DO YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT -- OR JESUS?
“If an unbeliever dies in a car accident after church, aren’t you responsible for him going to hell if you didn’t give the gospel and an invitation to be saved?”
No, because I affirm this simple truth: God is sovereign and works providentially in the world. God normally works in, through, and behind the ordinary workings of the everyday world. Therefore, I must conduct myself in accordance with the normal processes of life.
For example, I must abide by the rules of normal interaction with others. I must:
…have (or earn) the right to be heard.
…have (or earn) credibility with the person I’m speaking with.
…observe the rules of logic and make sense.
…speak in terms the hearer understands.
…hear his questions and disagreements and respond to him.
…speak at the level of connection I have with my hearer.
Any hearer constantly assesses a speaker and the things the speaker says.
Do I want to give him the right to speak to me?
What makes him a credible authority on this subject?
Does what he says make sense?
Is he staying within the boundaries of familiarity?
Do I want to respond, interact, argue, or get out of the conversation?
Speakers and listeners, don’t have to choose to do these things; we just do them. It is all a part of normal interaction. The greater the familiarity, the greater the depths to which we find it safe to go in conversation. The greater the level of trust, the greater is our ability to talk about difficult or uncomfortable things.
Talking about God or Christ, Christianity, spirituality, or eternal destiny is not an exception to these rules. If anything, these matters require a more strict observance if I expect to be heard. Building the trust necessary to discuss such weighty matters takes time. You’re not just asking if they want fries with that.
“But what if you don’t have that kind of time,” you ask. “What if the hearer is going to die after church that very afternoon?”
Only God knows that. The person who’s going to die doesn’t, and so she will continue operating according to the normal rules of life.
And God will too.
So must I.
If I violate the rules of normal interaction and come across too aggressively, too pushy, or just weird, are listeners more likely to trust me and believe my message, or conclude that I am just another manipulative religious charlatan?
I believe the latter – that people won’t believe because of my behavior. If they reject the truth because I broke the rules of normal interaction and they die on the way home from church, am I responsible for preventing them from believing, even if I did give the gospel and an invitation?
I affirm that God is sovereign and works providentially in the world. He touches hearts, draws people to Himself, and saves them – HE saves them – reaching them through the ordinary processes of life. I trust Him when He says He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and I look for Him save people through these ordinary means.
If someone dies without having made a profession of faith, I trust that even in, through, and behind that, the Judge of the earth knows what He is doing and that in His mysterious way, He is accomplishing what is right.
That weight is for His shoulders to bear, not mine.
No, because I affirm this simple truth: God is sovereign and works providentially in the world. God normally works in, through, and behind the ordinary workings of the everyday world. Therefore, I must conduct myself in accordance with the normal processes of life.
For example, I must abide by the rules of normal interaction with others. I must:
…have (or earn) the right to be heard.
…have (or earn) credibility with the person I’m speaking with.
…observe the rules of logic and make sense.
…speak in terms the hearer understands.
…hear his questions and disagreements and respond to him.
…speak at the level of connection I have with my hearer.
Any hearer constantly assesses a speaker and the things the speaker says.
Do I want to give him the right to speak to me?
What makes him a credible authority on this subject?
Does what he says make sense?
Is he staying within the boundaries of familiarity?
Do I want to respond, interact, argue, or get out of the conversation?
Speakers and listeners, don’t have to choose to do these things; we just do them. It is all a part of normal interaction. The greater the familiarity, the greater the depths to which we find it safe to go in conversation. The greater the level of trust, the greater is our ability to talk about difficult or uncomfortable things.
Talking about God or Christ, Christianity, spirituality, or eternal destiny is not an exception to these rules. If anything, these matters require a more strict observance if I expect to be heard. Building the trust necessary to discuss such weighty matters takes time. You’re not just asking if they want fries with that.
“But what if you don’t have that kind of time,” you ask. “What if the hearer is going to die after church that very afternoon?”
Only God knows that. The person who’s going to die doesn’t, and so she will continue operating according to the normal rules of life.
And God will too.
So must I.
If I violate the rules of normal interaction and come across too aggressively, too pushy, or just weird, are listeners more likely to trust me and believe my message, or conclude that I am just another manipulative religious charlatan?
I believe the latter – that people won’t believe because of my behavior. If they reject the truth because I broke the rules of normal interaction and they die on the way home from church, am I responsible for preventing them from believing, even if I did give the gospel and an invitation?
I affirm that God is sovereign and works providentially in the world. He touches hearts, draws people to Himself, and saves them – HE saves them – reaching them through the ordinary processes of life. I trust Him when He says He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and I look for Him save people through these ordinary means.
If someone dies without having made a profession of faith, I trust that even in, through, and behind that, the Judge of the earth knows what He is doing and that in His mysterious way, He is accomplishing what is right.
That weight is for His shoulders to bear, not mine.