Evangelism

So what comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Evangelism’. Is it a picture of a deranged religious zealot? Maybe it is a wave of guilt because the pastor talks about evangelism like you should be doing it, but you are not? Potentially you are totally indifferent to the term. Or you may not know what it means.

In simple terms, I define evangelism as telling others about Jesus. Some would use the term to mean living a good life, or giving things to people, or preaching a sermon in a church. These do not fit my definition, because there is no direct confrontation with the person of Jesus.

So why should you do evangelism? The question assumes that you are a Christian. By that I mean that you have understood your bankruptcy before God, knowing that you are not perfect and you can never make yourself perfect. You have heard about and accepted the free gift of being made right with God through the sacrifice of Jesus, which is shown by his perfect life, his willing sacrifice of his life on the cross and Jesus’ resurrection. The process of becoming a Christian is all done by God, simply accepted by you. A term that describes this process is the Gospel.

The first reason to do evangelism is that Jesus commanded that we should do it:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 NIV.

For years I knew about this command and simply ignored it. It is amazing that Jesus would put up with a follower of His that simply ignores Him. But He does.

There are other reasons for doing evangelism. One is that by doing evangelism you demonstrate understanding of the Gospel. Active evangelism shows that you believe the Gospel; you really believe that if people do not hear and act on the Gospel, they will spend eternity in torment, separated from God.

The final reason that I will add today is that evangelism brings me face to face with the unpredictable work of God. Last Sunday, Darrin, Lori and I were talking with some men in a park. The first man we talked with was incoherent and simply wanted food. We did not have any money or food. We did talk to him about Jesus, but that did not seem to go anywhere. Then we talked with some other men who we had previously talked with. It was then the first man called us all over to him and told us that we needed to pray. He started praying. It was the heart talk of a man who knew he needed God to act. The situation in these men’s lives was not good and they needed God to intervene. After he was done, another man prayed, and then it was my turn. I prayed, but it seemed insignificant compared to the prayer of a man who just a few minutes before was incoherent. I was at a place and time where God had shown His presence. Wow.

So why do I do evangelism? There are more reasons that I have given here, but as scary as it can be sometimes, I do want to see God moving in His unpredictable way. I have witnessed it before and I will witness it again. I just cannot tell you when, but the chances are better when I am trying to talk to others about Jesus.