EVANGELISM

On Sunday our pastor served us well with a sermon on evangelism. He spoke from Philippians about the advancement of the gospel. I was encouraged to ask God for boldness in sharing the gospel with people, strangers and friends alike. There are so many excuses for NOT sharing the Gospel... too busy, too scared, not the right time.. etc etc... but the bottom line is if we don't share the gospel, how will people know????

My pastor mentioned that there is a "saying" making it's way through parts of the evangelical church which is quite frankly unbiblical. It goes something like this : Always share the gospel, sometimes use words.

This is not a biblical way of thinking. The scriptures are clear:

Romans 10:17 : "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.

Romans 10:15 : " And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"

In order for people to be saved they first have to HEAR the good news of the gospel!!!!!

Here is a great set of notes from the Desiring God Blog summarizing a teaching by Mark Dever about what Evangalism is and is not! It is a great reminder that we must be clear when we evangelize! We must tell people that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS!

1 Cor 15:1-3 "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you... unless you believed in vain. For I delieverd to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures."

We MUST use words when we share the gospel or it isn't sharing the Gospel at all! Oh Lord, give me a boldness to share the gospel in it's fullness!

Here is the link and content about Evangelism from the Desiring God blog:

5 Things That Aren't EvangelismFebruary 3, 2009 By: Tyler Kenney Category: Conferences, Commentary

You can now listen to Mark Dever's second message "The Pastor and Evangelism."

Update: You can now watch the video.


The following is from notes taken during the session.

5 Things We Can Mistake for Evangelism

1) Imposition

We mistakenly take evangelism to be manipulation. But that's what the world says. In truth, we're not trying to impose our beliefs on anybody. Biblically, we can't impose our beliefs on anybody. Force and coercion cannot finally bring about the change that God demands. You can't expand Christianity by the sword. Evangelism is not some sort of intellectual imposition.
To believe that something is true and to share that with others is not coercion. We don't impose when we evangelize. We freely offer it to all and do not, cannot, force it on anybody.

2) Personal Testimony

A personal testimony is a wonderful thing. The Bible is full of examples of it, and we should testify to the wonderful experience of receiving God's mercy.
But consider John 9 and the man born blind. He gives his testimony but doesn't even know who Jesus is. His words glorify God, but they don't present the gospel. This is not evangelism.
Unless you're explicit about Jesus Christ and the cross then it is not the gospel.

3) Social Action / Public Involvement

Mercy ministries display God's kindness, and they are good and appropriate for the Christian to do. But such actions are not evangelism. They may commend the gospel to others, but only if someone has told them the gospel. They need to have the gospel added to them. Helping others or doing our jobs well, whatever they are, in and of themselves are not evangelism.

4) Apologetics

Apologetics are valuable, but they have their own set of dangers. You can get bogged down in talking about purely intellectual or peripheral matters and never get to the gospel.
It's fine for us to talk with unbelieving friends about questions that they have, but our attempts to try and answer them without setting the gospel as the foundation does no good. Jesus must set the agenda for evangelism.

5) The Results of Evangelism

2 Corinthians 2:15
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
Note that the same ministry has two different effects. It's like the parable of the soil: same seed, different results.
We cannot finally judge the correctness of what we do by the immediate response that we get. The need for numbers puts an unnecessary stress on pastors and misunderstands the way that God saves.
We must practice our ministries realizing that some of us will be like Adoniram Judson or William Carey, who had no converts until after seven years of faithful gospel ministry. It's a fact that most people don't believe the gospel the first time they hear it.
Don't let the gospel that you preach be molded by what it is that gets an immediate response. Preach the gospel, trying to persuade--pleading for your hearers to believe--but knowing that you cannot convert a person. And then let God do with it what he will. He alone can call the dead to life. The gospel is powerful, and God is committed to using us to spread this good news.