9 Marks of a Healthy Church - 5th Mark

A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism

"And Jesus came and said unto them, 'All authority in heaven and in earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18-20

Just as Jesus first instructed the eleven disciples to go make disciples of all nations, we also are called to be involved in evangelizing the nations. Many people are not comfortable with evangelism for various reasons, but we need to be prepared to share the gospel with those around us. Before explaining the message of evangelism, Pastor Dave shared the following points of what it is not:

• Evangelism is not imposing our beliefs on other people in an attempt to get outward conformity to a set of religious rules.
• Evangelism is not a believer's personal testimony, though it may involve personal testimony. Evangelism must include the points of the gospel.
• Evangelism is not social action or political involvement for or against special causes.
• Evangelism is not apologetics (a doctrinal defense), but it may include apologetics. The main emphasis should be on the finished work of Christ for our salvation.

It's important that we pray that we will be given opportunities to evangelize and that God will work in the hearts and minds of those with whom we share the gospel. It's also important that we speak the Truth in love about God's judgment of sin, man's depravity, Christ's atoning work on the cross, and a turning from sin to follow Christ. From Mark Dever: "Biblically, evangelism is presenting the good news freely and trusting God to convert people (see Acts 16:14), 'Salvation comes from the Lord' (Jonah 2:9; cf John 1:12-13. Any way in which we try to force spiritual births will be as effective as Ezekiel trying to stitch the dry bones together, or Nicodemus trying to give himself the new birth. And the result will be similar. If conversion is understood as merely a sincere commitment made once, then we need to get everyone to that point of verbal confession and commitment any way we can. Biblically, though, while we are to care, to plead, and to persuade, our first duty is to be faithful to the obligation we have from God, which is to present the same Good News that He's given to us. God will bring conversions from our presenting the Good News (see John 1:13; Acts 18:9-10). (9 Marks of a Healthy Church, p. 32)

The primary reason we evangelize is because we love God. He is glorified when we share the gospel, and He will build His church according to His perfect will. Our part is to faithfully present the message, taking care to avoid psychologically pressuring others into a decision, resulting in false assurances of their standing before God.