PRESENT DAY EVANGELISM
ARTHUR W. PINK
Most of the so-called
evangelism of our day is a grief to genuine Christians, for they feel that it
lacks any scriptural warrant, that it is dishonouring unto God, and that it is
filling the churches with empty professors. They are shocked that so much
frothy superficiality, fleshly excitement and worldly allurement should be
associated with the holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They deplore the
cheapening of the Gospel, the beguiling of unwary souls, and the canalising and
commercialising of what is to them ineffably sacred. It requires little
spiritual discernment to perceive that the evangelistic activities of
Christendom during the last century have steadily deteriorated from bad to
worse, yet few appear to realize the root from which this evil has sprung. It
will now be our endeavour to expose the same. Its aim was wrong, and therefore
its fruit faulty.
The grand design of God, from
which He never has and never will swerve, is to glorify Himself - to make
manifest before His creatures what an Infinitely glorious Being He Is. That is the great aim and end He has in all that He does and says.
For that He suffered sin to enter the world. For that He willed His beloved Son to become incarnate, render
perfect obedience to the divine law, suffer and die. For that He is now taking
out of the world a people for Himself, a people which shall - [i.e., after the First
Resurrection (Rev. 20:
4-6) both millennially
as well as] -
eternally show forth His praises. For that everything
is ordered by His providential dealings. Unto that everything on earth is now being directed, and shall actually affect the same.
Nothing other than that is what regulates God in all His actings: For of Him,
and through Him,
and to Him are
all things: to whom be glory forever.
Amen (Rom. 11: 36).
That grand and basic truth is written right across the Scriptures with the plainness of
a sunbeam, and he who sees it not is blind. All things are
appointed by God to that one end. His saving of sinners is not an end in
itself, for God would have been no
loser had every one of them eternally perished. No, His saving of sinners is
but a means unto an end - to the praise of
the glory of His grace (Eph. 1: 6). Now from that
fundamental fact. it necessarily follows that
we should make the same our aim and end: that God may be magnified by us - Whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God (1 Cor. 10: 31). In like manner, it also follows that such
must be the preachers aim, and that everything must be
subordinated thereto, for everything else is of secondary importance and
value. But, is It so? Take the latest slogan of the
religious world, Youth for Christ. Well. what is wrong with that? Its emphasis!
Why not Christ for Youth?
If the evangelist fails to make
the glory of God his paramount and constant aim he is certain to go wrong, and
all his efforts will be more or less a beating of the air. When he makes an end
of anything less than that, he is sure to fall into error, for he no longer
gives God His proper place. Once we fix on ends of our own, we are ready to
adopt means of our
own. It was at this very point evangelism failed two or three generations ago,
and from that point it has farther and farther departed.
Evangelism made the winning of souls its
goal, its summum bonum, and
everything else was made to serve and pay tribute to
the same. Though the [manifested] glory of God was not
actually denied, yet it was lost sight of, crowded out, and made
secondary. Further, let it be remembered that God is honoured in exact
proportion as the preacher cleaves to His Word, and faithfully proclaims all His counsel, and not merely those portions which appeal to him.
To say
nothing here about those cheap-jack evangelists who aim no higher than rushing
people into making a formal profession of faith in order that the membership of
the churches may be swelled, take those who are inspired by a genuine compassion
and deep concern for the perishing, who earnestly long and zealously endeavour
to deliver souls from the wrath to come, yet unless they be much on their
guard, they too will inevitably err. Unless they steadily view
conversion in the way God does - as the way in which He is to be glorified -
they will quickly begin to compromise in the means they employ. The feverish
urge of modern evangelism is not how to promote the glory of the triune
Jehovah, but how to multiply conversions. The whole current of evangelical
activity during the past fifty years has taken that direction. Losing sight of
Gods end, the churches have devised means of their own.
Bent on
attaining a certain desired object, the energy of the flesh has been given free
rein; and supposing that the object was right, evangelists have concluded that
nothing could be wrong which contributed unto the securing of that end; and
since their efforts appear to be eminently successful, only too many churches
silently acquiesced, telling themselves the end
justified the means. Instead of examining the plans
proposed and the methods adopted by the light of Scripture, they were tacitly accepted on the ground of expediency. The
evangelist was esteemed not for the soundness of his message, but by the visible
results he secured.
He was valued, not according to how far his preaching honoured God, but by how
many souls were supposedly converted under it.
