14 CH 6 FA Pg151-183 All2evangelise

151
6
A
fellow Christian visited my home recently.
She had been on an assignment working for an
international aid organisation and it wasnt long before
we started talking about evangelism. I showed her the
video of the gospel which as a ministry we produced
and which you can see at www.biblein11.com. I encouraged her to
load it on her phone and use it on her travels.
Alice: Julian, I could never go around giving people the gospel
like you do. Its just not me.
Me: (very gently) Why do you think it is just not you?
Alice: (a little defensively) I would feel very awkward doing it.
We all have different gifts, you know. You are good at this kind of
thing and God has designed you to do it. You have the personality
and I dont. I am not that kind of person. I am better at just getting
alongside people and befriending them. I have more of a relational
evangelism styleyou knowfriendly and relaxed. I have found
that people are attracted to who I am, not what
I say I have found that love is what attracts
people
Me: I agree with you that being loving,
Are all
Christians Commanded
to Evangelise or just
those with the gift?
C H A P T E R S I X
152 > EVANGELISM : Strategies from heaven in the war for souls
relational, friendly and kind is all good. But dont you
think that all the other people of other religions, and
even people who are not religious at all, can be nice
and loving? What would make you different from all
of them in the eyes of people you are working with?
Surely, in all the relationships you are building, there
must come a time when you know you should get to the nitty gritty
andwellexplain what you are really on aboutgive them the
gospel? Otherwise youll just leave people guessing about what
makes you so nice!
Alice: Oh, I talk about God with people dont get me wrong.
But I dont give them a presentation like you do. I sort of drip feed in
bits and pieces about Christianity over a long period of time, maybe
over dozens of conversationsoften I dont talk about God at all
only when it comes up naturallyyep, thats pretty much how I do
it.
Me: How do you know the people you talk to are putting all
the bits and pieces you are giving over time together and making
complete sense out of it? And
how do you know all the bits
and pieces are the gospel?
What happens if you just tell
them one or two bits and never
see them again, and they never
get to hear the gospel? What if
the bit you gave them, on its
own, might lead them astray?
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I met someone the other
day who told me she was going to heaven because a Christian had
told her God loves everyone. She assumed from this that she was
right with God and there was nothing for her to
do in her life about God. She expected a loving
God would be ready to meet her the other side of
death. Yet when I took her through the gospel she
was shocked to fnd out she was headed straight
for hell. Wouldnt it be best to try and give the
I met someone the other day
who told me she was going to
heaven because a Christian told
her God loves everyone. She
assumed from this that she was
right with God.
Chapter Six : Are all Christians Commanded to Evangelise? < 153
whole gospel in one go to those you meet, when the
time and place is right, and take the discussion from
there? At least that way you know they have heard it
and understood it. And you have planted the seed
of the gospel in them for God to grow and you
have left nothing to chance. After all, Jesus did both. He was very
relational and He proclaimed the gospel. He was full of grace and
truth. Arent we supposed to be imitating Him?
Alice: (laughing) Julian, the bottom line is, youre an evangelist
and I am not. Its just not me Julian, I am sorry, I am just not cut
out for that stuff.
Me: (gently but starting to feel frustrated) But what about
all the millions of people out there who are not brushing with a
Christian and who dont have a Christian friend? Who is going to
reach them? Eventually, we have to get beyond bits
and pieces conversations and get down to actually
communicating the whole gospel. I have the gift of
evangelism and I am supposed to train everyone how
to do this. So if Gods assignment to me is to train
everyone, then everyone must have a responsibility to
do evangelism, and even make it a priority. God wouldnt command
everyone to do it if only a few people were capable. That would be
cruel of God.
Alice: (defensively) Ok, show me where the Bible says we are
all to do it. I know for sure the Bible teaches that we are a body,
each with a different part to play (more light heartedly) I am
not the same body part as you Julian. Just prove what you are
saying from the Bible!
