As followers of Christ we are the light of the world, but if we stay hidden what good will we do anyone? We must shine in the darkness where the light of God’s love is needed most - reaching out with the light of Christ. And so, as we continue to consider what we do as the Church and focus on the Church’s mission to love, we must consider how we show love for the world through outreach. Today, we will look at outreach in terms of evangelism.
What is evangelism? ‘Evangelism’ is the word for “Good News” (euangelion – eu = good, angellein = announce (from angelos = messenger/angel). So to evangelize is to bring good news; to be a messenger or herald of the Good News of Jesus.
Though that is what it literally means, evangelism has taken on all sorts of other meanings. We often think of sweaty preachers and mass conversions, revival tents, a person on a street corner with a bullhorn, passing out tracts & televangelists. We hear the word ‘evangelism’ and we get scared that we’ll be asked to do it or feel guilty that we haven’t. We think of evangelism as something we are supposed to do and supposed to want to do, but something that we don’t do because we are scared or think we don’t know how.
So how do we define evangelism? John Stott helps us in this by clarifying how it shouldn’t be defined. In his book Christian Mission in the Modern World, Stott states that:
- Evangelism is not defined by recipients. The Gospel is for everyone.
- Evangelism is not defined by results. When we think of ‘successful’ evangelism, we think of conversions and “winning souls”. Granted, the goal of evangelism IS for people to become disciples of Jesus Christ, but conversion is not our responsibility, whereas evangelism is. God converts people. We simply share the Good News of salvation. ‘Successful evangelism’ then is not determined by the number of conversions, but by one’s faithfulness in making the Gospel message known.
- Evangelism is not defined by methods. There is no one way to do evangelism.
Evangelism, therefore, is not defined by recipients, results or methods, but by the Message. The most important part of sharing the Good News is…the Good News!
We find this kind of evangelism in Romans 10.1-17.
In this passage, we find the MOTIVATION FOR EVANGELISM. The motivation is love. Paul was motivated by his love for God and his love for others. He wrote, “Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”
- Paul wanted God to be glorified and for God’s will to be done. Paul desired salvation for his people because salvation is also God’s desire (see: John 6:40 and 1 Timothy 2:3). Paul loved the Lord and wanted Him to be glorified by the salvation of many.
- Paul was also motivated by love for his fellow people. His statement above is one of passion and compassion. In the previous chapter, Paul wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Paul was willing to give himself up for the sake of his brothers. That is love. Love motivated Paul to share the Good News.
In this passage, we also find the MESSAGE OF EVANGELISM.
- The message involves grace (read in v. 3-4) Salvation does not require some Herculean task of us. It requires us to receive what is offered by grace, for Christ provides righteousness for everyone who believes.
- And so, the message calls for response. We read in vv. 9-11, “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
- And thirdly, this message is for all. We read in vv. 12-13, “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” In evangelism, there is no partiality. We don’t speak the Good News to some and not to others. The message is for every human being on earth, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
And lastly in this passage, we find the MEANS OF EVANGELISM.
As we consider the means we see that evangelism is necessary - v. 14-15: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Now in the task of evangelism, there are two central elements: proclamation and presence.
- There is a message to be proclaimed. As Paul asked, “how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” At some point, as we live as witnesses for Jesus, there must come a time in which we communicate verbally the message of salvation.
- However, something must precede proclamation and that is presence. Jesus not only told us to make disciples, but also to go. We are to go into the world; into our communities; into our neighborhoods; into the lives of our friends and be present there with them. Who are you more likely to believe: a person who has been your friend and stuck with you in good times and bad or a person yelling at you on a street corner? We need to be personal with people, present with them, forming relationships, building friendships – respecting them, not treating people like conversion projects.
- And presence is needed not only as individuals but as the Church. The visible presence of the church is attractive. People need not only to hear the Gospel, they need to see it lived out. People want to see it! People want something real and true. Stott says it well, “There can be no evangelism without the church. The message comes from a community that embodies it and welcomes into its fellowship those who receive it.”
But how do we do this? There are plenty of great resources that can help us, but for today, I want us to simply consider two basic ways we can do this.
The first is: BE THE CHURCH. Too often churches, in their desire to be relevant and be heard by their culture, sell out to their culture. Rather than following the motivation, message and means of Jesus, they use the motivation, message and means of the world.
- But the motivation of the world is self-focused whereas the motivation of Jesus is God-focused and others-focused. The world seeks its own glory, whereas Jesus sought to bring glory to the Father. Churches therefore must not seek to glorify themselves, but only God.
- The message of the world is that we don’t need any help or if we do it is help that we can provide for ourselves. The message of Jesus, however, is that we desperately need a Savior and He alone is our Savior.
- The means of the world are often connected with the business world (you get what you pay for, there are no free lunches, watch your back, and you have to climb the ladder, stepping on and over others to succeed). We follow Machiavelli (the ends justify the means) and Nietzsche (will to power). However, the means of Jesus, in total antithesis to that, is self-giving love.
And so, be the Church. Be what God has made you to be: a people reconciled to Him through self-giving love and who thus relate to each other and the world through self-giving love.
As the Church, our motivation is love, our message is love and our means is love, because Jesus is our motivation, message and means. We must never lose sight of that because it is the love of Jesus that is compelling. It is the love of Jesus that saves.
The second way is: BE YOURSELF. Be who Jesus gave His life for you to be. Be a follower of Jesus, who has had his or her life transformed by the Gospel. How do we do that?
- Believe the Gospel. Stott says, “Nothing hinders evangelism today more than the widespread loss of confidence in the truth, relevance and power of the gospel” (40). Are you convinced in the truth, relevance and power of the Gospel? You will never share the gospel if you are not convinced of it; if you do not believe it; if you do not share Paul’s conviction which he expressed in Romans 1: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”.
- Not only must you believe it, you must be transformed by the Gospel. You can’t give what you don’t have. If you truly believe the Gospel, then you will be transformed by it. Before we speak of transformation and encourage others to be transformed, we must be transformed. (Not perfect, but growing into the new creation God has made us to be.)
- And so we must also live the Gospel. We not only share the Good News with words, but with actions. As we talk about Christ, we must strive to live like followers of Christ. And this does not mean that we simply live happy Christian lives and hope that someone notices. We must live intentionally - developing friendships with non-Christian people, getting to know your neighbors and co-workers, being light where it is needed not simply where it is safe. And when you live the Gospel, you are empowered by God. When you are intentionally following Jesus as the light of the world, your weakness becomes strength.
Be the Church and be yourself – not the Church as an historical institution (in which we only do things the way we’ve always done them) but the Church alive in Christ; not yourself (simply wandering through life) but yourself alive in Christ. For a church that is alive in Christ; a body of believers who are alive in Christ is the most compelling thing there is. If that is not true then why would God have chosen human beings (chosen us) to communicate His Good News?
We are followers of Jesus Christ. If we stay hidden in the closet (behind the walls of safety and comfort) what good will we do anyone? We are called to shine in the darkness where the light of God’s love is needed most. We are called to reach out with the light of Christ.
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