The NEW "EVANGELISM"
by A.W. Tozer
The new cross encourages a new and entirely different
evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old
life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but
similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity
makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does,
only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring
after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only
the religious product is better...
That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between
the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the
souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it
intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a
higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the
ground and die.
We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as
public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the
world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to
big business, the press, or the world of sports, or modern education. We are
not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an
ultimatum.
God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life
He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross.
Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must
repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.
What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man
who would find life in Christ Jesus?... He must forsake his sins and then go on
to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let
him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke
of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die... The cross
that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the
power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with
Christ.
To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow
and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon
this message from Paul's day to the present.
Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been
the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world
through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put
their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy
Ghost gave witness to God's approval.
Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with
the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or
alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old
cross and we will know the old power.