Stylos

“…so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar (stylos) and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

An occasional commentary by Pastor Jeff Riddle, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

Waiting on God’s Promise or Going After the Flesh? Some Thoughts on Evangelism

October 2004

In Iain Murray’s biography of the great British Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, he describes a ministerial conference in which Lloyd-Jones was asked about the use of evangelistic methods popular at the time. Referring to his own early ministry in Wales, Lloyd-Jones said:

Conversions came slowly, then the converts were known and they talked. I never trained a single convert how to approach others but they did so…. If our people cannot explain the way of salvation to unconverted men we are deplorably bad preachers….

Two days before Ebenezer Morris[1] died two young preachers visited him to whom he said, ‘If you will live long enough you will see a time when no one will come to the Society meeting. At such time do not try to drag unconverted people into the church but wait on the Lord and seek Him. Don’t repeat the error of Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 16:1-3). Wait on God’s promise instead of going after the flesh.’[2]

These comments leave us to ponder, “Are we sometimes guilty of trying to drag unconverted men into the church?” By this I do not mean that we should not be eager to invite the unsaved into our worship services. But we should be careful about allowing the unconverted into the membership of the church. Haven’t Baptist Christians always advocated the concept of a regenerate (“saved”) church membership? How often do we rely on fleshly methods to “win” men to Jesus? We are able to convince them to “pray the prayer,” or “walk the aisle,” or “check the decision box,” or “raise their hand.” Then, to our surprise, we find that after their “decision” they do not act like believers. They neglect the Lord’s house for long periods of time. They do not cultivate a love for reading the word and hearing the word proclaimed. They develop no heart for ministry and service. They do not “love the brotherhood.” They continue unrepentant in habitual sin. They give little evidence of the cultivation of the fruit of the Spirit.

We lament that our problem is “follow-up” and “discipleship.” We don’t have enough good programs to hook them. We did not call them the last time they missed worship or send them a card when their Aunt Myrtle passed on and their feelings are hurt. The serious question we must ask is whether or not they were ever really and truly converted at all. The problem may not be in our discipleship, outreach, or pastoral care methods but in our evangelism method. Might it be, in fact, that “we” have been responsible for their “decision” and not the Holy Spirit? Have we relied on human methods rather than waiting on the movement of the Spirit? Lloyd-Jones suggests that the best evangelism plan is simply the witness of changed lives. Men who are saved from spiritual death want men who are lost and dying to know the life-giving truth. They also want to live like regenerate men, even as they continually fall short of the mark. Yes, we must disciple them, but we do not have to repeatedly beg them to live like saved men.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied to the nation of Israel generations ago:

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.

At the time Israel was caught between two political powers: Egypt and Assyria. In Isaiah’s day, the Lord was warning Israel not to rely on the assistance of Egypt against the Assyrian invaders. They were trusting in Egypt rather than looking “to the Holy One of Israel” (v. 1) for deliverance. As you might imagine, many a preacher has seen in this prophesy a condemnation of our tendency to rest in human strength rather than in God’s provision. Isaiah intones, “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit” (v. 3). How often do we rely on the flesh of human effort rather than wait on the Spirit?

Let me be clear that I am not advocating laziness in evangelism. We should make the maximum effort to be clear, faithful, untiring, and unceasing in our proclamation of the gospel to all men. We must take Paul’s words in Romans 10:14 with utmost seriousness:

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

But in our zeal to be the instrument God might use to proclaim the gospel and save the lost, we should take care that it is not our effort that produces the “decision” but the Spirit that produces authentic “conversion.” In Lloyd-Jones’ day it was D. James Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion that was all the rage. In ours it is Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. Whatever the times, let us commit to look to the Holy One of Israel rather than merely going after the flesh.

[1]Ebenezer Morris (1769-1825) was a distinguished Welsh Presbyterian Pastor.

[2]Iain Murray, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith 1939-1981 (Banner of Truth, 1990): 707. This is the second volume of Murray’s biography. Part one is D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years 1899-1939 (Banner of Truth, 1982).

Jeffrey T. Riddle
Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

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Stylos

Waiting on God’s Promise or Going After the Flesh? Some Thoughts on Evangelism

October 2004

Jeffrey T. Riddle Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

Jeffrey T. Riddle
Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church