Accompanying handout for this talk: click here
[Pray to start]
Introduction
Evangelism = massive topic
Hopefully you've learned some useful things about practicalities during the training this afternoon.
Share with you some of the things God has been teaching me about what evangelism is in the hope that they will encourage you and inspire you to be an effective witness wherever God puts you.
What is evangelism?
Surprisingly hard to come up with a neat definition.
New Testament Greek word for evangelism- euaggelizesthai - means to announce, proclaim or bring good news. It is also evident that proclamation of good news goes hand-in-hand with demonstration of it.
William Countryman says this about evangelism:
"Jesus could have written books, but he chose not to. He could have had his disciples memorise a fixed message word for word, but we have no convincing evidence that he ever did. Instead, he worked by exposing people to the good news, letting it do its work on them, and then sending them out to expose others."
Relationship is the core What are we aiming for in evangelism? What do we want people to encounter?
[Give personal testimony of how I used to just blast people with the gospel]
But it's not just about believing the right things: even the devil believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Our aim is not just to get people to give intellectual assent to a set of true propositions, but to lead people into a vital, loving relationship with the Living God.
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life"
(John 14: 6)
Jesus said that he is the truth - ie. the truth is a person who you can have an intimate relationship with.
We need to introduce people to the person of Jesus.
We are not just engaged in telling people that Christianity is true, but are involved in showing people the visible and tangible difference that Christ makes in our lives. Everything we do and say should point to Jesus and speak of his love.
Personal testimony of ways God has changed us and show people that God is in the business of transforming lives:
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him (Jesus). Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
(Luke 4: 18)
Relational - Christian life is all about a relationship. It is about much more than just holding true beliefs. Affair of the heart - God wants to engage with people on the deepest level and captivate the very core of their being:
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
(Psalm 19: 8)
Christianity is not an add-on. It is life in all its fullness:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10)
I've recently read an excellent book called 'The Sacred Romance' by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge and I would totally recommend it. In it, the authors tell us:
"For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programmes."
This is what a relationship with God is about - it is primarily an affair of the heart. I love the fact that the gospel is a call to radical freedom, adventure and excitement and that's what I want to pass on to other people.
So how do we go about evangelism and help people to see the offer of this amazing relationship with God?
Truth and love
Eph 4: 14 - 15
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Truth Christianity is true!
It is universally true - that is true for everyone, at all times regardless of their attitude.
There is objective right and wrong (2 + 2 = 4)
Can't ignore the truth [gravity example]
Preach full gospel:
(1) God's loving purpose in creating us for a relationship with him.
(2) Sin - our abuse of the free-will God gave us and rebellion against him.
Universal problem:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3: 23)
Roll-a-penny arcades. In the same way, an otherwise good person who tells a few lies and a murderer have both missed the target of perfection and so need their relationship with God restored by Jesus.
Need to tell people that hell is a reality and is a consequence of, rather than a punishment for, our sin.
Romans 8: 13 tells us
If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die.
"Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness....When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor."
C S Lewis, Mere Christianity, P.37
"Christianity now has to preach the diagnosis - in itself very bad news - before it can win a hearing for the cure."
C S Lewis, The Problem of Pain, P44
[Drowning example]
[Parachute example:
One is told the parachute will make hi journey more comfortable, the other is told that the plan is going to crash and the parachute will save his life.]
(3) Jesus sacrifice. We can't get into God's kingdom by being good. God freely and unconditionally loves us to the extent that he will stop at nothing to win us back from the emptiness the world offers and the destruction that we're heading for. It is his grace, and not our own efforts, that saves us.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them...We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(2 Cor 5: 19 - 21)
(4) Our choice - need to do something about it. Open the gift.
To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
(John 1: 12)
Christ calls us to take up our cross and follow him on a life-long journey, leaving our old life behind. We need to expose people to what it actually means to be a disciple of Jesus and the cost involved in following him (see parachute example above)
Love
As we alluded to earlier, witnessing is not just telling people the truth. We need to present the truth in a loving and compassionate way.
