Christmas, Christendom & Evangelism

If a Christian is not vigilant, Christmas can cause him to forget this world is not his home. Songs about Jesus, nativity scenes and statements about the virgin birth abound. It could be easy for the believer to rest on his laurels, thinking these must be evidence that the gospel has reached all corners of the globe! Our society is speaking favorably of God and Jesus, that must mean we've made some headway, right?

Often, we parody the non-believer into a belligerent atheist that hates God. They want anything religious removed from every possibly arena in life. They want to take our children away from us for fear we are "brainwashing" them. However, this just isn't how most of society thinks. Derek Kidner, in his commentary on Ecclesiastes states:

The secular outlook is not necessarily theoretical atheism, but a thoughtless attitude towards a God whose existence is unquestioned but unappreciated.

The fact that the "traffic circle" in our town is adorned with a nativity scene is not a sign of the triumph of Christianity, but of Christendom. Most non-believers can drive by it without offense because they haven't thought fully about the purpose behind the incarnation. In fact, many will assume they must be a Christian because they aren't offended by the display!

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.--Matthew 1:21

Imagine our community with a cross and empty tomb displayed on the property of a municipal building. Why doesn't that happen? Sure, Christmas gets polluted by all kinds of distractions, but we still see many symbols of the Biblical description of the incarnation. Why don't we see those things around Resurrection Sunday? Wouldn't it be easy to display the same syncretism? Couldn't the easter bunny stand at the tomb in awe? Why does our society want to distance itself form the Biblical account of the resurrection, but not the incarnation?

I think there are a couple of answers:

1) Jesus the baby is less threatening than the resurrected Jesus who was crucified and now sits on His throne as Lord of All. Everyone loves babies. Babies are cute. Babies are manageable. Babies are under our control. The Infant Jesus doesn't scare us. He's vulnerable. He needs His mother for His survival.

2) We've removed the blood. The birth of Jesus is filled with reminders of sin. The bloody, painful mess of childbirth serves as one great reminder. The sin offering Mary makes for herself (Luke 2) serves as another. However, look closely at a nativity scene. Mary is spotless and appears fully recovered. Joseph somehow managed to escape the whole event without a mark. Even baby Jesus is spotless; His hair is not matted nor does He show any signs of the stress of labor. And you won't find any filthy rags out back behind the manger, as if Joseph quickly cleaned up the scene. No, it was a silent night, remember?

So a man looks at a spotless, helpless baby and does not find it offensive. In some ways, this is a two-fold tragedy. First, he is often deceived that his lack of offense is evidence that he must be right with God. Second, the believer, who should know better, naively assumes this must mean the man is "on the right track." We assume that since he has not called the ACLU and filed a suit against the city, this must mean he close to conversion!

We must remember that while it is essential to believe that Jesus took on flesh (1 John 4:1-2), this is not the only doctrine a person must accept for salvation. They must see their sin, and that it deserves death. They must see the perfect Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, as their sin substitute. They must believe He died to pay their penalty and that He rose again to grant us life. They must believe this gift is received by grace through faith. In short, they must be driven to the cross; it's purpose, function and reception.

The timeline for conversion can be difficult to spot. We're tempted to create clear lines through altar calls, sinners' prayers and decisions. However, this is even cloudy for how many people have you seen who prayed the prayer, yet never exhibited any form of fruit? Wouldn't you say that the person who came forward to publicly declare he is a sinner in need of the shed blood of Jesus was already saved before he stepped out of the aisle? Our attempts to clarify the moment of conversion have only muddied the waters.

Strangely though, we've done the opposite with evangelism. As a young man, I remember being exhorted regularly on the virtues of "God-talk." While it was labeled "pre-evangelism" it was also consider part of the work of an evangelist. (Catch the confusion there?) So we were presented with the nebulous "1 to 10 scale." The God-hating, ACLU supporting, nativity kicking Atheist was a 1. A genuine believer was a 10. Our task was to simply try to raise every person we meet by a point. (I say it was nebulous because number 2 through 9 were never defined...wholly subjective.) Perhaps the person who agrees to come to your Christmas Eve service, brings a Bible (and their family!), cries during part of the sermon and tells the pastor "that was beautiful" on the way out is a 9? They're soooo close!

