Personal Evangelism Class 1: Level 0 - Before You Share Your Faith
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Before we begin, I want to encourage you to get into groups of 2-3. I recommend that you do not group with your spouse and that you make the group all the same gender. These groups are going to be your partners in evangelism throughout these next few weeks. Find them quickly. This class will consist of teaching drawn from good books and my personal experience and then practice together before we go into our weeks to put it into practice.
Before we get started, Tell them about Ohio
I’m going to teach as a dying man with nothing to lose
I think there are blind spots about evangelism in this church that are common to many churches, but we should not take that as an excuse for ourselves.
I’m about to say some things that might come across as harsh, but they are meant to be cuts that lead to health, like a surgeon looking to perform surgery. Unfortunately for you all, I am a surgeon novice and I am still learning the best ways to make these cuts and I do not have much time left with you, so this will be more akin to a medic on the battlefield performing emergency procedures to save life than a surgeon in a hospital. So, if it feels like a hacksaw is my instrument of choice instead of a scalpel, please give grace to my inexperience and haste and accept my apologies for any unnecessary offence. I love you all and want this church to survive but I don’t have the time to soften my words and give greater time for you to learn.
With that said, let’s run a few diagnostic questions. These are meant to help you see the state of where you are as an evangelist, but are by no means a judgment on you as a person or Christian. I variously answer these questions in better or worse ways depending on the day. I am a wildly imperfect evangelist and I am by no means hoping you will leave this class and think “I want to be more like David” because that would leave you as a really sorry evangelist, but rather I want you to say “I want to be more like Christ”.
Can you comfortably and readily tell someone what the Gospel is?
How many people here have told someone who wasn’t a Christian what the Gospel is?
How many non-family members who aren’t Christians have you shared a meal with?
How many non-Christians do you interact with on a weekly basis?
What are the fears that rise up in you when you try to evangelize?
Read Intro to “The Gospel and Personal Evangelism”
Level 0: Before You Share Your Faith
Level 0: Before You Share Your Faith
1. Grasp the Gospel
1. Grasp the Gospel
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
What is the Gospel?
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
If you think about each of these you will notice some three general similarities: 1. talks, or implies about God’s goodness, holiness, and mercy 2. talks about our sin, our rebellion, against God that made us liable to His judgement 3. talks about the person and work of Jesus
These are the 3 main points for a biblical gospel presentation. I would add one more: 4. Talks about the work of the Holy Spirit in changing our hearts and allowing us to respond to the Gospel. Here’s how I would present the Gospel then in this framework:
2. Check your Context
2. Check your Context
Who is your audience?
What do they understand about Christianity? Life? The Gospel?
What is their background?
What underlying assumptions are they bringing to the table?
We can no longer assume that Americans have a basic understanding of the Biblical story or an agreement to the moral Law of God (10 Commandments)
We have to do the work of truly understanding the worldview that people are coming from.
Lean in to asking people good questions and being genuinely interested in them as people!
Listen well to their answers (1. because that’s being a good neighbor and 2. because it gives you insight into their preconceived notions of the world)
Some true statements that may not be helpful in evangelism
God Loves You
Meaningless to those who don’t understand the nature of God - or love!
You are a sinner
Meaningless to those who don’t understand sin or think we shouldn’t feel badly about it
You need a Savior
Meaningless to those who don’t understand what they need to be saved from
The Bible Says...
Is great unless the Bible is considered to be simply an archaic, patriarchal, collection of fairy tales
This doesn’t mean you need to dress up the Gospel to make it cool or palatable, but it does mean you will present the Gospel in different ways to different people.
You don’t have to follow the 4 Spiritual Laws to faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
You should never change the Gospel, but how dos this good news engage with this individual’s
values, hopes, and fears?
How does this fulfill the deep longings they have yet to satisfy?
We must be willing to set our own thoughts and desires aside in order to let the Gospel shine clearly
Maybe you have strong political opinions. Leave those at home.
Maybe you have an aversion to a specific type of person. Set that aside for the sake of winning souls from darkness.
19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
To evangelize the lost, you must
1, ask important questions to get to the bottom of what people believe
2. be willing to set aside your own identity markers so that the gospel shines clearly through your words and actions
If someone must be offended, let it be only by the Gospel message and not because you were unwilling to let go of something far less important.
3. Love the Lost
3. Love the Lost
Why do we not share the Gospel? Is it primarily because of the presence of fear? Or is it because of an absence of love?
If you love someone enough, you will overcome your fear and share the good news of Christ with them. If you don’t, you won’t
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
What does love look like?