He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.... He who does these things will never be shaken.
(Psalm 15: 2)
Look at 1 Cor 13 for a glimpse of how to relate lovingly and sensitively to others.
Listening - finding out what they care about, the doubts and questions they have etc. Jesus was never afraid to challenge people, but he did it with a motive of utmost love and respect for them. He never shouted the truth at people or delighted in winning and argument for arguments sake, but lovingly helped them to understand and engage with it.
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
(Col 4: 6)
Lets trust God, stop pretending to know all the answers, be vulnerable and real with our non-Christian friends and enjoy witnessing. Non-Christians are not raw material on a production line leading to conversion and discipleship, they are people created in the image of God, who he loves and he died for, the only difference is they don't know it yet!
[Quick break]
New Testament example
Acts 8: 26 - 39:
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptised?" 37 Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." The eunuch answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Philip went where God sent him (v 26 - 29) Asked the ethiopian an honest question (v 30) The ethiopian was available and teachable - he wanted to know about God (v 31) Philip started with what was most important to the eunuch and was relevant and sensitive to what the eunuch knows. He didn't blast in with his own agenda (v 35) Centred on the person of Jesus, not apologetic issues (v 35). Gave the ethiopian the full gospel. Checks that the ethiopian has really committed his heart to Jesus (v 37) Baptises him - responds to the ethiopian's desire to do something about the gospel he has heard and accepted. (v 36 - 38) Trusts God and doesn't take on the ethiopian as his own personal responsibility. Recognises that his salvation and growth as a Christian isn't dependent on him (Philip) but on God. (v 39)
Application and summary: sharing the bread with other beggars
We've covered a lot of ground, so I'm just going to say a few things in conclusion.
Summary
* Christianity is about relationship and we primarily want to introduce people to Jesus
* The gospel is true and we need to know the truth, speak the truth and live the truth at all times.
* In order to be people of true integrity, we need to love, respect and serve those we are witnessing to.
I want to leave you with five important things that I've learnt about evangelism:
(1) Evangelism stems from our own walk with God
We need to be living by God's grace as forgiven people, otherwise we don't have any good news to pass on. We cannot give out what we haven't received. Love comes from God (1 John 4: 7) and we can only love ourselves and others because of the love that he has poured into our lives. We need to be sure of the gospel and our own salvation and simply want the joy that comes from knowing Christ for others.
Peter of Rheims, a French Dominican Friar said:
"Anyone who is not burning will not be able to set anyone else on fire."
(2) We're all qualified for evangelism
We do not need formal qualifications, theology degrees, specialist training (although these can all be useful). We don't need to be eloquent speakers or particularly great at arguing apologetics. What is essential is a heart for God and a desire to lead others to Jesus so that they too can have the life that he has given us.
(3) Evangelism is urgent
The consequences of not following Jesus are serious and there will be a time when it is too late to turn to him. We need to be aware of the seriousness and urgency of sharing the gospel.
[Bridge warning analogy]
(4) The results of evangelism belong to the Holy Spirit
Our responsibility is to witness faithfully to people about Jesus and leave the conversion to him. No one can become a Christian without the Holy Spirit:
2 Cor 4: 4 says:
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
and Romans 8: 16 makes clear:
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
(5) It's not 'us' and 'them'
We're not exceptional in our own right: we're not more moral or better than the people around us. We're simply lost people who have been found, broken people who are being healed and dead people who have been made alive in Christ. One of my favourite quotes is this:
"Evangelism is merely one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread"
As we look around campus, around halls, around our courses and even within our families we see lost people who desperately need to meet and fall in love with Jesus.
"There but for the grace of God, go I."
As Jesus lives in us and has transformed our lives, we can give others that chance to know him. Let's not waste it.
[Pray to finish]