Once a man makes the conversion of sinners his prime design and all-consuming
end, he is exceedingly apt to adopt a wrong course. Instead of striving to
preach the [whole] Truth in all its purity, he will tone it down so as to make it more palatable to the unregenerate - [as well
as to the regenerate!].*
Impelled by a single force, moving in one fixed direction, his object is to
make conversion easy, and therefore favourite passages (like John 3:16) are
dwelt upon incessantly, while others are ignored or pared away. It inevitably
reacts upon his own theology. and
various verses in the Word are shunned, if not repudiated. What place will he
give in his thought to such declarations as: Can
the Ethiopian change his skin,
or the leopard his spots? (Jer. 13: 23):
No man can come unto Me,
except the Father which hath sent Me draw him (John 6: 44);
Ye have not chosen Me, but
I have chosen you (John 15: 14)?
[* In other words Gods conditional promises and accountability
truths - which are being addressed to His
redeemed people today - are constantly being ignored! (See 2 Tim. 2: 3-6, 15, 21;
cf.
1 Cor. 10: 5-11; Col. 3: 25ff.; Rev. 3: 1-3, R.V.)]
He will be sorely tempted to
modify the truth of Gods sovereign election, of Christs particular redemption,
of the imperative necessity for the supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit.
In twentieth-century evangelism,
there has been a woeful ignoring of the solemn truth of the total depravity of
man. There has been a complete underrating of the desperate case and condition
of the sinner. Very few indeed have faced the unpalatable fact that every man
is thoroughly corrupt by nature, that he is completely unaware of his own
wretchedness, blind and helpless, dead in trespasses and sins. Because such is
his case, because his heart is filled with enmity
against God, it follows that no man can be saved without the special and
immediate intervention of God. According to our view here, so will it be
elsewhere. To qualify and modify the truth of mans total depravity will
inevitably lead to the diluting of collateral truths. The teaching of Holy Writ
on this point is unmistakable: mans plight is such that his salvation is
impossible unless God puts forth His mighty power. No stirring of the emotions
by anecdotes, no regaling of the senses by music, no oratory of the preacher,
no persuasive appeals, are of the slightest avail.
In
connection with the old creation. God did all without any
assistants. But in the far more stupendous work of the
new creation, it is intimated by the Arminian evangelism of our day that He
needs the sinners co-operation. Really, It comes to
this - God is represented as helping man to save himself, the sinner must begin
the work by becoming willing, and then God will complete the business. Whereas, none but the [Holy] Spirit can make him willing in the day of His
power (Psa. 110: 3). He alone can produce godly
sorrow for sin, and saving faith in the Gospel. He alone can make us not love
ourselves first and foremost, and bring us into
subjection to the Lordship of Christ. Instead of seeking the aid of outside
evangelists, let the churches get on their faces before God, confess their
sins, seek His glory, and cry for His miracle-working operations. Not by might (of the preacher), nor by power (of the sinners will), but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.
It is generally recognized that
spirituality is at a low ebb in Christendom, and not a few perceive that sound
doctrine is rapidly on the wane, yet many of the Lords people take comfort
from supposing that the Gospel is still being widely preached and that large
numbers are being saved thereby. Alas, their optimistic supposition is ill-founded and sandily grounded.
If the message now being delivered in Mission
Halls be examined, if the tracts
which are being scattered among the un-churched masses be scrutinized, if the open air speakers be carefully listened to. If the sermons or addresses
of a soul-winning campaign be analyzed; in short, if modern evangelism be
weighed in the balances of Holy Writ. It will be found wanting, lacking
that which is vital to, genuine conversion, lacking what is essential if
sinners are to be shown their need of a Saviour,
lacking that which will produce the transfigured lives of new creatures in
Christ Jesus.
It is in no captious spirit that
we write, seeking to make a man an offender for a word. It is not that we are
looking for perfection, and complain because we cannot find it; nor that we criticize others because they are not doing things
as we think they should be done. No, it is a matter far more serious than that.
The evangelism of the day is not only
superficial to the last degree, but it is radically defective. It is utterly
lacking a foundation on which to base an appeal for sinners to come to Christ.
There is not only a lamentable lack of proportion (the mercy of God being made
far more prominent than His holiness. His love than His wrath), but there is a
fatal omission of that which God has given for the purpose of
imparting a knowledge of sin. There is not only a reprehensible introducing of bright
singing, humorous witticisms and entertaining anecdotes, but there is a
studied omission of dark background upon which alone the Gospel can effectively
shine forth.
But serious
indeed as is the above indictment, it is only half of it - the negative side,
that which is lacking. Worse still is that which is being retailed by the
cheap-jack evangelists of the day. The positive content of their message is
nothing but a throwing of dust in the eyes of the sinner. His soul is put to sleep by the devils
opiate, ministered in a most unsuspecting form. Those who really receive the message which is now being given out from most of
the orthodox pulpits and platforms today, are being fatally deceived. It is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but unless God sovereignly intervenes by a miracle of grace,
all who follow it will surely find that the ends thereof are the ways of death.
