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Commentary on "Sequential Evangelism and Witnessing"

RICK BARKER

 

Day 2: Sunday, April 29, 2012 - Sequential Evangelism and Felt Needs

 

The entire concept of "felt needs" is myth developed by the church growth industry that is leading many churches away from proclaiming that people are sinners who need to repent and turn to Christ for their salvation. Luke 24:47 tells us that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." But the natural, sinful man doesn't feel the need to repent. So instead of starting with the simple truth of the Gospel, as yesterday's lesson proclaimed, those focused on understanding and addressing the "felt needs" of the community find that the community doesn't feel the need for the Gospel. So the church starts proclaiming something other than the Gospel.

Those who promote programs addressing the felt needs of the unbelieving community will often note that Paul became "all things to all people" (1 Cot 9:19-23) in order to spread the Gospel. Paul certainly approached the description of the Gospel a little differently when faced with different audiences, for example he used the fact that the Greeks acknowledged an "unknown" god with an altar (Acts 17:22-32) as the basis for introducing the Triune God as that god. But the content of the message was still about Christ and Him crucified (see verse 31). Let's examine Paul's reaction to the felt needs of His audience. In 1 Cor 1:22 Paul points out the felt needs of the Jews and of the Greeks and in the following verses he speaks to how he addressed these felt needs. "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Let's break this down. The Jews felt the need for miraculous signs and the Greeks felt the need for great wisdom. Instead of addressing their felt needs, Paul preached something offensive to both these groups. If we listened to today's church growth experts we would have to conclude that Paul was a terrible evangelist.

The lesson presents Luke 9:11 as teaching that Jesus healed people as a gateway to get them to hear His message. But that isn't what this verse actually says "When the crowd learned it (where Jesus was), they followed Him, and He welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing." People came to Jesus "to hear the word of God" (Luke 5:1), even after He had healed all of the sick (Luke 4:40) people still sought Him out (v 42). People who heard Him teach "were astonished at His teaching, for His word possessed authority" (v 32). News about Jesus was travelling before any healing were recorded (v 14). Not to take away anything from Jesus' compassion, but Christ healed people as a witness to the source of His power. In John 9:3 Jesus describes this reason "that the works of God might be displayed in him."

It amazes me that a church can talk about the fruit of the Spirit as a strategic program. This demonstrates to me that the Spirit isn't actually working within a church but instead the church must manufacture strategic programs that look like things the Spirit does.

 

GO TO DAY 3

 

Copyright 2012 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised April 25, 2012. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Camp Verde, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.

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