But that's not the reality of Darke County (or much of the world, I would suggest). Churches in our community (and some pulpits) are filled with people who bring their Bible, acknowledge the "real meaning of Christmas" and support the view that we were created. Yet they are no closer to the gospel than the tribesman who has never heard the name "Jesus." They're happy with what they've got of Jesus. He's not bloody. He may not be a baby any longer, but He still is not threatening. He's controllable; manageable; and best of all, that means they are still in charge.

"God-talk," like nativity scenes, do not save anyone. They may serve to open the door for us to present the gospel, but until the words of the gospel have flowed from our mouth, we have not done evangelism. Our feet are not beautiful because of "God-talk" but because of the gospel! Christmas should serve as a great reminder of this. There are wheat and there are tares. The point of the parable is that tares look like wheat. Our harvest field around us is filled with people who are saying, "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays." Sadly, we walk by encouraged that they are so close while they walk by thinking God must be pleased with them for they are keeping "Christ in Christmas."

We should realize that our call is to take that to the gospel. Perhaps the believer should think of the holiday as "Crossmas," reminding him that the gospel must be declared for conversion to take place.

Don't look to conform people to Christendom, share the gospel, trusting that the Holy Spirit is looking to convert people to Christ!

Christian & Christmas

My attorney advised me to explain the difference between Christianity and Christendom. Since I'm not sure if he wanted this for his benefit, or to help me avoid any pending lawsuits, I'll take a stab:

For the purposes of this series, I would label Christianity as that pertaining to the genuine Biblical content of the gospel. You could call Christianity the Kingdom of believers. Though secular society prefers to basically call anything Christian that is willing to identify itself as such (evidenced by many definitions--including my dictionary--saying that Christianity is comprised of Evangelical, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox), I'm not using the definition in that sense.

Look, the Holy Roman Empire can label herself as such, but it doesn't change the fact that she was not holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. I'm not looking to identify Christian as whoever is willing to carry that label. By Christian, I am saying that which accurately presents Christ, particularly His death and resurrection.

By Christendom, I mean the culture that can be left in the wake. It may be a culture that is formed by genuine Christians, but I do not believe one has to be a genuine Christian to participate in Christendom. Christendom is removed from the doctrines of the faith and is simply an attention given to the actions of those who may/may not claim adherence to these doctrines.

Christianity: doctrine based

Christendom: culturally based

Can a genuine believer be a part of both? Sure, but his allegiance must always be to the doctrine, not the culture. Can a non-believer participate in Christendom without grasping Christianity? Unfortunately, I think this often happens. By missing the doctrines of the gospel and the necessity of faith, a person is deceived into believing they are a part of the elect simply because they "do the same things other do."

For instance, I am pro-life. I am a creationist. As a believer in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection as my only means to the Father, I believe these are faithful, Biblical perspectives to take. However, I do not believe they are essential perspectives that determine salvation. I believe someone can be born again yet support abortion and denies creation. I think they are wrong, and I think those issues are important, but the person could still be born again. I also believe someone else could be a pro-life creationist and be excluded from the Kingdom of God. Genuine Christianity should be so determined to point a person back to the gospel that we do not count it a victory when someone simply adopts the above perspectives. We want to see them won to Christ. However, Christendom is willing to stop at exterior by-products (some times Biblical by-products, sometimes culturally created ones). They are supporting the same causes, therefore they fit in our culture. I think this can have a damning effect.


I believe the following song is the product of Christian doctrine, not just Christian culture:

Merry Christendom?

About one-third of the way through our study in Ecclesiastes, I truly began to see how much "the preacher" and our community has in common. Here in the "heart of it all" our greatest threat is not mainline groups like Islam or Catholicism. It doesn't appear that well recognized cults, like Mormonism or Jehovah's Witness are gaining any steam either. And yes, you'll occasionally meet the young person who has stumbled upon Bahai or Shinto and thinks they've found something new. However, these people are few and far between, and typically don't even understand what they are endorsing. To be honest, all of the above make such ludicrous claims, and are so naturally inconsistent with Scripture that they really don't pose a threat to take over our community.

No, most people in our neck of the woods are still under the wrath of God due to another religion:

American Christendom.