Tens of thousands who confidently imagine that they are bound for heaven will
get a terrible disillusionment when they awake in hell!
What is The Gospel?
Is the Gospel a message of glad tidings
from heaven to make God-defying rebels at ease in their wickedness? Is it given
for the purpose of assuring the pleasure-crazy young
people that, providing they only believe,
there is nothing for them to fear in the future? One would certainly think so
from the way in which the Gospel is presented, or rather perverted, by most of
the evangelists, and the more so when we look
at the lives of their converts. Surely those with any degree of spiritual discernment must
perceive that to assure such that God loves them and His Son died for them, and
that a full pardon for all their sins (past, present and future) can be
obtained by simply accepting Christ as their personal
Saviour is but a casting of pearls before swine.
The gospel is not a thing apart.
It is not something independent of the prior
revelation of Gods Law. It is not an announcement that God has relaxed His
justice or lowered His standard of holiness. So far from that, when Scripturally expounded, the Gospel presents the clearest
demonstration and the climacteric proof of the inexorableness of Gods justice
and of His infinite abhorrence of sin. But for
Scripturally expounding the Gospel, beardless youths and business men who
devote their spare time to evangelistic effort
are quite unqualified. Alas, that the pride of the flesh
suffers so many incompetent ones to rush in where those much wiser fear to
tread. It is this multiplying of novices that is largely responsible for
the woeful situation now confronting us, and because the churches and assemblies
are so largely filled with their converts explains why they are so unspiritual and
worldly.
No, my reader, the Gospel is
very, very far from making light of sin. The Gospel shows us how unsparingly
God deals with sin. It reveals to us the terrible sword of His justice smiting
His beloved Son in order that atonement might be made for the transgressions of
His people. So far from the Gospel setting aside the law, it exhibits the Saviour
enduring the curse of it.
No doubt
some readers are ready to object to our harsh
and sarcastic statements above by asking: When the question was put, What must I do to be saved? (Acts 16: 31), did not an inspired apostle expressly say, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved? Can
we err, then, if we tell sinners the same thing today? Have we not divine
warrant for so doing? True, those words are found in
Holy Writ, and because they are, many superficial and untrained people conclude
that they are justified in repeating them to all and sundry. But let it be
pointed out that Acts 16: 31 was not addressed to a
promiscuous multitude, but to a particular individual, which at once intimates that
it is not a message to be indiscriminately sounded forth, but rather, a special
word to those whose characters correspond to the one to whom it was first
spoken.
Verses of Scripture must not be
wrenched from their setting, but weighed, interpreted, and applied in accord
with their context; and that calls for prayerful consideration, careful
meditation, and prolonged study; and it is failure at this point
which accounts for these shoddy and worthless messages of this rush-ahead age.
Look at the context of Acts 16: 31, and what do we find? What was
the occasion, and to whom was it that the apostle and his companion said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? A
sevenfold answer is there furnished, which supplies a striking and complete
delineation of the character of those to whom we are warranted in giving this
truly evangelistic word. As we briefly name these seven details, let the reader
carefully ponder them.
First, the man to whom these
words were spoken had just witnessed the
miracle-working power of God. And suddenly there
was a great earthquake, so that the foundations
of the prison were shaken: and immediately all
the doors were opened, and every ones bands
were loosed (Acts 16: 26). Second, in consequence thereof
the man was deeply stirred, even to the point of self-despair: He drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled (verse 27). Third,
he felt the need of illumination: Then he
called for a light (verse 29). Fourth, his self-complacency
was utterly shattered, for he came trembling (verse 29). Fifth, he took his proper place
before God - in the dust - for he fell down before
Paul and Silas (verse 29). Sixth, he showed respect and
consideration for Gods servants, for he brought them out (verse 30).
Seventh, then, with a deep concern for
his soul, he asked, What must I do to
be saved?
Here then, is something definite
for our guidance. if we are willing to be guided. It was no giddy, careless,
unconcerned person who was exhorted to simply believe; but instead, one who gave clear
evidence that a mighty work of God had already been wrought within him. He was
an awakened soul (verse 27). In his case there was no need to
press upon him his lost condition, for he obviously felt it, nor were the
apostles required to urge upon him the duty of repentance, for his entire
demeanour betokened his contrition. But to apply the words spoken to him unto
those who are totally blind to their depraved state and completely dead toward
God. would be more foolish than placing a bottle of
smelling salts to the nose of one just dragged unconscious from the water. Let
the critic of this article read through Acts and see if he can find a single instance of the apostles
addressing a promiscuous audience or a company of idolatrous heathen and simply telling them to believe in Christ!
