The Lausanne Global Conversation is on the World Wide Open Network
Author: Michael Ramsden
Date: 30.07.2010
Category: World Faiths
Editor’s Note: This Cape Town 2010 Advance Paper has been written by Michael Ramsden as an overview of the topic to be discussed at the Morning Plenary session on “Bearing Witness to the Love of Christ with People of Other Faiths.” Responses to this paper through the Lausanne Global Conversation will be fed back to the author and others to help shape their final presentations at the Congress.
“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (1)
Love is costly. Out of love, something may be offered to a recipient for nothing, but that is not the same as saying it didn’t cost the giver anything. It may cost everything. Yet when it comes to the issue of witnessing to people of other faiths, we seem to be looking for methods and means that cost us nothing. The only way to achieve such an end would be without love- which is maybe why so much of it comes across as clanging symbols and noisy gongs. Rejected love is painful – Jesus expressed his heartfelt longing in the face of stubborn rejection. There is an urgent need for us to pour out our lives into reaching the lost as he poured out his life and reached down to us. It was EM Bounds who famously remarked that as the world is looking for better methods God is looking for better men, and perhaps we need to concentrate more on changing our hearts than working on our methods.
Jesus, in preparing his disciples for the trials of this world, told them that difficulty would come. They might have thought that, with God on their side, no suffering would ever befall them. Jesus however told them:
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God…” (2)
Immediately, before he utters these words, Jesus says “And you also will bear witness…”(3) The word witness is from the Greek word “martys.” This word was translated into Latin “martir”, and as its use was developed down through church history it became the word “martyr” as we have and understand it today. Even in the New Testament though, the connection between being a witness and the suffering it entails is very clear. We are all called to be witnesses. In being a faithful witness to Christ, persecution will come. “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”(4) “The world hated me,” Christ said (5), and so we should not be surprised at the hatred that we ourselves attract on account of his name. (6) As we read in Hebrews, faith and faithfulness lead both to great victories in his name – kingdoms were conquered, justice was enforced, promises were obtained, mouths of lions were stopped, the power of fire was quenched, the edge of the sword escaped from, foreign armies were put to flight, and women received back their dead by resurrection; and also to great cost as the world would see it - some were tortured, others suffered mocking, flogging, chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. Truly they were those of whom the world was not worthy.
So let us set aside any thoughts we may have about being able to witness to those not of our faith without cost. There are both great miracles – escaping the sword; and great martyrdoms – many were killed by the sword. There is no contradiction here. Just the certain knowledge that we are called to give our lives in his service and will one day be called home.
Let us also remember that we follow in the footsteps of the “martys”, the witnesses, who went before us. They were not simply spectators wishing to be entertained. They have gone ahead of us and run the race well. They are not few in number, they are a great cloud. The stands they occupy are not sparsely filled – they are packed – with those who laid down their lives in service of Him who is the author of life itself, and who now have eternal life through the founder and perfecter of that faith. We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, we read in Hebrews, so let us not lose heart, nor lose our way, but rather fixing our eyes on Christ, let us run after him who despised the shame of the Cross, and is now seated at the right hand of God. Let us fix our eyes on things above.
This is not a unique time in history. There is always a cost to reaching people with the good news about Jesus. It is a cost that perhaps many who claim Christ may not ultimately be prepared to pay. But this is this context in which the Gospel took root and spread. Preaching a message of repentance and faith has always been challenging. I have had the privilege of speaking in some parts of the world in which personal safety cannot be guaranteed. It is always disappointing to hear some people’s concerns that maybe I shouldn’t go to a particular place because the risks are too great. Yet our goal is not to conserve our lives at any cost, but rather to live our life in obedience to the call we have received. We are not called to ignore risk, or to be reckless. Everything must be prayerfully considered. But to refuse God’s call to go because of hardship is to demand something that the first Apostles would struggle to recognise as genuine Christian obedience.
There are several pointers for us in Hebrews:
This passage in Hebrews is riddled through from beginning to end with the hope of the resurrection. We follow in the footsteps, not of the dead, but of those who have the hope of new life in Christ, a resurrected life that Christ has already won for us. Let us not fear death; if we lose our life for Christ we end up keeping it.
Other papers written in this series cover other vital aspects that could very legitimately be presented here. In particular let me highlight the paper by Rebecca Manley Pippert. I have not talked about prayer and proclamation, scripture and the Holy Spirit, Christ and the cross. These are essential: the object of our witness, the power behind our witness, the content of our witness, the goal of witness and the nature of our witness. But unless we understand that in light of the Gospel, because of the Gospel and for the Gospel we must be prepared to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us in obedience to God’s mission we will not even be able to begin to address the issue at hand.