D
ont be duped
Many Christians
want to know the answer
to Alices excellent fnal
question. In this chapter
I show from the Bible
that evangelism is the
responsibility and privilege
If the enemy can dupe
Christians into believing that
only those with the gift of
evangelism are to do it, and few
people in the Church have that
gift, then few in the Church will
do evangelism.
of all believers.
1
If the enemy can dupe Christians
into believing that only those with the gift of
evangelism are to do it, and few people in the
Church have that gift, then few in the Church will
evangelise. This is exactly what the enemy wants.
Dr Sidlow Baxter, theologian and author, writes powerfully on
the subject of how the enemy tries to discourage Christians from
doing Gods will. The frst temptation in Eden and the many
temptations which have entrapped men and women since, are
fundamentally identical. The tempters great purpose is to divorce
the will of Christians more and more from the will of God.
2
So what is the will of God when it comes to evangelism? What
do Christian scholars and signifcant leaders say? Are all Christians
commanded to evangelise or not?
Dr William Barclay: It is the duty of the Church, and that
means the duty of every
Christian, to tell the story of
the good news of Jesus to those
who have never heard it.
3

It doesnt get much clearer
than that. But Ill throw in
more quotes, lest you think
Im relying on one or two
scholars who happen to agree
with me.
Few opinions would be as respected as that of Dr Billy
Graham. He is emphatic: For too long we have assumed that
evangelism was the province of only a few professionals, or a task
that the pastor alone could do (in addition to the multitude of other
duties the pastor faces every day). Such a view is not faithful to the
New Testament, nor is it realistic if the challenges of the coming
decades are to be met. The task is simply too overwhelming.
4
1 When I speak of all believers I mean all who are physically and mentally capable. There are some in the
Church, who, because of severe disability, or their age (e.g. babies) cannot evangelise.
2 Dr J. Sidlow Baxter. Explore The Book. Zondervan, 1966, p.37
3 Dr William Barclay. The Gospel Of Mark. Saint Andrew Press, 1975, p.370
4 Dr Billy Graham. Christianity Today Magazine. December, 1977.
It is the duty of the Church, and
that means the duty of every
Christian, to tell the story of the
good news of Jesus to those who
have never heard it.
Dr William Barclay
According to Dr Leighton Ford, the Latin American
Mission researched the fastest growing movements
in their feld and found them to be the Communists,
the Jehovahs Witnesses and the Pentecostal churches.
They then sought to discover a common denominator
which was obviously not their message. Finally they came up
with this proposition: The growth of any movement is in direct
proportion to its ability to mobilise its entire membership for
continuous evangelistic action Based on this thesis, says Ford, a
programme of evangelism in depth has been moving from country to
country in Latin America, training, uniting and mobilising ordinary
Christians as never before, and making unprecedented impact in the
life of these nations.
5

S
owing seeds of doubt and twisting scripture: hallmarks of the
enemy.
The enemy loves to stop Christians from proclaiming the gospel
by sowing doubt in their minds regarding Gods instruction. Did
God really say all Christians are to proclaim the gospel? he
asks slyly. But he does not stop there. He plays on this doubt by
persuading many Christians they are not gifted by God to do so, or
that evangelism is for those with a certain personality type.
Moreover, he often uses Scripture to bolster his case. For example,
he will whisper in the ear of a Christian, The Bible says the Church
is a body with many parts. An evangelist is a special part of this
spiritual body, as an eye is to the physical body. If youre the heart,
dont even try to be an eye. Just rest in how God made you. This
line of reasoning sounds right and logical, but is it biblical? Answer?
No. So how do we counter his arguments? We do so from
Scripture.
D
efeating the enemy with scripture
Acknowledging there is no single Bible verse
that tells us bluntly, All Christians are commanded to
proclaim or spread the gospel, we reach this conclusion
by systematically piecing together various scriptures.
