CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

Thomas P. Johnston 387
a) “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them
from the Scriptures,” Acts 17:2
b) “So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the
market place every day with those who happened to be present,” Acts 17:17
c) “And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and
Greeks,” Acts 18:4
d) “And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and
reasoned with the Jews,” Acts 18:19
e) “Reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God, Acts 19:8
f) “He was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come,” Acts 24:25
Consider also, for example, the context and use of diale,gomai in other NT contexts, which is
quite different than the concept of “dialogue” as used in the Lausanne:
Mark 9:34 (NIV), “But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the
greatest”
Heb 12:5, “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, ‘My son,
do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him’”
Jude 1:9, “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the
body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord
rebuke you.’”
For a consideration of the NT weight of diale,gomai, there are two other terms available to
Luke in writing:
(1) sumba,llw, “converse,” from Luke 14:31; Acts 4:15; 17:18; 18:27; 20:14
(2) o`mile,w [from which derives the English “homiletics”], “converse,” from Luke 24:14,
15; Acts 20:11, 24:26
25) o`mologe,w, confess; admit, declare, say plainly; promise (24 NT uses):
Introduction: The word, o`mologe,w, has been made into a complex term, with quite a number
of historico-theologico-ecclesial variations of interpretation, for example:
(1) Is it reactive, as in [sheepishly] confessing in response to the question of another
person, e.g. acknowledging Christ as Savior when asked?
(2) Is it sacramental, such as going to a confessional booth to make a confession before
a priest, thereby “acknowledging” some particular sin to receive penance and
absolution?
(3) Is it liturgical, such as reciting a certain confession about some philosophical aspects
of Trinitarian theology or Christology:
E.g. “Let us [all] now confess our faith”—Then, everyone in the given church building
recites or reads the Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, Creed of Chalcedon, or Creed of
Athanasius?
Ways in Which the Church Must Carry Out Its Mission in the Contemporary World [6 August 1964], §96; available at:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P6ECCLES.HTM; accessed 15 June 2001; Internet). Paul VI then explained
three circles for their mission of dialogue: (1) “All things human” (ibid., §97); (2) Monotheists, e.g. Jews and Muslims
(ibid., §107-08); (3) “…the circle of Christianity. In this field the dialogue, which has come to be called ecumenical, has
already begun, and in some areas is making real headway. There is much to be said on this complex and delicate
subject, but our discourse does not end here. … But we must add that it is not in our power to compromise with the
integrity of the faith [distinctive Catholic doctrine] or the requirements of charity [including use of the sacraments and
antagonism to schism]” (Ibid., §109). This encyclical was published just four months prior to what is often considered
Vatican II’s most important decree, Lumen Gentium (21 November 1964), in which the order of these concentric circles
is reversed, similarly to the 1993 Catechism of the Catholic Church, under the portion, “Who Belongs to the Church”
(§836-845).
507 From the 1974 Lausanne Covenant: “Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism,
and so is that kind of dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the
proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Saviour and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him
personally and so be reconciled to God” (John R. W. Stott, Making Christ Known: Historic Mission Documents from
the Lausanne Movement [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996], 20).