True evangelism

Introduction

If there is sufficient warrant for this book, in addition to the many already written on Evangehsm, it lies in the effort which is here made to place an emphasis upon the fact that evangelism is the service of the whole company of believers, and that when they intelligently co-operate with the Spirit in this work, there is less demand for the modern evangelist or his methods.

What is here written is the result of evangelistic experience and study covering a period of almost a score of years. During this time the trend of the wTiter's conviction has been away from emotional and superficial methods, which are too often thought to be the only possible expression of earnestness and enthusiasm in soul-winning, and toward an entire dependence upon the Spirit to do every phase of the work that has been assigned to Him in the purpose of God.

It is not a pleasant task to offer criticism of any faithful effort in evangelism ; for a sincere attemp

4 INTRODUCTION

to reach the lost, though misguided, is preferable to the spiritual death and formalism which knows no burden or sacrifice for the unsaved. What may seem as criticism has been introduced only where it is needed to emphasize true evangelism by way of contrast. It is intended that this work shall be constructive rather than critical. If some of the difficulties in soul-winning, with the Divine provisions to overcome them, are herein revealed, and any new light shall fall on the exact responsibility of the individual Christian in co-operation with Christ, and that new light be acted upon, the going forth of this testimony in the name of Christ and for His glory will not have been in vain.

THE AUTHOR.

NORTHFIELD, MASS.

March isl, 1911.

Foreword

Your welcome letter from Northfield found me in much physical pain and weakness. The more welcome may I say on this account, for should my brotherly words in reference to your timely volume prove to be my latest, I would be grateful for their occasion. The proof pages read at the early stages of convalescence have been greatly valued and enjoyed. The standard is, as it should be, high, true, clear, and unmistakably loyal to the revelation of God.

Your volume, in my judgment, is of great value. I praise God for your wTiting. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is clearly revealed in the luminous pages of " True Evangelism." I heartily endorse and rejoice in the prominence to the unchanging character of human salvation effected at the instance and by the power of the hving God in Christ Jesus the Lord.

The distinct revelation e:iven from the Word of

6 FOREWORD

God is admirable. You have not failed to " hold fast the form of sound words," which the Spirit of God maintains in the New Testament. These can never be changed, modified, or made to teach the crude fallacies of *' modem criticism," or " New Theology."

Needless to say, you have revealed the cause of much failure in past evangelistic effort. Despite these failures, we will never forget that it is written of the exalted Lord that " He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangeHsts, some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints to the work of the ministry, to the edifying of the Body of Christ " (Eph. iv. ii, 12). That the god of this age will counterfeit the real gifts is certain, the modem sacrificing priest and the mere professional evangelist yielding conclusive proof.

Many years since, in conversation with our glorified friend, C. H. Spurgeon, the question came up, of what our part was, or could be, in connection with the salvation of men, seeing that the fact and glory of their salvation belonged entirely to Christ.

I remember expressing the following, " that real and personal fellowship in the compassionate love and sufferings of Christ in regard to the salvation

FOREWORD 7

of others might yield partnorsliip in that glory which by right alone belongs to Our Lord."

With the structure and furtherance of your theme, as indicated by the titles of the successive chapters, I am in hearty agreement. Your searcliing words in relation to certain phases of modem evangelism, both as to men and methods, should cause deep searching of heart ; nor must we fail to point out what poor *' soul- winners " at best we all are. Our cry must be : " O Lord, be with us, and help us, for \\'ithout Thee we can do nothing."

I

FALSE FORGES IN EVANGELISM

Chapter 1

T^HE Lord Jesus described His mission by the * words : " For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost " (Luke xix. lo), and this concise statement included both His finished work upon the Cross (John xix. 30), and His unfinished work in the world (Acts i. i). While the work of saving the lost must ever be a Divine undertaking, accomplished only through His finished work on the Cross, there are aspects of the work of seeking them which were committed to His followers, and which are a part of His unfinished work in the world.

