our audience (whoever it may be) understands God from a purely Biblical perspective. This is as dangerous as it is naive a place to begin from. (Romans 3:11)
Who is the only Begotten Son? We have the same problem here as we did for the last question. We live in a World that is filled with false "christs". (Luke 21:8, Ezekiel 22:28) We are sorely remiss to assume that our audience is understanding Christ as He is.
What about whosoever believeth? Is it enough to simply believe in Christ? Is this the only relationship we must have to be reconciled to Him? What does the Bible teach about "salvation"? In James 2:19 we are told that even the demons believe and tremble; this does not, however, mean that demons qualify to go to heaven.
What about eternal life? So in order to live forever, all I have to do is believe in Jesus? Even if we disregard all of the previous problems that have arisen, we have just presented the gospel as a way for people to save themselves for eternity. We have ensured that their understanding of their relationship with God is strictly for their own benefit. This is prosperity gospel worldview - and it is wrong.
What of Sin? What of Repentence? What of God's Wrath? What of a real and humble relationship with God! John 3:16 is the end of an excellent presentation of the gospel. Yet, in a corrupt world, it is a misleading piece of scripture that can, by itself, potentially do more harm than good. It provides people with enough information and a false confidence to be permanently insulated against ever coming to a real saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in repentance. Pared down, it is cultural syncretism at best. The two most commonly know scripture verses, outside of the Church, are John 3:16 and Matthew 7:1 (though often, not even understood in context of being from scripture), yet both are taken out of context and misunderstood, and used to build worldview. It is sad, and it is a reflection on how we, the Church, present God's Word to the world.
Let's not forget the aspect of this issue, that this commercial by Focus on the Family is so very clearly NOT intended to be evangelism, as is evidenced by the plea for funds at the conclusion of the 40 second clip. This is a commercial intended to elicit an emotional response, while presenting a familiar and comfortable feeling to the viewer. It is a marketing campaign targeted at Christians, thinly veiling itself as evangelism. I would go so far as to suggest that this somewhat sinister approach to fundraising is something that Christ would take great exception to. read Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-18.
Know God's Word, read it daily, fellowship with other Christians, attend your church regularly, pray as often as possible and be equipped to share the gospel. Know it yourself first, then in all obedience and adequacy, preach the gospel completely and with great clarity. How you present the gospel, taking into consideration those to whom you are speaking, is vital to allow you to be certain that they are hearing what you are striving to convey; attention to method has merit. It's what we're here for. It is time to stop lazy evangelism, poor evangelism and strive to have full, rich lives in Christ.
I highly recommend that you take twelve minutes to hear an excellent and complete presentation of the Gospel, in the video below Paul Washer brings clarity to the Truth, and offers an example of how to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a World that does not want to hear it!
On Sunday morning we worshipped with the Native Fellowship church in Hobema. Attending, was a lady who had been struggling with witchcraft and wicca. She come through it by the strength of the Lord. She shared her testimony with us and publicly renounced the practice of these things. The missionary pastor prayed and shared this passage from Acts with us:
"And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." ~Acts 19:19
As a public symbol, we went out of the church and witnessed as she and the pastor burned the books of witchcraft that she had in her home. It was a very special opportunity to see the Lord working in her life as we were able to celebrate with her, a new life in Christ!
Yesterday was our first day of seminars with Dr. Tom Steffen, author of "Passing the Baton". He is working with us through a series of seminars dealing with the five stage church planting strategy. It has been quite interesting so far, and I've found that the discussions have clearly tied together all of the Worldview training seminars that we've been a part of to this point. And as always it's a pleasure to hear from Mike Matthews and share with everyone here in fellowship.
Kevin and I are staying in the men's dorm at the Bible School and today we acquired a new roommate. Jonathan Yeo drove in from Fort Liard, NWT, to take part in the seminars, so we've been having a great time catching up with him.
