Thursday, October 20, 2011

Glitz and Glitter

If we believe it is the power of God that brings people to Christ (John 6:44; 1 Corinthians 2:1-4; 3:6,7), how should that affect our approach to evangelism? I am not even here primarily talking about predestination and free will, though I am convinced God chooses people (Ephesians 1:4,5; Romans 8:29,30; Acts 13:48). But the question is not God's choice versus our choice but the importance of the cleverness of the evangelist. The problem is that there a tendency to rely, not on even if we are doing it wrong. But some methods are geared to produce false converts). There is also the basic issue of honesty. Are we honoring God when we try to do His work in a questionable way? And in the end, if we follow this path we can become superficial imitations of the world. But we cannot beat the world at its own game. It has more resources and more experience in this area then we do. And if we become all glitz and glitter with nothing of substance, what do we have to offer anyone? But the bottom line is, what am I trusting in? Am I trusting in my clever strategies, or am I trusting in God (Psalms 127:1,2; Proverbs 3:5,6; 2 Corinthians 3:5,6). Because if I am trusting in God, I am more likely to avoid questionable ways of spreading His truth. But if I am trusting in myself, I am likely (perhaps even in desperation) to adopt the approach which seems, at least at this moment, to get the job done.

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