Fundamental
Evangelistic Association
selected
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©FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt
Costella,
Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor
Would Jesus Do
That?
By Matt Costella
©FOUNDATION Magazine, September -October 1999
C
HARISMATICS AND New Evangelicals often defend
their worldly behavior and their association with those involved in that which is
forbidden by Scripture by claiming that Jesus Christ would associate with the lifestyles
and behaviors of the unsaved if He were walking the earth today. Often, Fundamentalists
are accused of being "holier-than-thou" because they refuse to attend Christian
rock concerts, nightclubs or bars. Likewise, they abstain from alcoholic beverages,
raucous parties and body piercing which has become a hallmark of rebellion and a Gothic
subculture steeped in mysticism and darkness. "One must gain the respect of the
unsaved, indulge in the interests of the unsaved and even live like the unsaved in order
to win them to Christ" is the oft-heard cry of those who condemn Fundamentalists as
hypocritical "Pharisees."
Sadly, those who espouse living like the world in order to win the world for Christ
actually hold up Jesus Christ as their example of One who would embrace and live according
to such a pragmatic philosophy. But is their claim valid? Would Christ, or did Christ,
actually live like the world and indulge in the interests of the world in order to win
converts?
A recent editorial by J. Lee Grady and a feature article highlighting the Christian
Motorcyclists Association (CMA) in the August 1999 issue of Charisima magazine
epitomize this attitude of many Charismatics and New Evangelicals. Both Grady and CMA
evangelist Greg Heinritz unequivocally claim that Jesus Christ spent "most of His
time "associating with sinners rather than believers, and they use such a claim to
support their own philosophy that the believer must act like the unsaved and become
involved in the interests of the unsaved in order to win them to Christ.
In his editorial, Grady applauded Roman Catholic Priest John Zenz who recently began a
"refreshing method of evangelism–a Tuesday-night discussion about God and
current events called 'Theology on Tap"' in a Birmingham, Michigan pub. The editorial
says, "Apparently this mixture of booze and Bibles was a hit with tavern patrons. The
Detroit Free Press said 150 people crammed in the back of the bar to hear Zenz
while they sipped Guinness and Bass Ale." Grady went on to say he hoped this
philosophy sparks a trend but added that believers today will not lead Bible studies into
every bar, pool hall and night club in America "as long as we cling to our
holier-than-thou attitudes." Grady then challenged readers by adding; "You don't
think Jesus would take His message into a pub? Actually, He spent most of His time there,
hanging cut with tax collectors, prostitutes and the riff-raff of Jerusalem while the
Pharisees stood outside and sneered." He added that he hoped the readers of Charisma
would "be inspired to break free from your own pharisaical attitudes" after
reading the article about the CMA and those on the CMA ministry team who "sport long
hair, tattoos and pierced ears."
CMA evangelist Greg Heinritz accepts Grady's same philosophy and justifies his
association with booze, drugs, rock music and rebellion by claiming that Jesus Christ
would be evangelizing in the same way if He were physically present. The Charisma article
says, "CMA evangelist Greg Heinritz, 43, points out that Jesus hung out more often
with sinners than with religious people." Referring to a March motorcycle rally in
Daytona Beach, FL, Heinritz told Charisma, "We are going to Daytona to get on
the same level as those people, in order to earn the right to present the gospel to
them." Charisma magazine even admitted that the atmosphere at Daytona Beach
during Bike Week, as well as other locations where bikers gather to party and show off
their bikes, is one of "drinking, drugging, exhibitionism, loud rock bands and Mardi
Gras-style hedonism." Yet, as CMA president Herbie Shreve notes, "the CMA is not
a recreational club for biking enthusiasts–a place where Christians can separate
themselves from the world." Rather, Charisma adds "CMA is pure ministry
geared to mix Christian bikers with unbelievers."
Sad to say, many modern church growth programs likewise stress the importance of
catering to the interests of the world and imitating the world in order to advance the
cause of Christ. Thousands of churches across the United States and Canada have changed
their worship services in order to accommodate the unsaved visitors and make them feel
comfortable in an atmosphere more conducive to their worldly lifestyles. Church growth
proponents often use either Jesus Christ or the apostle Paul as an example of one who
fraternized with the ungodly in order to witness to them. But is this true? A case has
already been made to show that the apostle Paul did not live like the world in order to
preach the Gospel to the unsaved ("All Things to All Men,
"Foundation Magazine, Jan-Feb, 1999). But what about Jesus Christ Himself?