Let me offer two additional thoughts. For the early church, everyone was by definition of ‘another faith’. So we learn much just by simply reading the New Testament. Firstly, we see how Scripture employs witnesses. As A A Trites has written about the Gospel of John:
“The Fourth Gospel provides the setting for the most sustained controversy in the NT. Here Jesus has a lawsuit with the world. His witnesses include John the Baptist, the Scriptures, the words and works of Christ, and later the witness of the apostles and the Holy Spirit. [I would add that we too are being called as witnesses.] They are opposed by the world… John has a case to present, and for this reason he advances arguments, ask juridical questions and presents witnesses after the fashion of the OT assembly. The same observation is true of the Book of Acts, though Luke develops his case somewhat differently from John.
All of this material is suggestive for twentieth-century apologists. The person and place of Jesus… is still very much a contested issue. The claims of Christ as the Son of God are currently widely disputed. In such an environment a brief must be presented, arguments advanced and defending witnesses brought forward, if the Christian case is to be given a proper hearing. To fail to present the evidence for the Christian position would be tantamount to conceding defeat to its opponents. That is to say, the controversy theme, so evident in the NT, appears to be highly pertinent to the missionary task of the Church today…
… it is noteworthy that faithful witness often entails suffering and persecution.”
There are three marks of these Biblical witnesses:
Secondly, we must also give much thought to our credibility as witnesses. Someone may be an excellent eye-witness to an event, but if they are a known drunk their witness to any event will be questioned. We are to be known by our fruit. Titus 2:14 tell us that the “purpose of Christ’s death was to purify for himself a people enthusiastic for good works.” (9)These are not the basis of our salvation, but they are the evidence of it, and by them our Gospel is “adorned and commended to others.” (10)
Sadly, it seems that as a church we have wrestled with the balance between good works and having a people eager to do good works, and the preached word of the Gospel. Yet these two always go together. The writers of the first Lausanne Covenant had exactly the same struggle, and we would do well to reflect on the balance that they expressed: “The church may evangelize (preach the Gospel); but will the world hear and heed its message? Not unless the church retains its own integrity, the Covenant insists. If we hope to be listened to, we must practice what we preach… In particular, the Cross must be as central to our lives as it is to our message. Do we preach Christ crucified (I Cor. 1:23)? Then let us remember that a church which preaches the Cross must itself be marked by the Cross.” (11)
What we preach must be evidenced in our lives; otherwise we will always be seen as offering theories and speculations when what the world is looking for is concrete transformation.
There are many issues that could be addressed in this advance paper. There are many useful and effective models and approaches, some of which are described and discussed within this forum. We have also made some large assumptions – namely that it is agreed that we should be witnesses, that we are agreed what we are witnesses to, and that the purpose of that witness is to see disciples made amongst the nations. Others are addressing these issues.
Yet without a resolve to accept that we are called to lay down our lives, we end up with glorious theory and no action. The opposite danger of springing into action without growing in our understanding of the Gospel also ends up crippling the church – without deep roots the church withers. Are we prepared for the cost?
May we all learn to be true witnesses.
© The Lausanne Movement 2010
Keywords: Witness, cost, suffering, persecution, martyr, preaching, Hebrews 11, cross, credibility, good works, truthful
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Comments: 31
Recommendations: 4
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United States
Thanks Michael for the word. I was really thinking about the church in the west and my church in particular. It’s pretty easy to go off on them but then I look at my life. It’s hard to think about suffering in this context when it’s so hard to die to ourselves in the daily activities that clutter up our own lives as per Mere-B.
I have to ask myself if the Muslim friends I witness to really see love for them and for Christ or am I just making noise. I should really start asking myself what its costing me. I think too often I invite them into my world and life instead of dying to myself and entering theirs.
This paper taken personally, thanks.
17.10.2010
Norway
On p.3 you write that "for the early church, everyone was by definition of ’another faith’". Agree, but could you apply this to today? Most of us live in multi-religious situations with ’another faith’ and need sorely biblical advice on how to witness to Christ among other faiths. Does NT give us input relevant for this meeting with and common life with women and men of other faiths?
Knud Jørgensen
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14.10.2010
Ghana
Thank you Dr. Ramsden!
