I should probably start with this disclaimer – if you’re looking for part one, you might have a little trouble finding it. Rather than being a literal follow-up to an introductory article, this piece is simply the figurative next step in a discussion with which we’ve all long been familiar. Most of us can probably remember hearing lessons about not judging people by the way they look or how they come across before we really get to know them. We’re not supposed to “judge a book by its cover.”
But I think Christians should take it a step further. There’s a certain type of book-cover-judging we can be guilty of engaging in, and it’s time we make a change.
What’s the other way we judge “books” by their covers, or judge them unfairly? When we make decisions as to whether or not a certain type of person would want to hear the Gospel, be receptive to the Gospel, or would require too much change (thus making them an unrealistic prospect for Christianity), we display sinful pride and view people in a way God never intended. So many times it’s a subconscious thing, but it’s something that’s not all that uncommon. I suspect it stems from the apprehension most of us face when it comes to evangelism, but there’s not one excuse we can make that can justify keeping the Good News of Jesus Christ to ourselves, and it’s even worse when that excuse turns into a somewhat self-righteous assessment of the people around us. All three of these excuses feel legitimate, but they only end in us shrinking back from proclaiming God’s Word to a world that desperately needs it.
First – the type of people who “probably don’t want to hear about Jesus.” If you’re like me, you’ve probably had this thought go through your head. You happen to meet a person, like a waiter at a restaurant or someone who comes into your place of work. You spend a brief amount of time around him, find out a thing or two about him, and then you find out that detail about his life. He’s an atheist. Or, in a similar situation, she’s a homosexual. Or, he’s a very wealthy guy who seems to have no time for religion or spirituality. The easiest thing to do is to assume that they don’t want to hear about Jesus Christ. That assumption may be right, or it may be wrong. That’s not the point. The point is for us to find out if they want to hear about Jesus Christ. It’s a worn out church cliché, but it’s true – we are to be seed sowers, not soil testers (Matthew 13). We have the only thing they’ll ever truly need in life. Let’s let them make the decision as to whether or not they want it.
Second – the type of people who “might listen, but they’re not going to be receptive.” Consider your denominational friend, or your cousin who is a part of the local community church. They might talk about Jesus, prayer, or church happenings with you frequently, but it doesn’t seem like they really want to change what they’re doing when it comes to doctrine. It’s hard to shake someone’s faith, and it’s difficult to try to convince them that they aren’t doing what the Bible says. There is a modern-day stigma on the type of Christian who thinks other Bible believers have misunderstood salvation and stand in danger of the judgment. In an effort not to be that guy, the easiest thing for us to do is make the judgment that they wouldn’t be receptive even if we tried to correct their religious error. Thank goodness Priscilla and Aquila didn’t take that approach with Apollos in Acts 18 or Paul with the Judaizers at Galatia.
Third – the type of people who would “require too much change.” This is the one that spurred this article, as a thought along these lines came into my head and I immediately had to reverse my line of thinking. Consider the average person, living without Jesus. Maybe he drinks or does drugs. Maybe she is living in a marriage counted as adultery by God’s Word. Maybe he has a problem with pornography or fornication that is a big part of his lifestyle. Maybe he/she does all of those things. It’s too easy to look at people and say “maybe I could talk them into the steps of salvation up to baptism, but there’s no way they’re going to want to give all of that up and pursue righteousness.” There are two massive problems with this view. First, it diminishes my own sins. If God’s love and Jesus’ blood can overcome the chasm that my sins created between me and Him, it’s good enough to do so for anyone. Second, it emphasizes man’s role in conversion and transformation. We don’t become like Christ by doing good things or treating the Bible as a “how to be holy” manual. We become like Christ simply by submitting and laying it all at His feet so He can fill us with His Spirit. It’s by that power that we are transformed from the old man of sin into the new man created to walk in righteousness (Romans 8:1-4).
If you’re going to judge a book by its cover when it comes to evangelism, judge him/her in this way – “Here’s what I know about this person: They have sin in their lives, God’s justice demands payment for it, and Jesus loved them enough to die for them.” Those are the only judgments we need to be making before deciding whether or not to share the Gospel with someone. That makes the decision a whole lot easier, doesn’t it? No more excuses and no more disqualifying people who need Jesus. It’s our job to take the Gospel to ALL of creation (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16). Let’s write a part three to this timeless discussion through our actions – the part where people judge the church as a book by its cover, seeing only an evangelistic group of people who love others and care only about souls.
By Jack Wilkie