The work of seeking the lost, like the work of saving them, is in reality a Divine undertaking. It is distinctly stated that the Son of Man is come to seek. Thus He is again pictured in the Parable of the Lost Sheep : " When He hath found it, He layeth it upon His shoulders, rejoicing." It is the " goodness of God that leadeth to repentance," and the whole undertaking of finding lost men is but " the power of God unto salvation " ; for no human effort or service can be effectual apart from the power of God. Seeking the lost is more than a mere attempt to locate unsaved men, for they are present on every hand. The term ** seeking the lost," therefore, suggests a Divine preparation of the unsaved that will bring them into adjustment ^\dth the necessary conditions of salvation.

It will be found, in the course of these studies, that there are successive aspects of the Divine seeking of the lost to be traced in Scripture, and every phase of this work, it will be seen, is undertaken and wholly accomplished by God the Holy Spirit. To recognize these Divine movements and to be ^^illing humbly to co-operate with them is the true basis of all soul-saving work.

While it has pleased God to appoint to His saints (not as a corporate body, but as individuals) a portion in the work of seeking, the human part in that work is not worthy to be compared \vith the Divine. Yet man, who by nature comprehends and measures only visible things, is ever prone to disregard the invisible working of the Spirit, and to place an undue emphasis upon the comparatively small human share in those undertakings.

It is under these distorted estimates of the factors in the work of salvation that those things which may be called " false forces " in evangelism are substituted for the true. What are here termed ** false forces " are, in some measure, God-appointed means in true evangelism. They become false forces only when they receive too much emphasis, or are strained to perform a function beyond that assigned to them in the purpose of God. Thus it may be seen that failure in evangelism is not always due to an entire neglect of some part, or parts, of the Divine appointments for the work ; but may be due to an unbalanced estimate of the relative values of these forces.

This discussion of false forces in evangelism will be limited to three general aspects — i.e., Men, Methods, and Messages.

Men. — By this term reference is here made to a class of men in the mhiistry called " evangelists," and on whom the church has so largely come to depend for her activity in evangelism.

The word " evangelist " is used but three times in Scripture, and but one of these passages is to any i6 TRUE EVANGELISM

extent descriptive. It is as follows : " Wherefore He saith, when He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." ..." And He gave some to be apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ : till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ " (Eph. iv. 8, 11-13, R.v.).

Here the evangelist is seen, with the apostle, prophet, pastor and teacher, to be a gift of the ascended Christ to His church in the world. This ministry gift of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor and teacher should be distinguished from the enduement for service bestowed upon the individual believer (i Cor. xii. 4-31 ; Rom. xii. 3-8). In the one case the servant of God who has been endued for ministry is Christ's gift to the whole church ; while in the other case a special enablement for service is given to the individual believer by the sovereign Spirit " as He will." In this same connection still another distinction should be made, in that the believer, in addition to the exercise of gifts, is appointed to the ministry of the priestly office ; and since evangelism will be found to depend so largely upon the exercise of the behever's gifts and his ministry in the priestly office, a violation has been done to the plan of God, as revealed in His Word, insomuch as the work of evangelism has been taken from the whole company of believers and entrusted to a few.

The evangelist of Scripture is, without question, the messenger to the unevangelized, preparing the way for the pastor and teacher in his more constant ministry in the church. The evangeUst, therefore, finds his fullest Divine purpose as a pioneer missionary to the hitherto unevangelized.

The modem " revival," the work of the " revivalist " who comes under the title of an evangelist, but works as a religious promoter in the organized church, is unexpected in Scripture, except as the word " revival " is used to denote a forward movement in the spiritual Ufe of the church, without including the idea of attempting to regain some spiritual position once held, but now lost. The use of the word usually means, however, a getting up after having fallen down, or a waking after sleeping, or a coming to strength after a period of weakness ; while, on the other hand, the Scripture pre-supposes a continual erect, wakeful and aggressive position i8 TRUE EVANGELISM

for service on the part of every Christian (Eph. vi. 10-17). Thus, it may be seen, a " revival " is abnormal rather than normal. It may have a function when needed, but in no way should become a habit, much less a sanctioned method of work. Having regained vitality, believers are not warranted in habitually returning to an anaemic state.