First, each of the Gospels contains a command from
5 Dr Leighton Ford. The Christian Persuader. A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976, p.47
Jesus to do evangelism:
1. Matthew: ...Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).
2. Mark: Go into all the world and preach
the good news (Mark 16:15).
3. Luke: and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be
preached in His name to all nations (Luke 24:47).
4. John: As my Father sent me, even so I send you (John
20:21).
Together with Acts 1:8, these are viewed by scholars as Jesus fve
Great Commission announcements.
Studying and meditating on these verses is an important strategy
from heaven in the battle for souls. If we are not convinced from
these and other verses that evangelism is for everyone, we
will not do it. So what do I want you to notice in the fve
verses above?
While only Mark talks explicitly about proclaiming
the gospel, the other three Gospel writers do so
implicitly.
For example, in Matthew Jesus talks of making
disciples. A disciple is an apprentice or learner, someone
who imitates his master or teacher. So, if all Christians are disciples
and imitators of Jesus, and He spent a lot of time saying who he
was and why he came, then it follows that all Christians are to learn
how to evangelise and do it. Serious disciples of Jesus will desire
earnestly to imitate Him in this crucial work.
In John 20:21, Jesus is talking to His disciples. Since we
too are Jesus disciples, you in this verse refers to us as well.
Furthermore, if all are sent, what are we all sent to do? I answered
this question in the previous chapter. We are sent to make a priority
of proclaiming or spreading the gospel, just as Jesus and Paul did.
As for Luke 24:46-49 and Acts 1:8, Luke has recorded the last
words of Jesus before He was taken up to heaven.
Again, Jesus is talking to all the disciples, and since all
Christians are disciples of Jesus, He is talking to all of us as
well. We are to actively participate in the great task of
preaching repentance and forgiveness
in His name to all the nations. To do
so is to witness.
D
ont take on the absurd
Some have argued that Jesus
command to go into all the world
and proclaim the gospel was only
to the disciples of His day. That
instruction, they claim, does not apply
to Christians now. But remember Jesus also told His disciples to
Love one another. Wouldnt it be absurd to argue that this
command did not apply today?
L
istening to respected leaders
Dr Jerram Barrs, Founder and Resident Scholar
of the Francis Schaeffer Institute at Covenant
Theological Seminary, says the Bibles position
is clear: The apostles and the whole Church
understood that the command to reach out with
the gospel was not for the apostles only but
for the entire Church of that day. It was also
a commandfor every day in the life of the generations to
come.
6
Popular theologian and author Dr John Piper, agrees:
The frst thing to make clear about [the Great Commission] is that
it is still binding on the modern Church. It was given not only to the
apostles for their ministry but also to the Church for its ministry.
7
Renowned missiologist
Dr Norm Lewis exhorts
us: To evangelise the
world with Gods good
news is not an option for
the follower of Christ. Nor
is it the sole territory of a
few idealists who choose
to be different. Jesus
6 Dr Jerram Barrs, The Heart of Evangelism. Inter Varsity Press, 2001, p.37
7 Dr John Piper, Let The Nations Be Glad. The Supremacy of God in Missions. Baker Books, 2003, p.160
All of us are to actively
participate in the
great task of preaching
repentance and
forgiveness in His name
to all the nations.
The frst thing to make clear about
[the Great Commission] is that it is
still binding on the modern Church.
It was given not only to the apostles
for their ministry but also to the
Church for its ministry.
Dr John Piper
Christ made the worldwide
witness
8
the business of every
believer every Christian
will answer at last to Him
based on obedience to His
command. Go into all the
world and preach the good
news to the whole world (Mark 16:15).
9
Dr Leighton Ford rebukes churches which rely on evangelists
and pastors to do their evangelism.
A church which bottlenecks its outreach by depending on
specialists - its pastors and evangelists to do its witnessing, is
living in violation of both the intention of its Head and the consistent
pattern of the early Christians.
10
Dr Peter Wagner chips in: the true mission of proclaiming
the gospel begins in the local church and extends to the whole world
and is the task of every believer.
