Evangelism is bringing Jesus and what He did and does to save us to another. Someone never outgrows his need for the evangel, for salvation is more than a one-time event. The Christian speaks Jesus to another because of who he is in Christ. It is also what each Christian does to help gather God’s family together!
But we still fumble, trying to figure out how we can speak:
- what Jesus did and does to save us
- and where He delivers that salvation to us
in a way that makes sense to another person.
In our culture, most people have heard of Jesus—although not the real Jesus. What someone thinks he knows of Jesus is incomplete at best, wrong at worst. So, how should we begin? We step back and contemplate the common experience of every person. What are shared experiences of every person, which then can be a bridge to help others understand who Jesus is and what that means for him?
What We All Have in Common: Suffering
Read Romans 8:18-23
- Why does all creation (and by extension) each person suffer in this world? (vs. 20)
- In our fallen nature, if we blame someone or something for our suffering, whom do we want to blame?
- When a person experiences suffering (sickness, aging, etc.), what is his body crying out for?
For the non-Christian, suffering serves no purpose: you just endure it. For the Christian, suffering points to the redemption that awaits him on the Last Day (Romans 8:23). Even suffering becomes a vehicle to grow in faith.
Either way, we all suffer, a result of the fall into sin. Will life simply “suck” or will it have a greater purpose? The universal experience of suffering points us to the universal need for deliverance from our suffering—salvation. The universal experience of suffering gives us a bridge to point others to something greater.
Correcting More Misconceptions about Evangelism
- You need special training or skills to share the Gospel
Nowhere does the Scripture suggest that some Christians are more equipped to speak the Gospel than others. Graduate degrees in theology can be helpful, and pastors should have extensive knowledge of the Scriptures, but you already know everything you need to share the Gospel.
Jesus said to a formerly demon-possessed man: “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). This is something all Christians can do.
- People are dying and going to hell every second, and it’s your fault
John 3:18 reads, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
We covered this earlier. Placing someone’s eternal status in your hands is wrong because it places salvation in you instead of Christ. We have the promise in Scripture that God will lose none of those whom He has chosen to salvation.
Salvation and damnation do not make logical sense. When we try to reconcile the illogicality of why someone is “saved” or “not saved,” we believe incorrectly, which leads to incorrect practices. Even salvation and damnation requires “walking by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
- If you can refute someone’s arguments, he will become a Christian
We learn in the Small Catechism: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” Faith is a gift of God, which He gives to someone in the ways He chooses to do so (Ephesians 2:8).
Although our intellect and reason are also gifts from God, it is not by intellect or reason that a person comes to faith in Christ. That means the person who is speaking the Gospel cannot create faith through the strength of his arguments, or the ability of someone to understand the arguments won’t create faith either. The Holy Spirit creates faith—and He does so through the Word of the Gospel (Romans 10:17).
- Evangelism is the pastor’s job
This is only half true. Evangelism is the pastor’s job, just like it is yours. The pastor is to evangelize in his vocation of pastor, just as you are to do in your vocations.
God places each of us in our vocations, so we can proclaim the Gospel to those whom He has put into our lives. We saw this earlier with the formerly demon-possessed man (Mark 5:19). Peter told Christians they are to “proclaim the wonderful deeds of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
- We have to do whatever it takes to win people for Christ
“Whatever” implies that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are not enough. Does “whatever” mean we are even to be unfaithful and sinful if doing so happens to “work”? Such an attitude understands some of God’s Word (we are to evangelize) and then comes to a wrong conclusion (if we don’t do whatever it takes, someone won’t become a Christian). The Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). God’s Word has the power to do what it says.
- The goal of evangelism is to have more people in church and/or balance the church budget
Of course we want more people in church. For all should gather around Word and Sacrament to receive the life-creating and life-sustaining Word of Christ. Understanding the Gospel properly brings someone to where it is received! A goal of evangelism is to have people be where Jesus “disciples” them. Meeting the church budget, however, is secondary, which is needed only so a place can exist where someone can receive the preached Word, be taught the Faith, and receive the Sacraments.
- You can preach the Gospel by the way you live your life
This is half-true. Our actions carry meaning and provide context and setting. However, with that needs to come the content of words. Without that, a person then assigns to your actions his own meanings. Living the Christian life does not replace confessing and speaking Jesus to another. In truth, living the Christian life entails speaking such words!
- Evangelism is for unbelievers
This is only half true. Yes, evangelism is for unbelievers—but it’s also for believers! If evangelism is “proclamation of the Gospel,” then it is not only for unbelievers.
All people need to hear the Gospel all the time. That means the Gospel is also for you. That’s why if a sermon does not tell you that Jesus gives you life and salvation, it is not a Christian sermon.
Read Luke 24:44-47
- What does Jesus say the content of sermons is to be?
- Discuss: Why do most Christians not want to hear such sermons?
Next week: We will look at more of the “yes” of evangelism.