I am deeply touched by your reminder to be credibile witnesses of The Christ and the Cross we preach! Personal intergity in EVERY area of our lives is needed before intergrity in the Church would manifest!
Interestingly, the pursuit of personal intergrity deepens our relationship & intimacy with the Trinity. May the Lord daily put this hunger in our hearts!
14.10.2010
Mexico
Thanks for this reminder to count the cost of Christian witness. It is a message the West needs especially to hear and take to heart in a generation that is constantly being wooed away from sacrificial commitment by the idol of present comfort. Christian witness has always been costly, but gone are the days when missionaries packed their clothes in a coffin, expecting never to return home, and this generation in the West seems particularly averse to long-term commitments, which makes counting the cost of discipleship deeply counter-cultural.
13.10.2010
Malaysia
Deny oneself, talk up the cross and follow Christ daily is not a slogan. It’s a reality that one must prepare to experience in a day-to-day basis if one is truly serious about being a genuine, faithful and committed disciple of Christ. This is especially true when one is to be an authentic, credible, and faitfhul witness for Christ among people of other faiths. While it is true that we should respect people of other faiths, we can only be an obedient disciple of Christ by sharing with them what a wonderful Savior Christ is and the wonderful salvation that He has accomplished for all. In the midst of this, we really need to be prepared to lay down our lives for Christ and His Gospel. A witness for Christ is likely to become a martyr. But if we are willing to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters, no love is greater than this. Therefore, we need to pray for more love, more genuine and sacrificial love of God which only the Holy Spirit could pour into us (Rom.5:5).
13.10.2010
Jordan
Yes it is costly to witness to other faiths. Living in a country of other faith sets ahead of me the challenge to love them while telling them. I don’t know how much we are ready to pay that cost at times. Looking forward to discussing this and having a deeper insight about this important topic.
13.10.2010
United States
Very important call here. I’m echoing it on my blog http://codylorance.blogspot.com/2010/10/are-we-prepared-for-cost.html
You are right on with your statement that Christians "seem to be looking for methods and means that cost us nothing". See you in Cape Town, where I look forward to more.
12.10.2010
United States
Thank you for this clarion call to die. It reminds me of Bonhoeffer’s words, "When Christ bids a man, he bids him come and die." So much of what we do in the west has to do with comfort and perceived personal passion. I fear we’ve lost genuine cross-leaning passion, the laying down of the life passion.
07.10.2010
United States
It was encouraging to read this advanced paper. You made a lot of great points. They are ones that we need to continue to reflect on and be held accountable to. It’s so easy for us to read it once, apply it and then stray from them down the line, or get distracted.
“What we preach must be evidenced in our lives; otherwise we will always be seen as offering theories and speculations when what the world is looking for is concrete transformation.” That is something that is definitely on my heart! With a lot of people that I work with/minister to, they are fed up with the Church and they’re tired of hearing things from the front of a pulpit and then not seeing people live it out. I agree, that We are to be known by our fruit. Non-believers these days need to see what makes you different and if you’re being real with them. Which also means, we can’t be confined to the church walls. We need to be intentional to build relationships and give of our time, to be around those that need to see what it means to have a real relationship with Christ.
I hope that this will inspire so many to lay down whatever they may be holding onto and be willing to count the cost to get the love of Christ out there.
06.10.2010
Mozambique
¨..the world looks for better methods, and God looks for better servants¨
Thanks for your insights. Here in the North of Mozambique we have seen many missionary families paying heavily for their obedience, including loosing children to ilness etc. The Love you mentioned does seem to take many years to mature and grow and is difficult to have when you are still struggleing with cultural issues etc. Often we leave the situation too early before breaking through the first 3 years.
I like your 5 points, I would maybe interpret the RUN also with an element of EXPOSE. Often we build walls around ourselves.
A very important issue you mention is the FOCUS. Vision is paramount. There are so many needs that can sidetrack us.. but that might not be our calling. But to have a clear calling and to be infused by it, is very needed.
Regards
06.10.2010
Indonesia
I agree that witness, love and suffering become a 3-in-1 that unseparated each other. Then I am wondering, how could in imperialist era, people could bring a message of good news together with weapons and the spirit to colonize a certain area. A painful history which didn’t see the love of God inherent with the spreading of Gospel, creating a stigma that Christianity is much more an ideology than a hope that will raise dan recover the human dignity.
