Saturday, May 31, 2008

Evangelism...yes! Conditional Salvation...No!

Yesterday I saw an interesting site which I wish I could have taken a picture of.

As I was driving on Highway 20 headed home, I passed a van pulled off the side of the road. The van was in the driveway of a business and was angled so the side of the van was facing traffic. There was a banner hanging on the side of the van...which I don't know what it said. There was a man sitting in a chair next to the van holding a sign. The sign said "Christ Acceptance Center" and had an arrow pointing to an abandoned business building.  (I passed this guy during rush hour on a Friday evening and the road was packed.)

My first thoughts were "I didn't just see that...and I must have read that sign wrong". My next thought was "quick...where is the camera?" which I realized was out of reach in the truck. As I sat in traffic pondering that site many thoughts ran through my head. I am all for evangelism, but I am against conditional salvation like this scene implied. The Bible tells us that God expects us to share our faith in a way that makes a positive difference in the lives of others. He tells us to go out into all the world and make disciples. Making disciples is a process and requires a relationship. Its modeling a life that earns the right to share. What I saw this Friday was an image that said a person needed to go to this little building to accept Christ. How far from the truth that is.

We all have tremendous opportunities to share the life changing truth of Christ with others. The most powerful message is through our life...some may call this lifestyle evangelism. The testimony of our life lived out should clearly shout "I was once...______, but now I'm _______". You fill in the blanks. You know who you were without Christ and you know who you are today if you have an authentic relationship with Christ...and the two should be different!

We also worship and proclaim Christ through giving our best in all we do. I  have to stop and ask myself if I am worshiping and proclaiming Christ in:

  • my family life...the way I encourage, support and lead my family
  • my work life...the way I conduct business with my customers, vendors, co-workers and employees
  • my social life...the way I act, talk and live everyday...even when I think nobody is watching
  • my church life...the way I serve and share

Through all these things...let them be done with excellence.

Let me close with one of my favorite songs which sum it all up...All Because of Jesus by Steve Fee.

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