Now, before you run me up the flagpole as one of those "church bashing" men, (I'd remind you that I too love the church.) notice that I used a word I don't believe has appeared on my blog before. Christendom, not Christianity.

Nothing points this out quite like Christmas. The fury that began a couple years ago to "keep Christ in Christmas" and has grown to cartoonish proportions. (Exhibit A: A site devoted to rating how "Christmas friendly" a retail establishment is.) Christendom encourages us that it is our Christian duty to wish "Merry Christmas" rather than a generic "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays." Every nativity scene is a triumph for Christendom, even if Santa Clause is also looking in on the scene.

Two weeks ago, we loaded up the kids and headed to our local zoo. They have a beautiful light display, and since we have a season pass, opening night seemed a great time to go. From the moment we approached the gate, we were bombarded with rapping elves, giant gingerbread men, a giant walrus (still trying to figure out the Christmas connection there), nutcrackers, Mrs. Clause, a giant Christmas tree, rapping tigers (apparently hip-hop has made a real surge at the North Pole), "real" reindeer and Satan Clause himself. Yet, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, there was also a nativity scene in the old "petting zoo" section. As our family drove home from a very enjoyable night, one of my children said, "I didn't know the zoo was Christian." (We won't even deal with the onslaught of evolutionary theory oozing from the zoo...different post.) Her reflection, since they had a nativity, it has to be a Christian place, right?

Well, no. It meant it was part of Christendom, not Christianity. And at that point, we realized Christendom had snuck in our van and bit our family too.

Now, I'm not opposed to Christmas at all. I love this time of year. As another pastor stated: "I know the whole Christmas thing is not in the Bible, but joy is." This should be a ripe season for Christians to present the gospel and the fascination and awe of the season shouldn't come from flying reindeer, but from the fact that "the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us!"

But there is a lesson to be learned, and the lesson isn't just for how we act during this season. This season shines the light brightly on the issue of Christendom, and it is a lesson we must learn for the sake of lost souls surrounding us. This season allows us the chance to see how most people think of Jesus, and should cause us to examine how we speak of Him.

There are lessons to learn, and there are souls at stake...

Book Suggestion

I don't usually reference or suggest a book I haven't read myself. However, this one came across John Piper's twitter and looks like it could be quite helpful to many in our community and church:

Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic

Standing Up for Truth

John MacArthur was recently on the Larry King Live show again. (I cannot imagine the difficulty of this task; being accurate and winsome in a sound byte culture. All with Larry having the authority to interrupt or change the subject on a whim!)

At one point, the gentleman on the right responds to MacArthur:

Reverend, as a Catholic I'm really offended listening to you. You're so busy looking for specific words in the Bible that you actually miss the message of the gospel. We're supposed to love each other...love ourselves and love each other. And you're really missing the core mission of the gospel.

Click this link to see MacArthur's gracious and accurate response. I praise God that while King had him on the show for a political issue, MacArthur is clear from out of the gate that his concerns are not political in nature.

You and I will never appear on Larry King Live, but oh that we would seek every opportunity to proclaim the message of our Glorious Savior!

The Work of the Evangelist [Preacher]

But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.--2 Timothy 4:5

In this passage, it is important to note that Timothy is called to do the work of an evangelist, though he has not been given the title. Every person should take this commission seriously, realizing that always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence is a commission given to all of us, not a particular office (1 Peter 3:15). As I have heard Voddie Baucham say, "If you want the "lo, I am with you always" you better accept that the "make disciples of all nations" applies to you as well (Matthew 28:19-20)!

So first off, let's get that obvious application out of the way...we cannot excuse the mandate to evangelize to a person or title or giftedness. God has called all of us share the gospel. This is a non-negotiable.

However, it should also be noted that these imperatives should not be divorced from the call of preaching. These flow from the stern charge (a post of its own in the future) to preach the Word. He addresses that this message will not always be received well, and then calls Timothy to be sober, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist and fulfill his ministry. This is not an isolated set of imperatives wedged into a discussion, nor is Paul changing subjects abruptly, for he follows these imperatives with his own testimony. Paul is not calling Timothy to do something he himself has not obeyed. Paul is calling Timothy to continue on in the ministry Paul established.

