You know the story. If you’re like my family, you probably watch it nearly every Christmas season:
Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
[moves toward the center of the stage]
Linus: Lights, please. [a spotlight shines on Linus] “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not:”
[Linus drops his security blanket on purpose]
Linus: “for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’” (source)
Linus is recounting the words of Scripture found in Luke 2:8-14 – the glorious recounting of the angel of the Lord descending upon unsuspecting shepherds and announcing the good news of Christ’s birth. The angel actually shares quite a bit of rich theology in this short dialogue. Jesus is the Christ. He is the promised one born in Bethlehem. He is the Savior (for sinners). And He is Lord.
EVANGELISM
Luke 2:10 is essentially evangelism. In fact, the phrase, “I bring you good news” is just one Greek word, εὐαγγελίζομαι (euangelizomai). This is the word for which we have the English word “evangelize.” To evangelize is to bring good news. Specifically, to evangelize is to bring the good news of what Christ, the God-Man, has done through His righteous life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection for sinners (Rom. 4:25, 1 Cor. 15:1-5). Thus, one of the first examples of evangelism we have in the New Testament happens at the birth of Christ where the angelic messengers of God go to lowly shepherds and proclaim the Messiah’s birth.
Faithful Christians must model their evangelism after the examples and precepts of Scripture. Sadly, the modern church has come up with new and “better” ways to share the hope of Christ. And in that light, I’d like to share with you what might have happened had the angel of the Lord in Luke 2 tried to “evangelize” like so many churches do today.
HOW ABOUT WE FEED THEM?
The Christmas season is a time when many churches seek to feed the hungry. They run coat drives. They collect socks. None of these things are bad! But suppose that was the focus of the angel that night?
“I see these poor shepherds out in the cold. They will not care to know what I have to say unless they first know I care about their physical needs! Therefore, let me build a relationship with them as I give the food and clothing.” Or, “I’ll give them this food and these clothes and tell them it’s in the name and love of Jesus!”
Again, I am not telling churches to not give out clothes or food. But I am saying, unapologetically, that meeting physical needs is not the church’s primary mission. And ultimately, meeting physical needs is not evangelism. Meeting physical needs may include evangelism (and if it’s done rightly it must include evangelism). Nevertheless, giving someone something to eat or a coat or socks is not sharing Christ with them apart from verbally communicating the gospel.
To repeat, because we are too often dull of hearing, to hand someone warm soup “in the name of Jesus” is not sharing the gospel with them.
Had the angel just done this, the shepherds would have been warm and fed but would have maintained a cold and empty soul.
LET’S BUY GIFTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN
Christmas is a time when we think often about those who have less than we do. Many towns do some version of what is referred to as “An Angel Tree.” The names of children are put on this tree so that generous donors can buy them gifts they would otherwise not receive. Similar to the point above, this is not a bad thing!
Suppose, however, this would have been the focus of the angel. “Look at these poor shepherds! Their children are running around with bare feet and ragged clothes. They need better clothes. They need better games to play with. They need better beds to sleep in. Since God is generous, I’ll let these shepherds see my generosity so they can know Christ!”
Please don’t label me as the Grinch. I am not dissuading generosity. I am not saying Angel Trees are bad. But what I am saying, emphatically, is that buying gifts for needy children is not evangelism. Nor is it the church’s mission to ensure every child has a “good” Christmas.
Had the angel just done this, the shepherds may have had a temporary happy dwelling on earth, only to one day have an eternally miserable home in hell.
JUST PREACHING THE GOSPEL IS NOT EFFECTIVE
Suppose the angel of the Lord, sent by God most high, second-guessed God. He saw the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night and thought to himself, “This will never work. They are busy! They are out here trying to make ends meet. It is not a good time to preach the gospel. They need to know that I care about them before I can preach to them. I might disturb other people. It might be against Roman Law to proclaim another king in the land! Perhaps they or others will get mad at me and then all angels will have a bad reputation and how will that commend the gospel!? I will try to figure out a more effective way to share the gospel with these people.”
