Five Reasons We Don't Evangelize: # 1: Churches isolate Christians from unbelievers

[Dave Gilbert]

1) Churches isolate Christians from unbelievers.

They should: Ephesians 5:11 and James 4:4 in spirit, for starters. I see no precedent for bringing in goats among the sheep, except for one passage: 1 Corinthians 14:23-24, and that is predicated with an “if”. Nevertheless we are commanded to be ready with an answer for the hope that lies within us ( 1 Peter 3:15 ).

Agreed on the should (above)

But also a need to be in the world and around the lost: Support: John 17:15, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” & 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world”

Dave,

on your #1, how are we to be ready with an answer with non-believers if we don’t know them? That takes making contacts and building a relationship with those that don’t know Christ. It is possible to be holy without isolating one’s self from non-believers.

#2, what about the church of Antioch? The Holy Spirit used persecution to scatter some ordinary believers in Christ that were Hellenist Jews to cross ethnic and cultural barriers to proclaim the gospel, disciple those were drawn to Christ into the church of Antioch and become the powerful missionary sending church of Paul and Barnabas. Were they evangelists? Or just ordinary Christians that evangelize?

I think the reason why most Christians don’t evangelize, is the same reason we don’t talk about any serious topics these days. Because of devices like television and cell phones and computers, most people have lost the ability(desire) to have meaningful conversations with each other.

A lot of the times when I go visit relatives, the TV is running in the background, even if no one is watching it. It’s kind of hard to have a serious conversations with others when you are trying to compete with the latest news, or football highlights, or celebrity gossip, etc. And don’t get me started about talking to teens when they have their cell phones or portable video game machines with them.

Add to that the fact that we have been programmed by TV and the liberal PC police to avoid bringing up controversial topics of any kind.

I think many of us are even guilty of purposely using the TV to avoid talking to someone. Someone comes over to the house to visit. After a few minutes of small talk, we run out of things to say to each other, there is an awkward silence, so we turn on the TV or put on a movie. Opportunity to talk to someone about Christ- wasted.

Answering Dave Gilbert:

Who said: “It’s not necessary to know unbelievers “as friends” to [evangelize] “

I wish you would have interacted with my earlier post where I said:

But also a need to be in the world and around the lost: Support: John 17:15, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” & 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world”

[Dave Gilbert] For example, I know my neighbors fairly well, but I don’t get personal with them…I politely refuse invitations to parties and other activities that would enable me to make friends with them. If you find Biblical support for this, please list it.

Our Lord was “a friend of … sinners!” (Matthew 11:19). He ate with them!

[Dave Gilbert] Believers and unbelievers are like oil and water…they’ve nothing in common at the core of things, except they both have lives in this present world. One is alive in Christ, the other is dead in his sins. We’re both going to different places and we surely have differing loyalties. For example, I love Jesus Christ and not this world nor its ways. It’s not my world, I’m just passing through. The old saying is, ” In the world but not of the world “. :)

I mostly agree with your above quote. But let’s talk about points of commonality:

• The weather: “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Anecdote: Our neighborhood (Plymouth MN) experienced a major wind store in June of this year. I lost 1 tree and had damage to 4 others, my unsaved next door neighbor lost 2.
• Work: All must work and work ain’t easy.
• Diseases, aging, accidents, etc: I broke my neck in 1987 .. others (sadly) have experienced the same. I have 2 unsaved friends at work who experienced spinal injuries in their youth
• The curse (fallen world): The weather, work, one’s mortality.
• Family: many lost people value family. As a matter of fact, sadly, some have better marriages than the saved (at least they have kept their covenant)
• These points of commonality are potential bridges to enable evangelism

May I ask you a straight question? Do you have any unsaved friends?

Wow, Dave…have you read the Gospels where Jesus regularly eats with sinners and is accused of the very thing you forbid…being a friend of sinners?

[Dave Gilbert]

Jim, to answer your question: I no longer have any unsaved friends that I am any more than acquaintances towards…I’m always gracious towards them, but it’s if they can tell that we no longer have anything tangible in common.

…

Now I’ve a question for both of you: What purpose does it serve to become friends with them if they’ve rejected the Gospel?