By the Law is The Knowledge of Sin
Just as
the world was not ready for the New Testament before it received the Old, just
as the Jews were not prepared for the ministry of Christ until John the Baptist
had gone before Him with his clamant call to repentance, so the unsaved are in
no condition today for the Gospel till the law be applied to their hearts, for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3: 20). It is a
waste of time to sow seed on ground which has never
been ploughed or spaded! To present the vicarious sacrifice of Christ to those whose dominant passion is to take their fill of sin, is to
give that which is holy unto the dogs. What the unconverted need to hear about
is the character of Him with
whom they - [and
we Christians] - have to do,* His claims upon them, His righteous demands, and the Infinite enormity of disregarding
Him and going their own way!
[* Because our
God is no respect
of persons in JUDGMENT! See Num. 14: 20-24; Deut.
32: 51,ff.
The nature of
Christs salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a Saviour from hell
rather than a Saviour from sin. And that is why so
many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the
Should
the reader exclaim, I was not conscious of the
heinousness of sin nor bowed down with a sense of my guilt when Christ saved me.
Then we unhesitating reply - Either you have never been saved at all, or you were
not saved as easy as you supposed. True, as the Christian
grows in grace, he has a clearer realisation of what sin is - rebellion against
God - and a deeper hatred of and sorrow for it; but to think that one may be saved
by Christ whose conscience has never been smitten by the [Holy] Spirit and whose heart has not been made
contrite before God, is to imagine something which has no existence in the
realm of fact. They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick (Matt. 9: 12). The
only ones who really seek relief from the great Physician are they that are
sick of sin - who long to be delivered from its God-dishonouring
works and its soul-defiling pollutions.
Inasmuch
then, as Christs salvation is a salvation from sin - from the love of it, from
its dominion, from its guilt and penalty - then it necessarily follows that the
first great task and the chief work of the evangelist is to preach upon SIN: to define what sin (as distinct
from crime) really is, to show wherein its infinite enormity consists, to trace
out its manifold workings in the heart, to indicate that nothing less than
eternal punishment is its desert. Ah, and preaching upon sin - not
merely uttering a few platitudes concerning it, but devoting sermon after sermon
to explaining what sin is in the sight of God - will not make him popular nor
draw the crowds, will it? No, it will not, and knowing this, those who love the
praise of men more than the approbation of God. and
who value their salary above immortal souls, trim their sales accordingly. But such preaching will drive the people away! We
answer, far better drive the people away by faithful preaching, than to drive the Holy Spirit away by unfaithfully pandering to the flesh!*
[* NOTE: To imply, believe, and lead
others astray by thinking the Holy Spirit cannot leave a regenerate believer, (because
of his / her ungodly and disgraceful behaviour, and disrespect of Gods Laws
and Commandments) - is the first step down the broad road of destruction! See Exod. 19: 5; 23: 1, 2; Num. 11:
1ff.
Cf.
Acts 5: 3, 5, 9, 10, 32; Jude 4, 5, 11; Rev.
2; 20-23, R.V.]
The terms of
Christs salvation are erroneously stated by the present-day evangelist.
With very rare exceptions he tells his hearers that salvation is by grace and
is received as a free gift, that Christ has done everything for the sinner, and that nothing remains but for him to believe.
to trust in the Infinite merits of His blood. And so widely
does this conception now prevail in orthodox
circles, so frequently has it been dinned in their ears, so deeply has it taken
root in their minds, that for one to now challenge it and denounce it as being
so inadequate and one-sided as to be deceptive and erroneous, is for him to
instantly court the stigma of being a heretic, and to be charged with dishonouring
the finished work of Christ by inculcating salvation by works. Yet,
notwithstanding, the writer is quite prepared to run that risk.
[Initial] Salvation is by grace, by grace alone, for a fallen creature
cannot possibly do anything to merit Gods approval or earn His favour.
Nevertheless, divine grace is not exercised
at the expense of holiness, for it never compromises with
sin. It is also true that - [initial and eternal] - salvation is a free gift, but an empty hand must receive it, and not a hand which still tightly grasps the world! But it is not
true that Christ has done everything for the sinner. He did not fill His belly
with the husks which the swine eat and find them
unable to satisfy. He has not turned His back on the far country, arisen, gone
to the Father, and acknowledged his sins - those are acts
which the sinner himself must perform. True, he will not be saved for the
performance of them, any more than the prodigal could receive the Fathers kiss
and ring while he remained at a guilty
distance from him!
