This story is not only one of the best known stories in the New Testament; it is also one of the most misunderstood stories in the New Testament. This story has wrongly been used to justify everything from American Evangelicalism's brand of "friendship evangelism" to women preaching in the open-air. This story has wrongly been used by Christians to justify misapplying the doctrine of Christian liberty to make excuses for living licentious lives—you know: "hanging out with sinners in order to be all things to all people."
The reality: this beautiful story, a real account of a real day in the real life of Jesus, destroys the American Evangelical notion that relationship is required before evangelism. It destroys the notion that people need to know you care before they will care about what you believe. It destroys the notion that Christians must meet the felt needs of unbelievers before we can address their literally need of salvation. It destroys the notion that Christians must be well-trained, sophisticated apologists before they can engage people in their communities with the gospel.
It also destroys the propensity of American Evangelicalism to justify and practice discrimination under the auspices of evangelism.
In a nutshell, this story destroys most of American Evangelicalism's pet evangelistic methodologies.
What we see in this story is:
•The Establishment of Rapport (4:1-8)
•The End of Discrimination (4:9-10)
•The Engagement of Conversation (4:11-15, 20-24)
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Tony serves as an evangelist for Grace Fellowship Church (Davenport, IA). Author of several books, including "Overcoming Despair" (GFC, 2024), Tony has spent the last two decades on the streets proclaiming the gospel to the lost.
