I decided that we should study the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission during the weeks before advent in our Saturday night worship gatherings. I don’t know if anyone else is getting much from the teachings but I have learned a lot through my studies leading up to teaching on each way that Jesus explains how to love God. The lesson about loving God with all our heart was particularly insightful in regard to the current attitudes, from Evangelical Protestants, towards evangelism. In The Message, the word heart is replaced by the word passion. I taught about how we love God through our passions and used 1 Timothy 2.22, which says, “Run away from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace…” In my preparation for this lesson I came across a list of “youthful lusts” in a commentary by William Barclay. He describes impatience, self-assertion, love of debate and love of novelty as youthful passions that distort our passions that can be used for the kingdom.
When looking at the two lists I couldn’t help but think of how Christians have fallen prey to allowing these youthful passion effect how we share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I specifically thought of my class on evangelism at NTS and how I sat through the class with the uneasy feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Once I thought about the specific passions mentioned by Barclay that describe an immature disciple of Christ I realized that these are the downfall of contemporary evangelistic strategies. First we have been taught to be impatient. Reach as many as you can as fast as you can and let someone else worry about discipleship. Second, assert your beliefs on others with utter disregard for their beliefs and convictions. Third, if you can debate and win an intellectual victory your job is done and your opponent must admit defeat and adhere to your beliefs system. Fourth, if it’s new, it’s good. New books, new strategies new ways of marketing the gospel are bought and sold with doubts about the relevance of the gospel when it stands alone.
On the other hand, Timothy is being taught to flee to righteousness, faith, love and peace. This is a better list to work from to understand how we must approach others in sharing the gospel. Righteousness, doing the right thing and giving God and men their due. Faith, being loyal and reliable both of which come from trust in God. Love, the utter determination never to seek anything but the highest good of others, no matter what they do to us, letting go of all bitterness and all desire for vengeance and revenge. Peace, reconciled relationship of loving fellowship with God and men.
How many more people would be open to the transforming power of Jesus Christ in their lives if we followed this wise teaching accepted by the community of faith throughout many centuries, rather than the next evangelistic fad?