Evangelism Then and Now

When you read the Holy Scriptures, and sometimes even when you hear the leaders of our Church, it sounds as if there is a conflict in what is said. On the one hand we are called to love all people but hate our enemies. On the other hand, we are called to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, while accepting that all people are judged by their own deeds and so we should not judge them. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for the early Church to evangelize with such perceived conflicts?

Brethren, to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written. “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So each of us shall give account of himself to God. Then let us no more pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for any one who thinks it unclean. If your brother is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; he who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Romans 14.9-18

Without context and in isolation, this passage can be used to allow anyone and everyone to behave as they wish in the Church. If they serve God, who are we to judge? This is where today’s evangelism is tempted to go. Especially when you consider the moral heading our society is on, more and more feel the Church is out of touch, and therefore things must change. This opinion is held on outside and the inside of the Church. That’s what makes it so confusing.

Are we supposed to hold our Orthodox lifestyle as the standard and expect people to live by those standards? What if members of the Church no longer agree with those standards? This all sounds familiar today, but what was their response back then? For context, we need to remain with Saint Paul.

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

1 Corinthians 5.9-13

From this we gather that Saint Paul, arguably the greatest evangelist of the Church, believed that our standards of life should be enforced inside the Church, but not outside the Church. I believe this was his meaning in today’s passage as well. He said so both to the Romans and the Corinthians. Why not the Americans?

When it comes to evangelism, we will meet many people who do not agree with our way of life, nor the teachings of the Church. At that level, who are we to judge? We do not help the cause by changing the teachings to bring those outside the Church in, nor to keep those inside the Church who no longer agree. Even Christ allowed people to walk away.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

John 12.42-43

In practice, evangelism requires nuance. Repentance is about changing the way we think about life, not about living perfect lives every moment. Christ, and therefore the Church, calls all to repentance and provides a life that will assist us in making the change in our daily choices. When we refuse to change our way of thinking, and demand the Church rather change, we have lost the message of Christ and the Gospel. That is something the ancient Church never did.

From the earliest days, the Church allowed people to walk away if they didn’t believe the Gospel. That didn’t mean the early Church judged them. It only meant that they allowed others to walk away. God is the judge. Unfortunately, today, there is a movement to NEVER allow anyone to walk away when they disagree with the Church. The Church is expected to change, some might say evolve, with the changing tides of society, ‘just’ to keep people from leaving.

What does that mean practically for the Church today? It isn’t a matter of if, but when we encounter people inside and outside the Church who do not agree with our teaching, it isn’t love, to change the teachings to make them comfortable. Rather, we teach the truth of the Church, and love them enough to allow them to walk away. We don’t judge them since that is God’s prerogative.