Keys to Effective Evangelism

The book of Acts opens with a recounting of Jesus’ resurrection appearances and his ascension into heaven. Over forty days Jesus presented himself alive to his disciples, commanding them not to leave Jerusalem until they receive the Holy Spirit as promised. He ascends into heaven after assuring his disciples that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and empower them to be His witnesses in every part of the world. The disciples met in an upper room daily and devoted themselves to prayer.

Ten days later came the day of Pentecost, which was a festival Jews observed fifty days after Passover. This was one of several pilgrimage type feasts that required all able bodied Jews to travel to Jerusalem. So now Jerusalem is filled with people and there is a group of disciples meeting and praying when suddenly there is this rushing wind and what appeared to be tongues of fire coming to rest on everyone in the room. This is the arrival of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus.

Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples began speaking in other languages, previously unknown to them, but known to the people in the crowd. The crowd hears what is taking place and are amazed that they can hear them in their own language though the ones speaking were not from their region or country.

While there were many who were amazed, there were some mocking them, claiming that the reason for such a phenomenon was drunkenness, as if drunkenness had ever given one the power to speak a different language that was previously unknown to them. Having heard this false accusation, Peter stands to address the situation. As we examine Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, I want to give you three keys to effective evangelism.

Acts 2:14–21 NASB95

But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy. ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. ‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Establish common ground.

Notice the first step for Peter was to respond to the false accusations from the mockers in the crowd. They were experiencing something like no other had ever seen and the mockers were missing the significance of the event. Peter steps up to address the misconception. First, he points to the unlikeliness of their drunkenness because hardly anybody started drinking at 9 AM in those days. The statistical likelihood alone made this an unlikely explanation for what was taking place. Peter’s goal was to help them understand what was taking place and established common ground based on the knowledge they shared in common.

Though these people came from various nations and speaking different languages, they all shared one thing in common: Judaism. Peter knew they all had this common knowledge and appealed to Scripture that they would know to explain what was taking place before them. He quotes from Joel 2:28-32 as evidence of what is taking place and a fulfillment of prophecy. The prophecy given to its original audience described hope to come after they had experienced a devastating locust plague. It points to a coming day where God will pour out His Spirit on all His people. Peter is right in that the events of Pentecost are the beginning of a fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. The Spirit of God had been poured out on about 120 people that day and they did begin prophesying in the sense that they were out in the streets proclaiming the Word of God. Now not everything in these verses were being fulfilled at that time. There are things like the sun turning to darkness and the moon turning to blood that will take place in conjunction with the coming of Christ. But we must also remember that the disciples imagined the return of Christ would happen much sooner.

What I want you to notice is that there was a starting point both had in common. The audience knew Joel. That is why Peter used it. If we are to be effective witnesses in the community around us, we have to get better at speaking their language. We live in a state where there are about 19 million lost people. Our young people are more unfamiliar with the Bible than ever before. What worked 50 years ago does not work today. We must seek a common foundation to build from so we can communicate the gospel in a way that we can be heard. For some that might be science. For others, ethics, morality, or philosophy. For some it might be history, literature, family, or an occupation. But effective evangelism occurs when we learn how to relate to the people around us.

Keep the gospel the focus.

After Peter established common ground, he moved into the resurrection and made that the focus of his message. In verses 22-24 he speaks of the resurrection of Jesus.

Acts 2:22–24 NASB95

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

There are a few things to note here. First, Jesus was handed over to be crucified according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. Over millennia God had been revealing his plan for Israel and here the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was another event that was part of the predetermined plan of God. There were many in the crowd who were there the day Jesus died. There were many who were there when the disciples started running around claiming He had risen from the dead. Peter’s focus was to preach the resurrection of Christ, the man they crucified nearly two months prior.

Secondly, the resurrection accomplished putting an end to the agony of death. Those who rise from the dead rise to never die again. Proclaiming the resurrection of Christ needs to include the extension of hope for us that death can be defeated. The Jews already believed in resurrection, but here Peter is tying the hope of resurrection to the resurrection of Jesus Himself.

Peter again appeals to Scripture as evidence as he quotes Psalm 16:8-11, arguing that David, knowing that God would establish one of his descendants on his throne forever, caught a glimpse of the reality that this descendant would never be abandoned in death or undergo decay. He continues with Psalm 110:1 as proof that Jesus is the one to whom these texts speak. The whole focus in this section is to establish a case for Christ from Old Testament passages which were familiar to the audience he was speaking to.

The challenge set before us in any gospel conversation is to preach good news in a way our hearers can understand. The only revelation we have that there is hope beyond death through resurrection is the pages of Scripture. We must keep the gospel the central focus of our message. People are less familiar with terms like sin than they used to be. Even when we speak of God we must define which God we are speaking of. Because of the age of relativism we now live in, we must not assume that those we share the gospel with have the same assumptions as we do when discussing spiritual matters. As we share the gospel, we must carefully define who God is, what sin is, why it matters, and why Jesus is the solution. We have to explain things like faith and help people understand how we have it. Effective evangelism in today’s world must be an intentional conversation to present the truth in a context that hearers can understand.

Call for a response.

When Peter was finished speaking, the people responded. Verse 37 says they were pierced to the heart, This means that conviction from the Holy Spirit had taken place. There is a point in a gospel conversation where the best thing you can do is stop talking. Notice Peter seemed to have simply ceased speaking. Ceasing to speak allows time for what you have said to sink in and take effect. Notice also that the reaction of the crowd was a question about what to do. This gives us the impression that their eyes were opened to the truth that they were sinners in need of saving and they wanted to know how to do that.

Peter responds with:

Acts 2:38–39 NASB95

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Any effective evangelism requires a call for a response. The good news of Jesus Christ is of no value unless acted upon. If there were a gift on the table with your name on it, and I described to you with incredible detail what was inside it, and you could picture what it would be like to open it and use it, but never pick up the box, what value is that? If you knew that in the box was the key to a new Mercedes, but you never opened the box, what use is the Mercedes? This is why a call to action is so important when sharing the truth with our friends and family. A choice must be made to accept the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. We are called to respond to the revelation that God has given us.

Remember last year we walked through the gospel together and used the word as an acrostic. G: God created us to be with Him. O: Our sins separate us from God. S: Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. P: Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. E: Everyone who trusts in Jesus will have eternal life. L:Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

Do you want to stop trusting in your own goodness to earn God’s favor and place your trust in Jesus who paid it all for you? Do you want to begin learning how to walk with Jesus day by day and experience the transformative power of living according to His Word? Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of spiritual renewal. Today is the day to let go of yesterday and press on toward the goal of becoming like Christ.