Evangelism

The Discipline in Focus

Evangelism can be defined as presenting Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to sinful people, in order that they may come to put their trust in God through Him, to receive Him as their Savior, and serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His church (J.I. Packer). Evangelism is simply telling people the good news of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is seen in relating that salvation is found through Jesus Christ alone. Evangelism is not merely teaching moral law or general truths about God’s existence; it is not just telling of the example or the teaching of the historical Jesus, nor is it only telling of Jesus as a helper or friend, but evangelism is proclaiming a specific message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Christ is to be proclaimed as “the one mediator between God and men”, who “suffered for sins that he might bring us to God” 1 Peter 3:18. J.I. Packer states that there is no evangelism where this specific message is not declared.

Also in evangelism we are not only proclaiming a message, but are exhorting sinners to accept Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord. In evangelism we are calling sinners to repent and believe. It is a call to turn from sin and trust in Christ. Evangelism is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouth pieces for God’s message of mercy to sinners. The delivery of this message involves calling the hearer to conversion.

Training Points

Evangelism is something that is expected of Christians. Jesus Christ has commanded us to witness. (Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8). We are all commanded to tell others the good news of Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Believers are empowered to evangelize (Acts 1:8). Believers are often fearful of sharing the gospel for fear of failure. But success in evangelism is in being faithful to share the message. Success is not primarily seen is the responses to the message. Regardless of the results, whenever we share the good news of Jesus Christ we are successful. It is through the gospel that God gives the power to believe (Rom 10:17, Rom. 1:16).

Evangelism is a Discipline. When we share the good news of Jesus Christ it should be similar to the message of someone who has just gotten engaged or a couple who has had their first child. It should be with great joy and excitement. A message that has to be shared because of the joy it gives. A message that overflows out of that person’s life. Evangelism is also a discipline that must be worked on. Donald Whitney suggests that we must work to get ourselves into the context of evangelism, that is, we should not just wait for opportunities but should pursuit them (see Matt 5:16 and John 9:25). It is not for lack of training that we do not share the gospel, but a lack of discipline. If we understand the message enough to accept it ourselves we should know it well enough to tell someone else how to be saved. We must train ourselves to pursuit evangelistic opportunities or we will excuse ourselves out of them.


Respond
1. How would you define evangelism? Could inviting someone to church be called evangelism? Why or why not?
2. Does evangelism have to be done the same way all the time? What are some different ways to evangelize? (door-to-door, inviting non believers over for lunch, living the gospel in front of people and looking for times to share the gospel, serving people in times of crisis, developing friendships with nonbelievers etc…)
3. What are your fears concerning evangelism?
4. What are some ways we can discipline ourselves to evangelize? (Believing that this is commanded from the Lord, knowing that God will use my words, being active in planning opportunities to share the gospel)