In the context of Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. This is founded on the word as seen in Matthew 28:16-20, with emphasis on verses 19 and 20 which reads 19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Of which, the command to “make disciples” has become an essential in Christian doctrine.
Baptizing and teaching all that Jesus has commanded are the means by which Christians can fulfill the command to “make disciples”. In short, this denotes our need as Christians to evangelize.
Singapore is a secular state, but is a profoundly religious society. Statistics have shown that 90% of Singaporeans profess to have a religion. The state of Singapore is founded on the need to maintain racial and religious harmony in the society. Singapore is privileged to be managed by an efficient government who is quick to learn from past lessons. Since its independence, the Ministry of Home Affairs and various government agencies have become increasingly equipped to manage and maintain religious harmony in Singapore over the past few decades. Any attempt to disrupt racial or religious harmony will be acutely dealt with. For example, a group of Christians who attempted to spread the gospel message by inserting pamphlets into the letterbox of their Muslim neighbours were prosecuted for being religiously insensitive.
It is important to realize that while religion can unite, it can also serve to dichotomize. When one judges another based on the values and standards of their own culture, this is known as ethnocentrism. Non-believers often reject the message of the gospel as they feel that the values of Christianity infringe upon their own culture. In a multi-cultural and multi-religious society such as Singapore, how can Christians spread the gospel, while maintaining cultural sensitivity? Since Great Commission commissions us to evangelize, how can we follow this command without being ethnocentric?
Firstly, Christians have to show, and tell a bigger story of our lives. Christianity is not a private faith but a public faith. Christians must show our faith in the public square, regardless of the environment we are in. Christians cannot lead dichotomous lives. We cannot behave in a particular way in a church environment, and behave in another on other days of the week. We will have to constantly ask ourselves: What signals are we sending to the non-believers around us?
The scriptures have shown that God is continually at work in the marketplace. When God launched His great work to bring salvation to humanity, He called Abraham, one of the most successful businessmen of his day (Genesis 24:35). In Genesis 26:12-14, Joseph served God not as a preacher or missionary but as a grain administrator (Blackaby, 2008). There are large harvests to be sown and collected in the marketplace, regardless of the industry one is in.
As Christians, we must first set the standard by exemplifying Jesus in our daily living. Just as Pastor Shu-Hui Shih revealed from her conversation with a street lady, “My purpose is to allow you to learn a skill. You can observe me as I follow my faith, if you are interested I can share with you who my God is.” When we first increase the magnitude in which we exemplify Jesus, this will increase the magnitude of attraction in drawing non-believers to believe in the same faith. This is evangelism in the form of leading by example. In doing so, we are not infringing on another’s culture, allowing Christians to maintain cultural sensitivity while fulfilling the Great Commission.
One method we can exemplify Jesus is in the fruit of the spirit. As recorded in the New International Version of the Holy Bible, the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Christians should be at the forefront in demonstrating what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, in the form of behaviour and decisions that we make at the marketplace.
While we are called to be living testimony, this method is largely passive. The second, passive-aggressive method for Christians to evangelize without being ethnocentric is to find similarities in culture and connect with non-believers on their level. We must first find out why they believe what they believe in, and understand them on their own terms before sharing our faith. The act of understanding a culture on its own terms in an objective manner rather than through the lens of another culture is known as cultural relativism.
Take for example controversies pertaining to tomb sweeping. It is a festival largely practiced by those with other faiths such as Buddhism and Taoism. However, some Christians, much to the criticism of fellow believers, may profess to partake in such an activity.
In my opinion, the crux in being able to reconcile these differences is in having the ability to differentiate between negotiables and non-negotiables. We must be able to find similarities in culture and connect with them on the same level. In the context of tomb sweeping, one may come to realize the underlying values of such a practice to be filial piety and respect for one’s elders. These are values held by many conservative Chinese families, and it may not be one’s intention to discredit the existence of a God by worshipping one’s ancestors.
That being said, it will be overly simplistic if one were to use this as the panacea to all controversies. What are we to do when Christian values are antithetical to values of other cultures? To that, we should understand and apply the following framework (quoted by Desmond Goh, of which its origin may be from Marco Antonio de Dominis):
In Essentials, demonstrate Unity,
For Non-essentials, demonstrate Liberty, and
In All things, demonstrate Charity.
We must agree on essentials (such as baptism values), allow freedom for non-essentials (such as the mode of baptism), and demonstrate love to peoples of other faiths. To do this requires copious amounts of tolerance. While it may not be easy for some, we should be reminded that even Jesus did not discriminate those who did not believe in him, further emphasizing the need for tolerance.
In conclusion, in good Christian faith, to fulfill the Great Commission particularly in the area of evangelism requires patience, tolerance and for each of us to be a living testimony of Jesus in the marketplace daily. Evangelism is a long-term commitment and as Christians, we may grow weary when we do not see instant results. In such a scenario, Proverbs 3:5-6 should be kept close to our hearts. It reads “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. But in all ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight”. We are to always acknowledge that God’s ways are higher than man and while we put in every best effort to fulfill his command, be reminded that he is and will be in ultimate control.
