Applied Christianity

Theirs is a movement that advocates for “missional living” as a means of applying the gospel in a way that emphasizes a way of life.

In some ways this is very admirable emphasis, except that missional living aims at being a means of evangelism.  Some years ago there was a similar movement called “lifestyle evangelism.”

The bottom line for me is that the danger of the movement is that it confuses life lived as a result of the the work of the Gospel in us, as opposed to the proclamation of the Gospel which is the mission of evangelism.

I’m reminded too of the old liberal call to apply Christianity.  J. Gresham Machen said: 

At this point Christian teaching is in full accord with the modern liberal Church; the evangelical Christian is not true to his profession if he leaves his Christianity behind him on Monday morning. On the contrary, the whole of life, including business and all of social relations, must be made obedient to the law of love. The Christian man certainly should display no lack of interest in"applied Christianity."

Only--and here emerges the enormous difference of opinion--the Christian man believes that there can be no applied Christianity unless there be "a Christianity to apply." [7] That is where the Christian man differs from the modern liberal. The liberal believes that applied Christianity is all there is of Christianity, Christianity being merely a way of life; the Christian man believes that applied Christianity is the result of an initial act of God. (J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, Chapter 5, "Salvation")