fbpx
Articles

Why sharing Christ is both easier and harder in a post-Christian culture

/
August 19, 2019

Evangelism is the one topic that is guaranteed to get the most amens in church and yet produces the most fear and guilt in those of us called to share the good news of the gospel. And today, in an increasingly post-Christian culture, the job of fulfilling the Great Commission seems more impossible than it was a generation ago. 

But there is good news for Christians: the same Holy Spirit who empowered the first-century Church and breathed life into every generation of the Church since is still active today. God is not surprised by your Muslim neighbors, your gay co-workers, and your atheist sibling. And he is calling you to be the very announcement of the gospel to them.

So how do we do this? Three things must happen to a follower of Jesus to motivate him to become a bearer of good news in his circle of influence:

1. Enraptured by Jesus

It strikes me that Jesus’ words to the disciples in Matthew 28 don’t necessarily emphasize the “go,” but the word “teach.” Most Greek scholars agree that go is sort of an English construction designed to help us understand Jesus’ words. The emphasis is on the teaching part. Jesus assumed the disciples would go and tell. After all, they’d just witnessed the bodily resurrection of the Son of God. Nobody experiences that and doesn’t tell someone.

In a sense, we are all evangelists. Even the most introverted person can quickly get animated if the subject is right. Think back on your last few conversations. What dominated those conversations? Perhaps a good experience, like attending a conference, going on vacation, or having someone serve you in a surprisingly good way. I’m guessing you didn’t have to be prompted to retell your story to those close to you.

It works this way with negative experiences as well. When you take your car to a repair shop, you are likely to tell five of your closest friends not to patronize that establishment if they don’t treat you well. And so it goes. You’re an evangelist of the things that matter most to you.

The reason Christians don’t evangelize is not primarily fear or timidity. It’s because we have lost our first love. We’ve forgotten the wonder of that first experience with Christ, when his love flooded our hearts, and we were not the same. We’ve moved past the gospel and it’s become as stale as that 15-year-old living room chair. It’s part of the decoration, part of the things we are used to seeing.

So the way back to a heart for evangelism is not another pulpit-pounding message from the pastor. It’s not another guilt-inducing Christian book. The way back is to fall in love with the gospel once again. Because when you experience Christ, you can’t help but tell someone.

2. Embedded in the community

There is an easy tendency among Christians to gather with other Christians. This is good. There is a need for us to develop rich, deep, lasting friendships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Furthermore, the life of the Church, this Spirit-knit unity brings God glory and shows the world a glimpse of the world to come.

And yet we must recognize that if we are to be God’s instrument in bringing the gospel to the nations, we must embed ourselves in the very communities he’s called us to reach. But we must do more than this. We must love our communities and their people.

This sounds good in an article like this, but it can get messy, even challenging our biases and prejudices. Immigration has brought a wave of new ethnic minorities, changing the color and feel of our neighborhoods. It’s tempting to view this as a threat to our way of life, but if we’re motivated by the gospel, we have changing demographics as a Spirit-directed, God-sent opportunity for us to reach the nations. The nations are coming to our doorsteps. Will we have open hands or closed fists?

Our calling as evangelists will also require us to build deep friendships with people who might be living in ways that violate our biblical values. We don’t have to condone sin, but if we keep our neighbors at an arm’s length, if we don’t invest our time, resources, and affections, we’ll never get close enough for them to see Jesus in us. We need to embody what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can’t do evangelism from a distance. Instead, we must commit ourselves to know and love people, to build relationships that lead to gospel conversations. 

3. Equipped with a fuller gospel

There was a time when tried-and-true methods, utilizing a few key verses from the New Testament, were all it took to lead a person to Christ. Most targets for evangelism had a background in church or at least a working knowledge of Christianity. But today, our cities are filled with people hailing from all kinds of religious backgrounds, whose knowledge and trust of the Bible is minimal.

This can intimidate us. And yet I think it presents us a terrific opportunity to share the whole story of the gospel, from Creation to Consummation. Many have an idea of what they think the Bible says and why they disagree with it. But few have actually engaged it’s compelling story. The Bible makes a powerful claim and gripping narrative—one that answers the deepest questions of human life and experience.

I used to be intimidated by conversations with people from other religious backgrounds. It seemed all the tools I had were useless with someone who doesn’t accept Scripture as the Word of God. But once I started studying and personalizing the story of the Bible afresh—the thin redthin, red line of salvation that runs from Genesis to Revelation—I was arrested anew by the fullness of the gospel.

