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a well lived bland life
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Evangelism vs Condemnation: there's a difference
Thursday night I went to the opening Iowa State Cyclones football game and something there disturbed me. In front of the main gates gathered about a half dozen people, some held large banners, and other passed out flyers. The banners held sayings such as "Jesus Saves" or something similar, proclaiming the damnation of people who do not know Christ. The group of people putting on the evangelistic show were not from Ames and probably didn't know any of the students or people they were condemning.
I would to say first that I admire their heart. They believe that what they know to be true is the only way to eternal life, and that all who don't believe in Christ will suffer. They believe that the mere act of not engaging unbelievers goes against what Christ has commanded us to do. Frankly, I agree with them. If what Christ proclaimed is true, then those who don't believe will suffer eternally. For us to not engage unbelievers is wrong. I believe their methods were totally off the mark, however. The good hearted youth who were a part of the group said things like: "You're lazy and going to go to hell, repent and trust in the Lord and he will grant you salvation." My point is that they said these kinds of things to the group of people I was with. Why does this seem wrong, you ask? It seems wrong because I was with the college ministry group from my church. They didn't know whether or not we were believers but they judged and condemned us none-the-less. A good friend of mine told me that when he walked by they said, "It's not a game, its real life" and ended with something like “and your salvation hangs in the balance.” He said he commented back with: "Actually, we're going to a football game, it IS a game."
My point is that I don't believe Christ commanded us to go around condemning people I also don’t think he would have condoned such actions. Especially when we don't know anything about the people we're condemning. As far as the people who went to the game, every one of them could have been believers, there is no way to know. At the same time I won't say that the spirit could not have worked in people as they were being condemned. Maybe someone did think, "Hey they're right, my life is going nowhere fast, and I need to do something to save it". The likely hood that that would produce an everlasting fruitful faith which God desires of us....very low. How much better would it be to create a relationship with someone and get to know them so that they can see the genuineness of your faith worked out in your life and long to have the same in their's? As far as the crowd at the game knew, they were being condemned by people worse off than the sinners they were condemning. Grace is not displayed in our lives through condemning and judging, but through putting in the time and effort to show God’s grace through your life. If you actually cared for a person you would take the time to get to know them and their situation. In a way, what they did is actually a lazy evangelistic technique. It can take quite a bit of effort and strength to stand up and subject yourself to such an immense persecution at such a grand scale; but that’s still easier than having an emotional stake in the lives of unbelievers. Investing yourself in someone else’s life requires years of sacrifice, preaching fire and brimstone at a football game only takes a few hours of being a “martyr.”
Many people, when they see Christians preaching fire and brimstone, are turned off from Christ. They are able to discount Christianity because of the people who claim to be Christians and their hypocrisy. However the truth of Christianity does not depend on how it is displayed. If the Gospel is true, it is true for all people in all places and in all times. Truth is not invented - it's discovered, it is true regardless of who believes it, it is true whether or not you want it to be, it is true regardless of the fact that someone who believes it may be a hypocrite.
Just because the "Christians" condemning everyone who walked through the gates at the football game was inappropriate, that does not dismiss the actual message of Christianity; neither does it dismiss the grace given to us through our salvation. There is truth, and there is truth in faith. Not every faith can be true since they contradict each other. Seek truth, and truth will find you.
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke 6:36-38
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Blando's Blog
Disciple of Christ, Husband, Father, and IT-guy.
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