Charisma editor J. Lee Grady said Jesus spent "most of His time" with
prostitutes, derelicts and the "riff-raff" of Jerusalem. As intelligent
believers who desire to "search the Scriptures" rather than take any human
individual's word as fact, are we going to merely accept what Grady and Heinritz say as
fact, or shall we discover whether or not God's Word declares otherwise?
Many New Evangelicals and Charismatics often use three particular portions of Scripture
to support the idea that Jesus Christ embraced the interests of the unsaved, thus
"proving" that believers should, therefore, do the same. These Scriptures are:
Mark 2:13-17, Luke 19:110 and Luke 7:34. Yet how these individuals deduce that Jesus
Christ spent "all" or "most" of His time fraternizing with worldly
sinners or even living and acting like sinners is an enigma. Any individual who reads
through all four Gospels will gain an entirely different picture of Christ than that
portrayed by Grady, Heinritz and others. Throughout the Gospels we continually read that
Jesus went into the synagogues to expound the Scriptures or that multitudes followed Him
as He walked throughout the cities. Over and over again, we read that individuals came to
Jesus to either hear His message or to be healed of a physical ailment. No, Jesus never
lived or acted like a sinner as many today assume. Nor should we as believers in Christ
live or act like sinners in an effort to win them to Christ.
So what do the three aforementioned passages of Scripture say about Jesus' relationship
to the unsaved? It is obvious that these three references, when compared with all of
Scripture, do not teach that Jesus "always" imitated or associated with worldly
activity. But what do they teach? Notice each Scripture passage in its proper context.
Mark 2:13-17
This portion of Scripture, as well as its parallel portions in Matthew and Luke,
addresses the salvation and call to discipleship of Levi. Levi, or Matthew (Matt. 9:9),
served as a tax collector for the Roman empire and was, therefore, hated by his fellow
Jews. The Pharisees and Sadducees especially hated the publicans, even calling them
"sinners" (v. 16), because they believed these individuals were violating the
Law of Moses by exacting usury and becoming rich at the expense of their fellow brethren.
To the Jews, and especially to the Pharisees, a Jewish publican was a traitor to his
fellow Jews. But Jesus Christ personally called Matthew to follow Him and become one of
His twelve chosen disciples. What was Matthew's response? "He arose and followed
Him" (v. 14). Matthew's life was changed at the very moment he believed in Jesus
Christ as the Messiah and as his personal Savior and obeyed His command to follow. Of
course, in this context, to "follow" does not mean that Matthew merely walked
behind Jesus wherever He went, but it means he accepted Jesus as the Messiah, his own
Savior.
Matthew's change of heart reveals itself not only by his association with Jesus but
also by his testimony to his fellow colleagues. After some time had passed, Matthew
"made Jesus a great feast in his own house" (Lk. 5:29) and invited other
publicans to join him and partake of the meal. Evidently, Matthew wanted his associates to
hear Christ and to follow Him so that they, too, could find Light and Life in the person
of the Messiah. Jesus sat and ate in this new believer's house despite the contemptuous
words of the Pharisees. Notice that it was the Pharisees who called these men
"publicans and sinners." The Pharisees hated these men because of their
occupation that made them rich at the expense of the Jews. Nowhere in Scripture does it
say that Jesus acted like the publicans or became interested in their "rip-off
schemes" in order to witness to them. It is important to realize that Christ did not
live like the unsaved or act like them in order to "evangelize," as so many
Christians today would have us believe. No, Jesus simply accepted the hospitable
invitation of Matthew, a new believer, and sat to eat a meal with those who needed to hear
His message.
Luke 19:1-10
The account in Luke 19 is rather similar to the account found in Mark 2. Both texts
involve Jewish tax-collectors, or publicans, coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ
through their belief in Him and then preparing a feast for Him in their respective houses.
