The church is struggling with sharing the gospel. Hundreds of evangelism methods have been developed and hundreds of them have either failed or passed away. So, how are we to share our faith with those steeped in postmodern culture? Will the four spiritual laws work anymore? Even more so, will the traditional methods of track distribution, revivals, and door-to-door evangelism still hold water against this ever-skeptical post-Christian culture?
Methods will cease and fads will pass away but one thing remains: our private example of godliness. How are we to share the gospel? By living the gospel! This does not negate the necessity of proclamation but it nonetheless is a form of preaching through practice. It is not just proclaiming the message, but living the message by becoming the message.
Ichabod Spencer, a Brooklyn pastor during the mid-nineteenth century, was well aware of what many postmoderns are in need of today. In his Pastor’s Sketches he recognized the power of being a “private example of godliness.” The best witness to the gospel is a demonstration of the gospel. He wrote:
It is true that infidelity cannot withstand the force of reason and argument; but true godly example can come nearer the life-spot of religion. It knocks at the door of the heart. If the truths of Christianity were seconded by the devoted and pious lives of all her professed disciples, the unbelief of the world would soon cease. Private example of godliness is what the world most needs (Ichabod Spencer, A Pastor’s Sketches, Vol. 1. Solid Ground Christian Books, 2001).
1 comment:
Spencer's work is one of the most enjoyable and personally challenging books I read while in the MDiv program. Spencer understood the law and the gospel, and he understood the souls of human beings. May the Lord grant us much of such wisdom in the church today.
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