Being a preacher is a unique privilege. When much of his time is spent in study of the Word and interaction with the Body to apply the Word, he can sometimes feel like he has neglected the work of evangelism. In recent years, all kinds of solutions have been proposed. Pastors are encouraged to do their study in coffee shops, malls or public venues (which may work for some, but could be entirely too distracting for others). Often they are encouraged to join civic organizations or volunteer with local community groups. An already stretched schedule is taxed to the limit. And if study time must be cut short, it must be cut short, for this allows the pastor to continue to do the work of the evangelist.

Certainly, there is nothing wrong with volunteering or civic participation, but if these things distract a pastor from his Scriptural calling, then he must reevaluate. While we should seek every opportunity for evangelism, we must not seek new opportunities at the neglect of our original calling. Paul says some powerful things here in this verse:

Be Sober in all things...
When many consider preaching and evangelism, sobriety is not a word that would come to mind. Exciting, energetic, lively, fun...these are the words we think are necessary in light of evangelism. Life is hard, depressing and difficult. Shouldn't church be designed in a way that escapes all of these things and allows people to take a break from the difficult things in life?

But sobriety is not usually encouraged in the church. To compete with the variety show culture of today, the pastor is encouraged to have a humorous monologue, lots of visual aides and a catchy hook or two. Music should be "kickin" and the overall atmosphere should be full of energy and light. A person can easily stay home and watch TV, so the pastor should seek to make the service as entertaining and pleasurable as possible, after all, it should be worth the drive. This is especially true when the pastor considers evangelism in the service. Often, to get the unbeliever there--and to keep him attentive--the church should be willing to entertain and dazzle the nonbeliever.

But this was not the calling to the church in Corinth. What would be more energetic, exciting and help people escape the pressures of the present than an all out display of the sign gifts? Some may consider it foolish and others may get confused, yet it would at least draw a crowd, wouldn't it? Yet, Paul encourages that the presence of nonbelievers only further strengthens the call to do all things with order and care (see: 1 Corinthians 14).

Our present realities should provide a unique sobriety to our preaching. The pain experienced in life today should remind us of the pain our Savior endured on our behalf. It should remind us of the present reality that such trials will be used to help conform us to His image. Even the encouragement of the last days, knowing God will ultimately deliver us from all this pain should come with sobriety, knowing that such a day will mark of the judgement of those who are lost. In fact, each time soberness is mentioned in the New Testament it is closely acquainted to the end times. (Perhaps drawing an equally interesting trend that many who hold to a slap-stick style of corporate worship/preaching also diminish the doctrines of eschatology...another post to come.)

Evangelism in preaching does not need to avoid sobriety, but rather, it must embrace it.

Endure hardship...
No one should get into the pulpit for popularity's sake. If I desire to be liked by men, I should not strive to preach the Word of God (Galatians 1:10). Though the church should long to hear the preaching of the Word, it will not always be well received. I have had people approach me before a service, informing me they have an unsaved visitor with them, imploring me to "take it easy" on issues so as to not scare the person away. Other times, I have had people approach me, likewise having brought a guest, but desiring that I "really bring the fire" this week. Now, what is a pastor to do if both these people bring a visitor on the same week?

Quite frankly, he preaches the Word and takes whatever lumps come with it. And sadly, some will not like that. When a preacher seeks to do the work of an evangelist, there will be resistance. Some will consider him too aggressive, scaring people away with the confrontation of the gospel. Others will consider him having strayed from the text, for if they cannot find the centrality of the gospel in the text, then certainly it must not be there. People will complain, special meetings may be called, other elders may question it, but the preacher must endure.

For it is not only a privilege to participate in the ministry, but a double privilege to share in the sufferings for doing so.

Do the work of an evangelist...
It's interesting to note that Paul does not say, "evangelize!" or "Do the work of evangelism." The emphasis is not on the purpose or the position, but rather, the duty. The work of an evangelist is quite simply to declare the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. If the emphasis is simply "evangelism" one could be swayed by the audience (for how does one evangelize a fellow believer), but if the emphasis is on "the work of evangelism" then the audience does not matter (for you can proclaim the gospel regardless of audience). In fact, the preacher should do the work of evangelism for the sake of:

1. The preacher. Lest we forget, the Word should be speaking first and foremost to the preacher. No preacher should stand before a congregation and share the Word of God when he has allowed his own heart to be immune to the message. Therefore, any message the preacher preaches should rest heavily in his own heart. The preacher needs to daily remind himself of the beauty and the glory of the gospel message if he desires to see sanctification in his own life.

