‘Go on; go on; go on; in God’s name go on, for if the preaching of the gospel does not save men, nothing will…’ Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 -1892).
They [the young church congregation] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47).
Perhaps we need to reflect regularly
on this passage from Acts and make it the centrepiece of our life as a
Christian family. I draw to your attention the phrase ‘having the goodwill
of all the people’. This was a ‘Jerusalem spring’, predating the execution of
Stephen, when the early Christian community enjoyed reasonable fellowship and
goodwill with the main body of Jewish opinion. It was before the great
persecution that followed Stephen’s death, which brought out the reality of
Jesus’ prediction that Jerusalem always had – and presumably always would –
execute its prophets: ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to it!’ (Luke 13:34).
The period of the ‘Jerusalem spring’ could hardly have lasted much more than
two years, if we assume that Jesus was executed in 33 AD and Stephen was
martyred in 35 or 36 AD.
Nevertheless, the period before the
persecution of the early Christian church was important. It leads us to
consider our method of evangelism and whether the early Christians can teach us
a thing or two. Contrast the words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians:
‘many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them,
and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the
belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly
things. But our citizenship is in heaven’ (Philippians
3:18-20).
Without wishing to denounce Paul for
intolerance towards non-believers (he was, after all, trying to preserve intact
a fledgling church), we might nevertheless observe that in the sentiment he
expresses there may be construed a desire to ensure that Christians keep their
distance from non-Christians. Distance leads to disapproval. If Christians show
their disapproval, or voice their disapproval, how can they win friends, let
alone converts? It’s a poor evangelism strategy as well as an un-Christian
attitude that is being
displayed.
To win over people, you have to
follow a different course of action. We can’t judge people or disapprove people
into a change of belief system and life values. Instead, we have to empathize
with them and love them as our neighbours. If we meet them, if we pray for
their wellbeing and if we inspire others by the humility and authenticity of
our own beliefs and lifestyle, then we may gradually win converts to our faith.
It is not likely to be fast. It is not likely to be easy. It requires our
consistent application. Above all, it has to be guided by God as does
everything else we do.
It should not surprise us that the
so-called ‘prince of preachers’ emphasised our need to ‘believe in preaching
the love of Christ, believe in preaching the atoning sacrifice, believe in
preaching the new birth, believe in preaching the whole counsel of God. …
Salvation by the sacrifice of Jesus is the ultimatum of God. Rejoice that it
cannot fail. Let us believe without reserve, and then go straight ahead with
the preaching of the Word.’
Today we would not place such an emphasis on a single strategy for the ‘winning of souls’. Many churches still rely almost solely on the spoken word to carry the burden of proclamation. However, ‘even in the Old Testament the services of worship involved all of the senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, as well as hearing. Modern learning theory also indicates that the more senses are involved in an experience, the more impact it makes, especially for children. This suggests that the worship experience should be concerned with more than just preaching and music.’ At the very least, worship should involve visual as well as auditory experience.
However, the continuing power Spurgeon’s words, and the fact that although he died in 1892 his sermons are still studied today, should remind us of the importance of proclamation in our worship. Greg Laurie cautions us to beware of ‘dumbing down’ in our services. ‘People and churches’, he writes, ‘develop an appetite for what they are accustomed to being fed. A church with a steady diet of feel-good sermonettes in place of solid teaching from Scripture might eventually grow to become a large congregation – but it will be weak and immature.’ ‘Just because people have developed an appetite for empty calories’, he cautions, ‘doesn’t mean their bodies have no need for nutritious meals... There’s a reason Scripture tells pastors to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13).’
‘Preaching Christ so people will trust in Him. This is
something… people can’t hear enough about. [We all] need the hope, the faith
and the love that is only found in the Gospel. We are not called to give tips for successful independent living, or to offer life coaching team
talks. We are called to preach Christ and Him crucified [1 Corinthians 1:23, 2:2],
that all may trust in Him, know Him, enjoy Him.’
