PRE-EVANGELISM
PRE-EVANGELISM
자료출처 http://www.mannachurchriverside.com/pre-evangelism.htm
Pre-Evangelism is another concept that has captured the imagination of evangelicals. If we are true to the Bible and listen to our culture, we will discover that this is a great waste of our time. Pre-evangelism is the belief that introductory work must be done before the Gospel or the Good News of Christ can be shared. The idea is that only after some introductory education, conviction, belief change, or lifestyle change is made can the Gospel be appreciated and responded to appropriately.
We see this nowadays by fights to put the Ten Commandments on school walls, instituting prayer in school, getting God put back into the pledge of allegiance, and many other examples. The theory is that if we bring a more "Christian atmosphere" to society, people will commit to Christ. This is similar to English missionary tactics that were criticized by the classic missiologist Roland Allen early in the last century. He noted that Indians were taught to dress, act, and even how to do tea time right. Did this advance the gospel? No. Likewise, our pre-evangelism fights, whether under the rubric of establishing a Christian nation or Culture Wars, is ,quite simply, a waste of time at best. It can even harm the cause of the gospel.
What does the Bible say? In John 16:8, we are told that the Holy Spirit convicts because men do not believe. In other words, the work of pre-evangelism is supernatural in nature and origin. I thoroughly believe that we ought to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and not get in the Holy Spirit뭩 way.
How do we cooperate and not get in the way of the Holy Spirit? First, we must listen to people. After all, the job of the Holy Spirit is to convict that person not give us a report about how it was done. People know there is something wrong with their lives and the way things are. We always start at the point where people are. You see, we want people to ask us the Christian question: What must I do to be saved? However, people start with their questions: the ones spoke nto them by the Holy Spirit. One popular song stated that the songwriter needed to break out of himself to resolve his nothingness. That is conviction!!
We have the answers to these questions. However, we cannot force the questions upon the people or we risk impeding the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me give you a practical example. I talked to a young man once who had many questions about what would you do for fun in heaven. At first I thought this was nonsensical, but I noticed that he was serious. Finally, after too long of a time, it hit me that he wanted to know if the Christian life was joyous. This is not a bad question. Who wants to spend an eternity without fun and bored out of your skull. Once that concept got through to me, we were able to effectively dialogue. He made a decision to commit to Christ.
People are prepared by the Holy Spirit. We must be used by the Holy Spirit to dialogue and minister in those areas where they are convicted. As we participate with the Holy Spirit, we will see people commit to Christ and their lives become transformed.
Yes, I would like to see society transformed. However, I thoroughly believe that transformed people will cause culture to be transformed. Our job at Manna is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to transform people.
자료출처 http://www.mannachurchriverside.com/pre-evangelism.htm
Pre-Evangelism is another concept that has captured the imagination of evangelicals. If we are true to the Bible and listen to our culture, we will discover that this is a great waste of our time. Pre-evangelism is the belief that introductory work must be done before the Gospel or the Good News of Christ can be shared. The idea is that only after some introductory education, conviction, belief change, or lifestyle change is made can the Gospel be appreciated and responded to appropriately.
We see this nowadays by fights to put the Ten Commandments on school walls, instituting prayer in school, getting God put back into the pledge of allegiance, and many other examples. The theory is that if we bring a more "Christian atmosphere" to society, people will commit to Christ. This is similar to English missionary tactics that were criticized by the classic missiologist Roland Allen early in the last century. He noted that Indians were taught to dress, act, and even how to do tea time right. Did this advance the gospel? No. Likewise, our pre-evangelism fights, whether under the rubric of establishing a Christian nation or Culture Wars, is ,quite simply, a waste of time at best. It can even harm the cause of the gospel.
What does the Bible say? In John 16:8, we are told that the Holy Spirit convicts because men do not believe. In other words, the work of pre-evangelism is supernatural in nature and origin. I thoroughly believe that we ought to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and not get in the Holy Spirit뭩 way.
How do we cooperate and not get in the way of the Holy Spirit? First, we must listen to people. After all, the job of the Holy Spirit is to convict that person not give us a report about how it was done. People know there is something wrong with their lives and the way things are. We always start at the point where people are. You see, we want people to ask us the Christian question: What must I do to be saved? However, people start with their questions: the ones spoke nto them by the Holy Spirit. One popular song stated that the songwriter needed to break out of himself to resolve his nothingness. That is conviction!!
We have the answers to these questions. However, we cannot force the questions upon the people or we risk impeding the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me give you a practical example. I talked to a young man once who had many questions about what would you do for fun in heaven. At first I thought this was nonsensical, but I noticed that he was serious. Finally, after too long of a time, it hit me that he wanted to know if the Christian life was joyous. This is not a bad question. Who wants to spend an eternity without fun and bored out of your skull. Once that concept got through to me, we were able to effectively dialogue. He made a decision to commit to Christ.
People are prepared by the Holy Spirit. We must be used by the Holy Spirit to dialogue and minister in those areas where they are convicted. As we participate with the Holy Spirit, we will see people commit to Christ and their lives become transformed.
Yes, I would like to see society transformed. However, I thoroughly believe that transformed people will cause culture to be transformed. Our job at Manna is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to transform people.
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