Evangelicals evangelise – the clue's in the name. But why do we do it?
For some Christians, the answer's easy: it's to save people from hell. And though there a legitimate debate among Christians about what hell means and about what happens to people after they die, there's no doubt that the Bible speaks about judgment. And salvation, achieved through union with Christ, is rescue from that judgment.
But if that were all we could offer – a benefit that only kicked in once we were dead – it wouldn't be very attractive as a way of presenting Christ. So here are three things we might like to consider when we're seeking to commend him to others.
1. Jesus is true
Karl Barth, the famous 20th century theologian, put it like this: "Here the hidden, the eternal and incomprehensible God has taken visible form. Here the Almighty is mighty in a quite definite, particular, earthly happening. Here the creator has become creature and therefore objective reality."
That means that God became human. He came to earth as Jesus and in no other way. When we want to know him, we look at Jesus.
As the controversial Bishop of Durham David Jenkins, who died earlier this week, said: "God is, and he is as he is in Jesus. Therefore we have hope."
We can and should be deeply respectful of other faiths. But Christianity makes a unique truth-claim: that God was incarnate in Christ.
2. Church is good for us
We don't always think so, and if we've been coming to church for any length of time we will be fully aware of its drawbacks. Not everyone is kind, generous and loving. We rebel sometimes against the demands of the community. Sometimes it infuriates us.
But more often it is a place where we find peace, and where we find God. Meeting week by week with others who care for us and value us helps us grow. We learn from them and they learn from us. They teach us to be less selfish. We become better people. In the slow, years-long process of discipleship we become more Christlike.
3. Jesus people make a difference
In 2009 an advertising campaign was launched to put atheist slogans on the side of London buses. It caught on, and instead of the £5,500 target it raised more than £150,000 and the posters ran all over the UK. The slogan was: "There's probably no God. So stop worrying and enjoy your life."
Well, fair enough. But Christians take a different view. We're deeply aware of the poverty, injustice and evil in the world. We don't want just to ignore it and selfishly enjoy our lives, we want to do something about it. When we become followers of Christ, we sign up to his agenda of healing the sick, feeding the hungry and resisting the powerful. Believing in Christ doesn't make us worry or stop us enjoying life. But it does give us a purpose to live and die for.
When we present Christ to people, we're offering much more than pie in the sky when they die. We're offering them hope, meaning and purpose today.
Mark Woods is the author of Does the Bible really say that? Challenging our assumptions in the light of Scripture (Lion, £8.99). Follow him on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
