What is the role of evangelism?
Discussion question for July 10, 2009.
Since we have discussed the essentials of salvation, and agreed that it is the work of Grace by which people are saved, what should be our attitude toward evangelism? What responsibility do we have in saving the lost? How should we go about presenting the gospel to others? Can we screw up the offer in a way that would lead someone to destruction? Is there an appropriate amount of effort and energy that we should put into the “Great Commission”? Which of the “essentials” should we employ?
Here’s my summary of our discussion.
Jesus instructed the disciples to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) then they would be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. When we are equipped with the Holy Spirit, we are also His witnesses. This is much more about “being” than “doing”, so our witness is evident by our personality and identity.
In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) the primary verb is “make disciples” and the words “go, teach, and baptize” are participles of that verb. The emphasis in some cultures has been on “Going”, but that is not as important as “making disciples” by how you are being. So, our most important role is to stay in relationship with God and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Complete passivity in the matter of evangelism is not appropriate, either. Philemon 1:6 says we are to be active in sharing the faith. Ephesians 4:11 indicates that some are specially gifted, though all are called to be examples of God and grow in Christ’s likeness for the building up of the body. 1 Peter 2:9-12 instructs us to proclaim the virtues of Christ, and 1 Peter 3:15 reminds us to share the reason for the hope we have. We need to be in a constant state of readiness to be a witness.
Speaking the truth is polarizing. Hearts that have been prepared by God to accept His Truth will be drawn by the message. Hearts that are in rebellion against God will be repulsed by the message, and may even take it out on the messenger. Each individual is personally responsible for their answer to God’s invitation. We can neither cause someone to accept by our strength, nor cause them to perish by our efforts.
So, my role in evangelism is to be a witness at all times to the character and love of God, making the invitation to the lost compelling by example. God can use me to be a tool of evangelism for a heart already prepared when I am in a state of readiness and yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In this way He shares with me the joy and blessing of seeing a life transformed by His re-creative power.
Cal,
This was a helpful discussion for me. We all come to our Friday morning discussions with different preconceptions and misconceptions, and glimpses of truth. My tendency has been to react against what I believe has been an overemphasis on the “going” and the “doing” of the Great Commission, putting evangelism at the center of our Christian walk instead of putting a growing relationship with God at the center.
This discussion helped me to center on the truths about evangelism; it helped me towards what seems a more accurate perspective – participating with the Holy Spirit in his plans to reconcile and redeem by learning more and more to reflect his character and love and be obedient to his promptings. Still it seems the relationship must precede the reflection and remain the center.
Thanks for sharing, Dan. What would you say is the most important thing for us to build relationship with God?