Osmosis Evangelism

Going, then, disciple all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  Matthew 28:19

Going – The Evangelical world has enshrined this verse as Jesus’ Great Commission.  Over and over, we hear these words as a command to spread the good news.  So, we mount our campaigns, run our revivals and make sure that there is an altar call at the end of every service, just in case someone in the audience hasn’t yet proclaimed faith.  From D. L. Moody to Billy Graham, we have become so accustomed to evangelism by appeal that we no longer read this verse the way it was written.  Let’s stop a moment and see what Jesus really says.

First, of course, we have to enter the Hebrew mind.  Hebrew “evangelism” is much more about transformation of life than it is about correcting statements of belief.  Greek might be about my mental assent to the truth, but Hebrew is about the way I walk along life’s dusty roads.  So, Jesus starts where any good rabbi would start – with walking.  The Greek is the verb poreuomai, which comes from a noun meaning “to pierce or run through.”  You can think of it like the word “porous”.  Things just run right through it.  This verb takes on the sense of passing from one place to another – in other words, moving on down the road.  That is precisely what the Hebrew metaphor would be for walking with God.  Over and over, the Old Testament uses the verb halak to describe a continual and habitual relationship with God as life moves from one day to the next.   It’s all about walking.

While it is usually translated as a command (Go!), that really isn’t the sense of it.  The command in this verse is to disciple others.  The sense is “as you are going along, be deliberate about discipling.”  Of course, that’s very much a Hebrew thought where there is no difference between the secular and the sacred in life.  All life is work/worship to God.  So, as you are going about in your work/worship, disciple others.

This is osmosis evangelism.  Is it deliberate?  Of course it is!  But that is not the same as handing out tracts or giving invitations.  This kind of evangelism comes from close proximity – living life together is such a way that who you are and what you do glorifies God and others are compelled to ask, “How can you be the kind of person you are?”  If you’re going to pour yourself out for the Lord, make sure your life is full of holes.  Let Him pass right through you as you pass right through life.

Oh, yes, and by the way, perhaps the greatest evangelism occurs when life isn’t working.  Anyone can glorify God when things are good, the bank is full and we are living happily ever after.  But only those who know how to walk this way with God are able to offer praise and glory in the midst of real crisis and turmoil.  And that’s when osmosis evangelism is at its best.

Topical Index:  Evangelism