In one year, if the Lord tarries, 5,000 participants from all parts of the world will gather in Seoul, South Korea, for the Fourth International Congress on World Evangelization, hosted by the Lausanne movement. (Thousands more will participate in the Congress through satellite sites.)
The year 2024 will also mark the 50th anniversary of the First Lausanne Congresswho saw the release of The Lausanne Convention, with John Stott as chief architect. It is one of the most important documents in modern church history, serving as a rallying cry and commitment for evangelicals around the world.
In recent weeks, I have reread some documents from and after the first Lausanne Congress, and I have been struck by the clarity of their vision and the coherence of their convictions – words as relevant today as they are. were fifty years ago. No other document better encapsulates the heart of the global evangelical movement for mission and evangelism.
The entire Covenant is worth reading, but I’ve selected 10 of my favorite quotes below.
1. “We affirm our belief in the one eternal God, Creator and Lord of the world, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who governs all things according to the purpose of His will. He has called out of the world a people for himself, and has sent his people back into the world to be his servants and witnesses, for the extension of his kingdom, the building up of the body of Christ, and the glory of his name. ‘
In his commentary on the Covenant, John Stott said: “We cannot talk about mission or evangelization without first talking about God. » I love the dual image of God calling us and sending us away, as well as the emphasis on extending the kingdom through our work as servants and witnesses. All this for his glory! (For more on the question of Church identity, see my long answer to a critique of the missionary understanding of the Church.)
2. “Through (the Bible), the Holy Spirit still speaks today. It illuminates the minds of God’s people in every culture so that they perceive the truth freshly through their own eyes and thus reveals to the whole Church ever more the multi-colored wisdom of God.
After a strong affirmation of the inspiration, truthfulness, and authority of God’s Word comes this important statement about the work of the Spirit to illuminate Scripture and the importance of reading the Bible alongside believers around the world, so that we can see with new eyes and with greater clarity. the truth of God revealed. (I gathered some examples how our connection with the global Church enhances our reading of the Bible.)
3. “To proclaim Jesus as “the Savior of the world” does not mean to affirm that all men are automatically or ultimately saved, much less to affirm that all religions offer salvation in Christ. Rather, it is about proclaiming God’s love for a world of sinners and inviting everyone to respond to him as Savior and Lord in an unreserved personal commitment of repentance and faith.
Universalism and inclusivism cut the nerve of evangelism, cutting us off from the apostles who proclaimed the exclusivity of Jesus Christ for salvation and exhorted us to invite everyone everywhere to turn from sin and to trust in Him alone. It is the universality of the Gospel that motivates the universal call to salvation.
4. “To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that, as reigning Lord, he now offers forgiveness of sins and liberating gifts of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. . . . The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into His Church, and responsible service in the world.
This is the heart of the first Lausanne Congress: the emphasis on the good news of Jesus which brings both forgiveness of sins and the presence of the Spirit, which results in personal obedience, a commitment to Church and service to the world.
5. “Although reconciliation with others is not reconciliation with God, nor evangelism through social action, nor salvation through political liberation, we nevertheless affirm that evangelism and socio-political engagement both are part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines about God and Man, our love for our neighbor and our obedience to Jesus Christ.
Evangelicals have long debated the priorities of evangelism, social ministry, and political action (and continue to do so). The first Lausanne Congress insisted on the need to combine commitment to evangelization with the responsibility of believers to express their love for God and neighbor through social action and political commitment.
6. “In the Church’s mission of sacrificial service, evangelization is paramount. Global evangelism requires the whole Church to bring the whole Gospel to the whole world. The Church is at the very center of God’s cosmic design and is His designated means of spreading the Gospel.
Evangelism must be paramount because of the immensity of the task, the eternal issues involved in accepting or rejecting the call to salvation, and God’s intention for the Church to bring the Gospel to the people. nations. (The meaning and interpretation of this part of the Covenant has become a point of controversy between John Stott and Billy Graham, but their debate was more about the direction and direction of Lausanne than a disagreement over the relationship between the Word and the ministry of mercy.)
7. “A church that preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross. It becomes a stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the Gospel or lacks a living faith in God, a true love for people, or scrupulous honesty in all things, including promotion. and finances.
Here is a clarion call for the Church to pursue a life of cruciform holiness. We don’t care what the world thinks just because we want to be popular. We care what the world thinks because we want Jesus to be glorified! Leslie Newbigin was right: “The only hermeneutic of the Gospel is a congregation of men and women who believe in it and live according to it. » We must care about the credibility of the Church, not because we want to see the approval of the world, but because we want to see the salvation of the world.
8. “We believe that we are engaged in constant spiritual warfare against the principalities and powers of evil, who seek to overthrow the Church and defeat its task of world evangelization. . . . We need both vigilance and discernment to safeguard the biblical gospel.
The previous quote enjoined us to watch our lives. This quote highlights the reality of spiritual warfare, especially in the context of guarding the good deposit, monitoring our doctrine. Is it possible that, even among people who take the Bible seriously and believe demons are real, we have psychologized or downplayed the invisible realm to the point where we lose all sense of true spiritual warfare? I believe it, that’s why we need the reminder of the world church spiritual forces at work against world evangelization.
9. “The Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit; thus evangelism should arise spontaneously from a Spirit-filled church. A church that is not a missionary church contradicts itself and quenches the Spirit.
Here’s Stott again: “Whether we have resisted the missionary dimension of the life of the Church, or whether we have dismissed it as superfluous, or whether we have reluctantly patronized it with a few superficial prayers and begrudging coins , or if we have been preoccupied with our own narrow and parochial concerns, we must repent, that is, change our minds and attitudes. Do we profess to believe in God? He is a missionary God. Should we say we are committed to Christ? He is a missionary Christ. Do we claim to be filled with the Spirit? It is a missionary Spirit. Do we like belonging to the Church? It is a missionary society. Do we hope to go to heaven after we die? It is a paradise filled with the fruits of the missionary enterprise. It is not possible to avoid these things.»
10. “We reject as a proud and self-confident dream the idea that people could one day build a utopia on earth. Our Christian confidence is that God will perfect his kingdom, and we look forward to that day and to the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness will dwell and God will reign forever.
While we can work for people to gain faith and bear the fruit of righteousness, we recognize that our hope ultimately lies in God’s promise to bring about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Our vision of the kingdom is not a utopian fantasy; we participate in God’s work, but with moderate expectations of the good we might accomplish, awaiting the full consummation of his plan. It is an aspect of eschatological discipleand he warns against an overrealized missiology, whether it takes the form of social justice or Christian nationalism.
The Alliance ends with this call to prayer and dedication. Let this be our heart today!
In light of our faith and determination, we enter into a solemn covenant with God and with each other, to pray, plan and work together for the evangelization of the whole world. We call on others to join us. May God help us by his grace, and for his glory, to be faithful to our covenant! Amen, Hallelujah!
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