Pragmatism-The Achilles Heel of the Church Today

Ravi Zacharias ranks among the foremost apologists of our generation. His website, replete with God honoring resources, promises to strengthen Christian resolve and to assist in waging battle with opposing spiritual forces in this world. Yet this erudite man reveals a deep and abiding affection for the Lord Jesus as well as for those who do not know Christ as Savior. 

The following quotation is plucked out of Modern Reformation magazine ("Evangelicalism's Winter," Vol. 17, Num. 7, November/December 2008), p. 28. It represents but a fraction of the God-exalting, doctrines-of-grace affirming, culture-reaching wisdom desperately needed in the Church today. This issue in particular contains a special section with eleven church leaders briefly answering the question: "What is the Future of Evangelicalism?" I invite you subscribe or to at least go online and check out their offerings. In an interview with Modern Reformation, Ravi Zacharias said:

"Sheer pragmatism is probably the predominant North American philosophy; do whatever works. But what we find out in the the long run is that sometimes what works isn't necessarily good or true. And we have to think these things through in order to determine the pitfalls of evangelism. . . . If you come to Christ through sheer pragmatism, there will always be somebody around the corner who can pragmatically give you something better."

Many in the evangelical camp seem to have imagined that no matter how they tossed the Gospel into the air, it would still fall the same way every time. Paul would disagree. He wrote: My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom [one method] but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power [another method] that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:4-5). Thus, one's engaging rhetoric may "earn the ear" of the hearer while losing their heart. Seemingly implausible words, on the other hand, promise to carry a far greater, and eternal significance. Both produce faith, one resting in man's wisdom, the other in God's power. Both spoke the "gospel," but only one succeeded--the one empowered through the Spirit. It is impossible to overestimate the tremendous importance bound up in this principle. It is a watershed issue which ministers and the Church must re-learn, lest they be "found opposing God" (Acts 5:39). To borrow from Zacharias, both work--sort of--but only one is true. That is one of the "litmus" tests for authentic Christianity. 

Historically, evangelicals have been known for their desire to "get people saved." But what was once their considerable strength has become their Achilles Heel.