We would rightly conclude that such an angel would be a wicked angel, usurping God’s authority – inventing his own ideas on how to bring the hope of Christ to people instead of trusting what God had commanded. Furthermore, had the angel of the Lord done this, these shepherds would have never been disturbed but simultaneously never feared God.
BEAR WITH ME IN A LITTLE FOOLISHNESS
I understand this is quite a post. To think of the angel of the Lord in Luke 2 doing anything besides preaching the blessed gospel of Christ to these poor and needy shepherd sinners is absurd.
But, friends, isn’t this the point?
What are we doing when it comes to evangelism? Insert R.C. Sproul meme here. “What’s wrong with you people? No. I’m serious!”
Why does the church think that it has the right to alter God’s means of evangelism? Why do we think we are smarter than God or kinder than God or better planners than God or more effective than God? How could we have possibly messed up such an important task like evangelism, telling sinners the good news of what Christ has done and calling them to repent of their sins and believe this good news by faith? How could we have turned evangelism into non-evangelism and in some ways even counter-evangelism?
And yet, are we not all complicit here? If not presently, then at least in our past, we have all been guilty in some way or another of removing evangelism from the simple preaching of the gospel. We have taken sometimes good things or sometimes silly things and sometimes sinful things and done them instead of evangelism.
CHANGE FOR THE CHURCH
Evangelism is not “come and see” but “go and tell.” That is, Christ has not sent us into the world for event-elism but evangelism. We must go to the highways and hedges and actually proclaim the gospel. This is the command of our King. This is the commission for the church. This is the crown delight of God’s people, to extol His excellencies to the Nations!
What does this mean practically?
It means that many people reading this need to see real change in their churches regarding this sacred duty. It doesn’t mean you have to cancel the toy drive or the food drive or the clothing drive (though, it could mean that). But it does mean that if you are doing these things separate from intentionally communicating the gospel in words and calling upon sinners to repent and believe it, then all you are ultimately doing is sending people to hell warm and full instead of cold and hungry.
It also means if the focus of your evangelism is creating events for people to come and see, then you should let the angel of the Lord serve as an example. Go to where people are and take the gospel to them. This doesn’t mean that you can’t ever have events for people to come and hear the gospel. Though, it might be the case that you should be doing less of those sorts of things. We spend a lot of time, energy, and money on events that aren’t fulfilling the commission Christ has given us. Some churches do these huge events and then get a speaker who doesn’t even share the full or true gospel! Pastors, you’ll need to think through these matters with discernment and consider which events you probably should cut out.
Finally, Pastors, lead out in following the angel’s example of preaching. I get it. We aren’t angels. But we are messengers of Christ. And the angel isn’t the only example we have. Luke 2:17 shows the shepherds themselves told this good news! We also have the prophets of old. We have Christ Himself. We have the Apostles. All boldly going to people and proclaiming the good news of what Christ has done and calling sinners to repent (cf. Mark 1:15).
So, brother pastors, and qualified men of the church: God bids us to go and preach His good news! So, go, stand in your city, and proclaim the truth of Christ. Preach the gospel to those who are willing to listen and even to those who aren’t. You are a slave of God and servant to truth. Don’t try to outsmart God here. And don’t make excuses for disobedience. Pastors, you have not fulfilled your duty by tacking an altar call (which is not biblical) at the end of your Sunday sermon. Go and preach the gospel outside the walls of your local church.
And for all of us, let us be intentional about verbally communicating the gospel to those around us. About passing out faithful gospel tracts that tell sinners the good news of King Jesus and how God commands them to respond. About praying for evangelistic opportunities. All men, women, boys, and girls of the church can and should do this!
Let us push back on what evangelism has become today in so many places. Let us repent where we have failed in this area and run again to the grace of our Lord.
Most importantly, let us, like the angel in Luke, go forth and bring good news of great joy to all the people.