Evangelism 101 - The Best Evangelism Method

Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, often tells of a time he came across a member of the Hare Krishna cult of Hinduism who was handing out his materials in a public space. Mark decided he would go up and speak to the man and as he walked up the Hare Krishna the man offered Mark some papers and Mark said, “no, I don’t want any of those.” The man asked him why not, and he responded, “Well, I’m a Christian and I think you put your belief in something that is not true.” When the man tried to say that Christians and Hare Krishna’s are actually very close in beliefs, Mark responded by outlining some basic, exclusive Christian doctrines including a clear outline of the gospel, and asked the man if he believed them. The man said no and looked a bit upset.

Mark told him, “Oh, don’t worry! I know that it seems that you’re the outsider, but if everyone here really understood what you believe and what I believe most of them would agree with you even though they probably think they would agree with me more.”

“But you know what, I fully believe that God wanted me to speak with you today and would you be willing to condiser what I’ve told you about Christianity?” The man said yes, so Mark gave him a copy of the excellent book, Knowing God by J. I. Packer and asked him to read it.

Quite some time later, Mark saw this man again in a different area handing out more materials. Mark went up to him and said “Do you remember me? I gave you that book.” When the man said yes, Mark asked him if he had read the book and the man confessed he had not. “Well, the simple fact that we have met again is God telling you that you should read that book!”

Brothers and sisters, this is the end of this series on evangelism. I pray it has been helpful to you. You may have struggled with this series, not understanding its significance. Or maybe you have tried to put into action some of the things we have spoken of and gotten really discouraged. Perhaps you’ve sat there the past six weeks, completely zoned out and nothing has gotten through to you or maybe you’ve tried to understand and are still finding yourself struggling. Maybe you have been encouraged to go and share your faith with people, and you’ve come across much stronger opposition than what you expected.

If any of those are you, if you’re at least making an effort to hear these things and put it into practice, please don’t be discouraged. These things take time to build and develop and the longer you keep at them, the better you will be at them.

Now, this may be the end of this series, but don’t let this be where it ends. The whole goal of these seven weeks has been to prepare you and give you the ability to proclaim the Gospel to lost people.

And I want to leave you with the very best method for evangelism, and it’s most biblical one at that. It’s the church. It’s us. To bring more people into the family we don’t need new outreaches and programs, we simply must be Christ’s church. The best way for the church to evangelize the lost is to let, and expect, the church members to be the body of Christ in their everyday lives, not just on Sunday mornings.

What is Evangelism?

“teaching the Gospel with the aim to persuade”

(From J. Mack Stiles’ book Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus)

And you might think that I am going overboard with this focus on evangelism, but a church that does not understand evangelism and is not rooted in an overspilling love for Christ and his Gospel (good news) is a church that is careening toward its death. And I’m not just talking about the physical death of getting to so few members that we have to close our doors. I’m talking about a spiritual death, that may or may not look like life with a lot of members, but instead of there being real sheep in the church it really is just a sheepbarn that’s full of goats! When a church misunderstands what evangelism is and who is responsible for it, that death is sure to follow.

What happens when we get Evangelism wrong?

The dominoes start to fall:

Focus of preaching and teaching turns toward living a moral life, not a gospel-centered one

We start to expect sermons that the primary goal is to emotionally move us and encourage us to be better people

With or without the gospel, with or without Christ

Our attention is drawn away from Christ and what he has done, is still doing, and is going to do, and our attention turns inward, on what makes us get a specific feeling, on what helps us live as good people and we start to confuse our culture’s ideals of what it means to be a good person with what the Bible says it means to be a Christian.

The longer this goes, the greater our distaste grows for sermons that are all about the Word of God, that are all about Jesus, and that make us uncomfortable. So I put pressure on the pastor to get out of the Bible and start talking about me. If it’s not about me, I don’t want to hear it.

Then, because we no longer are being taught clearly and exclusively from Christ and Scripture, because we are just being encouraged to live moral lives instead of surrendering all to Christ, Non-Christians are lured into thinking they are okay in their lost state because they too live moral lives. So they decide to pray the sinner’s prayer and join the church.

Then, Christians start to think that non-Christians are believers because they made a superficial outward commitment

Then the church baptizes non-believers

The church allows non-Christians into membership

Eventually, non-Christians become leaders in the church

A church becomes nominal and reflects the surrounding culture more than Christ

Now you may be thinking “that’s just a liberal problem, I’m glad we don’t face that in our conservative community,” but you’re wrong!

Why do you think that I am preaching on Evangelism so much? Why do you think I’ve taken months to work on this with you? Because that has happened here! We have become so comfortable with the same old things! We want the church exactly as it makes us comfortable and our own comfort has gotten in the way of following the commands of the person that we say is our king!

When we forget that we are not just brothers and sisters to Christ (reaping the benefits of His atoning work on the cross) but also his subjects (with a responsibility to follow Him and his teachings above all, including the stuff that makes us uncomfortable or bored!) then the church, the best method for evangelism, becomes actually the best method of making sure that people stay lost! They will stay stuck in their sin because we don’t turn their eyes to Christ. OR they will reject Christ, not because of the Gospel, but because of us.

We must fight to rightly understand evangelism as a church and to make it a part of our DNA.

How do we do that? We build a culture of Evangelism in our church.

What is a culture of evangelism?

1. A culture motivated by Love for Jesus and His Gospel (2 Cor 5:14-15 )

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 ESV

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

2. A culture that is Confident in the Gospel (Rom 1:16 )

Romans 1:16 ESV

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.

3. A culture that understands the danger of entertainment (Ezek 33:30-32 )

Ezekiel 33:30–32 ESV

30 “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

4. A culture that sees people clearly (2 Cor 5:16a )

2 Corinthians 5:16a ESV

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

5. A culture that pulls together as one (Phil 1:3-5 )

Philippians 1:3–5 ESV

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

6. A culture in which people teach one another (1 Pet 3:15b , 2 Tim 1:13 )

2 Timothy 1:13 ESV

13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 3:15b ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

7. A culture that models evangelism (2 Tim 2:2 )

2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

8. A culture in which people who are sharing their faith are celebrated (Phil 2:19-22 )

Philippians 2:19–22 ESV

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

9. A culture that knows how to affirm and celebrate new life in Christ (Col 1:3-4 , 7 )

Colossians 1:3–4 ESV

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,

Colossians 1:7 ESV

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

10. A culture doing ministry that at times feels risky and dangerous (Phil 1:12-13 )

Philippians 1:12–13 ESV

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

11. A culture that understands that the church is the chosen and best method of evangelism (Acts 2:46-47 )

Acts 2:46–47 ESV

46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

How is the church the best method of evangelism?

John 13:35 ESV

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Q: What action affirms our genuine conversion to Christ?

A: Loving other Christians

John 17:20–21 ESV

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Q: How do we show that Jesus is the Son of God?

A: By uniting with other believers

A Story: (Page 76 of Evangelism)

It will not always be easy, please hear me when I say that, but it will be good.

Let me remind you again of Alexamenos. We talked about him

A Final Encouragement: You are an Ambassador!

One final Gospel Presentation: Pg. 115