Jesus is NOT the Answer

So can we PLEASE stop marketing the Gospel?

How do you sell things? This is something I’ve researched a great deal because I sell things online. Not just books, like The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer or streaming videos like The God Particle. I also sell video courses like Supercharge Your Sitcom and PDFs like 14 Problems with Your Sitcom Script that come with free webinar replays.

Here is the received wisdom on selling: highlight the need for what you’re selling. Help your potential customer see that they have problem that you can solve. Click. Pay. Done. Problem solved.

This way of selling doesn’t come naturally. We focus on explaining the product or ourselves. In the case of hawking my sitcom wares, I might be tempted to establish authority and credibility, pointing to my twenty years of writing sitcoms from the BBC and my 193 episodes of my Sitcom Geeks podcast.

But that’s not the place to start. You start with their problem. Establish the need. Offer the solution.

I mention this because this is how we often do our evangelism. We do it like we’re marketing a product. We tell people that they have a problem. And that Jesus is the answer. Is that a good strategy?

It Isn’t Working

How well is our gospel ‘marketing’ going? We Evangelicals like to think our evangelism is effective, but is it? The largest churches in the UK are almost all evangelical. So we must be doing something right. Right?

Let’s be honest. How quickly are those big churches growing? Even the fastest growing denominations in the UK at the moment – namely Vineyard, New Frontiers and Elim – are growing at 2-6%.¹ That’s not what we could call ‘revival speed’, is it?

Why is that? Here’s one possibility: we do evangelism like we do marketing. I think that’s a mistake.

It’s easily done. I’m doing it right now with this very article you’re reading. I have something to say, and I want you to be curious about it, by setting it up with a question. I’ve got a clickbait-y headline - that Jesus is not the answer - which is, at least, truthful to what I’m saying in this article, in a manner of speaking. I’ve highlighted (or created) the need. And here I come with the answer.

What Our Evangelism Misses

Evangelising like we’re marketing doesn’t account for one key difference: spiritual blindness. Or total depravity.

Last time, we looked at the similarity between two ideas. The first is ‘false consciousness’ that you find in Critical Theory and Neo-Marxist thinking. Crudely speaking, it’s all about power and the lies told by the elite who are keeping you down because of your class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality or identity. And if you are blind to what’s really going on, you need to be awakened (hence: Woke) from your false consciousness.

Last week, we noted the gospel is similar in the sense that the unbeliever is spiritually blind, and dead in their sins and transgressions. The only solution to this is be awakened by God’s grace, and his provision of the Holy Spirit, turning your heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

The temptation is to ‘market’ the gospel by explaining the problem. But how do you explain to the dead that they’re dead. They can’t hear you. The dead cannot hear, let alone help themselves or ignite the process to begin regeneration.

Jesus illustrates time after time in the gospel by giving sight to the blind and raising the dead – in the case of Lazarus, a man who had been dead for four days.

Are we using the Gospel of Jesus Christ to solve a particular problem, and awaken the unbeliever from a false consciousness?

Saviour As Solution

If you believe someone’s biggest problem is their sin, you will preach Jesus as their Saviour. But first you have to convince them that they need saving so that they ask for the solution. What if they’re not convinced? What if they say ‘I’m not a sinner?’ This should be no surprise. Sinners generally don’t think they’re sinners.

You might reply ‘But you really are sinner. Your sin is so serious you don’t realise how sinful you are.’ It’s starting to sound like false consciousness theory, isn’t it? It’s not very compelling and, spiritually speaking, ineffective.

If you believe someone’s biggest problem is their lack of authority, you will preach Jesus as their King and Lord. But first you have to convince them that they are a leaderless rebel against the true authority. What if they’re not convinced? What if they say ‘I’m not a rebel?’

You might reply ‘But you are a rebel. Your rebellion is so serious you don’t even recognise that Jesus is the true King.’ It’s starting to sound like false consciousness theory, isn’t it? Again, not compelling and, spiritually speaking, ineffective.

Different Christian tribes emphasise different problems and propose Jesus as the solution to that problem. Do you lack joy? Purpose? Structure? Rhythm? Jesus is the answer.

Jesus is Not The Answer

Jesus is not the answer. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last. He is our true King and Saviour, co-eternal with the Father through whom all things were made. Shouldn’t we start there? The focus of our evangelism should not be ourselves, and our needs because we are blind to our true nature and our true needs. But this technique also diminishes the authority of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’s miracles were not primarily about meeting the needs of those around him, or even to impress people so that they would believe in him.

Given Jesus’s cosmic power, his miracles are rather humble and limited, especially in John’s gospel. His miracles teach us his identity, showing us he is the second Adam, the new Abraham, the true Jacob, the eternal Moses, the ultimate Joshua and so on. It’s all about Him. Christians know this. So why do we make evangelism all about us?

The focus should be on Jesus Christ. He is not the answer. He is the one who asks the questions. And he asks a lot of questions in the gospels. So let’s focus on Christ. Can we at least try that and see what happens?

Can you help me, please?

If you read all the way to the end of the article - and we all know that generally people don’t like to read - you probably my find my schtick interesting, even if you don’t necessarily agree with it. So could you share this article - or another one from the last year or so - with a friend, colleague, foe of family member who might get it? I’d really appreciate that. Maybe even put it on Facebook or Twitter if you’re feeling brave. Click ‘Share’ below:

1. Source: https://churchmodel.org.uk/2022/05/15/growth-decline-and-extinction-of-uk-churches/