The re-adjustment of a powerless church into a normal position of fruit-bearing fellowship with God is, without question, an undertaking that is warranted in Scripture. Such a transformation, however, can be accomplished only through a ministry of teaching and pastoral care. Thus it falls naturally within the sphere of service committed to the pastor and teacher whose ministry is not necessarily located in one place since he is a gift to the whole body of believers. Such a ministry may be undertaken by a pastor and teacher who is a specialist in such work, and who may visit the field to temporarily assist the resident pastor in his work. If this adjustment of the church is accomplished, the pastor or special assistant may then " do the work of an evangelist." There is an important possible distinction, however, between being an evangelist by calling, and doing the work of an evangelist as occasion may arise in the pastoral office.

The efficiency of the whole company of beUevers must depend upon their proper adjustment to God in the cleansing and fitting of their individual lives. Just here there is a grave danger lest the church shall ignore her God-appomted work, and the necessary individual preparation for it, and attempt to substitute the wholesale machinery and appeal of the modern evangelist in its place.

The fact that a " revival " is planned for is a confession on the part of a church of a condition which would render the normal movements of the Spirit in salvation impossible. The call for the evangelist, under those conditions, also reveals the fact that the expectation of the church, to a great extent, is toward the man that is invited, rather than toward the Holy Spirit and His appointed ministry through the church itself. The special help of a Scriptural evangelist might be imperative in gathering the abundant fruit produced by the faithful evangelizing efforts of a church. It will be admitted, however, that such conditions do not often exist in the churches : on the contrary, the sincere and inteUigent evangelist must, almost without exception, first do the work of a pastor and teacher by seeking to revive the church itself.

This unfruitful condition of the church has created a great temptation for the evangelist to be superficial in his aim and undertakings. His reputation, and often his remuneration, are dependent upon apparent results ; for many pastors and churches have been trained to a vision of quantity in results rather than to a due regard for quality. If the evangelist understands the Divine programme in soul-winning, and proposes to go to the bottom with the churches, and do a teaching work that he may build the necessary Scriptural foundation for abiding fruit, he may often have to do so against the opposition of pastors and churches. They, expecting a sudden and apparent transfomiation, are naturally unprepared for the extended period of time and the pastoral instruction that is required to accomplish the necessary work. In undertaking a thorough foundation work in the churches, the evangelist would thus be forsaking his owti calling, and assuming the work of the pastor and teacher ; and would be a disappointment to those who had called him and on whom he depends, humanly speaking, for his support. His temptation is to secure the apparent results that are expected ; for it is not natural for him to follow a programme that would drive him entirely from the ministry which he has chosen.

The discussion of the fundamental error of the church in unduly magnifying the work of the evangelist, and neglecting her own God-appointed ministry in salvation, will be the theme of succeeding chapters.

Methods. — Likewise the undue emphasis upon methods in modern evangelism is almost universal. The erroneous impression exists that evangelistic effort should be confined to stated times and seasons, and that belief has led to a far more serious one, namely, that God is only occasionally " on the giving hand ; " whereas the Scriptural forces in true evangelism depend upon the unchanging promises of God, the constant abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the church, and His continual working through the church.

Frequent gatherings may be of unmeasured value in the life of any company of bchevers ; but such meetings should not become the only time of soul-winning expectation. The conditions are most unreasonable when the unbelievers of any locality have come to reahze that to avoid the spasmodic solicitude of the church for a period of a few days is to be free from such appeals for the rest of the year, or for, perhaps, a term of years. That unreality is one of the fruits of an evangelism that depends upon times and seasons.

Again, the false or undue emphasis on methods is disclosed in the evangelist's demand for some public action in connection with conversion, such as standing or going forward in a meeting. Great confusion has been wrought by the intrusion of such public acts into the conditions of salvation ; thereby making salvation to seem to be by faith in Christ, plus a meritorious and more or less spectacular demonstration.

These required public acts are usually justified from one or two passages of Scripture, which are here quoted : " Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven '' (Matt. x. 32), and, " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt beheve in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man beheveth into righteousness ; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation " (Rom. X. 9, 10).

A careful study of the whole context of the former passage will reveal that the passage occurs in a body of Scripture which is primarily applicable to the yet future Kingdom age, and it, like all that truth, bears only a moral or secondary application to the age of the church. Confession cannot, therefore, be made a present condition of salvation from this particular passage.

The second passage quoted above (Rom. x. 9, 10), is perhaps more important, since it falls within the teachings and conditions that belong primarily to the soul under grace.

