Blog

by Eric Hansen

To start this post off, I want to lay out some pre-understandings:

• I am a Reformist (more commonly referred to as Calvinist)
• This is not attacking anyone or a theology
• Ecclesiastes 3 makes it clear there’s a time for everything

What I want to address is how most reformed preachers deliver their messages. I’m talking about the Voddie Bauchums, Paul Washers, even R.C. Sproul. I covered the T.U.L.I.P. theology of Reformation before, and the foundation of Reformed theology is applicable, but I sense that how we should be giving the gospel to people has been lost.

It's Not Up To Us

We aren’t called to try and save people; that is God’s job. The only task God gave us was to make disciples to the ends of the Earth (Matthew 28:16-20). Nothing there says we need to add flavor to the Word. Why is it, then, that we do it?

Stop Pointing Out Sin

“Woah! What?!”

No, I’m not saying we should be “progressive.” But realistically, do we need to tell a homosexual, rapist, etc. that their deed is sinful and they will go to hell if they don’t repent?

I have started calling this John-ism because John the Baptist had this demeanor about him. We can then also look at where that got him (Matthew 14:1-13).

The objective here is to understand when we should call people out on their sins and when we should love them despite their sins.

This is one thing that drove me crazy as well when I first became a Christian. Everyone would say “be loving,” but no one could define “loving,” so let's do that. To be loving to someone:

• We must make sure our conversations with them are calm.
• Do not accuse them of their actions.
• Tell them we love them enough to help them with their struggles (best not to lie if you aren’t willing to commit, though).
• Less talking, more listening.
• Be like Jesus at the well to the Samaritan woman (John 4).

There’s a song I discovered recently called “Dear Mr. Christian” (stylized that way) that I feel addresses this perfectly in the chorus. It is Christian hip-hop so if that’s not your cup of tea I’ll cut to the point of the song: we as Christians as a whole are prone to point fingers and chastise instead of listen.

Remove You

Many street preachers like Ray Comfort love to give people the “Good Person Test.” Why?

This ties into “Stop Pointing Out Sin” but deserves its own area too. While there’s a time and place to address sin, a first meeting with them is typically not that time or place. If our goal is to go and make disciples, we should do so as Jesus did. How did Jesus then approach Simon Peter and Saul? Jesus didn’t start off by telling Simon that he was focusing on himself instead of others or Saul that he was a murderer.

For Simon, Jesus simply told him to cast his net out again and to follow him (Luke 5:1-11). With Saul, Jesus asked why the persecution but then quickly told him to follow His instructions (Acts 9:1-6). We can argue that asking why Saul was persecuting is the same as calling him a murderer, but even still, Jesus didn’t say to him “You’re a murderer, repent!” Instead He essentially asks, “Why are you hurting me?”

So then what can we do? I personally don’t see value in street preaching and telling everyone they’re “lying, thieving, adulterers at heart” as people like Ray Comfort will inform everyone, especially for those who have never read the Bible. Instead, we need to again look at how Jesus handled the situation.

The Pharisees got more blunt comments made towards them because they knew the law and defiled God’s instructions. They were the ones called to uphold the moral laws God gave, and yet they twisted them and added to them to please themselves. This is about the same as seeing an elder from your church chugging beers at a rave party every weekend. The expectation would be that you address their drunkard sin and raise the matter appropriately.

As referenced previously, the woman at the well (John 4:1-30) is a good example of how Jesus can walk us through those who haven’t heard the gospel. He didn’t ignore the sins she was carrying (like multiple marriages). The focus was more on what she can do about it versus the depravity of her spirit. Before he got to her sins though, he simply developed a conversation with her and showed compassion.

Start Living Like Jesus

No, I’m not saying to start saying you are Jesus, but we are called to model our Savior and Lord. So then why aren’t we?

I remember when I started exploring the Internet for Christian theology, I stumbled on a forum that touted itself as Christian-focused. While I don’t remember the specifics, what I can recall is mentioning to a poster that we are to live as much as possible as Jesus did (i.e.: Philippians 2:5-8; John 13:14-15; Ephesians 5:2). The response was basically, “Stop talking heresy to me!” I am not saying Reformist or Arminian teachers aren’t living like Jesus, but we need to pay extra attention to their words and watch their actions.

I’ll drive this point home with one more illustration. There’s an organization called End Abortion Now, created and led by Jeff Durbin who is a popular Calvinist. Their overall approach to ending abortion is to go to Planned Parenthood buildings with picket signs and a megaphone, talking about how Planned Parenthood murders babies.

While there are legal and biblical foundations to this claim, just how loving is this to those they are trying to save? They do save babies and they have shown proof of that, but how many more could be saved if they talked with the mothers and fathers about why they’re doing this instead of immediately blaming them? Some are done for selfish reasons like a Pharisee, but others are done out of fear, ignorance, or weakness.

Whether it's Reformed teaching or not, the important piece to always think about in anything you hear, read, or see is “Is this Biblical?” There’s good intentions in many things mankind does (or doesn’t do). That in itself, however, doesn’t make it Biblical or Christ-like. There is a reason why Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

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