When we hear the Gospel and fully embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we desire to show our profound gratitude to and love for Him by loving others. How? By (1) sharing the Gospel and (2) doing good works that always point to the Lord and His Gospel.
A ministry exists that implies people will come to faith if we Christians simply, “Love them until they ask why.”
How do we express and/or actively love another person? In the case of the statement above, what does it mean to love? And can a Christian truly love someone into the kingdom?
Can a Christian “Love” Someone into God’s Kingdom?
When questioned about the statement of loving an unbeliever until they ask why, a proponent of this method of evangelism said, “I’m not an evangelist, but I sure can love people.” My next question to that person was, “What if they never ask why?”
I was reminded of a dear cousin (I’ll call her Jane) who was one of the sweetest and most loving people I’d ever met. I was in my early twenties when she died, and I still lived as an unbeliever. At her funeral, the officiating pastor referenced Jesus’ words in Luke 14:26 when He said, Jane hated her life here and longed for heaven. He then spoke of her Christianity and how she loved the Lord. I sat in the pew stunned; I had no idea Jane was a Christian.
Growing up, I saw Jane all the time. I even babysat her children when they were young. Jane loved well, but, sadly, not well enough to ever mention the Gospel or Jesus to me. When God the Father drew me to Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:44; 14:6), one of my first reminiscences was of Jane. I thought, “Lord, how could she have said nothing to me about the wonder of You?” God used that revelation to give me the gift of writing and an urgent need to bring glory to Him by sharing the Gospel — loving people by sharing God’s words through a book, stories, and articles.
The ministry is partially right about loving people, because our acts of love do count! James says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). In Luke 8:18a, Jesus says, “Take care then how you hear…” When we hear the Gospel and fully embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we desire to show our profound gratitude to and love for Him by loving others. How? By (1) sharing the Gospel and (2) doing good works that always point to the Lord and His Gospel (Matthew 5:16). People need to know why we do what we do; kingdom love must include the Gospel.
The Scriptures say, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The Gospel must be “spoken,” whether it’s with our mouths or with a pen (or a keyboard). I came to faith via a book series and then a commentary which clearly “spoke” the Gospel to me. What Jesus did on the cross for sinners such as we remains forever the greatest act of love to grace humanity.
How can loving a person, without speaking the Gospel, save someone? We cannot. Nothing we do can save a person from God’s wrath. However, Christians are called as Christ’s ambassadors, and what do ambassadors do but represent their Sovereign King? God makes His appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20).
What Does the Gospel Teach?
The Gospel is more than John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” A consolidation of the Gospel is in that passage, and John 3:16 gives us a basic understanding, but it begs questions only the Bible answers.
God so loved the world.
God gave His only Son.
Why?
What does belief in Jesus mean? What do I have to do to believe in Him and have eternal life?
So, those who don’t believe in Jesus perish?
If God loves the world so much, would He send His Son and have Him love people without telling them why He came or why they will perish if they don’t believe in Him?
Unregenerate people need to understand:
1. Who God is (Creator, Sustainer, Owner, Law Giver, Judge, Savior, Lord)
2. What sin is and who sinners are (falling short of the glory of God, transgressing His Law)
3. What happens when a person dies in their sin (Matthew 25:41, 46 says they are in Hell awaiting final judgment—no escape.)
4. Who Jesus is (Jesus is God. He is Lord, Savior, Redeemer)
5. How a sinner can be saved (John 6:44; 14:6; Ephesians 2:5, 8)
6. What happens next (serve/obey the Lord and advance the Gospel)
Does loving someone with the actions of giving them gifts, time, service, mercy, grace, hugs, provisions, etc. answer these inevitable questions above?
Absolutely not.
We must speak. But we must also show them Christ’s love through acts of service like those mentioned above. We don’t save people, only God does that, but He deigns to use us for His purposes and in His timing.
Are All Christians Called to be Evangelists?
When we think of humble, godly evangelists, we quickly think of “big name” ministers like Billy Graham and his son, Franklin, Dwight L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, and F. F. Bruce, among many others. The Apostle Paul says to Timothy, “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). Yes, this is addressed to Timothy, but Scripture tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12 those who are evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (The Apostles and the Prophets teach us through the Bible, because their offices are no longer active.)
According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, an evangelist is, “A bringer of good tidings (the Good News); the name given to the New Testament heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.” Guess what, we are not apostles, yet we have a charge to share the Good News with this lost and dying world.
We are still to always be, “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). We’re not all called to the large platform given to such men as listed above, but we have a platform, nonetheless. We are equipped by God and our message is His. The Gospel is given by God, our speech is empowered by God, and all results are brought to fruition by God according to His perfect will and timing.
Think of evangelism. Evangelism is promoting the Gospel. Now ponder loving someone without sharing the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Your impact would be as small as Billy Graham’s was huge. Speaking the Gospel is so important, the Apostle Paul said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). Preaching is speaking and loving, and it goes hand-in-hand with good works toward obeying God’s call to us to share the Gospel.
When Paul wrote to the Galatian church about the person he once was and has becomes because of Christ, he reported this about the churches of Judea to whom he preached, “And they glorified God because of me" (Galatians 1:24).
If you say nothing about the Lord, who will the recipients of your love glorify? Who will they remember – you, or Christ?
Peter and the Apostles were beaten because they spoke of Jesus to the Jews and the crowds (Acts 5). “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus” (Acts 5:41-42). Those men rejoiced they could suffer for Jesus’ name. If they had simply loved the people (as the world understands love), they would not have been beaten. But they knew (as should we) the best way we can love people is by sharing the Gospel, no matter the cost. Peter said, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
If Paul had silently perused the tomb of the unknown god in Acts 17:23 and had not proclaimed Christ to them as the God they had yet to know, how would they have come to know Christ?
I loved Jane, and I hope I get to see her in heaven — not to condemn or to rebuke — but to thank her for how her inaction caused me to be active with sharing the Gospel. I don’t know her heart, but I trust the One who does.
We are to serve others, but we are to use our good works as a loving platform for the Gospel. We don’t all evangelize in the same way (e.g., I write. You might serve in a homeless shelter or deliver meals to shut-ins, etc.) A joyful way to consider our calling is to simply, “be who you are” — Christ followers who love Him first and then love our neighbors as ourselves. May what Paul said apply to us, “And they glorified God because of me” (Galatians 1:24).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Kharoll Mendoza
