SEEK 44 – Evangelism – Why?
Question: Should you evangelise? How do you evangelise?
Bible Reading: Matthew 25:31-46
Text: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46)
Who wants to be an evangelist? Who wants to be evangelised? With many people the term evangelism has a negative and somewhat weird connotation. It conjures up images of someone standing on the street corner yelling out ‘repent or die’ at passing strangers. Or a Billy Graham type figure in a vast stadium encouraging people to come forward and be saved. Or perhaps you think of the slightly eccentric person whose zeal you admire but who you don’t really want to sit beside you in church?!
Why does evangelism have such a bad rap? What is evangelism? It is the telling of the ‘evangel’ – the good news about Jesus. According to the Oxford English dictionary it is “the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.” Or “zealous advocacy or support of a particular cause.” It is the latter definition which often causes the discomfort.
I recently saw a job advert for a ‘home work evangelist’. As I describe myself as an evangelist and as it had a salary of $200,000, I was curious! It turns out that this was nothing to do with the good news of Jesus Christ, but was rather about the ‘good news’ of being able to work from home. It is interesting that in contemporary society it is acceptable to be a ‘climate evangelist’ or a ‘music evangelist’, or a ‘home work evangelist’, but being an evangelist of Jesus Christ is often met with derision, fear and abuse.
Why should we seek to tell people about Jesus?
He tells us to. If we are followers of Christ, we do what he asks. And he commands his church to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). We are part of that church – and until he returns again that will be our task. You are here on this earth to be witnesses of Christ.
People are lost – Those who are without Christ are “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Jesus says that those who do not believe are ‘condemned already’ (John 3:18). And he leaves us in no doubt what that means – They are destined for an eternity without him. They are Hell bound. They are lost.
What kind of heartless and cruel people would we have to be if we see people heading for such destruction and in such a condition and yet we do nothing about it. Especially when we know the Christ who came to seek and to save the lost? How can people believe unless they hear? “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14)
The glory of God – Whenever a sinner is saved it brings glory to God – because only God can do it. Jesus endured the Cross because it would bring him joy (Hebrews 12:2) – the joy of seeing a great multitude saved and brought to heaven.
It grows our own faith in Christ – Paul tells Philemon to be active in sharing his faith so that his understanding of ‘every good thing we have in Christ’ would be deepened (Philemon 6). I find that sharing the Gospel about Jesus and seeing him work through his Spirit so that his word does not return to him empty, is such a great encouragement to my faith and understanding.
The good of the world – If you are concerned about the planet and your fellow human beings then you will want to see people become Christians. Did you know that the whole creation is eagerly waiting for the children of God to be revealed? (Romans 8:19). It is only when we are set free that the creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay. If you want to save the planet – do evangelism!
Consider: Why do you think some Christians do not want to evangelise? Can you think of any other reasons to reach out with the Gospel? When was the last time you shared the good news about Jesus with anyone?
Further Reading:
Erasing Hell – Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle
Christianity for Modern Pagans – Peter Kreeft
Prayer: O Lord Jesus, we confess to you with sorrow that we are so slow to share the good news of what you have done for people. You suffered, bled and died for us. You ask us to be your witnesses and yet we are reluctant, we are embarrassed. Fill us with your love. Fill us with your Spirit. Give us your heart. And enable us to have the beautiful feet of those who share the Gospel. For your glory. Amen.
If you would like a copy of the SEEK book then just contact your local Christian bookstore – or (if you are in Australia) Koorong – and it is still available on Amazon everywhere….
Hey David
I was thinking that you might consider Colossians 4:5-6 and 1 Peter 3:15-16 in your list of verses for ‘Why’ evangelism? While not so much about proactive evangelism, they speak to our readiness for gracefully explaining our faith to outsiders when asked.
Also worth noting is Acts 1:7-8, which is quite similar to Matthew 28:19 in the direct command of Jesus to bear witness to him globally. Some might say this command is just for the Apostles. However given so many disciples beyond just the Apostles bear witness throughout Acts, I think is ample evidence this command was meant to apply to all Christians.
While I totally agree with the need for evangelism, I was not sure all your reasoning in Seek 44 lines up biblically.
Some years back when I was preaching on Philemon, I found out the NIV translation of vs 6 is misleading. It’s nothing to do with evangelism. It’s linked directly to Paul’s appeal to Philemon about Onesimus and is more about the fellowship/partnership of their faith. Check out a better translation and any commentary to clarify this.
I am also intrigued by your use of Matthew 25:46 as your Bible Reading. This passage has nothing to do with a call to evangelism. I presume your trying to make a logical link to eternal judgment? However the point of this passage is not about evangelism in any way, shape or form. It’s directly related to the criticality of treating the ‘least of these’. It’s not about making disciples or bearing witness to Jesus.
(Matthew 25:31-46 is also arguably not about final judgement either as its set in the context of the Olivet Discourse and the judgement on the temple and ‘this generation’ 24:29-35. The Coming of the Son of Man in Matthew is continually linked to events within that specific generation- not the final judgement -see 10:23 & 26:64 as well as 24-25).
Finally, despite the awful ‘turn or burn’ efforts of many preachers, ‘Hell Bound’ should never be used as a reason for evangelism. That’s because its not Biblical. It’s never used in Acts in any of the Sermons to unbelievers. There is no biblical model of evangelism that refers to being Hell Bound as a motivation for evangelism. I assume you will respond that it’s a logical inference? However why don’t we see this ever done in the entire record of preaching in Acts?
Interestingly, regarding your book recommendation ‘Erasing Hell’. One of the authors, Preston Sprinkles has changed is view on Hell. He openly encourages 3 evangelical views on hell (ECT, Annihilation and Ultimate Restoration-Christian Universalism). He personally now rejects ECT and leans to Annihilationism. I can send you links to this, but a simple google search and review of his podcast ‘Theology in the Raw’ will show you the change. He is also the Editor the Zondervan’s ‘4 Views of Hell’ in which he interacts with each perspective.
Thanks