Ask Steve:
What's the point of mission?
Last month, Steve argued in responce to the question
‘Do non-Christians go to hell?’ that God judges
everyone fairly, regardless of whether they have been
a Christian or not. Here, in part two of his answer,
he discusses mission and evangelism in the light of
this contention...
Some people have suggested that if people can be saved without hearing about Christ, then that means there’s no point in evangelism and mission, or to becoming a Christian in the first place.
It’s exactly how I used to feel myself. But, the more I stopped to reflect on it, the more I slowly changed my mind. I began to recognise that my unease with God’s graciousness to all those who’d never had the opportunity – for whatever reason – to make a decision to follow Christ, was rooted in something else.
As a teenager I was a social animal. One result of this was that almost every Saturday night, I had a party to go to. I have to be honest and say that I was never really bothered about the alcohol, the cigarettes or the drugs available. But the girls – now that was different altogether! Every party I went to, I’d end up in a corner, just watching couples pairing off. My friends would come back from holidays boasting about their extraordinary sexual exploits. It wasn’t fair.
I remember thinking – why me? If only I hadn’t become a Christian when I was 14. Getting ‘converted’, as far as I could see, had robbed me sexually. Sex was off the menu – banned by God until the day, if it ever arrived, when I managed to get myself married.
If only I had never heard or, rather, had heard a few years later. I’d read enough of those books written by people who’d had a great time – rock n’ roll and loads of sex – and then, when they were too old for it to make any difference (mid to late twenties), had given their lives to Jesus, written their stories and made a fortune.
As ridiculous as all this sounds to me now looking back, it isn’t hard to understand why I thought in this confused way. The ‘good news’ I grew up on was as scary as it was straightforward. As one of our youth leaders used to sum it up: ‘If you were to die tonight without knowing Jesus as your saviour, where would you be then? Don’t take a chance. ’
In the light of this ‘turn or burn’ message, becoming a Christian was a very wise longterm move – it was the ultimate, ‘eternal’ insurance policy. You might be stuck with some inconvenient down payments now (long church services, boring Bible studies, prayer meetings, no fun and no sex), but the future benefits – which everybody who had lived frivolously and failed to pray the ‘sinner’s prayer’ would be missing out on – were literally ‘out of this world’.
The problem with this ‘worldview’ is simple – all the benefits of being a Christian are firmly focused on life beyond death. In fact, the Bible’s teaching has at least as much to do with life before death as life beyond it. Take the Old Testament word ‘Shalom’ which – appearing over 250 times – is shorthand for a kaleidoscopic vision of what this life is like when lived in line with God’s agenda. Shalom is contentment, health, justice, liberation, fulfilment, freedom and hope. It is comprehensive ‘well-being’ and ‘flourishing’ at every level of life on earth – socially, economically, spiritually and sexually!
When Jesus came, he offered this same shalom or as he put it ‘life to the full’ (John 10:10). Jesus believed in life after birth, not just after death. Living Christ’s way is the best way. And, therefore, the Church’s mission must be just as rounded and just as much to do with ‘the here and now’ as well as the future.
As I said last month, the Bible teaches that God judges everyone fairly, regardless of whether they have been a Christian or not. So, why bother about evangelism and mission, or being a Christian? Because to follow Jesus makes sense right here, right now, not just for the future. I’ve discovered that to live for Christ – including accepting the Bible’s understanding of the sacredness of sex and sexuality – is to live the best life; a fulfilled life, a purposeful life, a hopeful life, a redeemed life.
Watch Steve discuss this question on more depth on
Premier.tv
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