Watch for a video blog at some point this week. I've been asked to take a few shots of happenings at these sessions for the NCEM Facebook page, so I'll post them here as well in the form of a vlog for anyone who is interested in seeing where we are and what we're up to.
We live in a mighty time. A time of tolerance and enlightenment, a time when live and let live are the mantra of heretics abroad. A time when the World is changing at a pace far more rapidly than any of us are prepared to even begin to fathom. A time when the fool is suffered and folly is praised as wisdom. A time when ultimate truth is scoffed, and pluralism of truths is a comforting mantra to cling to.
Our church is disappearing, but not for the reasons we would like to believe (clearly the world has become so carnal that there is no possible hope – which seems to justify dwindling numbers on Sunday).
We live in a confused time. A time when the term fundamental has come to be associated with extremist factions that are bent on making everyone think like themselves. Often to the point of ending their own lives as well as those of others, simply to further their cause. A time when the church is confused about it's purpose and being relevant to the post modern individual has given rise to liberal, Christless gatherings of tolerance and open conversation. A time when "old fashioned Christianity" is the coloquial term for the stale legalism of the 20th century. A time when rich, Christian living has been replaced with bitter malcontent and petty quarreling over the ordinances of the church and the piety of following specific rules laid out by leadership of ages past. A time when the ultimate truth of Scripture has been all but forgotten, by both the hyper liberal and the hyper conservative.
We live in a selfish time. A time when we talk of Christianity in terms of what it can do for us, instead of what it really means to have a personal relationship with Christ. Oh, we say the right words, but it ends there. We tell people they can have a relationship with Christ, and proceed to hamper that whole idea by giving them a fresh, crisp copy of the Christianese dictionary and a playbook of do's and don'ts for our particular brand of Bible thumpering. Or, conversely, we give them nothing. Our entire focus is simply on having them in Church and hoping somehow that is enough – it's not very considerate to burden people with the idea that they may be bound for a Christless eternity in Hell.
Like the Roman church of the dark ages we prevent the truth of the gospel from permeating the hearts of those who would believe - if only they could actually know the truth of scripture, and not a stained transliteration of our own making. Unlike the church in the dark ages, we haven't issued an edict preventing the reading of scripture. We haven't hidden the Bible, or even prevented it from being translated into the tongue of the common man (mostly at least). In fact the Bible is more widely available now than it has ever been. What we have done is far worse. In our own pride and selfish ambition we have stolen the truth of scripture from the world. We have done so through our furtive liberalism and overly tolerant attitude. We have done so through our deeply pride saturated legalism which demands the strict adherence to church policies not found in scripture. We have done so through our bitter hypocrisy and self indulgence, we have made the Bible irrelavent to most (both within and beyond the doors of the church). WE, the Christian Church, have denied Christ in the worst possible way.
The message, the whole point of it all, the meaning of life, has been lost and all but forgotten. I can smell you now, boiling because you (certainly) know the meaning of life... why it's Jesus of course. Just as in Sunday School, when we teach our children that the correct answer to every question is Jesus. We've lost all sight of the real truth of that. What does it mean to know Christ? How have we been presenting Christ in our lives? As critical, petulant children who feel overly entitled to our own whims in a world that is going to Hell.
"sooner or later you're going to realize just as I did that there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." ~ Morpheus
The problem with the modern (and Post Modern) church, the poison, the secret hand tool of satan... us. We, the Christians of the 21st century, are going to be the downfall of Christendom in our almighty Americas.
We have boiled down the entire Christian lifestyle to only one hour on Sunday mornings, and even that we have turned into a joke. Laced with entertaining tidbits and clever attempts to make comfortable those in attendance. Our goal now is numbers, our message prosperity. Most churches preach some form of the prosperity gospel. No you say – never – not us? Just look at how you present the gospel, or how you pray. The only time we acknowledge that God has answered prayer is if the outcome is favorable. That, my friend, is prosperity gospel worldview. The truth is that God is good and Holy and Awesome in even our deepest pain. We preach from our pulpits and soap boxes that "becoming" a Christian (as though it is an act of our own that saves us) will transfer people into a fabulous life of roses and chocolate cherries. Nowhere in scripture does becoming a follower of Christ promise you a better life. Yet most of us promote this lie and live it in our own lives and prayers. When did you last thank God for your suffering or for your pain? If we could manipulate God with our prayers and behavior why would Christ even need have died?
