As anyone who's been to ACF in the past 3 weeks would know, we recently went out onto campus twice to engage the student body in spiritual conversations that would (hopefully) lead to us being able to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. Here are some of my experiences, thoughts, and reflections on what we've been doing for the past few weeks.
I've heard from many people that they've had the chance to speak to people who hold on to a faith view. These people already have a worldview where God is a part of it (actively or inactively). Sam and I (when we went out) encountered no such people.
We spoke with people where they had already made up their mind about God, that he is nothing but a fairy tale, and that he doesn't exist. God is the furthest thing from their mind because the thought of even a possibility of a God is so insignificant compared to all the other aspects of their life vying for their attention. One person we spoke with said that the purpose of all religions is to help humanity live good lives. Consequently, the holy books of all religions can be seen as "manuals on how to live a good life" and not much more than that.
Sam and I tried to explain that if the Bible were reduced to a life manual that it would be literally impossible to follow. We drew on the example from Jesus' sermon on the mount and took some examples that he used (such as "don't murder? How about anger is like murdering in your heart? You can't do that either. Or you can't even look at another woman with lust, that's a sin - just like actually committing acts of adultery). We presented the alternative that the Bible isn't a book of morals. It is the story of how a perfect and righteous God had mercy on a sinful humanity and (at the grave expense of himself) redeemed humanity to himself (the gospel! We put more detail than just that previous sentence).
Response (paraphrasing here): "Okay. I still don't believe it though. I don't really care about it so I don't give it much thought."
It was always my wish that I would come across someone, talk to them, and see interest in the gospel through the recognizing of their own depravity. Then I could organize a follow-up (since they would actually want to follow up to talk a bit more about it) and then everything would go from there! This of course is not always the case. So why did we have ACF go out and do this (even though it was probably super uncomfortable for everyone and probably not many people wanted to)?
"What am I to do? Can I create the world..? Because that's what conversion is, God speaks into darkness and there is light! It parallels the very creation of the universe - I don't have that power...but faithfully ministering the word of God." -Paul Washer (quote at 1:51)Paul Washer puts it succinctly - conversion, being born again, spiritual regeneration (whatever you want to call it) is a strictly supernatural act. When we think of what conversion actually is - the act by which God makes the spiritually dead come to life, the act by which God takes out your old desires and gives you a new heart with new affections - how absolutely deluded and misplaced and completely wrong would it be to say that I - filth from the bottom of the barrel of the human condition that has only been made clean by the blood of Jesus - converted someone? Or that I brought someone into knowledge of Jesus Christ? Can I raise the dead? As Washer says, Can I create the world [for someone]? The answer is a resounding "no".
What is our responsibility, then? Romans 9 speaks of God's sovereignty and how God has every right to choose his people and that we have none (v11), that God has every right to do what God wants because he is God (v15, 18), and how he does not have to answer to us because he is God (v20). It is a very God-centric and God-glorifying chapter and one might read this and conclude..."then what? God will do everything anyway, why should I do anything? Why should I go out to share my faith?"
As if Paul could predict the natural tendency of the sinful human heart to constantly question the things of God, he answers in the very next chapter. Romans 10:14-17:
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Paul knows of the complete sovereignty of God and the complete depravity of humanity. Yet still he admonishes us to go and preach the good news. Why? Verse 17 states it simply - "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ". No wonder 2 Timothy 4:2 says that we should "preach the word" and to be ready to do so "in season and out of season".
This means to do it even when you don't want to. Let's be honest, naturally, who wants to? To go out, find random people in an environment where we're supposed to be "intellectual", "realistic", "pragmatic", and "tolerant" and "accepting" of every sin under the sun and tell them that there is something better than anything that we see or experience on this earth. But, they can't see it! It involves something that cannot be definitely proven by human evidence, logic, or reason. No wonder Paul says that "the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing...". (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The beauty of evangelism is that God uses the preaching of the good news for the betterment of those whom are saved. Philemon 1:6 reads
6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.Can you see how this is true? We've been having different people share the Gospel every single week at ACF, and for what reason? Repeating and retelling something good constantly reminds us of how good it is. We are weak. We are forgetful. We seek after pleasures that are not God and so doing settle for instant gratification and inadvertently say to God that he is second rate. So let the word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts (Colossians 3:16) so much that the glorious overflow cannot be helped so that we may have the same attitude of the apostles, that "we cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20). This is why Paul finishes his sentence in 1 Corinthians 1:18 with "but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."
Why would Paul describe the word of the Cross as folly? 1 Corinthians 1:17 says "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
If the gospel made sense and if we were all great teachers teaching this perfectly logical, reasonable gospel (all by human standards, mind you), then why would it be such a big deal if people accept it? That's like being excited that someone accepts that 2+2=4.
Rather the gospel is complete foolishness, so foolish that no one in their natural state could possibly believe it. Why? So that if someone does believe in it, we can be confident that it is God who has changed their heart to receive that message. Not anything we do. Why? So God's glory is maximized and we would get none of it and we would praise him fully for his acts of power as he rightly deserves. Glory to God alone (one of the 5 Sola statements of the Reformation).
I hope you find encouragement in these words and that you respond to me through questions about what I wrote or disagreements, or encouragement for me. I didn't get to write down everything I wanted to say because it would be reallllly long if I did, so any feedback would be welcomed. If you've made it through the whole blog post, congratulations, talk to me for an excellent prize.
Soli deo gloria.
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