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TL;DR:
Phineas F. Bresee said, “We are debtors to every man to give him the gospel in the same measure in which we have received it.” Like the Apostle Paul’s declaration in Romans 1:14, Bresee believed Christians owe the gospel to all people—not just those nearby or culturally similar. This “debt” can be understood through the modern concept of “paying it forward.” Just as one repays kindness by extending it to others, believers who have freely received God’s grace are obliged to share it widely.
Debtors? How can we be indebted to someone from whom we have never received anything and with whom we have no contractual agreement whatsoever?
To be sure, Bresee was not the first person to make a statement like that. To the church in Rome, Paul wrote, “I owe something to all men” (Romans 1:14, Phillips).
To understand how Bresee could feel indebted to other people in terms of evangelizing them, think about the phrase “pay it forward.” Catherine Ryan Hyde popularized the modern expression through her novel Pay It Forward, which calls on us to repay good deeds not to the people who performed them but to others. By “paying forward” good deeds rather than repaying the original benefactors, we extend those acts of kindness to others. That certainly mirrors Matthew 10:8: “Freely you have received; freely give.”
The relevance of “pay it forward” to statements by Phineas Bresee and the Apostle Paul is clear. Is not paying it forward exactly what God expects of us? We have received the gospel. Biblically, does that not put us under an obligation to pass it on to everyone else in the world?
Bresee, a founding father of the Church of the Nazarene, did not say we were indebted to “our near neighbors.” He did not say “people like us.” He said “every man” (or, in wording more common today, “every person”).
Because we embrace God’s great grace, we have become debtors on a global scale. Let us follow Bresee’s admonition. Let us “pay it forward” by doing whatever we can to see that everyone on earth clearly hears the good news that God has come in Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to Himself. [More on Phineas F. Bresee]
“If we believe what Bresee said is true, then every person is owed E-1 evangelism1.” —Thom Fish, pastor
That is, gospel proclamation that is linguistically and culturally understandable to each person.
—Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
1 Missiologist Ralph Winter gave the label “E-1 evangelism” to evangelism that reaches “our kind” of people who are not Christians—that is, people who are our cultural or linguistic counterparts. It is evangelism that takes place outside the church body but within the same culture. E-1 evangelism communicates the message of Christ to people of one’s own culture and language, including family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
“Pay it forward” refers to one way of repaying a good deed. It happens when someone responds to a kind act by performing a good deed for someone else instead of repaying the original benefactor. This can create a chain of generosity in which each person who benefits from a kind action does something kind for someone else. It promotes a culture of goodwill and empathy and gives rise to a community where supportive and positive interactions are prevalent. The phrase calls attention to altruism and the potential for individual actions to contribute to broader social harmony. Catherine Ryan Hyde popularized the concept through her novel Pay It Forward, which reflects the belief that small acts of kindness should ripple through society.
Does not the concept of “paying it forward” help explain the evangelistic responsibility expressed by the Apostle Paul and reiterated by P. F. Bresee? Just as we can enjoy paying good deeds “forward” to other people, we should recognize our spiritual obligation to share the gospel with others. Bresee’s call to evangelize every person points to the global scale of this responsibility. God’s grace has been lavishly bestowed on us. Let us “pay it forward” to the ends of the earth.
More mini-essays in the “Slogans that Awakened the Church” series published in Engage magazine.
Phineas F. Bresee’s declaration, “We are debtors to every man to give him the gospel in the same measure in which we have received it,” encapsulates a core principle of the Christian life. With his words, Bresee pointed to the universal obligation believers have to share the transformative message of the gospel. Jesus’ command to spread the gospel to everyone on earth calls each believer to participate in world evangelism through praying, giving, going, or serving in other ways.
Bresee’s statement affirms that the grace and truth we receive are not ours to hoard. Rather, they should be generously shared with people throughout the world, irrespective of race, ethnicity, creed, or circumstance. Bresee’s slogan is a poignant reminder of the duty of believers to pass on to others the grace and love they have received. Together, we must help fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world.