Befriending lost people
Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners (Luke 7:34)
Seeking out lost people
Being Polite - you can be correct and still be wrong
Caring for lost people
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
2 Ditches in evangelism
Ignoring Friendship in Evangelism - treating people as projects - rushing the clock
Never leaving the friendship part to get to the evangelism part - idolizing relational comfort - assuming the clock will tick forever
Failing to love someone when telling them the Gospel will put immense hurdles in their path.
Penn Jillette
“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward… how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”
Think of someone in your life that you love enough to share the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.
4. Face your Fear
4. Face your Fear
“If we wait to share our faith until our fears have completely evaporated, we will never share it.” - Matt Smethurst
I have this issue of passing up good enough opportunities in search of the perfect one, but the simple fact is that sharing your faith will almost never be convenient or perfect. There will always be something that isn’t ideal that the Devil uses to whisper in your ear, not now.
So how do we overcome fear? You face it. You stare it in the eyes and study it to understand where it comes from so that you may understand how to train yourself to kill it when it raises its ugly head.
In Ohio we have groundhogs, they are large burrowing rodents who destroy your yard and garden and make the ground unstable. You often don’t realize they’re there you’re there till you see them. So if I loved my garden and didn’t want it to be destroyed by this groundhog, is the best decision to wait until the groundhog peeks out of the hole? Or should I go and prepare to drive it out or kill it by first seeking advice from someone who knows how to get rid of it and then by getting repellents, poison, smoke bombs, and a gun and making a plan? I might even do a practice walkthrough to make sure my mind and body are on the same page. Then, when I face the groundhog again, I am much more confident and prepared to handle the problem.
Are not the souls of our friends and family worth far more than a garden? How should we expect to be able to defend their souls and face the problem of fear without putting effort into preparation? We must prepare if we want to be faithful evangelists!
You beat fear through preparing to beat it, which is building confidence in the Truth of the Gospel, and then you train to be ready to kill it when it rises up again.
How do we train?
We train by reciting the Gospel to ourselves daily (a great practice for us to remember who God is) and to others who are friends and members of our church so that our brains and mouths trained to be in unison
We study the Scriptures and seek out answers to our own questions and doubts so that we are able to joyfully affirm and be supported by the truth of the Gospel
We don’t go alone into the battle.
First, the Holy Spirit is our Helper. We have the very Spirit of God in us and directing our steps!
Second, we develop brothers and sisters who will join us in our evangelism. Maybe that means physically, but maybe that means by praying for each other and holding each other accountable.
We build confidence in the truth that it is the God who saves people through the GOSPEL and not through our wise words and apologetics
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
And one great piece of encouragement, evangelism almost always goes better than we expect it to. So don’t be brought into submission by your fear. Most of the time our fear is of the consequences of losing the approval of someone we care about, but hear the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Read “Before you Share Your Faith” bottom of page 67
5. Start to Speak
5. Start to Speak
“Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”
Words are always necessary. Words are what the Gospel consists of and words are what God uses to save people.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
And then Jesus himself says this:
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
What a massive and glorious responsibility that we have been given! We must go and speak to the lost sheep of the Good Shepherd so that they might hear and recognize the call of their master. In some glorious twist, when we proclaim the Gospel faithfully, we have been given the ridiculous honor of being the voice of Christ to call His lost sheep home! And we don’t have to do anything other than faithfully speak because the Father is the one who secures their salvation through the Son!
So let us pray for one another in the way Paul requests from the Ephesian church in Ephesians 6.
Ephesians 6:19–20 (ESV)
19 Pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Now let’s prepare.
Gospel Aid 1: 4 R’s
Gospel Aid 1: 4 R’s
1. The Ruler
1. The Ruler
2. The Revolt
2. The Revolt
3. The Rescue
3. The Rescue
4. The Response
4. The Response
Gospel Aid 2: 4 Characters
Gospel Aid 2: 4 Characters
1. God
1. God
2. Humanity
2. Humanity
3. Jesus
3. Jesus
4. The Holy Spirit
4. The Holy Spirit
Homework
Homework
Tell your group members the name of one non-believer that you know you are going to interact with this week and resolve to share the Gospel with them
Every day, pray for one another for boldness in sharing the gospel and for the people who they will be interacting with to be prepared by the Holy Spirit to respond in Faith.
Text or call one another with updates on how it is going and encourage one another to press onward.
Read Acts 1-7
Be prepared to share with us next week how it is going and be prepared to encourage one another in evangelism