The Gospel That Said 'Love Them to Christ'

     "The fruit of the righteous is as a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."  [Proverbs 11:30]

     Many American Christians today are practicing and preaching the evangelism strategy of "Love them to Christ."  They want to be so good to their unsaved neighbor - always kind and giving, living morally before them - that their neighbor won't be able to help but notice that there is something different about those Christians, and want to find out more about what it is that makes them different.  These Christians want their neighbors to feel so loved by them that they get a taste of the love that Jesus has for them and hunger for more.  "Show the love of Jesus through your love," would be a good way of putting it.

     That sounds very nice, and I want you to know, fellow Christian, that I reject that strategy entirely, and in the strongest possible terms.  My grief over this demands that I be candid.  Although I expect that this message may be received with repugnance, I must not shrink from saying it: the whole idea that we can just "love them to Christ", in lieu of speaking the true and full gospel to them, is a seductive lie cooked in the pits of Hell.  Similar to it are the whispers of Satan, "Live your faith before them," and, "Befriend them first so you don't drive them away."

     Don't misunderstand me, we absolutely should love our unsaved neighbor all the way to Christ, and keep loving them afterward with fellowship and discipleship.  But this new way that preaches "love them to Christ" isn't telling Christians to love them as we lovingly give them the gospel: quite the contrary, it is telling us to love them instead of giving them the gospel.

     What then, do we not believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved?  Are we of them who draw back unto perdition? [Hebrews 10:39]  Shall we misuse the scriptures to hide from responsibility, repeating, "Wise as serpents and gentle as doves?" [Matthew 10:16]

     Shall we be useless vessels to God?  If we aren't going to tell people the gospel then we have shirked our whole purpose for being left on earth as a witness for Christ, and we might as well be dead.  Once we have been saved, the only reason we are still on this earth is to glorify God and win souls for the kingdom, and we can't do either of those things without speaking the gospel.  And it should be the full gospel, whenever possible, which means we should not neglect to warn people about the judgement and Hell.

     A large section of the church today focuses intensely upon the great love of Jesus, the humanity of Jesus, the charity of Jesus: all of these things came through His actions.  But they are ignoring His words!  What did He preach while He healed the sick and fed the hungry and washed the feet of the disciples and went to the cross for us all?  In practically every conversation He had, He was warning people about the judgement and Hell.

     Let us digress for a moment.

     As Christians we are constantly standing in the midst of a spiritual war - we mustn't lose sight of that - and it is necessary for us to be waging a good warfare every day.  The enemy does not take days off, and so neither can we.  Satan's troops are firing darts of dispute and temptation at us almost constantly; so it should be essential to us that our armor is always in place.  We need to be diligent about checking it daily or it will slip; and this means that we need to be ready and willing to examine ourselves.  And if we are examining ourselves why then do we still have so great a struggle with being honest with ourselves and taking that hard look in the mirror?

     May be admit that the "Love them to Christ" gospel sounds so great because it's easy?  Silly books like Love Does make it sound so hard to love people, and will cunningly convince you that you are doing a BIG work for Jesus if you are undertaking the long process of "loving people to Him".  But it's NOT hard to love if we are filled with the Holy Spirit.  If you've been saved and are earnestly trying, with His help, to seek God and pick up your cross every day, then it's EASY  and natural to love people.  Why?  Because God is changing your heart!  He's making you a more regenerate man or woman!  God Almighty is renewing your mind and Jesus Christ is living through you!  Don't ever try to convince me it's hard to love someone when He has taught me how to love my worst enemy and given me a heart capable of doing that, and renews my strength each day to continue in it.

     Brother, sister, if you really are struggling to love someone, you need to seek the full council of God first and above all things.  Please hurry to get into your prayer closet and approach the Majesty of Heaven about this issue.  He can and wants to do all of the work in you, and as a matter of fact, you can't do it without Him.

     It's easy to "live the faith before them" and "love them to Christ", because it means we don't really have to do anything that will make them uncomfortable.  But the truth is, you can't get saved, it is impossible to get saved, without first getting very discomfited about continuing to live in and under sin.  How is a heart softened toward Jesus if I never even speak of Him while I do acts of kindness?  Or how is a man convicted that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness through Jesus if all he hears is "God loves you"?

     "God loves me?" he might, understandably, say.  "Well great, I guess I'm okay!"  And along he goes to live out the remainder of his days in sin, thinking that he's at peace with God and on his way to Heaven.

     But you believe that you have planted or watered a seed and so your job is done?

     You have given him food, clothing, shelter, aid through difficulties, every kindness, and maybe even told him that God loves him?  You have given him nothing.  "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"  [Matthew 16:26]  That God-loves-you seed is not even going to start to grow to be eaten by the birds or choked out by the thorns: for that is no seed at all. [Matthew 13]  Even the pagans believe that god loves them.

