When preparing for a message there is so often much left on the cutting room floor. Sometimes it’s additional aspects to the historical context, other times it’s the play on words or choice of language that are just so cool to explore but often lead down rabbit holes and bunny trails that we could very easily get lost in. It’s particularly hard when they are applications and, so often in the passages we study, applications abound!

One application that met the cutting floor this past week had to do with our approach to evangelism! When considering evangelism, a task which all believers are called to be actively involved in, there are a couple of ditches that we, particularly in our cultural context, seem prone to end up in.

On the one side of the road is conversionism, always looking to make converts of those around us. The tendency to lean this way is understandable. We are, after all, wanting people to come to an understanding of their need and place their faith in Jesus. It’s also much easier to quantify our efforts when we see a response, positive or negative. But there are several dangers here. The first is that we can tend to use unbiblical or, at best, confusing gospel invitations. This is most often seen when we are working with children and youth. We seek to elicit an emotional response or say things like, “if you want to be saved then pray these words after me,” as though there is a special prayer or incantation that saves. No, salvation is by grace alone though faith alone in Christ alone and, if we are not careful, we may lead people into a false sense of security or even to place their faith in an act of prayer rather than in the finished work of Jesus. Another danger is that we often come in like a wrecking ball, not concerned for the person or people we are seeking to win or any collateral damage we might cause in the process. The messenger, not the message, becomes the stumbling block. The Gospel is the answer to the questions that our culture is asking but without an understanding of what those questions are our Gospel presentation is sure to fall on deaf ears, cause confusion, or even bring further harm to the cause of Christ. We see this particularly in cross-cultural evangelism and mission work (ask me sometime if you want to know more about our first-hand experiences with this) but we are not immune as we engage our ever-changing culture. The final danger is that our efforts to convert others simply become an effort to win a debate rather than proclaim the Gospel. We forget that there is no amount of slick speech or carefully crafted argument that will convince the dead to live, the blind to see, or the deaf to hear. No, it takes an act of God! Conversion is HIS work, not ours! We must proclaim the Gospel and then allow God to work in hearts. Is it possible for people to come to faith through these means? Absolutely, God does miracles despite our efforts but we need to understand there are dangers here as well!

On the other side of the road is what is often called friendship or relational evangelism, making friends and building relationships so that we can win them to Christ as they see our lives and experience our love. Again, this tendency is understandable. We are called to love God and love others. (Matt 22:37-40) We are called to live our lives in such a way that those around us see our deeds and glorify God on the day when Christ returns (either by their faith, leading to eternal life; or by their unbelief, leading to judgement and eternal damnation). (1 Pet 2:11-12) Armed with our call to love others and live as examples, we set out to make friends which we hope, someday, to share the Gospel with. So often though, someday never comes. We become so invested in these relationships that we forget the very purpose for which we embarked on this journey in the first place. Soon the relationships are the destination and the Gospel has become, at best, a distant vacation spot we’d like to visit but aren’t convinced we’ll ever be able to afford. We tell ourselves that bringing up spiritual things and, particularly, the Gospel would be awkward, might cause strain in the relationship, or even worse cause the relationship to be broken! Then who would tell them about Jesus? But here is the rub; if we love that person, truly love them, but withhold the Gospel then we do not love them at all, we love ourselves. Is it possible for people to come to faith through these means? Absolutely! But relational evangelism done right takes great intentionality, requires a tremendous amount of personal, emotional investment, and will be painful as it often leads to broken relationships! That shouldn’t come as a surprise! In Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus says, “Do Not Think That I Came To Bring Peace On The Earth; I Did Not Come To Bring Peace, But A Sword. For I Came To Set A Man Against His Father, And A Daughter Against Her Mother, And A Daughter-In-Law Against Her Mother-In-Law; And A Man’s Enemies Will Be The Members Of His Household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

So what, pray tell, does all of this have to do with Jesus and the man born blind? I’m glad you asked! As Jesus interacts with this man who had been born blind, to whom He has given sight, and sought out, He comes to a point where He asks the man a question. Jesus could have simply said, “Believe in me!” but instead He asks, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Something we often overlook in our own evangelism is the importance of asking questions. Questions can get conversations started, they give the other person the opportunity to speak or to ask follow-up questions, and they force people to come face to face with reality. When faced with the question, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?,” for example, there are only two possible responses; yes or no! We must recognize that salvation is of the Lord, He changes hearts. At the same time, He has chosen to use us, as we proclaim the good news of Jesus to those around, as an instrument in His work. 1 Corinthians 1:21 tells us that, “God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” While we are busy with the work of proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples we do well to avoid the dangers in the ditches of conversionism and friendship evangelism, but we also must not avoid arriving at the point where we ask our listeners, “Do You Believe?”

Don’t forget to ask the question!

PS: I’ve had several requests for where to get the book, “Growing Up Yanomamö,” by Michael Dawson that I referenced in the message this last Sunday. It should be available on Amazon but if you get it at www.mikedawsonbooks.com the proceeds all go directly to a medical fund to help the Yanomamö people!