2. The faithful believer. It is not healthy to move "beyond the gospel" message. A believer is not called to move on, but deeper into it. Paul's letter to the Romans is a perfect model for this. Once he has carefully laid out the gospel message, Paul reminds us that any application comes "in view of God's mercy." If the health of our congregation is dependent upon remaining at the foot of the cross, it is necessary for the preacher to continually lead his congregation there.

3. The chaff. If the pastor tries to tear up the chaff, he could risk tearing out wheat as well. However, the Word is also clear that anytime you gather a group of people together, it is quite likely that false converts are there. They may be involved in ministries and activities that appear righteous, however, if they are not trusting Christ alone for their righteousness, then the works are not seen as pleasing to God. We may not be able to spot who these people are (although sometimes it becomes clear), but we know the cure. They need to hear and receive the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Therefore, even if a preacher believes he knows each person in the congregation, he should still do the work of an evangelist, acknowledging that he can't see every heart.

4. Present nonbeliever. Certainly, there will often be nonbelievers present. How tragic if they come to an assembly of saints looking into the Word of God and Jesus Christ is not revealed in their midst! Paul reminds us:

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"--Romans 10:14-15

The preacher should not be tempted to please the nonbeliever with a practical message that he can quickly apply to his life at no cost. He should not seek to spend his message establishing the common ground he has with the visitor who walked in the door. He should not spend his time appealing to the nonbeliever that if they keep coming back regularly they will find the church beneficial. No, the preacher should exalt Christ. How does he know if he know if the nonbeliever will live to see the end of the day? He has him there, and he should take advantage of the opportunity to speak of Christ.

5. Absent nonbeliever Perhaps point four feels like a moot point, for there seem to be no nonbelievers in the service. The preacher may be tempted to say, "I would preach the gospel clearly if I had a nonbeliever in our midst. I'd jump all over that. We simply never have nonbelievers." I would suggest that it may be because the preacher does not faithfully preach the gospel that nonbelievers are not attending. Ask yourself this question: If my congregation has no confidence that they will hear the gospel this week, will they be motivated to invite their neighbor? Even more pressing: If God is sovereignly calling one of His elect, why would He place him in my church if he will not hear the gospel there? No, the preacher should not just preach to those who are in the room, but to those who should be in the room.

When we understand our call is to the work of the evangelist we understand it is irrespective of audience. We also understand that this commissions the preacher to proclaim the gospel, but to leave the results up to Christ. He is not called to manipulate a person into a decision, or conform his message to what is deemed popular. He is called to declare the message of the gospel.

Fulfill your ministry.
Paul has not called Timothy to an elusive paradox. These tasks are not mutually exclusive. Timothy is to preach the Word. He is to be sober. He is to endure hardship. And he is to do the work of an evangelist. These are not hats he wears seasonally, but tasks he fulfills at once. This is the mark of his ministry.

Certainly, a pastor should seek personal relationships that allow him the opportunity to present the gospel. If he loves the Lord, he will have a compassion for the lost and will seek to reach them in every environment. However, the pursuit of these personal interactions should not exact a cost upon his original calling...to preach the Word. If the pastor struggles to see how the wickedness of Gibeah, David's division of musicians, or the Red Horse of Revelation relate to the gospel, his answer is not to put his Bible down and go mingle with people at the YMCA. He first must study and work over the text to make sure he does not neglect the gospel in the midst of his exegesis, but sees how Christ is beautifully and faithfully proclaimed in the text.

Again, (I find it regrettable that I must offer this retraction so often, but know some will wrongly accuse me of saying such) I am not advocating that the preacher avoid interaction with the lost, and also encourage him to strategically seek opportunities to interact with the lost and share the gospel.

Yet, the preacher is given one tremendous privileged opportunity to do the work of an evangelist. This opportunity comes when he opens the text and preaches the Word. If we miss our opportunity to labor as an evangelist at this moment, we have failed to fulfill our ministry.