     Now I don't try to say that absolutely no one has ever come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior after having been "witnessed" to by the "love them to Christ" method.  I don't say it for the express purpose that I do not have all knowledge.  What I do know is that I have a tendency to overstate my points when I get impassioned about something.  (If anyone reading this knows someone that has been led to the Lord in this way, and you would like to share, you can send an e-mail to advocateofliberty@yahoo.com, and we can rejoice in a story of soul winning together.)  Nevertheless, it is plainly seen that this is not very productive evangelism.  What "love them to Christ" is good for - rather than evangelism - is a characteristic of personality: it should be the constant mode of our comportment.

     That being said, in the world of business there is something called an opportunity cost.  An opportunity cost is that profit which a company fails to make by not taking advantage of a particular opportunity.  For example: imagine that you are the owner of a clothing store, and the summer season is coming, and it is time to make a purchase order for items for retail.  If you choose to purchase parkas and snow suits you might sell a few, but how much more could you make if you purchased swim suits and sandals?  Assuming you made the blunder of purchasing parkas and snow suits, you would then have to calculate how much profit you missed out on by not purchasing those products that the majority of your customers were willing to buy.  That amount of profit you missed out on is your opportunity cost.

     We could find examples of this principle in every endeavor that man engages in, and the work of soul winning is no exception.  We need to keep in view how limited our time upon this earth is and the great multitude of souls that are going into eternity in unbelief: and strive to make the best use of that time we are given.  "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." [Ephesians 5:15-17]  Have I done well if I, by my good conduct and silence, am able to plant a seed, but might rather have raised up a vineyard to the harvest through good conduct and holy communication?  No!  I have wasted His talents!  Remember the parable of the talents. [Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27]

     I say this also for my own conviction.  My wife knows how guilty I am of wasting time.  More importantly, God knows, and one day I am going to have to stand before the Judge and give an accounting of how I used the talents He gave me.  We need to remember that if we have been bought back from death by the blood of Jesus, our lives are not our own.  (See 1 Corinthians 6:19 and Galatians 2:20)

     Furthermore, my life or your life is no more important or beloved of God than the next man's life.  If then we see our neighbor walking blindly toward the pit and will not pull him back, have we shown God our gratitude?  Have we loved him to Christ?  God has spoken about this.  In Proverbs 16:11-12 He says, "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, 'Behold, we knew it not;' doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it?  And He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it?  And shall not He render to every man according to his works?"  Again, in Ezekiel 33:6 He says, "But if the watchman see the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his own iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."

     God help us to blow the trumpet, for we in Christ are the watchmen and our enemy is at the gates day and night!

     Make no mistake, if we have made the good confession that Jesus Christ is Lord, we do daily demonstrate the sincerity of our hearts: either with that acceptable service which is due to our King, proving the faith with our works, or with lip service only, whose confession has become vanity.  Therefore, let us strive daily to give Him that honor which is due, serving with our lips and with our bodies, with our minds, with our actions, with our spirits, with our every opportunity, and with everything else we have and hold and do.  For beware, the Lord speaks, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." [Revelation 3:15-16]

     If our faith is sincere and complete then we are saved.  If our faith is sincere and complete then we will experience the work of God in our hearts and be burdened for the lost: for He is burdened.  And if we be so, then we will put Him ahead of ourselves and treat His every desire for us as an imperative: thou shalt deliver them that are drawn unto death.  If we are loving God and man it isn't an option: it must be done.  For it is clear that we do not have days enough on life to live one hour under the chicken-hearted gospel that said "love them to Christ"; knowing not what hour our lives will be required of us.  (See Luke 12:20 and James 4:14.)

     But rather, let each of us consider ourselves to be our brother's keeper, "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother." [Genesis 4:9 and 1 John 3:12]  For in this is the love of Jesus Christ demonstrated.  Seeing our condition, He did not turn away, but gave all that He had, even Himself, to deliver we who were drawn toward death; and becoming our Keeper, was chargeable to God the Father for our sins.

     If then we would emulate Jesus, we should consider ourselves to be a living sacrifice (see Romans 12:1); and so we will be prepared to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit and live as vessels of honor. [2 Timothy 2:21]

     But apart from the ministry of the gospel there is no loving of a neighbor to Christ; for to what are you pointing them?  And apart from confessing Him before men, there is no living the faith before them; because we can see that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." [James 2:17]  It is certain that He did not come to demonstrate how we might live a good life before men.  Remember, you know of God today because someone obeyed God and preached to you, and most probably, you received Him the same way, if you have received Him.

"...and how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" [Romans 10:14]