The Rights and Wrongs of Evangelism

Introduction: The Necessity of the Gospel Proclamation
Christ died for sinners. John 11:25 proclaims our Lord's words, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live."

Evangelism is derived from the Greek root evangelion (ευαγγελιον), which translates to "the reward of good tidings." We as Christians are tasked with the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel that saves souls. Christ tells us, that "...this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Mt. 24:14). Our Lord also remind us, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Lk. 10:2). Therefore, we as Christians have a charge to keep. We must proclaim the Gospel and be faith to the Word of God in our proclamations. So, what is our standard operating procedure in this endeavor?

The Rights and Wrongs of Evangelism
How can one go wrong by evangelizing? Well we when do so without a spirit of humility and humbleness, patience and love, then we may fail as ambassadors of Christ, and turn people off from the good news by our insensitive witness. Likewise, we fail to present the Gospel of faith and repentance.

2 Timothy 2:24-25 is a favorite memory verse of mine related to evangelism, because of its practicality.

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
—2 Timothy 2:24-26

The Golden Rule is Requisite for Evangelism

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition..."

(Note, the above excerpt is the focal point of the verse.) Our Lord Jesus tells us the golden rule, "‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’" (Mt. 22:39). How can we as Christians proclaim that precious Gospel that saves souls, and not do so in spirit of love, humility and compassion? When all is forgiven of us how can we not forgive our brothers? Likewise, how can we not approach evangelism with a forgiving spirit as apologists for Christ, recognizing that ridicule may occasionally come our way, but we do not worry, because we have an eternal perspective.

How can we as believers approach evangelism? First, regarding our modus operandi or mode of witnessing—being gentle and patient are vitally requisite for the evangelist. Prudent evangelism does not embody the use of hit and run tactics. Likewise, trying to beguile someone into a confession like pushy, almost coercive salesmen is a bad tactic too. Being overly persuassive and trying to lead the person on or beguile them by rhetorical sophistry is most definitely disadvantageous. What are we evangelizing for? The head count and our own pride of boasting? Of course not. But rather a geninue heart-felt desire to see souls saved through Jesus Christ and brought into fellowship with the church. We must therefore be faithful in our proclamation of the Gospel.

We can plant a seed in people's hearts, and after we plant that seed, if at all possible, we should water it. If we are evangelizing on the street or in public places amongst strangers, rather than simply sharing our faith and going our separate way, we can leave them with something tangible and substantive like a Bible, or a tract book elaborating on the Gospel, and perhaps an invitation to a church or ministry meeting.

With our friends, family and loved ones, and those we maintain an on-going relationship with, gentleness and patience are vitally requisite virtues in evangelizing. We can actually evangelize by living the Word in our day-to-day life, and showing how the Gospel has impacted our lives. Our effort is not to be pretenders, but we can manifest the joy of faith that impacts our day-to-day lives. Sometimes, I think loved ones are the hardest to reach, perhaps because they have seen us at our worst.

Conveying tacit or outright insults to someone trapped in sin is no way to win their heart. Telling people that God hates them because they are an adulterer, a fornicator, or a homosexual is no way at all to win their hearts. It is very much true that God's wrath abides on those unrepentant sinners that die without Christ, and that they may have committed any number of sins is besides the point. To be certain, the purpose of the evangelist is never to console people in their sins, but rather to awaken them to the perilous condition of their sin, and the righteous standards of the law by which we are judged. We must impress upon the lost person's heart of the hope that is in Christ Jesus, and the necessity of repentance. The gravity of sin separates humanity from God. And because God's overarching nature is His Holiness, and from His Holiness emanates not only His love but also His justice, so consequently his wrath abides on sin. We must confront the reality of sin, and confront the sinner with that reality.

Foremost, why we do preach and why proclaim the Gospel? We do so because we are imbued with the necessity of the Gospel's proclamation. And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15). We preach the Gospel out of a spirit of love, and out of spirit of gratefulness for what God done for us. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10:1) An evangelist should be impressed with the majesty of grace and what he has been saved from. An evangelist should have the love of God in His heart, and however, dimunitive that love might be, it sparks a fire that drives a passion for saving souls.

Repentance is all of God

"...if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth..."

Repentance is wholly the efficacious and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, which regenerates the depraved hearts of sinners and illuminates the believers mind to the truth of the Gospel so that they receive the implanted Word, and repent of their sins. Repentance is all of God. Our Lord tells us, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Luke 5:32). The Apostle Paul tells us, "how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:20-21).

For the evangelist, recognizing that God is sovereign and that it is ultimately His supernatural work that effectuates sinners being born of the Spirit, should give Him comfort and hope.

God sets the Captives Free

"...that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will..."

The supernatural work of the Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to the believer, effectively freeing him from the bondage of sin. No more does the blemish of sin soil us and separate us from God, but rather our eternal destiny is set. Upon being born again, and born of the Spirit, the believer is freed from the bondage of sin, and his eternal destiny is set.

Conclusion
We need more Christians to reflect upon the power of the Gospel. All evangelists need to be imbued with the requisite spirit of humility to faithfully proclaim the Gospel. Let us Christians all heed the wisdom of 2 Timothy 2:24-25.