Used-Car Salesman Evangelism
Just what is a used-car salesmen supposed to do when he gets stuck with a lemon? The poor man - you have to feel for him. The engine rattles, the tyres are worn out, the suspension’s shot, but somehow he still has to sell it.
So, of course, he focuses on the positives. He accentuates the attractive aspects of the car – the lights are in good working order, the paint’s a lovely colour etc. And he downplays the negatives. The things that won’t excite his clientele. He knows that many of his customers will make an emotional decision anyway – not a rational one. He simply has to turn on the charm, connect with them, and apply the right combination of humour and pressure to push through the sale.
In the short-term, it works. In the long-term, it has led to the stereotype about used-car salesmen that we all know - that they are insincere, dishonest and unreliable.
Unfortunately, some of our most popular evangelists seem to think that we should share the gospel like used-car salesmen. Apparently, the problem is that some important ‘gospel metaphors’ just don’t connect with our clientele anymore, “God as King, sin as rebellion, and salvation as submission” for example1. There was (apparently) a time when these ideas resonated “on college campuses in the 1980’s”2, but since then Australians have become much more resistant to authority figures. So, to be crass, presenting these aspects of our ‘product’ are just not going to persuade many of them to buy it anymore. Instead, we should focus on the more appealing metaphors like “peace with God... renewal and restoration of this world, especially by bringing Jesus’ love, mercy, justice, and beauty to this earth.”3
One problem with this approach (and there’s certainly more than one) is that ultimately it makes the gospel less believable. When we handle the gospel like a used-car salesman – carefully managing what we obscure or highlight to our listeners – we imply that our gospel is a lemon, and we undermine our own credibility as evangelists.
Instead, we ought to preach the gospel with boldness and enthusiasm - drawing people’s attention to any and every aspect of it. There is no aspect of the gospel we need be ashamed of (Romans 1:15-16), so there is no aspect of the gospel we should downplay. We must not give in to the used-car salesmen approach to evangelism. Even when our good news seems to be falling on deaf ears and veiled hearts, like Paul we must renounce “...disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2).
Notice that Paul does not just state the truth, he states it openly. The whole point is that the way he operates is transparent. There’s no trickery or cunning; no bait and switch, no strings attached, no fine print. Everyone knows what Paul’s about, and how he operates from the very beginning. Paul doesn’t hold off telling his listeners about the foolish cross (1 Corinthians 1:17ff) or the ridiculous resurrection (Acts 17:32) in the name of so-called ‘contextualisation’. And everyone knows he’s trying to convert them (Acts 26:28-29). We don’t trust used-car salesman, because we don’t trust people who just tell us what we want to hear. Likewise, why would we trust evangelists who craft their message to “scratch” where their listeners “itch”?4 Instead, we want evangelists who speak clearly and honestly about every aspect of the gospel – starting with the most important aspects, no matter how popular or unpopular these features might be.
And the declaration that “Jesus is Lord”, if I can put it like this, is the engine of the gospel. It is not just another gospel metaphor or aspect – it is not the leather seats or the sunroof. It is actually, when you boil it down, what makes the gospel the gospel. The fact that Australians don’t like authority figures is precisely why they need to hear this gospel and God’s command to repent. If we communicate, either explicitly or by omission, that people can find peace, renewal, love, mercy etc. when they come to Jesus, without submitting to him as Lord, we have not communicated the gospel, and we have lied. We have told Adam that he can keep living in the garden without God. No. Let us be up front and honest about what we’re doing and commend ourselves to people’s consciences. If our listeners don’t understand the value of our gospel – let us explain it to them. The Lordship, Rule, Kingship, Authority, Supremacy of Jesus is good news of great joy for all people!
1 Sam Chan, Evangelism in a Skeptical World, 86.
2 Ibid. 86.
3 Ibid. 99.
4 Ibid. 63. Cf. 2 Timothy 4:3.