…

When the Lord showed me Election, I understood where His real love is aimed, and where it isn’t.

Answered:

• I actually understand you because when I was a new Christian spending time with the lost dragged me down and back to sinful choices.
• I’m glad you believe in election! It’s the hope of the evangelist because some will believe.
• About “the elect” …. some of the elect have yet to believe. I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) but I did not believe until I was 20. And did not respond to the gospel the very first time I heard it, nor the 2nd, 3rd, 4th …. et cetera.
• Consider that Paul was instructed to stay in Corinth “[because God had] many people in [that] city” (Acts 18:10). I understand “the people” in this text to be elect yet to be saved.
• Paul labored among lost men “for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:10). Note how these are called “elect” but they had yet to “obtain … salvation”
• His love is indeed aimed at the elect. John says “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He took the initiative and loved us! And indeed we (the saved elect) reflect that love back to Him)
• And “we… believe and therefore speak” (herald) the gospel to those around us.

My point is that the points of commonality enable us to herald the gospel.

Today I had a very brief opportunity to connect with a man I had not previously met. I was at a company event in a ballroom with 1000 people. Next to me was an empty seat. And next to that seat was a photographer hired to take photos of the event.

It was a breakfast event (nice … eggs … sausage … bacon .. potatoes … fruit … juice .. coffee … bagels etc).

It was there at 7:05. There were not more than 50 in this very large ballroom in downtown Minneapolis

I introduced myself to the man to my right. I said “you must be the photographer”

He looked at me with a “like duh!” shrug …. he had a very large camera strapped around his neck - what else would he be!?

I asked him a couple of questions:

• How did you happen to get this gig? (He explained)
• When did you start to use digital cameras? (10 years ago)
• Where did you get your training? (He studied English at Harvard and he was on the staff of the student newspaper)
• How did you get to the Twin Cities? (He explained .. moved here with a girlfriend)
• Do you do wedding photos? (No … he is the official photographer of two Twin Cities sports teams)

Points of commonality:

• I visited Harvard once years ago (I told him this)
• I know something about digital photography …. I asked him about transferring photos to his PC and how he does backups (PCs are my thing career wise)
• I barely passed English at the U of Cincinnati (I told him my grades) - he majored in English at Harvard!
• He lives near me … a suburb apart

The room is filling up …. staff approach him with instructions … time is running short …. I probably will never see this man again!

I tell him .. I had to read something in Freshman English that left a deep impression on me …

Have you ever heard of “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”?

Answer (amazingly!!!) - he had never heard of it.

Question to him - “have you heard of the Great Awakening that happened in Massachusetts?”

Answer - again I am surprised …. he said “no”. I’m thinking English major …. Harvard … Massachusetts ….. and he’s never heard of this?

My time has run out …. now 7:30. Hosts open the meeting …. the U of M marching band march in with much fanfare.

Off he goes …. off to work his gig. I watch his work … but do not talk to him again as he is moving around the ballroom talking photos.

––

The above is in my mind a very feeble gospel-event. i did not open my pocket NT. I did not quote Scripture. I did not share my testimony. But God opened a bridge to point him to one of the most powerful tracts of the 18th century.

[Dave Gilbert]

[Joel Shaffer]

Dave,

on your #1, how are we to be ready with an answer with non-believers if we don’t know them? That takes making contacts and building a relationship with those that don’t know Christ. It is possible to be holy without isolating one’s self from non-believers.

#2, what about the church of Antioch? The Holy Spirit used persecution to scatter some ordinary believers in Christ that were Hellenist Jews to cross ethnic and cultural barriers to proclaim the gospel, disciple those were drawn to Christ into the church of Antioch and become the powerful missionary sending church of Paul and Barnabas. Were they evangelists? Or just ordinary Christians that evangelize?

Joel,

1) It’s not necessary to know unbelievers “as friends” to be ready with an answer, or to “build relationships”. I don’t believe the early church practiced “lifestyle evangelism”, if that’s what you might be referring to. 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 comes to mind.

