Solving the Problem

A brief, but interesting article by Mark Honneger in Modern Reformation's May/June 2009 issue entitled "The Problem Is the Problem" asserts that the gospel solves a problem. Honneger then considers which of the world's many problems it does, in fact, solve. And then simply, clearly, Honneger answers his own question: the problem is that the wrath of God has been revealed against all ungodliness. To make it simple, God is justly mad at sinners. Honneger points out that like Pilate of long ago, people today aren't interested in the problem that Jesus came to solve. The church's response to this has been to figure out which problems people want solved, and then appeal to them on that basis rather than simply tell them the brutal, ugly facts: people are sinners who need God's forgiveness. They need a Savior. Honneger goes on to describe current evangelistic appeals that the church uses today and why they fail to get to the heart of the matter.

I started thinking about the instances in the Bible where Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles confronted people with their sin and then explained the solution. One that came to mind was Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. If there ever were a person with "issues," this woman was one. She had had five marriages that had either ended in death or divorce. When Jesus meets her, she is living with a man who is not her husband. She's clearly a societal outcast; she comes to the well at the hottest time of the day to draw water to avoid the other women of the town. And there are issues of race as well. As a Samaritan, this woman was part of a racially mixed group--partly Jewish, partly Gentile. As a result, both Jews and non-Jews were disdainful of the Samaritans. This was a person with a lot of problems, someone who clearly needed Jesus (as we all, in fact, do).

So how would today's church attempt relevancy with this woman? Honneger describes the different approaches that the church today takes. How would this exchange look in the twenty-first century?

Clearly this woman has character flaws and is in need of moral or character reform, a problem people today care about. They want to improve themselves. We might appeal to her on the basis of her need to improve her character. She probably does feel guilty--and rightly so. So the church could teach her how to be a better person: how to be a better wife; how to communicate with her partner better; how to form a lasting relationship. But in the end, she would still be guilty before God, so character reform would not resolve her problems.

Another strategy is felt needs. Churches don't want to appeal to people on the basis of their sin because that would turn them off and drive them away. We could appeal to her concerns, and then she might hang around long enough to hear the gospel. She's probably lonely, in need of girlfriends, so we could invite her to the coffee bar and just talk with her. Coming to get water is difficult for her; we could arrange to have it delivered so that she doesn't have to come out in the heat of the day to avoid the other women. Honneger points out that Jesus healed people not to avoid delivering the message of sin but to fulfill prophecy and to show that He was, in fact, the Messiah. He fed the crowds bread, but when He knows that they are following Him simply because of their felt needs--more bread--He drives them away. He urges them to turn their attention from earthly needs to eternal life. Likewise, meeting the woman's felt needs would not drive her to acknowledge her need to seek forgiveness of her sins.

Honneger points out that many use an appeal to people's needs to acknowledge past hurts before they can come to God and be saved. This woman, with five husbands in her past, no female friends, and race issues probably had a few hurts. But Honneger again points out that what separated her from God was not her past hurts but her guilt. To start to discuss all of the hurts in her life would turn her focus onto herself. She would be reminded of others' shortcomings. She wouldn't be driven to consider her own guilt before God.

According to Honneger, the church has lost confidence in the power of the gospel to transform lives when it adopts all of these other types of appeals. We've stopped believing that the simple message of the gospel can change the world. We need something more creative, relevant, updated, current.

And yet how does Jesus approach the woman at the well? Does He offer her "7 Tips on How to Improve Relationships?" Does He acknowledge her hurts, empathize with her, encourage her to work through it all so that she can come to Him and be saved? Does He try to help her figure out a way to get water more easily into her home so that she doesn't have to come out in the heat of the day?

Jesus tells her that He has living water to offer--the Holy Spirit dwelling in her, making her alive. He tells her He can give her living water that will satisfy eternally. And He lets her know, gently and compassionately, that she is a sinner, and He knows it. And then He tells her that He is the Messiah, the one who has come to deliver her from her sin and guilt. And she, then, goes to share the good news with others. No programs, classes, coffee bars, or food pantry. Jesus, with a gentle whisper, shows her grace that forgives and resolves the problems of guilt and shame, demonstrating the power of the gospel to resolve our biggest problem.