The force of the positive statement in verse 9, " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved," is explained in verse 10 : " For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." In the latter verse the true meaning and use of the word " confess " is suggested. Of this word in this same passage Dr. Arthur T. Pierson wrote : *' That word means to speak out of a like nature to one another. I believe and receive the love of God. In receiving His love I receive His hfe, in receiving His Hfe I receive His nature, and His nature in me naturally expresses itself according to His will. That is confession. Dr. McLaren has said : * Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel, because the candle would either go out or bum the bushel.' You must have vent for life, light and love, or how can they abide ? And a confession of Christ Jesus as Lord is the answer of the new life of God received. In receiving love, you are born of God, and, being bom of God, you cry, ' Abba Father,' which is but the Aramaic word for ' Papa ' — syllables which can be pronounced before there are any teeth, because they are made with the gums and lips — the first word of a new-born soul, bom of God, knowing God, and out of a like nature with God speaking in the language of a child."

Confession, then, does not provide a reason for salvation, but rather proves its reahty. It is clearly the believer's privilege, and is of no value until Christ has been received and the new life begun.

So with the heart, or inner consciousness, man believes unto righteousness, which is the one condition of acceptance before God ; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, which is but the normal answer of the new-born soul to God.

That these passages do not demand a public act as a condition of salvation is obvious for at least two other reasons. First, such an interpretation would disagree with all other passages of Scripture on salvation, since it would cause grace to be no more grace, inasmuch as there was saving merit in a human deed ; and it is impossible to demand confession in connection with conversion without making it seem to be meritorious, and, to that extent, a frustrating of the whole doctrine of grace. And second, a public confession cannot be a necessity in salvation, since an innumerable company have found fullest peace with God through Christ Jesus, who were deprived of the supposed value of any such action.

Because of satanic blindness to the Gospel of Grace (2 Cor. iv. 3, 4), unregenerate man cannot comprehend the true basis of salvation, and is therefore ever prone to do the best he knows. This is to attempt to work out his own standing before God by his own efforts. It is this natural tendency to do something of merit that prompts many to respond to the evangelist's appeal. It was an expression of sincerity that inquired of Jesus : " What shall we do, that we might work the works of God ? " And His answer then is His answer now : ** This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent *' (John vi. 28, 29).

It may be conceded that genuine results are sometimes obtained even where misleading methods are employed ; but there is great harm done as well. Far too little has been said on this point. Some of these evils should, perhaps, be mentioned.

I. — A False Issue

The leader who has accustomed himself to years of public service can hardly realize the almost impossible task that is placed before the majority of people when they are asked to do some conspicuous act. Such an undertaking, to them, is stupendous ; and while they might be willing to receive Christ as a personal Saviour, they often shrink from taking a public step because of their natural timidity. Thus the real issue is many times subordinated to another ; and that new issue is not only unreal, but is entirely foreign to the all-important question. In this connection it is often urged that the unsaved should be sufficiently in earnest to readily comply with any method or custom that may be employed. But is it not evident, in addition to the fact that such demands are a denial of the doctrine of grace, that they are both unwarranted and unreasonable, since God has provided no enabling power whereby unregenerate people may do commendable acts for Him ? A public confession is a far different task to the same timid person after he has received a new Divine

Life ; for he can then say by faith, and in all humility : " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. iv. 13).

The one necessary step — the acceptance of Christ as Saviour — can only be performed in the secret of the heart itself, by a personal choice and action of the will. This is a dealing with Christ alone, and as the time of this decision is the most critical moment in a human life, reason demands that it should be guarded from every distracting and confusing condition.

II. — A False Assurance

A leader with a commanding personality (and every successful evangelist must possess that characteristic in the extreme) may secure the public action of many, when the issue is made one of religious merit through some public act. Under such an impression, a serious person may stand in a meeting who has no conception of what is involved in standing by faith on the Rock Christ Jesus ; or he may be persuaded to abandon his natural timidity when he knows nothing of abandoning his satanic tendency to self-help, and resting by faith on that which Christ has done for him. The basis of assurance with all such converts, if questioned carefully, ^\^ll be found to be no more than a consciousness that they have acted out the programme prescribed for them.

