Evangelism 101

Next week, I will begin to teach an 8-week course on Evangelism for a local seminary. Now the term evangelism is often a controversial term in our society. Followers of Jesus Christ are called to evangelize and so they try to share their faith with others, and yet many who do not follow Jesus Christ, believe we should keep our faith to ourselves and not try to share it with them or others. Thus the tension!

The form of the Greek word for evangelism (transliterated as “euangelion”) is in the Bible and basically means “good news”. Throughout the Old and New Testament, we see God calling His people to share the good news (His Word) to others (see below for a sample). A simple but I believe good definition of what the Bible communicates about evangelism is this: “to share the message of Jesus in both word and deed.” Throughout the ages, Christians have tempted to fulfill this call. However, we haven’t been balanced in sharing the good news for we often go to two extremes. On one hand, we think that all we need to do is preach the Bible every Sunday or on the other hand, we think that all we need to do is to do good to others. But both practices are defective, for if we practice one without the other than we fail to obey God’s call to share the good news. In fact, Jesus himself came to this world to share the good news in both word and deed. Luke 4:16-21 shows us that:

16 And he [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus is saying that he fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 61) about the messianic servant. Jesus’ mission was proclaiming good news to the poor and liberty to the captives (meaning forgiveness of sins). He came to give sight to the physical and spiritual blind. He came to heal the sick, help the oppressed, and promote social justice.

So for Christians, if this is the way of our Savior and Lord Jesus, then this must be the way of each person who confesses Jesus Christ. We share the good news in word and deed not out of guilt or to earn His favor but out of gratitude. Our gratitude is found in this: that Jesus has shown us the good news by dying for us, taking our place and penalty for our sins on the cross. At the cross, our sins are forgiven; we are made clean, we are set free from the control of sin, we are no longer spiritually blind but brought into a personal and forever relationship with the Holy God. We receive this grace of God by faith.

Lastly, we share the good news in word and deed not because we are better than others. No, we share it in humility for we understand that we are in need of God’s mercy every day, and that we too daily struggle with problems and failures in our own lives. The good news, the message of Jesus, shows us that all are created in the image of God and yet all have failed to measure up to that image. We have received so much love from God through Jesus that we want to share Jesus’ message to others in word and deed.

So with the help of our Lord Jesus Himself, let us grow in sharing the message of Jesus in word and deed. I end with this encouragement from Jerram Barrs in his book The Heart of Evangelism:

We follow One who rules the nations, but He also rules over our own personal lives and over the events that take place from day to day. Even the hairs of our heads are numbered by Him; every detail, no matter how insignificant, is within His fatherly care. So we can ask that He will provide opportunities for us to share what we have come to believe. As He goes before us and prepares our way, He calls us to follow His lead and make the most of the opportunities and the open doors that He gives us.

Passages regarding evangelism:
Genesis 12:1-3
12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Mark 16:14-15
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Luke 24:44-49
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:6-8
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”


Warmly,

Jeff