Evangelism becomes a joy, really, when we recognize God’s role and our own role. It’s not my job to convert the human heart; that’s work only a sovereign God can do through his Spirit. But it is my job to faithfully and joyfully share the good news of the gospel to those who have not yet heard.

This we can do, not out of guilt, but from a deep reservoir of grace.

Daniel Darling

Daniel Darling is the Director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a columnist for World Magazine and a contributor to USA Today. Dan is a bestselling author of several books including, The Dignity Revolution, A Way With Words, and The Characters of … Read More

Article 12: The Future of AI

We affirm that AI will continue to be developed in ways that we cannot currently imagine or understand, including AI that will far surpass many human abilities. God alone has the power to create life, and no future advancements in AI will usurp Him as the Creator of life. The church has a unique role in proclaiming human dignity for all and calling for the humane use of AI in all aspects of society.

We deny that AI will make us more or less human, or that AI will ever obtain a coequal level of worth, dignity, or value to image-bearers. Future advancements in AI will not ultimately fulfill our longings for a perfect world. While we are not able to comprehend or know the future, we do not fear what is to come because we know that God is omniscient and that nothing we create will be able to thwart His redemptive plan for creation or to supplant humanity as His image-bearers.

Genesis 1; Isaiah 42:8; Romans 1:20-21; 5:2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2 Timothy 1:7-9; Revelation 5:9-10

Article 11: Public Policy

We affirm that the fundamental purposes of government are to protect human beings from harm, punish those who do evil, uphold civil liberties, and to commend those who do good. The public has a role in shaping and crafting policies concerning the use of AI in society, and these decisions should not be left to those who develop these technologies or to governments to set norms.

We deny that AI should be used by governments, corporations, or any entity to infringe upon God-given human rights. AI, even in a highly advanced state, should never be delegated the governing authority that has been granted by an all-sovereign God to human beings alone. 

Romans 13:1-7; Acts 10:35; 1 Peter 2:13-14

Article 10: War

We affirm that the use of AI in warfare should be governed by love of neighbor and the principles of just war. The use of AI may mitigate the loss of human life, provide greater protection of non-combatants, and inform better policymaking. Any lethal action conducted or substantially enabled by AI must employ 5 human oversight or review. All defense-related AI applications, such as underlying data and decision-making processes, must be subject to continual review by legitimate authorities. When these systems are deployed, human agents bear full moral responsibility for any actions taken by the system.

We deny that human agency or moral culpability in war can be delegated to AI. No nation or group has the right to use AI to carry out genocide, terrorism, torture, or other war crimes.

Genesis 4:10; Isaiah 1:16-17; Psalm 37:28; Matthew 5:44; 22:37-39; Romans 13:4

Article 9: Security

We affirm that AI has legitimate applications in policing, intelligence, surveillance, investigation, and other uses supporting the government’s responsibility to respect human rights, to protect and preserve human life, and to pursue justice in a flourishing society.

We deny that AI should be employed for safety and security applications in ways that seek to dehumanize, depersonalize, or harm our fellow human beings. We condemn the use of AI to suppress free expression or other basic human rights granted by God to all human beings.

Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14

Article 8: Data & Privacy

We affirm that privacy and personal property are intertwined individual rights and choices that should not be violated by governments, corporations, nation-states, and other groups, even in the pursuit of the common good. While God knows all things, it is neither wise nor obligatory to have every detail of one’s life open to society.

We deny the manipulative and coercive uses of data and AI in ways that are inconsistent with the love of God and love of neighbor. Data collection practices should conform to ethical guidelines that uphold the dignity of all people. We further deny that consent, even informed consent, although requisite, is the only necessary ethical standard for the collection, manipulation, or exploitation of personal data—individually or in the aggregate. AI should not be employed in ways that distort truth through the use of generative applications. Data should not be mishandled, misused, or abused for sinful purposes to reinforce bias, strengthen the powerful, or demean the weak.

Exodus 20:15, Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:13-14; Matthew 10:16 Galatians 6:2; Hebrews 4:12-13; 1 John 1:7 

Article 7: Work

We affirm that work is part of God’s plan for human beings participating in the cultivation and stewardship of creation. The divine pattern is one of labor and rest in healthy proportion to each other. Our view of work should not be confined to commercial activity; it must also include the many ways that human beings serve each other through their efforts. AI can be used in ways that aid our work or allow us to make fuller use of our gifts. The church has a Spirit-empowered responsibility to help care for those who lose jobs and to encourage individuals, communities, employers, and governments to find ways to invest in the development of human beings and continue making vocational contributions to our lives together.

