I’ll be honest.
When I found out we were going to be doing street evangelism with POSTERS in the tourist district of San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was less than thrilled. The only time I had ever seen “Christians” holding posters, there was plenty of fire and brimstone involved and very little grace, love, and forgiveness. It seems these days that Christianity sends out one of two messages to nonbelievers:
Hatred or Superficial Love
But the more our team discussed our past experiences with “poster evangelism,” the more excited I grew for The Lord to redeem the world’s misconceptions about Christianity through us, one tourist at a time. So, people, we made the stinking posters:
“Who is Jesus?”
“11 Countries, 11 Months, Ask us what we’ve been up to”
“Free Prayer”
“God is Love”
Kiersten and I sat down on a park bench and sang some songs as I played along on the ukulele. The other girls grabbed a sign and greeted the tourists and locals as they passed by. To my surprise, people actually began to approach us. We engaged in life-giving conversations about Who God is, His love for people, His forgiveness, His Grace, His Glory and His Worth. Some were encouraged and some could not have cared less.
A man approached Kiersten and I as we were singing and asked us what we were doing. He told us that he was a “free thinker” and thought our message was good, but that no matter what religion you choose to follow, it’s all the same message. We kindly disagreed and showed him, using scripture, that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to The Father except through him (John 14:6). We explained that religion can’t save him, only God can, Who has given His life for him in Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:22).
—-Other religions tell you to love people, but what other god loved you first?
—-Other religions ask you to make sacrifices, but what other god laid his life down for you?
—-Other religions claim to be divine but what other god defeated death?
It sure doesn’t sound like the same message to me.
He asked, “what about the innocent man in the Congo who has never heard about Jesus? He has lived a good life, but if he must believe in Jesus to be saved, then what hope does he have?”
That’s the question, isn’t it? And this is where many Christians have bent from the justice of God and compromised His worth by answering, “God would never condemn someone who hasn’t heard.”
But wouldn’t he?
The problem with this question is the imbedded assumption that there IS an innocent man in the Congo. Scripture tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). That the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And that we all know the truth in our heart, yet some choose to deny it (Romans 1:19-25). These are the truths that compel Christians to respond to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.
“I think Jesus was a good man, but I don’t believe that He is the only way to God,” he responded. After a few more minutes of friendly conversation, he told us he enjoyed talking with us, shook our hands, and left. But the thought that remained with me was this:
Is it even legit to believe that Jesus was a good man, but only a good man? Knowing the claims He made during His lifetime and the things He did to support them, either He was truly God or He was a lying, raging lunatic. There is no room for the belief that a “good man” dishonestly claimed to be God, lived a lie for 30 years while simultaneously feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and loving the lonely…which, might I add, is often the character of a crazy liar {insert sarcasm}, and then died so that billions of people might be fooled into believing His lifelong lie (which hopefully he is able to appreciate from the dead).
It is comfortable to believe that all religions are just spokes on the wheel of God. It is self-satisfying to believe that your god is meant to fit you, your taste, and your lifestyle. It is typical of a fallen and prideful human to organize god around the preferences of man rather than man under the divinity of God. But when it comes down to it, it’s not about us, it’s about Him.
God is God, no matter what alternatives we choose to worship in place of Him. God is God no matter how inconvenient our acknowledgement of Him might be. God is God no matter when we choose to submit to His Lordship.
One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. The question is, will it be too late?
We have the privilege and authority to tell others what God has done for them. The guilty man in the Congo needs to hear, and God has ordained that we Christians be the ones to tell him. So tell him!
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes”- Romans 1:16-17