2) Many people assume they were ordinary…perhaps they were, perhaps they weren’t. IMO, The only difference between a regular believer with the gift of helps or teaching and someone with the gift of evangelism, is the type of gift. I believe based on Scripture, that God gives people the power needed to spread the Gospel where and when He wants it done. By the way, I put in bold part of your last post because I found it interesting…they sent out Paul and Barnabas, who had God’s power on them, but notice in at least two places in Acts that they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to go certain places…as far as we know, Paul and Barnabas were the first far-reaching missionaries to carry the Gospel into that part of the world. People were dying everyday, but yet they were told not to go where they wanted to go, but where the Lord wanted them to go. He had a design for Paul to preach the Gospel in certain places at certain times…doesn’t that seem odd, from a “spreading seed” kind of view?…;)

Dave,

1. I would respectfully disagree. As an urban missionary in Grand Rapids to gang-members and drug dealers for the past 20 years, God has used the process of building relationships, not much of anything else. The Holy Spirit has chosen to use friendship evangelism to bring real converts that were once gang member/drug dealers that are discipling other gang-members who disciple gang-members. Much of the core of our church plant (New City Church) which will be self-supporting this year came from the many former gang members/drug dealers that were radically changed by Jesus!

the hundreds upon hundreds that utilize street preaching and confrontational evangelism in our neighborhoods without loving relationships has resulted in no harvest. In Col. 4:5-6 states “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” I cannot walk in wisdom towards outsiders unless I let them really see my life. The best way to to this is to love my Christian brothers and sisters and love my neighbor as myself at the same time. I do that through having unbelievers over for dinner, going to a basketball game, coaching basketball and football and God has used these relationships to draw many, many to Christ. I wonder if you are confusing descriptive with prescriptive when it comes to evangelism from the book of Acts.

As for II Corinthians 6:14-17, most commentators see this passage in the context of partnerships and associations such as business, marriage, or even cultic activity associated with idolatry.

2. No, they were ordinary. Luke is very detailed in the book of Acts, even at times describing the ethnicity and their names if they were prominent people. Along with the book of Acts, there are many non-bibilical, historical sources that show evidence that the early church (especially from about 100-300 AD grew because the ordinary lay person was not only living a holy life, but they were evangelizing their neighbors, friends, and others within their associations. Michael Green’s classic, Evangelism in the Early Church, documents this evangelistic phenomenon. I will try to respond to some of your other posts tomorrow…….

Dave, you didn’t really address the issue with Jesus being the friend of sinners. Of course it was the Pharisees who accused him of it…but they were the ones who advocated strict and total separation from sinners, just like you!

You say “Jesus is the friend of repentant sinners.” Are you suggesting that all the people Jesus ate with at those meals all repented of their sins and turned to him? If the rest of Jesus’ ministry is any indication, there were many people who heard him speak and who were close to him but who rejected him, so it doesn’t seem possible that all of the people he ate with were “repentant sinners.”

Your approach seems to be very similar to that of the Amish. The Amish live by several main principles: separation from the world, humility/submission (demut/gelassenheit), community, and simplicity. Their “theme verse” if you will is 2 Cor. 6:14. Let me ask you Dave, do you think the Amish are doing an effective job at fulfilling the Great Commission?

Let me tell you about our neighborhood. We have lived there nine years. During that time, we have been in the houses of and had in our house six different neighbor families. We have “hung out” countless times in their driveways and garages (it seems to be a thing now to have TVs in one’s garage—my neighbor has a nicer TV in his garage than I do in my home—so often it involves watching sports). Many times they are drinking but I always refuse. Yes, I have excused myself when they become inebriated and the language becomes really foul (those instances are actually in the minority). Of course, there are limits to our interactions—we are extremely careful about letting our children play with neighbor children in their homes; we almost always encourage it to take place in our home.

And you know what has happened? We don’t get invited to drinking parties or nights out at the bars, but I was the first one my neighbor called when he was arrested and wanted me to help him “get his life straightened out” (of course I shared the Gospel). In fact, I have shared the Gospel with four different neighbor men. Four of the families have come to church with us at least once. I have done two different Bible studies with one of the neighbor guys—we read through the Gospel of Mark together and also went through The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus together. Our other neighbor boy, a teenager, made a profession of faith in Christ and has been regularly attending youth group with my son.

None of this would have happened if we had not befriended them.