- In our current Fast Facts series on apologetics and evangelism we have been examining some of the flawed views on outreach to non-believers that are sometimes found within contemporary Christianity.
- Today we will consider another flawed view on outreach called the Devotional approach. This view argues that the best approach to evangelism is to simply share our personal stories about what Jesus has done for us.
- The Devotional approach focuses on highlighting our own personal experience with Jesus and sharing our stories of how he has changed our lives.
- Now, sharing our personal stories of how Jesus has changed our lives is certainly a helpful tool in our evangelistic outreach. However, we must remember that there are other people in our culture with stories of changed lives too; and for many of them, it wasn’t Jesus who did the changing (I’m reminded of a young woman I met recently who raved about the difference that Zen Buddhism had made in her life).
- The fundamental flaw with a pure Devotional approach to evangelism is that salvation must ultimately be based on truth and facts, not simply on subjective personal experiences.
- Remember, Satan is the great deceiver (John 8:44) and he is more than happy to lead someone into a positive transformational experience if it takes him or her further away from Jesus.
- Sharing our stories is helpful, but ultimately we must provide a rational explanation of the Gospel (Rom. 10:2-3, 14-17), reasonable answers to honest questions (1 Peter 3:15), and a defense of the truth as opposed to heresy and fallacy (Jude 3).
For more information on sharing your faith with those caught up in false religions and philosophies, please check out Dr. Carlson’s book, Fast Facts On False Teachings, available in our online store.