The
NEW "EVANGELISM"
by
A.W. Tozer
The
new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic
approach.
The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old
life
before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts
but
similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing
that
Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers
the
same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever
the
sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment
is
cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the
religious
product is better...
That
evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways
of
God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the
souls
of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world,
it
intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up
onto
a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat
must
fall into the ground and die.
We
who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public
relations
agents sent to establish good will between Christ and
the
world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make
Christ
acceptable to big business, the press, or the world of sports,
or
modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our
message
is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
God
offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is
life
out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross.
Whoever
would possess it must pass under the rod. He must
repudiate
himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.
What
does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who
would
find life in Christ Jesus?... He must forsake his sins and
then
go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend
nothing,
excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with
God,
but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern
displeasure
and acknowledge himself worthy to die... The cross
that
ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner;
and
the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to
a
new life along with Christ.
To
any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and
private
view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of
approval
upon this message from Paul's day to the present.
Whether
stated in these exact words or not, this has been the
content
of all preaching that has brought life and power to the
world
through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the
revivalists
have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders
and
mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to
God's
approval.
Dare
we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the
truth?
Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the
blueprint
or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God
forbid.
Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.