Baptizing and teaching all that Jesus has commanded are the means by which Christians can fulfill the command to “make disciples”. In short, this denotes our need as Christians to evangelize.
Singapore is a secular state, but is a profoundly religious society. Statistics have shown that 90% of Singaporeans profess to have a religion. The state of Singapore is founded on the need to maintain racial and religious harmony in the society. Singapore is privileged to be managed by an efficient government who is quick to learn from past lessons. Since its independence, the Ministry of Home Affairs and various government agencies have become increasingly equipped to manage and maintain religious harmony in Singapore over the past few decades. Any attempt to disrupt racial or religious harmony will be acutely dealt with. For example, a group of Christians who attempted to spread the gospel message by inserting pamphlets into the letterbox of their Muslim neighbours were prosecuted for being religiously insensitive.
It is important to realize that while religion can unite, it can also serve to dichotomize. When one judges another based on the values and standards of their own culture, this is known as ethnocentrism. Non-believers often reject the message of the gospel as they feel that the values of Christianity infringe upon their own culture. In a multi-cultural and multi-religious society such as Singapore, how can Christians spread the gospel, while maintaining cultural sensitivity? Since Great Commission commissions us to evangelize, how can we follow this command without being ethnocentric?
Firstly, Christians have to show, and tell a bigger story of our lives. Christianity is not a private faith but a public faith. Christians must show our faith in the public square, regardless of the environment we are in. Christians cannot lead dichotomous lives. We cannot behave in a particular way in a church environment, and behave in another on other days of the week. We will have to constantly ask ourselves: What signals are we sending to the non-believers around us?
The scriptures have shown that God is continually at work in the marketplace. When God launched His great work to bring salvation to humanity, He called Abraham, one of the most successful businessmen of his day (Genesis 24:35). In Genesis 26:12-14, Joseph served God not as a preacher or missionary but as a grain administrator (Blackaby, 2008). There are large harvests to be sown and collected in the marketplace, regardless of the industry one is in.
As Christians, we must first set the standard by exemplifying Jesus in our daily living. Just as Pastor Shu-Hui Shih revealed from her conversation with a street lady, “My purpose is to allow you to learn a skill. You can observe me as I follow my faith, if you are interested I can share with you who my God is.” When we first increase the magnitude in which we exemplify Jesus, this will increase the magnitude of attraction in drawing non-believers to believe in the same faith. This is evangelism in the form of leading by example. In doing so, we are not infringing on another’s culture, allowing Christians to maintain cultural sensitivity while fulfilling the Great Commission.
One method we can exemplify Jesus is in the fruit of the spirit. As recorded in the New International Version of the Holy Bible, the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Christians should be at the forefront in demonstrating what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, in the form of behaviour and decisions that we make at the marketplace.
While we are called to be living testimony, this method is largely passive. The second, passive-aggressive method for Christians to evangelize without being ethnocentric is to find similarities in culture and connect with non-believers on their level. We must first find out why they believe what they believe in, and understand them on their own terms before sharing our faith. The act of understanding a culture on its own terms in an objective manner rather than through the lens of another culture is known as cultural relativism.
Take for example controversies pertaining to tomb sweeping. It is a festival largely practiced by those with other faiths such as Buddhism and Taoism. However, some Christians, much to the criticism of fellow believers, may profess to partake in such an activity.
In my opinion, the crux in being able to reconcile these differences is in having the ability to differentiate between negotiables and non-negotiables. We must be able to find similarities in culture and connect with them on the same level. In the context of tomb sweeping, one may come to realize the underlying values of such a practice to be filial piety and respect for one’s elders. These are values held by many conservative Chinese families, and it may not be one’s intention to discredit the existence of a God by worshipping one’s ancestors.
That being said, it will be overly simplistic if one were to use this as the panacea to all controversies. What are we to do when Christian values are antithetical to values of other cultures? To that, we should understand and apply the following framework (quoted by Desmond Goh, of which its origin may be from Marco Antonio de Dominis):
In Essentials, demonstrate Unity,
For Non-essentials, demonstrate Liberty, and
In All things, demonstrate Charity.
We must agree on essentials (such as baptism values), allow freedom for non-essentials (such as the mode of baptism), and demonstrate love to peoples of other faiths. To do this requires copious amounts of tolerance. While it may not be easy for some, we should be reminded that even Jesus did not discriminate those who did not believe in him, further emphasizing the need for tolerance.
In conclusion, in good Christian faith, to fulfill the Great Commission particularly in the area of evangelism requires patience, tolerance and for each of us to be a living testimony of Jesus in the marketplace daily. Evangelism is a long-term commitment and as Christians, we may grow weary when we do not see instant results. In such a scenario, Proverbs 3:5-6 should be kept close to our hearts. It reads “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. But in all ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight”. We are to always acknowledge that God’s ways are higher than man and while we put in every best effort to fulfill his command, be reminded that he is and will be in ultimate control.
Crystal Chia
STEP 2015
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