We go to church on Sunday mornings with the expectation of receiving some blessing to get us through the week. The church building has become a weekly Mecca for Christians instead of being the house of God it is intended to be. We go to church with no desire to be a part of the church body beyond that one hour we are there (to the minute, don't you dare have the audacity to stray beyond noon).
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle, that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." ~ Brennan Manning
We, the Christian Church, are meant to play a role in our communities, we are meant to reflect the glory of God to the world. Instead of doing this we have opted to quietly fiddle away our time as the landscapes of our countries change. We get angry about decisions that impact our social rights, and yet we've played no part in our communities beyond a dull roar whenever we feel slighted. We are meant to be serving our fellow man, living lives of sacrifice for the honor and glory of God. This is not social gospel, this is Christian Living.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." ~ YouTube
We have forgotten what it means to seek the Lord in all things, to be disciples of Him and live lives of discernment, honoring and glorifying Him in all we are. Instead we have been distracted by any of the plethora of insidious entrapments and snares set out by the enemy. The beast has infiltrated the church and is tearing it apart from the inside. Meanwhile, we sleep. We sleep and we grow fat on our meals of misplaced sincerity.
It is time for the church wake up, get off it's lazy posterior and begin to fulfill it's role as God has intention. It is time to stop sitting in the back pew. It's time to mature out of legalism and stop trying to do the work of the Holy Spirit. Bring every issue of the day to the Lord and seek Him in all things. There is not good cause to following the 'rules' just because it's what we've always done. We MUST come before the Lord – and bare our souls. It's time to reject liberalism, cease simply spending days filling pews and entertaining people, it's time to stop ushering people into Hell with a Bible in their hands.
If you are seeking to be truly inspired at Church on Sunday morning, then you NEED to prepare your heart from Monday to Saturday. Seek Him in prayer, fervently. Seek Him in His Word, diligently. Church is not simply "the place you go to get spiritually recharged"... it is the place you go to fall on your face before a Holy God! We must prepare for Sunday as diligently as we expect of our pastors.
It's time to know the physical and spiritual needs of our world. It's time to serve. "And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." Mark 9:35
It's time to reflect the Love of God. "Jesus answered, "The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
It's time to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20. The Bible offers a rival story for the World. It IS contrary to the World's philosophies and "wisdom". It is time to be a part of God's story, shed our pride and align our own view of the world with HIM. He doesn't need us to preserve His Word. He doesn't need us to protect His Name. He doesn't need us to convict others. He desires for us serve Him fully with our whole lives.
It's time to take a good hard look at ourselves (not the guy in the next pew or the guy down the street).
We have just completed the first module of our P.A.T.H. training. We've spent the past three days looking at Animism, Syncretism and Worldview in Intercultural and cross-cultural context. These sessions were brought to us by John Cosby, whom you have met in one of the vLogs (video blogs). We have all very much enjoyed all of the teaching that we have received in these sessions. I am very sorry that they have come to an end. We had a lot of great conversation and interaction in the classroom and discussed some very practical and important issues faced by missions and the church. We unfortunately were short on time and had only the opportunity for a brief look into Animism, John will be returning again prior to the end of the training, so we'll have opportunity to learn under his teaching again.
There is a lot of discussion about Worldview these days, determining just what that means is a key to the task. The principles, that we have been studying here are biblical, sound methodologies with a focus on missions. However, the ideas and principles behind Worldview Teaching (and understanding) are pertinent and applicable to everyday life and evangelism on a personal level.
It's a great start to training, the bar has been set high to be sure. We're both looking forward to whatever comes next.