Something more than believing is necessary to [ones future]* salvation.
A heart that is steeled in rebellion against God
cannot savingly believe - it must first
be broken. It is written: Except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish (Luke 13: 3). Repentance
is just as essential as faith, yea, the latter cannot be without the former: Ye ... repented not afterward, that ye might believe (Matt.
21:
32). The
order is clearly enough laid down by Christ: Repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1: 15). Repentance is a heart-repudiation of
sin. Repentance is a heart-determination
to forsake sin. And where there is true repentance, grace is free to act, for the
requirements of holiness are conserved when sin is renounced. Thus, it is
the duty of the evangelist to cry, Let the
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he
will have mercy on him (Isa. 55: 7). His
task is to call on his hearers to lay down the weapons of their warfare against
God, and then to sue for mercy through Christ.
[* See 1 Pet. 1: 5, 9, 13-17, 22.
Cf.
1 Pet. 2: 1, 2, 8, R.V.)]
The way of salvation is falsely defined. In most instances
the modern evangelist assures his congregation
that all any sinner has to do in order to escape hell and make sure of heaven
is to receive Christ as his personal Saviour.
But such teaching is utterly misleading. No one can
receive Christ as his Saviour while he rejects Him as Lord! It is true, the
preacher adds, that the one who accepts Christ should also surrender to Him as
Lord, but he at once spoils it by
asserting that though the convert fails
to do so, nevertheless heaven - [and His promised earthly inheritance (Psa. 2: 8). Cf. (Eph. 5: 5, 6; Rev. 3: 21, R.V.)] - is sure to him! That is one
of the devils lies! Only those who are spiritually blind would declare
that Christ will - [reward and] - save
any who despise His authority and refuse His yoke: why,
my reader, that would not be grace, but a
disgrace charging Christ with placing a premium on lawlessness!
It is in
His office of Lord that Christ maintains Gods honour, subserves His
government, enforces His Law; and if the reader will turn to those passages (Luke 1: 46-47; Acts 5: 31; 2 Peter 1: 11; 2: 20; 3: 1) where the two titles occur,
he will find that the order is always Lord
and Saviour, and not Saviour and Lord. Therefore, those who have not bowed to Christs sceptre and
enthroned Him in their hearts and lives, and yet imagine they are trusting in
Him as their - [age lasting (Greek aionios)]
- Saviour, are deceived, and unless God disillusions them, they [will have ...a deceived heart that turned him aside, that he cannot deliver
his soul - (from Hades (1 Pet. 1: 9; cf. Acts 2:
34, R.V.) - nor say, Is there not a lie in
my right hand (Isa. 44:
20, R.V.). Christ is the Author of eternal* salvation unto all them
that obey him (Heb. 5: 9), but the attitude of those who
submit not to His Lordship is - We will
not have this Man to rule over us (Luke 19: 14). Pause then, my reader, and honestly face the question: Am I subject to His will? Am I sincerely endeavouring to keep His
commandments?
[* NOTE: Here
the word aionios - is translated eternal in Heb. 5: 9, - unto
all them that OBEY him! and In
John 3:
16,
the same
Greek word aionios is translated eternal life R.V.
- for whosoever believeth! Therefore,
the context where aionios is used must determine
its meaning as either age-lasting in Heb. 5: 9, or eternal
in John 3: 16.
See The
Dualism of Eternal Life A Revolution in Eschatology by Stephen Speers Craig.]
Alas, alas, Gods way of salvation is almost entirely unknown
today, the nature of Christs [future] salvation
is almost universally misunderstood, and the terms of His salvation misrepresented
on every hand. The Gospel which is now being
proclaimed is, in nine cases out of every ten, but a perversion of the Truth,
and tens of thousands, assured they are bound for heaven, are now hastening to
hell as fast as time can take them. Things are far, far worse in Christendom
than even the pessimist and the alarmist suppose. We are not a prophet, nor shall we
indulge in any speculation of what the Biblical prophecy forecasts. Wiser men
than the writer have often made fools of themselves by so doing. We are frank
to say that we know not what God is about to do. Religious conditions were much
worse, even in
What must the people of God do
In view of the existing situation? Eph. 5: 11 supplies the divine answer: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them; and
everything opposed to the light of the Word is darkness. It is
the bounden duty of every Christian to have no dealings with the evangelistic monstrosity of the day, to withhold all
moral and financial support of the same, to attend none of their meetings, to
circulate none of their tracts. Those preachers who tell sinners that they may be saved without forsaking their idols, without repenting,
without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ, are as erroneous and dangerous
as others who insist that [eternal] salvation is by works, and that heaven must
be earned by our own efforts.
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