Mark V: A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism

MARK V: A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF EVANGELISM
Read Matthew 28:18-20

The fifth mark of a healthy church is evangelism. You will remember that a few weeks ago I explained that in describing ourselves as ‘Evangelical’ we were associating ourselves with a worldview that is shaped by the evangel. And evangel is the Greek word meaning eu- good and angelos-message. So Evangelicals are ‘good messengers’.

Today’s mark- evangelism- has the same implications. To do evangelism is simply to make the noun- ‘good news’ into a verb ‘good newsing’- evangelism. (Notice evangelism means telling the good news, not making converts).

When you think of evangelism, who or what do you think of?
· Inviting people to church?
· Evangelistic crusades?
· Confronting strangers (drive by evangelizing)?
· Waiting for someone to notice the difference in your lifestyle?

I hear a lot of talk about ‘effective’ evangelism, as though there were some forms of evangelism that are ineffective and that other forms of evangelism are better at procuring conversions. So how do we do evangelism?

Story of Ron Nash and girl on plane illustration



I. What Evangelism is NOT:
Let me start by saying what Evangelism is NOT. Evangelism is not ‘forcing our religion’ on other people because, for one thing, the gospel cannot be imposed on people in such a way as to force them to convert. Mark Dever says,
…Christianity is actually unique among world religions for the impossibility of imposing its belief structure on others. Only God convinces people to repent and believe.

We can confuse the act of Evangelism with the result. Notice that Jesus says, go and make disciples. He does not say, go and make converts. Did you know that, of the three years that Jesus spent with his disciples, not one of them was converted and one of them never would be?

Evangelism is not the result (i.e. procuring conversions)! Evangelism can occur a thousand times without any evidence of a result. This is important because when confusing evangelism with the result can lead to all sort of dysfunctionality in the church and among individual members.

When we confuse it with the result (conversion) it can lead to an unfortunate focus on numbers. When evangelism is all about numbers it produces pride, selfish motives, an overemphasis on one’s ability to persuade others (which leads to false conversions); when numbers are the focus, it can result in demeaning the work of God in areas where conversions are more sparse and the labour is more demanding (Jonah vs. Jeremiah- North Korea vs. India- Canada vs. the United States- Surrey vs. Langley- Anglos vs. Latinos). We must remember that we only sow, but God causes the increase (whether 10 fold or 1000 fold, we cannot take credit for it).
Focusing on the result can also produce desperation- like, ‘I gotta fill my quota of converts this month’ or, ‘everyone else is making converts but me’. This may inevitably lead to guilt, frustration and paralysis. People may say, ‘I’m no good at evangelism’ because they have not seen any results. When the reality is, they may be better at evangelism than anyone else at making disciples but their focus is all wrong.
Evangelism is not a making of proselytes; it is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting; it is not exposing the contemporary dilemma, or arousing interest in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge saying "Jesus Saves!" Some of these things are right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism. To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." (John Cheesman, The Grace of God in the Gospel [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1972], 119)

II. What Evangelism is:
Evangelism is good message-ing. We are distributors, not manufacturers. Our motives in evangelism should be obedience, not numbers. Paul wrote:
…necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward… I have been entrusted with a stewardship (1 Cor 9:16ff).

Jesus said that because all power and authority are his, we must GO (v. 19)! In fact, he assumes that we will be going. The verb go in Greek is an aorist which means a continuous action. Jesus literally says, “While going, make disciples….” He assumes the journey. He doesn’t say, ‘sit still’ or ‘stay.’

It’s funny because when you consider the history of the Christian church, the church has always resisted the command to go. Since its foundation, the church has tried to stay. Jesus told them to spread the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the world. The Church should never say, “Let’s just focus on our community.” Because there is no example in history or scripture where God endorses that. When the Church in Jerusalem failed to initiate the great commission, God brought persecution onto the church in order to force them out of their comfortable city.

III. Motives
Here are some reasons that should motivate us to Go and make disciples:

1. Love for the lost. Look at Jesus’ own example:
…when [Jesus] saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34 NKJV).

Evangelicalism is about a worldview. It’s the only worldview that makes the best sense of the world around us. When we tell people the good news, we are telling people with faulty hopeless worldviews that there is a worldview that will make sense of the suffering and tragedy around them and give them ultimate hope for salvation from it.

2. Love for God. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commadments.” He has given us a commandment (the Great Commandment) to go and make disciples!

Love for God is the only sufficient motive for evangelism. Self-love will give way to self-centeredness…. Only a deep love for God will keep us following His way, declaring his gospel, when human resources fail(John Cheesman, The Grace of God in the Gospel [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1972], 122).
Conclusion:
So, who should evangelize? The answer is simple: every Christian! The commandment is for all to go and make disciples:
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).
Remember that Evangelism is costly, you may lose friends, jobs, money, credibility, flesh, blood, your life. Jesus told the rich ruler, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mat 19:21).
Remember that Evangelism is also urgent. People are waiting for a better offer, but Jesus said, “no one can come to the father except through me.”
Or they’re holding out because they think they can make a death bed profession of faith. Psalm 95 says,
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
Illustrate with the life Augustine.
And also remember that it is worth it. Evangelism is the work of reconciling men to God; it’s peace making. It means that we will be together with God in eternity saved from a godless eternity filled with anguish.

Here are some quick tips for evangelism:
1. Use your Bible. And if you can’t bring it with you. Memorize some key scriptures.
2. Live out your faith. Jesus spent three years with his disciples. He didn’t just preach the same message every day for three years. He also lived out what he believed and often it was his actions that impressed the disciples most because they lined up with his words.
3. Remember to pray. Pray for God to give you opportunities to be obedient to him. Pray for the effect of the message. Pray for God to open eyes and to give you the right words.
4. Finally, let God work- He alone causes the increase. After Paul preached the gospel in a synagogue in Acts 13, many people rejected his message and mocked him. But Luke records that, “when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (13:48).