Keller on Evangelism

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we are called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth and I am back in the studio today. I was not recording any shows last week. I think I�m about 15 shows ahead, but I didn�t get any recorded last week because I was in Memphis, Tennessee, at the beautiful downtown Worldview Weekend TV studios.

Brandon House asked me to do No Compromise television shows. It will be on his website, Worldview Weekend. I think if memory serves me, you can also get it on the app, www .tv .com forward slash app. Now, I don�t have that written down.

I think that�s just by memory, www .tv .com forward slash app. I think that�s it. So, it�ll be No Compromise TV, a half-hour show, and it was a variety show. It�s a veritable Jimmy Fallon, but with theological truisms.

I�m trying to keep a straight face. I can�t figure out what to say. I have things like Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes going through my mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson, you can go see his house here in Massachusetts.

You can go up to Concord, Mass, and Lexington, and over around that area. That one quote is stuck in my mind. I don�t have it in front of me. This is my memory. A foolish inconsistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen, philosophers, and divines.

Aren�t you glad you listened today? You can write me at info at NoCompromiseRadio .com. You can go to the YouTube site, NoCompromiseRadioYouTubes, and what else can you do? I don�t know. Facebook, Twitter, that kind of thing.

We�d love to serve you in any way we can. I just got an email from someone who said, �Why do you have idols in your house? Why do you collect idols They said, �You seem pretty solid, but you collect idols.

What�s up with that I had to tell her, I think it�s her, that they�re just object lessons. As Psalm 115 would say, Isaiah 41, �They�re just pieces of wood, so I don�t think I have any demons in my house.

I might have to call. Who are you going to call? Enough about that. I do have in front of me here cliff notes on, and it doesn�t say the New Testament. It just says, �Cliff�s Notes. I used to call them cliff notes, but it says, �Cliff�s Notes on New Testament.

That�s kind of like the New England way to say it. It�s just contracted sentences. You throw out articles, definite articles, indefinite articles. Now, it does say this on the inside, �A note to the reader.

These notes are not a substitute for the text itself or for the classroom discussion of the text. And students who attempt to use them in this way are denying themselves the very education that they are presumably giving their most vital years to achieve.

Now, isn�t that interesting? Cliff Hillgrass, he signed his name there. Good thing it�s a typewriter. By the way, Incorporated, Lincoln, Nebraska, Stinkin� Lincoln, there we go, 68501. And we have Cliff�s Notes on the New Testament.

And for all the years, I would use Cliff�s Notes in high school, maybe college too, university. I did not ever read that. That�s the first thing inside this little yellow and black zebra-looking book.

These notes are not a substitute. And so, you know, whether it�s the one-minute Bible or the one-minute Christian, you could go here and it gives you, this is by Charles Patterson, Ph .D., Department of Philosophy, University of Nebraska, 1996.

It gives you the outline of the life of Jesus. Let�s just take a look at that for fun. The outline of the book of Jesus. Oh, it�s a brief outline. So we have here at No Compromise Radio that. All right, what else do I have here?

Tim Keller on Evangelism and the Limits of Contextualization

I have the Tim Keller Talks Evangelism, says, �Preachers need to persuade, relate to non-believers. And so there�s an article in the Christian Post. I suggest you read the Christian Post. Why? Because righteous anger is a good thing.

Well, because you will get an overview. You will get an overview. You know, when I was doing the TV things, Brandon said, �If you mess up and you want to take a second take on that, then you just stop, compose yourself, pause, and look at the other camera.

So let me just do that right now. Okay, done. Christian Post, Tuesday, October 14, 2014, says, �Keller Talks Evangelism, says, �Preachers need to persuade, relate to non-believers. And you know, there are some good articles in the Christian Post.

There are some bad articles. I think Joyce Meyer does a regular column. So far they�ve yet to call me for the column. But I have resisted the blogging. So we do have a blog, the No Compromise Radio blog, and De La Genetis takes care of that.

And so I�m happy for that. And I think the articles are excellent. But I have not done the blogging. But I don�t know if I can say I�ll never do it because I said I wouldn�t be on Facebook. I wasn�t be.

And I am via No Compromise Radio. And Twitter, I�m there. If ever one of my quotes is given there, though, that�s Ben. Ben puts that on there. So I don�t say Mike Avendross said it and quote myself. But I put other quotes on there, Jay Gresham Machen.