We deny that human worth and dignity is reducible to an individual’s economic contributions to society alone. Humanity should not use AI and other technological innovations as a reason to move toward lives of pure leisure even if greater social wealth creates such possibilities.

Genesis 1:27; 2:5; 2:15; Isaiah 65:21-24; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-16

Article 6: Sexuality

We affirm the goodness of God’s design for human sexuality which prescribes the sexual union to be an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman in the lifelong covenant of marriage.

We deny that the pursuit of sexual pleasure is a justification for the development or use of AI, and we condemn the objectification of humans that results from employing AI for sexual purposes. AI should not intrude upon or substitute for the biblical expression of sexuality between a husband and wife according to God’s design for human marriage.

Genesis 1:26-29; 2:18-25; Matthew 5:27-30; 1 Thess 4:3-4

Article 5: Bias

We affirm that, as a tool created by humans, AI will be inherently subject to bias and that these biases must be accounted for, minimized, or removed through continual human oversight and discretion. AI should be designed and used in such ways that treat all human beings as having equal worth and dignity. AI should be utilized as a tool to identify and eliminate bias inherent in human decision-making.

We deny that AI should be designed or used in ways that violate the fundamental principle of human dignity for all people. Neither should AI be used in ways that reinforce or further any ideology or agenda, seeking to subjugate human autonomy under the power of the state.

Micah 6:8; John 13:34; Galatians 3:28-29; 5:13-14; Philippians 2:3-4; Romans 12:10

Article 4: Medicine

We affirm that AI-related advances in medical technologies are expressions of God’s common grace through and for people created in His image and that these advances will increase our capacity to provide enhanced medical diagnostics and therapeutic interventions as we seek to care for all people. These advances should be guided by basic principles of medical ethics, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice, which are all consistent with the biblical principle of loving our neighbor.

We deny that death and disease—effects of the Fall—can ultimately be eradicated apart from Jesus Christ. Utilitarian applications regarding healthcare distribution should not override the dignity of human life. Fur- 3 thermore, we reject the materialist and consequentialist worldview that understands medical applications of AI as a means of improving, changing, or completing human beings.

Matthew 5:45; John 11:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Galatians 6:2; Philippians 2:4

Article 3: Relationship of AI & Humanity

We affirm the use of AI to inform and aid human reasoning and moral decision-making because it is a tool that excels at processing data and making determinations, which often mimics or exceeds human ability. While AI excels in data-based computation, technology is incapable of possessing the capacity for moral agency or responsibility.

We deny that humans can or should cede our moral accountability or responsibilities to any form of AI that will ever be created. Only humanity will be judged by God on the basis of our actions and that of the tools we create. While technology can be created with a moral use in view, it is not a moral agent. Humans alone bear the responsibility for moral decision making.

Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 1 John 2:1

Article 2: AI as Technology

We affirm that the development of AI is a demonstration of the unique creative abilities of human beings. When AI is employed in accordance with God’s moral will, it is an example of man’s obedience to the divine command to steward creation and to honor Him. We believe in innovation for the glory of God, the sake of human flourishing, and the love of neighbor. While we acknowledge the reality of the Fall and its consequences on human nature and human innovation, technology can be used in society to uphold human dignity. As a part of our God-given creative nature, human beings should develop and harness technology in ways that lead to greater flourishing and the alleviation of human suffering.

We deny that the use of AI is morally neutral. It is not worthy of man’s hope, worship, or love. Since the Lord Jesus alone can atone for sin and reconcile humanity to its Creator, technology such as AI cannot fulfill humanity’s ultimate needs. We further deny the goodness and benefit of any application of AI that devalues or degrades the dignity and worth of another human being. 

Genesis 2:25; Exodus 20:3; 31:1-11; Proverbs 16:4; Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 3:23

Article 1: Image of God

We affirm that God created each human being in His image with intrinsic and equal worth, dignity, and moral agency, distinct from all creation, and that humanity’s creativity is intended to reflect God’s creative pattern.

We deny that any part of creation, including any form of technology, should ever be used to usurp or subvert the dominion and stewardship which has been entrusted solely to humanity by God; nor should technology be assigned a level of human identity, worth, dignity, or moral agency.

Genesis 1:26-28; 5:1-2; Isaiah 43:6-7; Jeremiah 1:5; John 13:34; Colossians 1:16; 3:10; Ephesians 4:24