This statement was issued by a number of participants in the World Congress on Evangelism held at
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor; he has sent me to herald liberation for captives and recovery of sight for the blind, to give freedom to those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18).
As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you (John 20).
God is making known the good news; Shalom through Jesus, he is Lord of all (Acts 10:36).
God was well pleased through him to reconcile the whole universe back to himself, making shalom through the blood of his Cross (Colossians 1:20).
A number of issues have thrust themselves upon us from papers delivered in this Congress and, from the subsequent wrestling with them under the authority of God’s word, a number of us have felt the compulsion of his Spirit to share this response.
WE AFFIRM that…
The EVANGEL is God’s good news in Jesus Christ; it is good news of the reign he proclaimed and embodies; of God’s mission of love to restore the world to wholeness through the Cross of Christ and him alone; of his victory over the demonic powers of destruction and death; of his Lordship over the entire universe; it is good news of a new creation, a new humanity, a new birth through him by his life-giving Spirit; of the gifts of the messianic reign contained in Jesus and meditated through him by his Spirit; of the charismatic community empowered to embody his reign of shalom here and now before the whole creation and make his good news seen and known. It is good news of liberation, of restoration, of wholeness, and of salvation that is personal, social, global and cosmic. Jesus is Lord! Let the earth hear his voice!
The COMMUNICATION OF THE EVANGEL in its fullness to every person worldwide is a mandate of the Lord Jesus to his community.
There is no biblical dichotomy between the word spoken and the word made visible in the lives of God’s people. Men will look as they listen and what they see must be at one with what they hear. The Christian community must chatter, discuss and proclaim the Gospel; it must express the Gospel in its life as the new society, in its sacrificial service of others as a genuine expression of God’s love, in its prophetic exposing and opposing of all demonic forces that deny the Lordship of Christ and keep people less than fully human, in its pursuit of real justice for all people, in its responsible and caring trusteeship of God’s creation and its resources.
There are times when our communication may be by attitude and action only, and times when the spoken word will stand alone; but we must repudiate as demonic the attempt to drive a wedge between evangelism and social action.
The RESPONSE DEMANDED BY THE EVANGEL is that men and women repent of their sin and every other lordship than that of Jesus Christ, and commit themselves to him to serve him in the world. Individuals are not already reconciled to God and simply awaiting the realization of it. Nor can biblical authority be found for the false hope of universalism; the reality of the eternal destruction of evil and all who cling to it must be solemnly affirmed, however humbly agnostic the Bible requires us to be about its nature.
Salvation is by God’s grace on the sole ground of Christ’s atoning death and resurrection and is received by obedient faith. Repentance is demanded; individuals must experience a change of understanding, attitude, and orientation. But the new birth is not merely a subjective experience of forgiveness. It is a placement within the messianic community: God’s new order which exists as a sign of God’s reign to be consummated at the end of the age.
METHODS IN EVANGELIZATION must center in Jesus Christ, who took our humanity, our frailty, our death, and gave himself in suffering servanthood for others. He sends his community into the world, as the Father sent him, to identify and agonize with people, to renounce status and demonic power, and to give itself in selfless service of others for God. Those who proclaim the Cross must be continually marked by the Cross. With unashamed commitment to Jesus Christ we must engage in the mutual listening of dialogue, the reward of which is understanding. We need to meet people on their own ground and be particularly attentive to the powerless. We must use the language, thought-forms, and imagery appropriate to differing cultures. As Christians, we must live in such unity and love that people may believe. We must allow God to make visible in the new humanity the quality of life that reflects Christ and demonstrates his reign. We must respect cultural integrity while being free from all that denies or distorts the Lordship of Christ. God’s Spirit overcomes all barriers of race, color, and culture.
STRATEGY FOR WORLD EVANGELIZATION in our generation is with God, from whom we eagerly anticipate the renewal of his community, equipping us with love and power so that the whole Christian community may make known the whole Gospel to the whole man throughout the whole world. We believe God to be calling us into greater unity and partnership throughout the earth to fulfill the commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
WE CONFESS that…
We have been failing in our obedience to the Lordship of Christ and have been refusing to submit to his word and be led by his Spirit.
We have failed to incarnate the Gospel and to come to men as servants for Christ’s sake.
Our testimony has often been marred by triumphalism and arrogance, by lack of faith in God and by diminished love for his people.
We have often been in bondage to a particular culture and sought to spread it in the name of Jesus.
We have not been aware of when we have debased and distorted the Gospel by acceptance of a contrary value system.
We have been partisan in our condemnation of totalitarianism and violence and have failed to condemn societal and institutionalized sin, especially that especially that of racism.
We have sometimes so identified ourselves with particular political system that the Gospel has been compromised and the prophetic voice muted.
We have frequently denied the rights and neglected the cries of the under-privileged and those struggling for freedom and justice.
We have often separated Jesus Christ the Saviour from Jesus Christ the Lord.
We have sometimes distorted the biblical understanding of man as a total being and have courted an unbiblical dualism.
We have insulated new Christians from life in the world and given simplistic responses to complex problems.
We have sometimes manipulated our message, used pressure techniques, and been unduly preoccupied with statistics.
We have allowed eagerness for quantitative growth to render us silent about the whole counsel of God. We have been usurping God’s Holy Spirit of love and power.
WE REJOICE…
In our membership by his Spirit in the body of Christ and in the joy and love he has given us in each other.
In the openness and honesty with which we have met each other and have experienced mutual acceptance and forgiveness.
In the possibilities for people to read his word in their own languages through indigenous translations.
In the stimulation of mind and challenge to action that has come to us from his Word as we have placed the needs of our generation under its judgment and light.
In the prophetic voices of our brothers and sisters in this Congress, with whom we go forth in humility and hope.
In the certainty that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. He shall reign for ever. Alleluia!
WE RESOLVE...
To submit ourselves afresh to the Word of God and to the leading of his Spirit, to pray and work together for the renewal of his community as the expression of his reign, to participate in God’s mission to his world in our generation, showing forth Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and calling on all men everywhere to repent, to submit to his Lordship, to the liberation of all men and women in his name.
LET THE EARTH HEAR HIS VOICE!
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