In order to regain new spirit of bearing witness of Christ, we need to confess our failure to live the gospel which we want to proclaiming. We have lived less, talked much. Our lives which didn’t live the gospel has contributed to create a thick blanket to the sensitivity of unbelievers, make their heart as a hard-court soil not just reject gospel but cynically ignore it.
We need passion of Jesus to bear witness to the love of Christ with people of other faiths.
04.10.2010
United Kingdom
@ Ishak_Sukamto:
Thank you, your comment has begun to make me realise how much hurt has been caused and still exists by people acting ’in the name of Christ’ but without His love.
06.10.2010
Netherlands
Fully given
Obedient listening
Christ centered
Upward
Singleminded
Ajith Fernando once said in a small meeting we had: ’To reach people of other faiths the cross to bear of the Western Christian might be his individuality.’ For so many people live in ’togetherness’.
05.10.2010
United Kingdom
I think you have put your finger one of the key reasons for the failure of the church in Western Europe. What you say reminded me of a church memorial I happened to see, to that commemorated three young men from a village in rural South West England. They were all called John, and they were all fishermen. In 1850, when they were all 21, they sailed with Captain Allen Gardiner as part of his crew on a missionary expedition to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America. They wanted to take the good news of Jesus to the native peoples there. They got there, but after great hardship and suffering, everyone on the expedition died, including the three Johns. What happened to them became known, and their diary was found, and it was the direct inspiration that lead to the founding of the South American Missionary Society. I exchanged messages with a member of the congregation who had written their booklet on the church’s history. A comment she made struck me forcibly. She said that she admired the zeal and devotion of the three Johns, but couldn’t help being saddened by what had happened to them. They had been so naïve. They hadn’t realised what they’d been letting themselves in for. Implication: if they had, they’d have stayed at home and been safe. Secure. That summed up for me why the Church in the West is making so little impact. We put security before sacrifice, and comfort before challenge. But that’s not what Jesus demands of us. Jesus calls us to put our lives on the line for him. I’m praying that the Congress will help us to take that to heart and act on it.
05.10.2010
Switzerland
Thank you, Michael, for illustrating the meaning of witness in general and the cost of witness in particular. I agree fully that it is about a lifelong joyful and painful walk with Christ rather than a quick-fix method. Embracing the theology of suffering is something we Christians living in the West have to learn. I asked myself: Why is it so difficult to learn?
Blessings
Michael H
05.10.2010
Australia
Thanks Michael ... As I sit here in a pleasant cafe reading your article of the inevitable cost of witness, I needed this reminder.
27.09.2010
Australia
Thanks....
" A church that preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross!"
The same can be said for a person who preaches the Word!
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Gal. 2:20
26.09.2010
United Kingdom
Thank you for this reminder to count the cost. Very powerful and challenging. I particularly liked the EM Bounds quote, and also Mere’s encouragement for us to go to those hard/unreached places.
I’m part of the 20’s-30’s generation - the so-called ’missing generation’ in the church today, perhaps especially in the west - and am pondering issues of suffering and cost at this time as part of a challenge to our frequent apathy here, so found this very helpful thanks.
21.09.2010
Nigeria
Thanks for your very inspiring and challenging views on the subject.
The church in certain parts of the world is loosing its grip on perservering in bearing witness to people of other faiths. Simply because as you said, we are not prepared to "suffer". Suffering for Christ has become an alien word in the christian dictionary of missiology. It definitely must make a come-back before we can see meaningful progress in this kind of evangelization.
"When the foundation is wrong, what can the righteous do?" The converts we are making now need to be given an orientation about what it means to witness or to be ’matryred’ for the cause of Christ. The fear is that there will even be fewer converts because when the tree is not good, the fruit will also not be good. We all need to repent and go back to the ancient landmark.
Sarah Mina
19.09.2010
South Africa
Tremendous, as always, from Michael. An excellent challenge for us to take risks.
In the NT this risk dimension included faith for the power of God to touch peoples’ lives.
On the basis of Hebrews 2:3-4 (This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.), I would add to the 5 ’pointers in Hebrews’ Expectation. That God will work as we witness, adding His witness to ours.
This witness of God is, from a Scriptural perspective, essentially supernatural - and is easily observable in Scripture as well as in the massive movements towards Christianity across the world at the moment. This aspect of our witness to those of other faiths is therefore both evident and necessary.
17.09.2010
United States
I am saddened by the fact that we do not talk about suffering, hardship and persecution much especailly with people going to hard places.
Every missionary and follower of Christ must read this article.
Thank you for your bldness!
17.09.2010
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