So anything that�s, you know, positive about me, that�s probably Ben�s job. I�ve commanded him to do that. And so here, we�re going to talk a little bit about Tim Keller and an article written by Jessica Martinez.

And so I just find it insightful. You know, one of these days, I�m going to do a show, people that I don�t quote without some reservation. And so back in the old days, it was, if you ever quote G .I. Packer, you should probably say the old Packer said versus the newer Packer.

That type of thing. But I�ve got a list of folks that I know are gifted, I know can write really well, and to varying degrees are either, in my mind, how could they be a Christian, or of course they�re Christians, but I just don�t quote them.

Because if I quote them, then you would think that I condone most of the ministry, and why do I quote things? Why would you quote something? Why does your pastor quote things? Well, because the person can either say it better than the pastor has said it, or it lends credibility.

And there�s a subplot to all that as well. When I used to hear John MacArthur preach, and he would say, from the pulpit, pre-internet days, every year I like to read The Sinfulness of Sin by Ralph Venning, Puritan classic.

I went and found that book. And so if he quoted a writer, if he quoted Thomas Watson, that he often quotes Thomas Watson in The Body of Divinity, I would want to go get that book. If he said The Preacher�s Portrait by Stott on Preaching is one of his top ten books, I would go get that book.

And so there�s a stewardship. While I pretend, pretend, did I say be-tend? I be-tend. I pretend to be a radio host. I have a real job, and that�s a pastor shepherd. And so I was telling Brannon that this show could be a lot more controversial, a lot more provocative if I just would stop being a pastor, because there�s a way to sell things.

And so I�m not trying to do that. I�m trying to do a radio show that would be good for the kingdom in a way that I would like to listen to it. Objective prepositions. Hobgoblins. So I would do a show on who I wouldn�t quote.

Well, I don�t like to quote Tim Keller, I don�t like to quote John Piper, I don�t like to quote C .S. Lewis, I don�t like to quote Doug Wilson, I don�t like to quote, I don�t know, those are probably, N .T. Wright.

Those would be the fab five of unquoteers. Now, some of them, you know, C .S. Lewis, obviously, the Lord only knows, but he wrote a lot of things that made me wonder, how could he be in heaven? I hope he is.

N .T. Wright, he says some things that are good, but I would never want my folks to read N .T. Wright. You�re going to be confused. And so, you know, and then we kind of work our way up towards the latter.

I�m not saying Keller�s not a Christian. Obviously John Piper�s a Christian. And his written stuff, I think, is better than his preached stuff. His swans are not silent books. I read. But anyway, so much for that.

Now, back to Tim Keller. Non-believers who hear the gospel, this is according to Jessica Martinez, convicted or turn away from the church based on the evangelistic methods they are exposed to, said Tim Keller.

Now, it�s not in quotes, so I�m not quoting. I think she�s summarizing Tim Keller. He�s speaking to Exponential West conference via video regarding how to share the gospel. And you should do it in a persuasive ways.

Now, this is in quotes. After 25 years of being in New York and seeing Christians respond to the preaching of the gospel, I kind of divide non-believers in three groups, the clueless, the hostile, and the impressed, Keller said.

He noted that non-believers find the gospel to be surprising, interesting, or persuasive, but they all sense �the force of it. There�s a small percentage who are hostile, but the majority aren�t even offended at all, they just don�t get it, explained Keller.

Now, let�s just stop there for just a second. I hate to be nitpicky, and I�m sure I�d probably like the man if I met him, has nothing to do with his person, you know, it�s back to the whole �have you talked to him about this

Matthew 18, that�s all always the sniping that you hear in the social media areas. This is not a matter of he�s in the church and he�s sinned, this is a matter of he�s a public figure and I disagree with him, and I want you, the listener, to decide, is Keller right or is Abendroth right?

I want you to try to work through the issues to help you think. I want you to not waste your mind, your critical thinking, I want you to examine. So, it says in 1 Corinthians 1, the word of the cross, verse 18, is folly, it�s moronic, it�s foolish to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it�s the power of God.

Interestingly, it says in verse 21, �For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.

So, what are we going to do? He says that if you persuasively preach to someone, citing the apostle Paul, according to Jessica Martinez, I don�t have those exact notes in front of me, that that�s a good way to go.

