IT
IS A QUESTION OF BALANCE
The
term "hobby rider" is often negatively applied to Christians
who go "over board" with a particular belief or practice,
to such an extent, that it seems the only thing that really matters
to them in their relationship with God, or more especially with
all other Christians, is this belief or practice. Maybe enough
has been said on the subject of hobby riding for your liking,
but allow me a few words if you will. I wish to apply it to something
to which hobby riding is often not considered.
I sense that sometimes Christians get out of balance in their
evangelistic fervor. Now anyone that knows me, knows I am in no
way an "office preacher", with little or no interest
in reaching the lost. I have from my first day of fulltime gospel
preaching been, for the most part, working in starting new churches,
involving myself in the early stages of such, and trying to find
the lost in a big way. Therefore I hopefully can be objective
when I warn against lopsided zeal for spreading the gospel, without
someone dismissing it as the ramblings of a man who doesn't do
any of it, anyway.
Whenever a congregation is pronounced dead due solely
to a its lack of numerical growth, I think we have a problem.
When a Christian is less than fully received by the others in
his fellowship, because he hasn't measured up to someone's quota
for classes taught or converts made during a year, I think we
have a problem. When a Christian is told that his primary
mission is to seek and save the lost, I want to ask, who said
it was primary and therefore more important than bearing the fruit
of the Spirit? The problem is one of balance.
What causes one to get out of balance with evangelism? Is it
a pendulum-like reaction to counter the churches and Christians
who are indifferent to the lost around them? Is that what has
produced this extreme? Our Protestant friends are reprimanded
for overly reacting to the "works" salvation of the
Catholics with a swing to the other extreme of "faith only."
Maybe that is what has happened here, too. Just a thought.
Once, I heard Kip McKean of the so-called "Boston Movement"
say that, no one could question the Holy Spirit working among
them, due to the big numbers they were experiencing in evangelism.
That troubles me. Was the Holy Spirit not with Noah when practically
no one repented during 100+ years of preaching? Or was the Holy
Spirt not working with Jesus when the multitudes left Him and
their numbers dropped dramatically?
When goals are made to baptize so many by a certain time, we
are in a dangerous area. Increase is the Lord's business (I Corinthians
3). What happens when HE does not give any? Should I then feel
unfaithful? Well, maybe we should set goals for a number of studies
during a given time frame. But, what happens when the preaching
of the truth is "out of season" and people will not
endure your teaching them (II Timothy 4:2-4)? Am I a failure?
If goals must be set, then number of people approached is probably
preferable.
Last of all, let me say that seeking to save the lost is to be
a BIG part of my discipleship of Jesus Christ; but not bigger
than any of the many other duties He has given me. And it definitely
is not the sole criteria in determining my standing with God.
As with so many other things in life, so it is with evangelism...it
is a question of balance.