III.—" Backsliding "

Careful students of evangelism have noticed that where the necessity of public action as a part of conversion has been most emphasized there has been a corresponding increase in the God-dishonouring record of so-called " backsHding " ; and this is natural. The covenant of God is to keep eternally all who are truly saved, and there are no other provisions than the one way of salvation by Christ's willing substitution, whereby God can be just and still be the justifier of a sin-cursed soul. To attempt to " come unto God " on the grounds of a public performance, even with great earnestness, is but to fail, and the misguided soul who makes that attempt when his hope has proven false is the hardest, above all others, to reach thereafter.

IV. — Discredit to the Covenant of God

As has just been stated, the essential and Scriptural doctrine of the eternal keeping by God of every regenerate soul has been brought into discredit and almost lost. This has come to pass through an attempt to reconcile His covenants with " actual experience " in evangelism to-day. It has been necessary to question this otherwise clear doctrine of Scripture to allow for the appalling percentage of failures in the ranks of supposed converts. But when it is remembered that the modification of that positive doctrine, and the forced interpretation of Scripture to that end, has been attempted only by those who have insisted on a spectacular conversion, their challenge of that glorious truth may be set aside without discussion.

Although an innumerable multitude may have been misguided by responding to false issues and have, sooner or later, returned to their own place outside Christian fellowship, the covenant of God is not involved. "He is able also to save them to the uttermost (eternally) who come unto God by Him " (Christ) — Heb. vii. 25 ; He " is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy " (Jude 24). And the soul that believes in Christ " shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life " (John v. 24). Nor can any " pluck them out of My Father's hand " (John x. 29), or separate them " from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord " (Rom. viii. 39).

It is quite possible for a newly-saved person to so misunderstand the forces and habits of the old life and the possible power and victory of the new hfe as to be overtaken in sin and appear, for a time, to be " in a far country " ; yet, if he has ever been in the Father's house as a son, he, hke the prodigal, is still a son, and will therefore be constantly constrained by the Spirit to arise and go to his Father. Incalculable harm has been done to all Christendom by this widespread denial of the grace and faithfulness of God. Because of this denial, saints have been occupied with futile attempts at selfkeeping to the neglect of true service for God, and intelligent sinners have feared to take the Christian's position when reason warned them that such a position would be impossible for them to maintain.

V. — Dishonour to the Spirit of God

The aim of all public demands in modem evangelism is to terminate indifference and hesitation by a positive decision. But this is often undertaken without due regard for the whole process of preparation by the Spirit for the intelligent exercise of saving faith. Thus the all-important work of the Spirit for the unsaved has often been neglected and the Spirit dishonoured in the vain attempt to hasten decisions and to secure visible results.

A true decision must depend upon the action of

II the will of the individual as he is moved by his own clear vision of his place in the saving work of Christ, and that vision must be created by the Spirit. When this is accomplished, there v^ill be little occasion to argue and plead, and methods which are calculated to force a decision will be found to be superfluous ; and any method which is superfluous is usually resented by intelligent people. Such methods create a sense of unreality where there should be a growing reahty.

To send out workers to plead with individuals in a miscellaneous congregation is not only embarrassing to the people thus approached, but is, in the majority of cases, a service which hardens and repels. Forced decisions sometimes follow such appeals. These, it may be observed, are usually premature and unintelligent decisions ; for in such methods there is no waiting for the conviction of the Spirit and no definite dependence upon His leading. On the other hand, the many who have resisted the personal appeal have been hardened or driven away.

Public methods which embarrass any person or class of persons are not only useless but intrusive. There is little gained in inviting all Christians in a public gathering to stand, thus forcing all others into a conspicuous position, causing them annoyance and creating an occasion for prejudice. It is not strange that inteUigent unsaved people avoid meetings where these methods are employed. By adopting such a programme the evangelist or pastor is positively hindering the very work of God he is attempting to do.

Where the spectacular element in public soul-winning is eliminated there is little opportunity to count supposed results, and the test of conversion is taken wholly out of the sphere of profession and made to rest on the reality of a changed life afterwards.

The sincere evangelist who fearlessly judges, before God, every method he employs — judging them as to their exact value or possible harm in their influence on immortal souls — will find that many methods are more a habit than a necessity in evangelism, or that they have been employed in an effort to produce visible results, rather than to create a means by which sin-burdened souls may find rest and peace through a personal and intelligent faith in Christ as Saviour.