Here is a quote from Keller, �Paul didn�t just beat people over the head with the gospel. He crawled up inside people�s belief, found something they believed that he could affirm, and used those beliefs against them.

That�s the difference between beating a person and telling them they�re wrong and having them glaze their eyes and walk away from you, or making them feel like you have some force in your argument. See, that�s just too centered for my liking.

I don�t need, I want to make them feel like I know and I have a force to my argument, but then I�m undoing what I believe in terms of my methodology and my theology. My theology needs to inform my methodology.

And my theology tells me that people who are unbelievers are wholly depraved. They are totally depraved. They are spiritually corrupt and unable, total inability. They cannot respond. Now, it doesn�t mean I don�t try to speak to their mind and address their noggin, as my father would say, but I know it has to be the Sovereign Holy Spirit who applies His Word to convict and then grant saving faith and belief.

So, when I take this approach, it just strikes me wrongly. And he calls it, does Keller, contextualization. And so, it says that preachers need to know how to reach the heart of their audience, whether they�re Christian or not.

Keller, quote, �If you learn how to solve a Christian�s heart problems with the Gospel every week, the non-Christians will be getting evangelized. If you just preach about doing God�s will, non-believers will get bored or even offended and won�t come back.

Well, I think the first part is true. When you�re preaching the Gospel on Sunday morning to Christians as they reflect who Christ is and what He�s done and their union with Him, if non-believers show up, they get to hear the Gospel.

That�s good. But whether they come back or not or become offended or not, actually 1 Corinthians 14 would direct me that they should get offended. Now, there�s an etiquette, there�s a protocol, there�s a delivery that could minimize some of that, both on the preacher side and the non-believer side when people come on Resurrection Sunday and I tell them they�re sinners and there�s a Savior for them.

Usually they don�t throw things at me or walk out because there�s just a public etiquette. There are certain things you do and don�t do. And then Keller here talks about giving. My name is Mike Cavendroth, No Compromise Radio.

Many preachers are used to reciting verses about giving money, but said people begin to become introspective and are more prone to becoming convinced of Gospel truths once a preacher delves deeper into what Christ did for humanity in comparison to people�s greed.

Quote, �It�s brilliant psychology and rhetoric, and if you go there as a preacher, a non-Christian will be open to hearing the Gospel. Really? I totally disagree. It just makes no apologetic sense to me.

Since I�m a presuppositionalist and I have certain presuppositions, this especially doesn�t help me. Trying to take what is relatable to the non-believers when I share the Word of God with them. I mean, I�m going to be a little facetious here for a second, but I have attended Master�s Seminary.

I went to Talbot Seminary for just one class. Lagos Bible Institute. None of these are in order. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I teach at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary when they let me.

I�m an adjunct professor at European Bible Training Center. I don�t know. And this is like all new to me. Why didn�t they teach me this in any of these schools? I don�t get it. But see, this is just the way that people have been kind of nuancing the Gospel in cities and intellectual hubs and the capital of the world, in a sense, New York City.

While some pastors, according to the writer Jessica Martinez, attempt to relate to non-believers by speaking on cultural references, Keller warned against following the same example and instead advised preachers to be able to describe non-believers� fears, objections, and doubts in great details so they know they are understood.

Disagree. That is so far off what I would teach or believe or find in the Bible. Do I want to answer objections? I was preaching the Gospel to a man on a flight from Atlanta to Manchester. Manchester.

And we sat for two and a half hours. An English fellow named Tony. Tony, if you�re listening, I�m glad you are. I told him about No Compromise Radio. And he has objections and he has thoughts about the Bible and God�s holiness and his sin and the exclusivity of Christ and what he was taught at the Church of England growing up in Yorkshire.

And we talked about all that. I�m not trying to be rude. Well, the Bible says and then that�s it. I mean, there�s a conversation. Because that�s what we�re doing. We�re conversing. But I�m still preaching to him the demands of God and his demand for righteousness, his loathing of sin, his meaning the Lord�s.

And so, I know this man understood me because of the way he responded. Keller concluded, �You have to demonstrate to a non-Christian that you understand what it is like not to believe. Really? Stephen?

Did Stephen do that? Did Paul do that? That doesn�t necessarily mean that you have to say you have doubts yourself. Good. I�m happy for that. But rather, you have to know how to depict their struggles and aspirations.

I mean, from my perspective, my opinion, this seems to be the postmodern intellectual approach that has its roots in a therapeutic kind of delivery, a psychologically driven message and methodology instead of a biblical one.

