EVANGELISM AND SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT: TEXT AND CONTEXT

[Editors Note: This is the fourth installment of a 5-part series from collective member Tim Chester on the relationship of Evangelism and Social Involvement.  This has been adapted from his book Good News to the Poor, IVP, 2004.  Availabe in the UK here and in the US here.]

Text and context

The relationship between evangelism and social action can be thought of as the relationship between text and context. The first rule for reading the Bible is to look at the context. If you want to understand a text (a word, a phrase, a paragraph or a story) you need to understand it in the light of its wider context. In fact that is true of all texts. Consider the following statement: ‘I’m mad about my car’. The word ‘mad’ could mean enthusiastic and excited or it could mean angry and annoyed. Taken on its own the statement is unclear. But add a bit of context and it becomes clearer: ‘I’m mad about my car; it was stolen from right outside my house’. Context clarifies a text. It can even alter what we originally thought it meant. Texts only truly make sense in a context.

The same is true of the gospel message. The ‘text’ of the gospel message is heard by people in a context. It is not a question of whether it should be or not. It always is. Whenever you share the gospel with someone they will understand it within a certain context. Our text – the message we proclaim – will be interpreted by the context of our lives and our life together as Christian communities. Proclamation cannot take place apart from a context. The question is whether that context matches the message of the transforming grace of Jesus Christ.

If you talk about God’s grace while constantly being legalistic about other people’s lifestyles then you should not be surprised if you are misunderstood. People will think the gospel is about adherence to rules and norms. Nor will you be understood if you talk about God’s love while you exhibit bitterness and envy. Jesus does not simply tell Zacchaeus that God graciously accepts the lost (Luke 19:1-10). He embodies that message in his request to eat with Zacchaeus. He expresses the inclusion of God’s grace by sharing a table with Zacchaeus. His actions reinforce and embody his message that ‘the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost’ (Luke 19:10).

Peter says in his first letter: ‘But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ (1 Peter 3:15) Commenting on this, Jim Wallis says:

Evangelism in our day has largely become a packaged production, a mass-marketed experience in which evangelists strain to answer that question which nobody is asking. modern evangelists must go through endless contortions to convince people that they are missing something that Christians have. Without the visible witness of a distinct style of life, evangelists must become aggressive and gimmicky, their methods reduced to salesmanship and showmanship. Evangelism often becomes a special activity awkwardly conducted … instead of being a simple testimony rising out of a community whose life together invites questions from the surrounding society. When the life of the church no longer raises any questions, evangelism degenerates.[1]

When the context of our lives does not match the text of our message we should not be surprised if evangelism becomes hard work. In contrast, I want to suggest there are two contexts that best enable people to understand the message of the gospel: loving actions and loving community.

1. loving actions

The context that properly interprets the gospel message is love. In our love for the ‘other’ – especially the marginalized – we model the grace of God. We all recognise this at an individual level. Even those who deny the place of Christian social action still want Christians to live godly lives. They do not suppose that godly living is a distraction from the task of proclaiming the gospel. Quite the opposite. Godly lives commend the gospel. Paul tells Titus how he is to teach slaves to live ‘so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive’ (Titus 2:10). In the same way the good works of social action commend the gospel. Peter says: ‘Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us’ (1 Peter 2:12). Part of the problem is that we read the Bible with our Western individualistic glasses on. It is not just my private life that adorns the gospel, it is also my public life. It is not just what individual Christians do, but how the Christian community lives. 

2. loving community

Jesus said: ‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:34-35) How will people see the gospel at work in this world? How will people know that Jesus is from God (John 17:23)? Through the life of the Christian community. Lesslie Newbigin describes the congregation as ‘the hermeneutic of the gospel’.[2] In my experience people are often attracted to the Christian community before they are attracted to the Christian message. This means we must ensure unbelievers experience the church as a caring, inclusive community. And that does not just mean a warm handshake on the door – it means drawing people into the network of relationships that make up the church. It means ensuring that your unbelieving friends meet your Christian friends so they can observe how you relate to one another. The church must be a community of gospel people, not something you attend on Sunday.

Reminding them of his ministry among them, Paul writes to the Thessalonians: ‘We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us’ (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Paul shared both the gospel and his life with people – word and life together. Yet often we divide into those who share the gospel without sharing our lives and those who share our lives without sharing the gospel. Some engage in cold evangelism outside the context of a relationship. Others form deep relationships with people, but never have the courage to challenge them with the claims of the gospel.