OK, Ken raised an interesting point yesterday, the fact that many people don’t see personal sin as a problem. That got me to thinking: are the good news only about forgiveness of sin? That is, are we being deceptive when we try to appeal to the felt needs that people have?
The articles that I write for our HopeForLife.org blog are intended to interest non-Christians in what God has to offer them. Sometimes I discuss sin and guilt, but I often address other topics. Those of us that write there write about hope, but it’s not just hope for forgiveness. We talk about things like peace during hard times, community, and purpose in life.
What do you think? Is evangelism mainly about convincing people that they are sinners and need God’s forgiveness? Or is it legitimate to address other felt needs that people have?
[Edit: Let me clarify that I don’t think Ken was advocating “turn or burn” evangelism or anything of the sort. His comment raised such issues in my mind.]
When we look at the greatest example to ever live, it was certainly His approach. He undoubtedly addressed people’s personal needs (illnesses, hunger, fear, etc.). What it seems like to me is that He did such, creating the opportunity to eventually discuss with them the good news of being a part of and living in the kingdom. I hate to sound skeptical; I am not a skeptical person. But I question the reality of thinking we are just going to walk up to people and start parroting “the steps to salvation” and think that is going to be effective. This is not to suggest that it hasn’t in the past. It has worked for me. But is there are more effetive means of communicating the gospel? I think so.
Jason,
That’s an excellent point. Jesus did approach people in a variety of ways.
The gospel of the kingdom does not just address our moral lives. That is the weakness of placing atonement theology front and center in our understanding of Jesus — so much of Scripture falls off the cart.
NT Wright, among a host of others, has suggested that placing Christus Victor theology at the heart of our understanding of Jesus brings everything into clear focus and doesn’t ignore or drop off any bits of the New Testament — least of all atonement theology. Only via a death of substitutionary atonement could Jesus be victorious over sin.
But when we place sin and its consequences at the center of our message, we miss the mark in several other areas.
Nick,
It seems to me that when we focus on atonement, people get a sense of closure once they are baptized. They see it as an ending, rather than a beginning. Seems to me that we should focus on the new life, the new beginning, rather than feel like we’ve finished the race.
Grace and peace,
Tim