Obviously, when Paul goes to Mars Hill, he has a certain strategy. But the strategy is still one of proclamation that fits in perfect with Paul. When you�re around people who understand the Hebrew Bible, you tell them this is what the Bible says.

And when you�re around people who are pagans and Epicureans and Stoic philosophers, you start with creation and then you work towards judgment because there is a Jesus, a man whom God appointed, and we know this judgment is going to take place because of the resurrection.

And it�s a proclamation. It�s an evangelistic delivery, a heralding. And so, when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 1 and 2, you gospel the gospel, that to me is in direct opposition to this kind of, I don�t know.

I don�t know if it�s New York City, it�s the literary, social, educational hub, media, and there�s trying to find a way to present the truth in that fashion. And I think that�s where Keller runs into trouble.

And so, anyway, my name is Mike Abendroth. How we need to persuade and to relate to non-believers. I think it�s fair to say that every Christian knows how to relate to non-believers, to pagans. Why would that be?

Well, because every Christian has been a pagan. Every Christian has been an unbeliever. And so, we know what it�s like. Okay, so let�s think through this. In evangelism, when you�re talking to an unbeliever, do you know what it�s like to trust in your own works, to think that you�re good compared to everyone else, that you have a little pro and con, the good outweighs the bad, that you believe there�s a God and you pray to Him and you wouldn�t deny Jesus� life or death or anything like that?

I mean, that was me. I know what unbelievers think. I know how they think. I could anticipate exactly what they�re going to say. The guy in the airplane next to me, I asked him about going to heaven. He said he�s been good.

I mean, it just was so classic. And then I talked to him because he was a white-collar guy. What if you got caught embezzling money from your software company and then you were called to task, they had the goods, the judge called you up, this is your signature, this is the deposit into your account, and what do you have to say for yourself?

I�m good. So, I mean, we talked about all that, and there�s nothing wrong with saying to yourself as you preach the gospel, what would an unbeliever think? But I don�t give them what they want. That is the message of 1 Corinthians 1.

The world wants signs. The world wants wisdom. And I�m not going to give it to them. I�m going to give them what they don�t want. That�s gospel preaching. And here it�s John the Baptist. They come out, brood of vipers who warned you from the wrath to come.

Jesus, repent. It�s giving people what they don�t want. And I don�t have to say to myself, here�s the great thing. Here�s the freeing truth. I�m nice. I talk back and forth. And what about football? What about your kids?

Tell me about your job. I�m not saying you should be rude. But when it comes from me to deliver the message, to proclaim the message, to gospel the gospel, that�s what I do. And I say the Bible teaches that everyone�s sinful, that everyone�s fallen short of the glory of God, that everyone has committed trespasses, transgressions, iniquities, sins, and they, along with you, need a Savior.

And if you could get to heaven by being good, then that was pretty awful of God to crucify the Son. He should have just taught and said, everybody, now just kind of the Rick Warren deal. God just wants you to be you.

Remember his TED Talk said something similar to that. And so just be you. Be a good you. We proclaim the truth. And there�s only one way of salvation. Jesus, as a representative, fully lived a perfect life.

And Jesus as substitute died on the cross for sinners like you. We know God accepted that sacrifice because He raised Him from the dead. And because of this truth that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life, you need to lay down your weapons of rebellion and repent.

You need to believe. You need to trust not in your own goodness, not in your own view of heaven, not your own view of God. Demons even believe in tremble, but that you would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that frees me because God�s sovereign in salvation. And my responsibility as an errand boy, F .B. Meyer said, my goal in life is to be God�s errand boy. My response is, Lord, I�m trusting in you to work in that guy�s life.

I�ll never see him again. Maybe he�ll track me down somehow. But I hope to see him in heaven. God, use my feeble, frail words. Use my desire even to want to contextualize all this stuff. And I just need to be faithful.

Stewards are meant to be found faithful. And so when you discuss evangelism, I�m more concerned that preachers tell people what the message is versus how to relate to the nonbelievers. It�s just a nonstarter, but it�s fun to talk about, and it probably sells at Exponential West Conference.

Well, my name is Mike Abendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. You can write me at info at nocompromiseradio .com. Or you can go look to WVNE 760 radio. We�re happy to be on that station. God bless you.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We�re right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.