Gospel servants, especially those serving cross-culturally, can unknowingly encourage syncretism in those they seek to win for Christ. How could this be?

Satan is masterful at encouraging sinful men to select parts of God’s revelation to believe or reject. Truth mixed with error in the name of Christianity is the way of the Devil. Syncretism is a constant threat everywhere the Gospel is proclaimed.

Syncretism is the mixing of one faith/belief system with another. It is mixing two things that aren’t supposed to go together. It is the creation of a hybrid of ideas. Many teach a false gospel, a hybrid of Christian and pagan ideas.

Pastors and missionaries, no matter the culture or circumstances in which they serve, must be aware of this constant threat. This was the warning we considered in Guarding the Gospel: Understanding the Dangers of Syncretism.

Sadly, it is the missionaries themselves that contribute to the problem.

Missionaries can unintentionally encourage syncretism because of their own ignorance.

Syncretism has plagued the history of missions. In their book, Developing a Strategy for Missions, J. D. Payne and Mark Terry wrote:

“In many places the pioneer missionaries did not give sufficient attention to culture and worldview. This resulted in syncretized Christianity in which Christianity became a veneer over the traditional religion of the people. This is often called ‘folk Christianity.’ In these situations, the Christians identify themselves as Christians, but their worldview remains unchanged.”

Ignorance of what people believe on various mission fields often occurs because the missionary has failed to learn the language. Learning the language and culture well should be expected of every cross-cultural missionary. We can’t make disciples effectively if we don’t understand the people we are trying to reach.

Missionaries can unintentionally encourage syncretism by their impatience.

One particular sin that encourages syncretism is impatience. If we are in a hurry to lead people to a decision of faith in Christ and if we are willing to pick unripe fruit, syncretism is likely to happen. This is one reason why patience is a vital character quality required in preachers of the Gospel (2 Timothy 3:10; 4:2).

Why are some missionaries tempted to impatience? Various things could lead us down this path:

• Personal ambition, the desire to feel and be perceived as successful;
• The desire to please those who have given to our ministries;
• Bad theology—If we think our godliness and spiritual blessing are gauged by the number of professions of faith in Christ we produce, we will be tempted to press the unrepentant to a profession, encouraging syncretism.

Patience and painstaking effort to clarify the Gospel are vital in proclaiming God’s Word faithfully on the mission field.

Missionaries can unintentionally encourage syncretism by downplaying repentance.

A Bible-centered emphasis on repentance is imperative for the protection of the Gospel to keep it from being watered down. Syncretists haven’t repented. Ultimately, we will see that they have not turned to God from sin and idols to serve Jesus Christ (1Thessalonians 1:8–10).

In the New Testament we see the Apostles fighting against this false, repentance-less Christianity. Some of the clearest examples of this struggle against syncretism are found in the Corinthian letters, 2 Peter 2, James 2, and Jude. The words of the risen Lord Jesus speak out against the lack of repentance being tolerated in the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 2–3). These passages show that many embrace “Christianity” for sinful purposes, namely to acquire money, prestige, pleasure, and power. Syncretism allows this.

Here are testimonies from pastors and missionaries who tell of examples of syncretism where they serve:

(Urban missionary, South Africa)

“The fundamental knowledge of the Gospel is known in our area, but the reality of a transformed life is not present. We know that receiving the true Gospel will develop an in-working of holy living.” 

(Missionary among rural tribal people, South Africa)

“Africa is a land of Christless Christianity. The people have churches everywhere, and yet fornication is constant; drunkenness is known by even the smallest children; most people live with a girlfriend without marrying. Even the pastors openly admit that their hearts are set on money.”

(Pastor in rural Georgia, USA)

“One distortion turns the Gospel into an almost birthright possession that does not demand repentance from sin. Often people here assume they are Christians because they understand some facts about the Gospel and grew up attending Sunday school. They lay hold of the Gospel as if it were their heritage. They assume that God’s saving grace is their experience even if their lifestyle shows no repentance or holiness.”

The common denominator in these testimonies is a cultural Christianity without Christ, without repentance, and without a desire for Christ’s righteousness.

Missionaries can unknowingly stray from a sound Gospel.

Consider this shocking passage in Galatians 1:

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. ¹⁰ For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.[1]

This is one powerful call to vigilance about the Gospel. What makes the statement more powerful is when we read in chapter 2 that Peter and Barnabas were among those being swayed away from solid gospel foundations! They had begun to believe the Jews who demanded that the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be God’s people. Praise the Lord, these men repented and returned to a solid gospel understanding.

If Peter and Barnabas can falter, so can we. We must not assume that we are beyond failure in this category. If we fail, we can find forgiveness and restoration even as they did. We need to correct one another as Paul did Peter and Barnabas.

What pressures or ways of thinking might lead a missionary to stray from a sound Gospel? It could be pressure from the culture, desire for results, lack of accountability, or some other form of temptation.

Keeping Watch Over Ourselves

We need to have a healthy fear of God about mixing truth with error. What a tragedy it would be if we were found guilty of encouraging false faith. None of us wants this.

Missionaries must be radically committed to preaching and guarding the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our ministry methods must not encourage syncretism. We need to examine ourselves. We will give an account to God for our stewardship of His Gospel (1 Corinthians 4:1-5).

“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16).

 

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