ESG Chapter Three, Conclusion
Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 08:14AM Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
This afternoon, we will be finishing up the first section of Chapter 3 and discussing “Evangelism in a Post Modern Age” by Don Matzat.
Chapter 3, pgs. 53-57:
“Such was evangelism according to Paul: going out in love, as Christ’s agents in the world, to teach sinners the truth of the gospel with a view to converting and saving them. If, therefore, we are engaging in this activity, in this spirit, and with this aim, we are evangelizing, irrespective of the particular means by which we are doing it.”
How can evangelism be defined too narrowly?
Section 1 pg. 54
What are some of the ways in which evangelism takes place?
What should be the foundation –the basis—of all evangelistic efforts?
To whom should the gospel presentation be directed?
Section 2 pg. 56
The organized meeting: Packer says there is no trace of such a meeting (of “special sort”) in the NT.
What does the “special meeting” suggest about the effectual nature of the Word of God and its preaching?
Section 3 pg 56-57
“The way to find out whether a particular service was evangelistic is to ask, not whether an appeal for decision was made, but what truth was taught at it.”
We will discuss gospel presentation in light of the Chan video, whether a call for a decision is necessarily desirable, (is a call for a decision the same as a call to Christ?) and postmodernism vs. the truth. That’s a tall order, isn’t it?
Evangelism in a Postmodern Age
Modern Age vs. Postmodern—some definitions.
The Relativity of Truth
"Unlike the modern rationalist, the postmodernist will not challeng the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He will merely say, “Yes, but it is your truth.”
We’ll discuss the concept of truth; what it is and what it is not.
“For the postmodern thinker, truth is relative and emerges out of a specific community or culture.”
How does this impact the truth about truth?
What has been the church’s response to this new way of thinking?
Rationalism to Irrationalism:
Is there any such thing as private truth? Let’s talk about the nature of truth. When objective truth is jettisoned for private truth, what is the result?
Dostoevsky said, “Where there is no God, all things are permissible.” How do the tenets of postmodernism prove this statement?
Some questions for discussion:
How do you go about evangelizing someone who thinks they are a Christian?? Many people think they are a Christian because they walked the aisle, signed the card, got baptized and joined the church. They can tell you a date, but can’t show you fruit.
How do you go about evangelizing someone who thinks that Jesus is just one of several options or a convenient “add-on” to their self-styled religion?
How do you reach them? What is the remedy?
Finally:
“Wherever, and by whatever means, the gospel is communicated with a view to conversion, there you have evangelism. Evangelism is to be defined, not institutionally, in terms of the kind of meeting held, but theologically, in terms of what is taught, and for what purpose.”
Reader Comments (1)
Kim,
Once again I appreciate you doing this!! As I have not completed my reading to this point I'll have to refrain from commenting specifically. However, I was struck by the Dostoevsky quote, “Where there is no God, all things are permissible.”
This really struck me because while we were in Russia our translator shared a little phrase that was common in Russia. The saying was, "If it is not permited, then it is allowed". Rather shocking to my ears and thinking, but it clearly illustrated/reflected how a godless society/worldview adapts and copes without God!
It also helped us to better understand and deal with the various challenges we would have in training our daughters to think Biblically after so many years of this sort of thinking/culture!