And, both texts reveal evidences of a change in the lives of Matthew and Zacchaeus
subsequent to their conversion. Because they became "new creatures' in Christ, they
changed the way they lived. The world noticed this change because these believers were now
different from the world.
Zacchaeus, "chief among the publicans" (v. 2), wanted to see Christ so badly
that he climbed into a tree in order to gain a better view. Jesus knew Zacchaeus' heart
and commanded him to come down, for He desired to fellowship with this new believer.
Zacchaeus' change of heart manifested itself in his desire to pay back fourfold those whom
he had cheated. Jesus responded to his belief: "This day is salvation come to this
house" (v. 9). Notice that the Pharisees still called Zacchaeus a sinner" (v. 7)
and objected to Christ's fellowship with the publicans. But Zacchaeus was no longer a
sinner in the sight of God. Jesus fellowshipped with a new believer who not only had a
change of heart but also a change in desire and action.
Luke 7:34
Many professing Christians today grossly misapply and misunderstand this text. They use
this verse to "prove" that Jesus spent all His time living like the world in
order to win the lost. Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in
Orange County, CA, and author of The Purpose Driven Church, says, "From the
gospels, it is obvious that Jesus enjoyed being with seekers far more than being with
religious leaders. He went to their parties and was called the 'friend of sinners."'
Warren then asks, "How many people would call you that?" (p. 208). But what is
this text actually saying? Notice that Jesus is quoting the words of the Pharisees who
falsely accused Him of living a worldly lifestyle, just as they had falsely accused John,
saying he was demon possessed (Lk. 7:33). Was John demon possessed? No. Was Jesus a
winebibber and a gluttonous hedonist? Absolutely not. To use this text to justify
worldliness is an abomination. Certainly Jesus was not a winebibber, and while He did love
the unsaved, He never imitated, lived, nor acted like them in any way.
Many use the aforementioned texts to try to prove that living like the world is
acceptable to God, claiming that Jesus spent more time with sinners than with believers
and that He would even act like them in order to witness to them. However, they are
grossly mistaken. Christ fellowshipped with believers, but He never neglected the
opportunity to share His message with unbelievers. Yet notice, He never acted like the
world, indulged in their sins or attempted to imitate the worldliness around Him in order
to get His message across. Jesus loved the unsaved, just as we should love the unsaved.
Jesus witnessed to the unsaved, just as we have been commanded to witness to the unsaved.
Yet we have also been commanded throughout Word of God to separate from the world and to
avoid even the appearance of evil.
The believer who desires to be obedient to his Lord and evangelistic in his personal
ministry should follow both the example of Jesus and the words He has given through the
Holy Spirit within the New Testament text. This means:
First, he will have a genuine love for the lost and a desire to see the unsaved come to
a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Because God loved the world, He sent His only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. Such sacrificial love
should characterize the life of every believer as well, for God is "not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9b). The fact
that God loves all people and the fact that He desires for them to receive His free gift
of salvation should serve as an impetus for the believer to love the lost.
Second, he will preach the Gospel to the unsaved. Because he loves them, he will tell
them the Good News that they need to hear and believe in order to be saved from sin and
emptiness in this life and from the lake of fire in the next. He will understand that
Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life" and that no man can be
acceptable in the sight of the Father except through genuine belief in the work of Jesus
Christ (Jn. 14:6).
Finally, he will live a life of holiness and obedience to the One who has called him
and saved him. This means that while he will love the lost and preach the Gospel to them,
he will not live nor act like the world from which he has been rescued. This is necessary
for two reasons.
First, because God explicitly commands separation from the world, that is, the world
system in which the believer finds himself (1 Jn. 2:15-17). Obedience to God is imperative
in order to "abide in Him."
Second, because the believer is to be different from the world due to his new nature.
Nowhere does Scripture exhort or command the believer to imitate the world or live like
the world in order to reach the unsaved. On the contrary, the believer is a new
creature" in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) who must use his testimony as a "new
creature" to show others that he has left behind his lifestyle of sin and
worldliness. Believers are even to abstain from any appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22).
Live so others can see a difference. Live so Christ will be glorified. Do not fall into
the same trap Saul did by thinking it is better and more effective to
"sacrifice" than to obey God's Word (1 Sam. 15).
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