Last July 20, Russia’s new law came into effect. It places restrictions on the evangelism efforts of Christians, stipulating that it would be illegal to share the gospel outside of their own churches. If enforced strictly, the law will repress any kind of missionary outreach. Even personal evangelism will be curtailed, for it requires every citizen to report on anyone who speaks of his or her faith outside of their own property. The intent, it seems, is driven by the mindset that says, “Keep your religion to yourself.”
I wonder just how far the sentiments of most Western societies are from that of Russia. Secularization has become the prevailing trend, such that religious belief is derided as irrelevant and reserved for the mindless. It is not difficult to come across the same mindset that demands that religious people, especially Christians, keep their faith to themselves. Evangelism is not seen as sharing “good news” but rather denounced as “proselytizing.” And there are those who ignorantly consider this as similar to, if not the same as, recruiting terrorists. Very intentional attempts have been taken to remove religious expression from the public arena. Some have been successful. Sometimes, I fear that we may be just a few more steps away from making Christianity outlawed outright.
If a law like that enacted in Russia is legislated in the U.S., how will it affect the church? The cynical side of me may say, “Not much.” Some current studies seem to indicate that while we, Christians, say evangelism is important, the reality is, most of us do not really share our faith or talk about our beliefs outside the context of our church building or church activities. That is, we keep our faith to ourselves anyway. Having a law that prevents us from sharing will therefore have little impact on evangelism as it now is.
But I choose to believe that there still are those who are faithful. There still are those who submit to the authority of the Christ who saved them (Matthew 28.18), and therefore who, as best they can, carry the gospel to every area of their lives. We cannot ignore the clear command to “make disciples of all peoples” (Matthew 28.19-20) because the good news is for everyone. Being a Christian isn’t just about being religious and doing religious things. It’s about believing that Christ is the living Lord who is interested in our lives and in the way we live our lives. Therefore, for us who follow Jesus, faith cannot be a private matter. Christianity is a way of life that affects all of life. We cannot keep it to ourselves. For us, a law repressing evangelism surely will present a problem. But I doubt if it will stop true followers of Jesus from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.
—Keith Y. Jainga