Foundations of Biblical Evengelism

The Foundations of Biblical Evangelism

What comes to mind when you hear the word Evangelism?

Does the thought of approaching someone to share the Gospel make you anxious?

Do you feel embarrassed or maybe fearful?

Are you not sure what to say?

Have you ever felt like one of these, passed up the opportunity, and felt terrible about it later?

Whether you are fearful or need to refine your approach, this study will be encouraging and exciting as we examine the Scriptures to define biblical Evangelism.

Many evangelistic methods and programs try to minimize the amount of gospel truth, hoping to accomplish more by doing less.

The thought is to make the Gospel attractive and teach them more later.

That is not biblical Evangelism.

Christ commissioned believers to teach “all that He commanded” (Matthew 28:20).

So, by definition, the Gospel is the entire “good news” He came to proclaim.

No man-made gimmicks or manipulative approaches will move people to repent.

Our responsibility is to glorify God by proclaiming Christ crucified—and leave the results to God.

This course will help you be more comfortable, accurate, and confident in proclaiming the saving message of the Gospel.

If you attend the class and complete the assignments, your ability to articulate the gospel message will increase significantly.

Most importantly, the Gospel will impact your own heart.

We will begin our class with a biblical foundation of Evangelism.

We want to answer the question, “What makes biblical evangelism distinct from all other approaches?”

Four Aspects of Evangelism.

The Mission: What is the purpose of biblical Evangelism?

The Motivation:What motivates believers to evangelize?

The Message:What characterizes a biblical gospel presentation?

The Method:What are the guiding principles of presenting the message?

The Mission: God’s ultimate purpose for Evangelism is to glorify Himself.

God’s ultimate purpose in Evangelism is to glorify Himself.

If we can boil everything down, this is where it all lands. God is concerned with His glory.

Because God is the only one worthy of glory, our purpose for Evangelism must match His purpose in saving: to glorify Himself.

Isaiah 42:8 ““I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

Exodus 20:3–5 ““You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,”

1 Samuel 12:22 ““For Yahweh will not abandon His people on account of His great name, [why] because Yahweh has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.”

This phrase becomes important. “on account of His great name”

When you are reading Scripture, be on the lookout for statements like this:

“for the sake of my name”

“on my account”

“for my name's sake.”

The Lord is communicating that his actions are all about Him and making much of His name.

Sometimes we see this same language even in passages that deal with suffering.

For my sake, the Lord is saying.

Psalm 79:9 [Read] – Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name, And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake.

Exodus 34:14 [Read] - for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God

Your workbook mentions Ezekiel 36:22-23.

I recommend reading from verses 22 to 38 in that chapter.

God is describing what He will do in the New Covenant and the regeneration of the hearts of His people, and He boldly states that all that work is for His sake or the sake of His name.

So, if you are here tonight and you are saved, the primary reason God saved you is not found in you but in His glory; we are the beneficiaries of God glorifying Himself.

Some more verses that teach this truth are Isaiah 48:9-11, Psalm 106:7-8, Ezekiel chapter 20, Isaiah 48:5, and John 5:23.

Move on to our next point.

2. Salvation accomplishes God's Mission to bring Himself glory. [Letter B in your workbook]

A. We just mentioned the Ezekiel 36 passage that explains this truth, but the more you read the Scripture this truth is confirmed.

B. Even the glorious act of the cross, to which you and I cling, is all about God.

C. The reason for God’s glorious work in salvation is primarily rooted in Him bringing Himself glory.

D. Displaying who He is and what His character is like.

E. Isaiah 43:25 – [The Lord Speaking] “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

F. Psalm 25:7-11 – [David Writes] 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore, He instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

G. 1 John 2:12 – I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.

H. [Ephesian 1:3-6, Ephesian 2:4-9]

I. [At the bottom of page 1] This means that salvation is about making Disciples. Salvation is God turning Sinners into true Disciples of the One True and Living God.

J. We go from being a sinners and enemies of God to a Learners of God.

K. His work is done for His glory.

L. We enter a relationship with God where He allows us to worship Him for what He has done.

M. John 4:24 [Jesus said] – “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

N. Before, we were unable to worship Him because we were dead in our trespasses and sins. But now, since God has caused us to be born again, we can rightly worship Him.

O. This brings us to the next point.

3. Evangelism exists because Worship does not. [You can put Mission here as well]

A. John 4:23-24 – 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

B. 1 Peter 2:9 – But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

C. [Isaiah 49:6]

D. Since God is not content with receiving worship from only one group of people, we should NOT be content either.

E. Since God is worthy of receiving worship from all humanity, how can we be complacent?

F. God's Mission in our Evangelism is to glorify Himself by transforming sinners into True Worshippers through the proclamation of the Gospel. [bold lettering at the bottom of that section]