Orthodox Evangelism

[Mysterion]

I would like to kickstart a discussion. Should Christians of one particular branch evangelize Christians of other persuasions? If you are Orthodox please share your thoughts specific to the the Church. If you are heterodox then please share your thoughts concerning your particular affiliation. I shall share my opinion as the discussion develops. This is, I am sure, a touchy subject so let us remind ourselves of the ground rules for discussion, and be sensitive to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ when expressing our opinions.

[Soulfyre]

I think you pose a very good question. There is of course a certain presumption among various traditions that the truth of the gospel is contained most accurately in their individual belief system. Among evangeliecals, there is great suspicion of what are considered the excesses of Roman Catholic tradition. And there would undoubtedly be extended discussion concerning the nature of salvation itself. I have found, however, that Orthodox beliefs are largely unknown to many evangelicals.

The evangelical emphasis on the "decision", i.e., the event in which one, realizing their sinfulness, repents of their sin and turns to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, is the touchstone of evangelical belief. It is also an evangelical belief that our salvation may in no way be attributable to our works of righteousness, but only to the efficient work of Jesus Christ in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Hence, many evangelicals become concerned at the concept of merits in Roman Catholic belief, or the appearance of additional intermediaries between God and man other than Jesus Christ (for example, the saints and Mary). As a result, many evangelicals doubt the veracity of the belief in Jesus Christ expressed by many Roman Catholics, and perhaps some Orthodox. Nevertheless, there is not a believing evangelical who would not generally assent to the words of the Nicene Creed.

I question, however, whether the appropriate approach between any two individuals who hold to the "symbol of the faith" should be one of evangelism, per se. I think in most discussions of faith, we are often two peoples divided by the same language. This is not to say that our mutual differences are unimportant. Jesus Christ affirmed that He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." He did not merely point to "a" way. Likewise, before He suffered on the cross, He told His disciples that He must go so that the Comforter might come, who would lead us into "all truth." We should take great care that in an effort to understand one another, we not take the attitude of our secular society, that "truth" is essentially personal, and that Christianity is merely a faith of love and neighborliness in which doctrine/dogma are essentially unimportant and the Bible is merely a good book of "suggestions" on one way to experience a fulfilled life.

If we, in fact, believe in the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to salvation and redemption, then we cannot treat it as incidental in our life or the lives of others. But I believe that we should carefully analyze our beliefs, to understand what we indeed have in common, and what divides us. I would be far more likely to question what a person from another tradition says of Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ asked of Peter, "But who do YOU say that I am?", than to approach them with the marketing methodologies of the Four Spiritual Laws or Evangelism Explosion. It should not be our desire to be "closers" for Christ. Such is not the essence of the Great Commission, which commands us to be making disciples while we are going, "baptizing them" and "teaching them whatsoever I [Jesus Christ] have taught you."

Rather, I believe we should be faithful in our own walk, always ready to give an answer to those who ask concerning the hope that we have. We should be eager to share our faith in Jesus Christ, but this eagerness should also be reflected in our eagerness to delight in the image of God in others. We should also seek to understand what we each believe. When I asked Father O'Callahan of St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral what he believed concerning assurance of salvation, I made it clear that I was not asking this to be confrontive, but because this was my tradition, and I was unclear how the Orthodox Church believed. Having dealt with many evangelicals before, he patiently explained the Orthodox view in terminology I could understand. He did not express doubt in the reality, or "orthodoxy" of my essential belief, but spent time to explain his understanding more fully. The result was a helpful and informing conversation...and I am a catechumen in part as a result of his approach to me.

I believe that part of the evangelical impulse to "share the faith" comes not simply from a presumption that other Christian traditions are either heretical or apostate, but from the revival tradition within Great Britain and the United States, and the later development of "personal evangelism" to the science of mass marketing by Campus Crusade for Christ, with its emphasis on "fulfilling the Great Commission" during one's own lifetime (the "fulfillment" of which being seen as the primary prerequisite to the return of Jesus Christ). While I believe the command to preach the gospel is crucial to a lively Christianity, I believe that "quick close" evangelism is not the manner Jesus Christ desired for us to "make disciples". Evangelical zeal and the desire to study and know the Scriptures is important. It is a gift of God to a Christian church that in many ways has suffered from a hardening of the arteries, in which each Christian is content to get lost in his or her own mystical tradition, and not reach out with both love AND the gospel. But I believe our time could be better spent sharing our common traditions, discussing without rancor those areas in which we differ, being willing to realize that we each have not corner on "Truth" (thankfully), and being open to learn from one another and the Holy Spirit of God. For while we argue, the world and its secular culture careens to a hell of its own making.

In Christ,

Matthew (soulfyre)


BTW, mysterion...by "heterodox" do you mean "non-Orthodox" or "non-orthodox"? The reason I ask, is that while I have come to believe that the fullness of God's Truth lies in the Orthodox Church, I do not consider all those outside the Orthodox Church to be heterodox, per se.

[Mysterion]

Non-Orthodox, I hold the same opinion as you do. It's just a way to differentiate, no accusation of being a heretic or anything. Hope no one is offended. :

[melinky]

Soulfyre said:

"heterodox"

Oh great! Now I have yet another descriptor.

Seriously though, Matthew I agree with you 100%. 'nuff said.

Melinda

[Mysterion]

Just to let you guys know, I am carefully crafting a post. I just got to get through this last week of finals!

[rgrove]

My answer is fairly simple. If I determine that someone has trusted their salvation in anything other than the person and work of Jesus Christ, then I will evangelize them. Their eternal soul is in peril plain and simple. I left a church last year for many reasons, but one of the major ones is that the gospel was never preached. Recently a woman who had just started going there with her husband shortly before I resigned as a Sunday School instructor left. She said the "Spirit" was leading her back to the "denomination" of her childhood. That happened to be the Mormon church. This was an SBC church they'd been going to for about a year. Many there were blindly holding to the unbiblical distortion of the doctrine of the perseverence of the saints called "once saved always saved". Unfortunately many still stubbornly hold to it. There is much confusion there and many just can't accept that there are chaffe in their midst. Jesus promised there would be, so anyone who truly knows the Lord savingly is obligated, in my opinion, to disciple those around us.

How do I begin to determine if a person is right with God? Usually with a fairly simple question. I got it from an evangelism program called "Evangelism Explosion" that Matthew mentioned. I'm not big on programs, but sometimes they have some good insights that do help. They also sometimes have explanations that are better than my own, or show that I'm in error. So they can be handy to read, but that's about it as far as I'm concerned. There are two diagnostic questions, but the one that has stuck with me is

"If you died tonight, and stood before God, and he asked 'Why should I let you into heaven?' what would you say?"

Does answering this question incorrectly necessarily mean that someone is not heaven-bound? Absolutely not. But it is a great starting point for a discussion. I've never had anyone feel that I was being confrontational with it and if someone is genuinely interested in discussion on spiritual things they give serious answers to it. I've found it's also good because it's not a question that someone usually gives a rote memorized response to. It was designed that way, actually. I was going door to door with a brother last fall inviting people to our church. A young gal, perhaps 17 or 18, responded that she'd like to go back to earth and consider the question for a while. She subsequently showed genuine interest in things spiritual so I handed her some more material than just an invitation to our church with a simple gospel message on it. I think the question helped and I truly hope she has given due consideration to her never dying soul since then. I look forward to the weather improving here in the NW soon so I can get out there and invite more neighbors to the church.

Yours In Christ,
Ron