Fire Sale

“Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” Acts 8:36 NASB

What prevents me – Let me make a bold assertion. Most of the great unwashed are not Ethiopian eunuchs. You may smile to yourself, thinking that this statement is so obvious as to be comical. There aren’t a lot of eunuchs riding around today. But that isn’t quite the issue here. You see, the reason that the Ethiopian eunuch finds a place in Scripture is not because he was in the service of the queen. He is on this road at this particular time because he has been in Jerusalem worshipping. That tells us something very important; something so important that if we ignore it, we will never understand the biblical pattern of evangelism.

What does this small fact tell us about the eunuch? It tells us that he knew the God of Israel. It tells us that he knew the Torah. It tells us that he was observant. It tells us that he was seeking God through the Hebrew Bible. It tells us that he was not a neophyte or a pagan when he encountered Philip on the desert road. This man had prior biblical training. That is the only reason that explains why he was in Jerusalem worshipping during the required feast.

Notice that the eunuch’s question is about an interpretation of a passage of Scripture that he already knows. He is not a “seeker” in the contemporary sense of the word. This man is part of the culture of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is looking for meaning, not information. Once he understands that the Messiah is the focal point of the text that he has already received, then he is ready to make the commitment to follow his Messiah. That is the reason he requests baptism.

Most church attendees today are not even close to the position of this Ethiopian. They come without a history of interaction with the God of Abraham. They come directly from a pagan worldview, hauling it with them into an assembly (called the church) that unfortunately often accommodates itself to the same pagan worldview. They come without an understanding of God’s history with Man. Unlike the Ethiopian, when they arrive they are not given an explanation of a passage from a familiar prophet in the context of the faith of Israel. Instead, they are presented with a fire sale.

If you consider the usual conversion pattern of those who embraced the God of Abraham and His suffering servant, Yeshua the Messiah, you discover that most of the time those who embrace the Way were already adherents to the Torah. Of course, there are exceptions. The Philippian jailer (Acts 16). The thief on the cross (but, of course, he was probably Jewish). The Syro-Phoenician woman. There may be others. These exceptions merely underscore the common pattern. Men and woman who become committed followers of the Messiah usually did not arrive directly from pagan assumptions. They had a history with God – and God had a history with them. The usual pattern is the same process found in Matthew 28:19-20. The believer journeys through life (going), choosing those who will become his students of the Way (disciple), bringing them to the point of true confession and transformation (baptizing) so that they may continue to learn of God. This does not occur as a result of a one-night-stand crusade. This takes time. Even Yeshua spent three years bringing his closest disciples to the point where he could say, “I no longer call you servants but I declare you friends.” Let’s not forget that not a single disciple was a Christian even after the resurrection. They didn’t get it, even when they met the resurrected Messiah. They didn’t know what to do, so they went fishing.

The fire sale approach is built on a faulty model. It begins with the assumption that the goal of salvation is to get to heaven. With the pursuit of ticket-punching foremost in mind, the only real requirement is to bring people to the point of decision. In the fire sale model, what matters is the verbal confession that Jesus is the Christ. That seals the deal. That assures a ticket to ride to the heavenly gates. With heaven secured, transformed living becomes an option. Of course, it’s nice if the new convert actually becomes a decent, respectable, loving person, but what happens here and now is not really essential. It’s really all about heaven.

When you boil the fire sale model down to its foundation, you can see immediately that the urgency associated with its presentation is wrapped up in the assurance of heaven objective. After all, the poor, unsuspecting heathen might die in the next moment, sealing a fate in eternal punishment. Get that person saved! Push them to make a decision now before something terrible happens. Then rush them to baptism to make sure that there is no doubt about the ticket. Once you’ve won that soul, push on to the next, knowing that one more has been added to the roster.

There is an enormous difference between the fire sale and the idea of faithful living. The urgency of one is replaced by the patience of the other. The destination of one is replaced by the direction of the other. One is about ritual; the other about relationship.

You have friends and family who need help. You meet strangers who have lost their way. Which path will you choose?

Topical Index: Acts 8:36, baptism, evangelism