Counterfeit Christianity and the Gospel – Reading Evangelism
After missing the Reading outreach last month due to injury, it was good to be able to return to this town. Reading is one of my favourite places to evangelise, as it is busy and diverse. People from all around the world, and with many different beliefs, congregate in this community – we can reach the nations without going too far from home!
After setting everything up, Jamie began the preaching by speaking on “What Are You Following?” A few people listened, including an older man who stayed for the whole message and then had a long conversation with Jamie afterwards.
One of those who listened was a Roman Catholic from India. He listened for a while before beginning to walk away. As he left, I offered him a tract and asked what he thought about the preaching. He agreed with much of what Jamie had said but believed that forgiveness came simply by praying. I was able to share the good news with him, stressing that Christ is essential. At the end of our conversation, he took a Gospel of John and then spoke further with Rich.
Next to preach was Rich, who spoke on the fact that we are all slaves to sin, but Jesus offers freedom. A few people listened, including two ladies who took copies of John’s Gospel.
Now it was my turn to preach. Today, I spoke on “Death: Is It the End?” Some people paused to listen, including a young man who was a Polish Roman Catholic. He agreed that we will all face judgement and that we need salvation. The issue we had to address with him was how someone can be saved. Rome teaches a system of grace and works – which leaves people lost in sin. This young man initially held to that view, but after talking, he came to realise that salvation must be all of Jesus. He wouldn’t take a Gospel, saying he had a Bible at home, but he did take a tract and an invite to the local church.
While I was speaking to the Polish gentleman, Trevor began to preach on the truth that we all need the Saviour, and that God has provided the Saviour we need. As he urged people to seek the Lord, a few listened. The seed was sown – now we pray the Lord waters that seed and brings many to salvation.
The final open-air of the day was when Bill preached on “The Unique Jesus.” I didn’t get to hear much of this message, as while Bill was preaching, a Christian busker set up nearby and began to sing worship songs very loudly. As the amplified sound of praise filled the street, the preaching was drowned out. I noticed people were listening to Bill, so I thought it best to speak to the man who was singing. After explaining the situation, the busker very kindly agreed to turn the volume down.
At this point, I thought our outreach had finished. We packed down and had lunch together as a team. After a time of fellowship, five of us began walking back to Carey Baptist Church, where our cars were parked. As we walked, a young man from Brazil stopped us; he was wearing a white shirt, black tie, and a black name badge that indicated he was a Mormon.
The young man asked, “Would you like to go to church?” I replied, “Would I like to go to church? Okay, but what will we learn?” I don’t think he expected that answer, as he responded with something about learning being a private and individual matter. Seeing an opening, I asked him if we could learn how someone can be saved. I asked, “Can you explain to us how you can be saved and be made right with God?”
The young Mormon told us that salvation is a process and listed a number of works that needed to be completed. When he finished, I asked, “What would you do if the Apostle Paul gave a different answer to the one you just gave us?” He said he’d need to pray about it, so I quoted Acts 16:30–31 to show that when Paul was asked the question about salvation, he didn’t mention works or a process – he simply told people to have faith in Jesus.
At this point, the more senior Mormon missionary appeared. From the beginning, it was clear that he was combative. He wasn’t keen to answer many questions and instead would just express disagreement. Bill and I engaged the senior Mormon, while Rich and Tolu spoke with the less experienced one.
The Mormon I spoke with declared universal salvation for all humanity and said that people are saved by grace. However, when asked to clarify, he emphasised many different works and religious deeds as being required. Bill and I took him through multiple Scriptures and presented the gospel to him. The senior Mormon didn’t really engage with the Scriptures; he simply repeated statements like, “I disagree,” and “The Bible isn’t perfect.”
LDS training has certainly declined in recent years; Mormons were once much better versed in the Bible and doctrine, but these new missionaries aren’t well trained at all. It was clear he didn’t know the Scriptures. We lovingly warned him and called on him to trust in Christ, but he made some excuse about needing to go and left.
This wasn’t how I had planned to finish the outreach, but God had ordained this conversation. My prayer is that something of what was said to both LDS missionaries will linger in their hearts, and that they’ll find no rest until they come to know the biblical Jesus.
Looking back, nearly all my interactions today were with counterfeit forms of Christianity. There were several Roman Catholics, who proclaim a message of works, and the Mormons, who preach the same error but with a different twist. Truly, error abounds in our society. May the Lord allow His truth to prevail!
SDG!
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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.
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