Speaking the Truth in Love:
Practicing Pre-Evangelism
by Charles Colson BreakPoint
Commentary #90909 - 09/09/1999
few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Bulgaria, which was still
in the grip of a Marxist regime. Though the Iron Curtain had fallen,
communist officials in Bulgaria had simply adopted new labels and stayed in
power. While there, I had a chance to bear witness of the faith to the
Bulgarian minister of justice - a fascinating experience that illustrates
how important it is for Christians to understand world views in order to
evangelize effectively in today's post-Christian world.
The minister had heard me contend publicly that the solution to crime is
moral reformation and, as we sat down together, he began firing questions
at me.
"Yesterday you said crime is a moral problem," he said briskly. "Do you
say that in a sociological sense?"
"No," I replied, "crime is a matter of individuals choosing to do wrong --
a moral failure."
He demurred politely. "It seems to me that crime is caused by social and
economic forces," he said.
"No," I responded, "the moral dimension transcends social forces."
Back and forth we went, and gradually it dawned on me that the minister of
justice did not even understand the concepts I was using. He had been
educated within a Marxist system that regards people as merely complex
forms of matter. Everything else--including religion and morality -- is
ultimately reduced to economic interests. The minister could not
comprehend how I could treat moral choices as foundational for human
behavior.
To reach this man with the gospel, I realized that I first had to dismantle
his materialist world view. So I switched gears and talked about Plato,
the ancient Greek philosopher who taught the reality of the spiritual
dimension. I spoke of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the great Russian novelist, who
probed themes of evil and redemption. I progressed to the biblical
doctrine of the Fall, and the reality of moral evil - so much in evidence
in the totalitarian systems of the 20th century. This same moral evil, I
argued, is the real cause of crime.
Gradually, light began to dawn in the minister's eyes, and eventually I was
able to share the Gospel with him.
Francis Schaeffer urged Christians to practice pre-evangelism - to
dismantle a person's false world view before presenting the Gospel. In
today's post-Christian culture, pre-evangelism is more important than ever.
We can not simply begin with the message of salvation, because people no
longer understand basic theological terms, such as "sin" and "salvation."
Our model is Paul addressing the Greeks on Mars Hill. Paul did not begin
with the message of salvation but with creation. Anyone should be able to
figure out that God is no golden idol, Paul argued: Since God created us as
personal beings, He Himself must be a personal being -- and thus someone to
whom we are personally accountable for our actions. Only after
establishing who God is, and our relationship to Him, did Paul preach about
sin and resurrection.
This is the approach we must take in our modern Athens as well.
You don't have to travel to Bulgaria - just talk with your neighbors or the
parents in your kids' school - and you'll find they no longer even
understand basic biblical concepts. We need to learn to how to speak their
language in order to demonstrate that Christianity answers the basic
questions of life better than any other world view.
We need to become nothing less than world view missionaries in our own
backyards.
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
Fr. Thomas Au