Evangelism or emotional manipulation?

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Rom. 1:16)

From the very beginning, Satan has used all his wickedness to prevent people from believing in God’s truth. Throughout the ages, he has deployed his deception and lies with great subtlety to plunge humanity into an atmosphere of chaos and despair.

The message of the gospel has not been spared from this fierce satanic attack. And its purity is being severely compromised by the superficiality of the contemporary church.

This superficiality has invaded every area of church life like a cancer. And a fundamental area such as evangelism has been no exception. Such is the case, I am convinced, that many godly and serious Christians, upon observing the current state of the evangelistic landscape, have asked themselves the very question that serves as the title of this article: evangelism or emotional manipulation?

Let’s begin by posing a crucial question to clarify the path forward: What is evangelism?

If we take the Bible as our sole authority and focus primarily on the teaching of the New Testament, we must conclude that evangelism is, in simple terms: preaching the gospel. This then leads us to ask: What is the gospel? What is its message? Having the correct answer is essential for healthy evangelism; for if we do not understand the gospel message correctly, then our evangelism—no matter how zealous and fervent it may be—will be deficient.

Let’s take a brief look at the four main ingredients of the evangelistic message proposed by Dr. J. I. Packer in his excellent book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God:

First, the gospel is a message about God. It tells us who He is, what His character is like, what His standards are, and what He demands of us, His creatures. It tells us that we owe our very existence to Him; that for better or worse we are always in His hands and under His gaze, and that He made us to worship and serve Him, so that we may praise Him and live to give Him glory.

Second, the gospel is a message that speaks about sin. It tells us that we cannot attain God’s standard of perfection, that we have become sinful, defiled, and helpless beings ensnared in sin, and that we are now under God’s wrath. It tells us that the reason we sin constantly is because we are sinners by nature, and that nothing we can or try to do on our own can make us righteous or earn God’s favor again.

Thirdly, the gospel is a message about Christ: Christ, the incarnate Son of God; Christ, the Lamb of God who dies for sin to reconcile humanity to its Creator; Christ, the perfect Savior.

Fourth, the gospel is a call to faith and repentance. The gospel demands that man, as one accountable for his actions before God, abandon his rebellion and turn to his Creator. [pp. 39–49]

If we analyze the elements proposed by Dr. Packer, we realize that they form a conceptual unity. It makes no sense to speak of one without speaking of the rest; they are like the links in a chain. For example, what is the point of speaking of Christ as Redeemer if we have not first spoken of God as Creator, the Lawgiver of ethics and morality, and of us as creatures who have rebelled against His authority and His law, and are therefore condemned? And what is the point of speaking of all the above if we do not tell people that God demands they repent and turn to Him in obedience to His Word?

Let’s be very clear: if we omit any of these elements in our presentation of the gospel, then no matter how elaborate and practical our evangelistic programs may be, or how “good results” we may be achieving, the reality is quite the opposite: we are dishonoring God and undermining our calling to evangelize. For only the faithful preaching of the gospel is the power of God! to save those who are dead in trespasses and sins. “Evangelistic campaigns,” in particular, have become the most “successful” model of evangelism, and for many, holding these events is the only thing synonymous with evangelism. So much so that many men of God who have spoken out against the superficiality and manipulation found in these gatherings have been accused of being against evangelism.

In these campaigns, a strategy has been adopted that consists of preaching half-truths; there is no complete and profound presentation of the gospel, but rather something light and gentle that everyone can embrace. What is happening in most of these campaigns cannot be classified as evangelism—not if we want to be biblical. sins. In this kind of evangelism, everything is designed to provoke an emotional reaction: the preaching, the music, the decor, the “power testimonies.” The preaching in these campaigns has nothing to do with a powerful explanation and application of the gospel. The aforementioned elements are not present as a cohesive whole. It is rather cheerful, flattering rhetoric that seeks to offer those present the very things they already desire in their natural, fallen state. The formula for success is to accept Christ into your heart because He will solve your problems: He will heal you, fix your marriage, make your business prosper, protect your family, and so on. Pure marketing! You don’t need to be born again to want these things. Just because someone reacts positively to this kind of message doesn’t necessarily mean God has worked in their heart. Who doesn’t want things to go well for them? Do you know anyone who doesn’t?

Now, I want to clarify something. We are emotional beings, and it is impossible for us not to express emotions. Many people go to the extreme of viewing any emotional display with suspicion and labeling it as fake and manipulative, but this is simply an unhealthy exaggeration. I am referring, as I said earlier, to basing our strategy on appealing to emotions—this is what is generally done in modern evangelism—where everything is planned with the sole purpose of eliciting a mere emotional reaction. In this way, people’s feelings are distorted instead of their minds being instructed. This is what happens: many emotional “decisions,” but empty minds devoid of the fruits of understanding. Then we are surprised that most converts through this method never return to church, and most of those who do, despite years of “faithful Christianity,” never manifest the fruits of true maturity. To solve this problem, the doctrine of the “carnal Christian” was created several decades ago at a Baptist seminary. Based on a terrible interpretation of 1 Cor. 3:5. According to this doctrine, one can be a true believer and at the same time live in constant carnality throughout one’s life and in constant superficiality regarding biblical understanding. Let’s see how Pastor Jan David Hettinga refutes this nonsense in his book The Trustworthy King:

True Christianity is something that takes control of your life, radically changes it, and transforms you into a new person in Christ. It constitutes a way of life, an all-encompassing lifestyle that influences everything you are and everything you do. [p. 125]

How did this happen? Well, I believe that among the many causes that could be mentioned, there is one that is fundamental: we have lost the balance between God’s sovereignty in salvation and our responsibility to evangelize. The prerogative to save sinners belongs to God alone; He uses our evangelistic work to do so, but it is He who saves. We have exchanged faithful evangelism for successful evangelism. Our calling is to do it faithfully, whether or not we see results. As soon as we think we must do it successfully, we become calculating and manipulative in order to obtain a tangible sign of “success.” And that is precisely what we are doing. We have created a method that allows us to tally “converts”: we put them through a series of stereotypical questions—in which the answer is obvious—and push them to make a decision without having properly presented the gospel message to them. If the person makes their “decision,” then we have another member of the Christian family—statistically speaking—and even if they never return to church or never bear fruit, we must not doubt their conversion.

Many people have gone through this evangelistic ritual and never returned to church, but if we try to preach to them, they will tell us with complete conviction: “I accepted Jesus so many years ago.” And all because one day they were persuaded to come to the front of a church and were made to repeat a prayer. Surely someone will say: I know people who have truly been converted that way. That is true. But not because of that method, but in spite of that method. Those who have truly been converted did not do so because they raised their hands, came to the front, and repeated a prayer; it was because they truly repented and put their faith in Christ.

If you are an evangelist reading this, you may be upset, because this form of evangelism has become the “golden calf” of modern evangelism. But my intention is not to criticize anyone, but rather to reflect on the negative consequences of an unscriptural evangelistic methodology that is doing tremendous harm to the life of the church.

God bless you.