11
T
he gift of evangelismwho has it and whats it for?
Now lets look at Ephesians 4:10-14. Here, the Bible
speaks of a person who is Christs gift to the Church. It is from
this scripture that we get the idea of someone having the special
gift of evangelism.
He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all
the heavens, in order to fll the whole universe. It was He who gave
some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare Gods people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we
all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of
the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the
whole measure of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians
4:10-14). We can glean at least four truths from this
8 In chapter two, I explained the meaning of this word, so often limited by Christians to mean only letting
non-Christians know, somehow, that we are a Christian.
9 Dr Norm Lewis, Priority One. OM Literature, 1988, p.1
10 Dr Leighton Ford, The Christian Persuader: A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976,
p.46.
11 Dr C. Peter Wagner & Pablo Deiros Ed. The Rising Revival. Renew Books, 1998, p.51
To evangelise the world with
Gods good news is not an option
for the follower of Christ.
Dr Norm Lewis
passage of Scripture:
1. God has given certain people to the church as a gift.
2. The evangelist is given to prepare Gods people What for? To
show them how to evangelise.
3. These evangelists are given to the Church to prepare it for
works of service. What service? The evangelisation of the
world.
4. When each person in the Church is fully equipped by these
people (prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers), the
task of preparing Gods people for works of service will be
complete. Every Christian who is fully equipped can attain to
the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. In other words,
they can walk in the fulness of Gods maturity, fruitfulness, and
blessing.
E
vangelists were never meant to do all the work
Tellingly, it does not say, He gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors
and teachers, so that they could go and do all the work. Rather, it
says certain people are given to the church to prepare all of Gods
people to do the work.
12
B
ecoming what we ought to be
Commenting on Ephesians 4:11-13, Dr William Barclay
writes: After Paul has named the different offce bearers within
the church, he goes on to speak of their aim and what they must
try to do. Their aim is that the members of the church should be
fully equipped. The word Paul uses for equipped is interesting. It
is katartismon, which comes from the verb katartizein. The word
is used in surgery for setting a broken limb or for putting a joint
back into its place. In politics it is used for bringing
together opposing factions, so that the government
can go on. In the New Testament it is used in mending
nets (Mark 1:19), and in the context of disciplining an
offender until he is ft to take his place again within
12 Some people have asked If evangelists teach us how to evangelise, does this mean prophets teach us how
to prophecy, teachers how to teach, apostles how to be an apostle, and pastors how to be a pastor? The answer to
this question is on our web site at www.esisite.com and look under frequently asked questions.
the fellowship of the church
(Galatians 6:1). The basic
idea of the word is that
of putting a thing into the
condition in which it ought
to be. It is the function of
the offce-bearers of the
church to see that the members of the church become
what they ought to be.
13
Christians who do not evangelise are like broken
bones. They are not what they ought to be. Evangelists
are Gods physicians, given to fx the bones.
H
ow to maximise the health of your church
But that is not all. Paul teaches in Ephesians 4 that the
Church is ailing because she is not united in the faith, not united
in the knowledge of Gods Son; that she is immature and falling
short of the fulness of Christ. So in Ephesians 4:10-14 the Lord is
speaking to her as a doctor would to a sick patient. He says, I am
going to give you fve gifts to cure
this sickness apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers.
Each of them has a unique and
vital contribution to make you
spiritually ft and vibrant. As each
of these gifted people prepares
you for works of service, and
as each person in the Church
puts into practice what they teach you, the body of Christ will be
healed. Take out one of the fve, and you wont attain the radiant
health I intended. Some might argue, Well, I dont evangelise and
I dont feel spiritually sick. I feel close to Jesus and
my spiritual life is awesome! How should we reply?
Many forms of disease can be present in the body
without the carrier being aware. Awareness comes later
13 Dr William Barclay. The Letters To The Galatians and Ephesians. The Saint Andrew Press. Edinburgh,
1985, p.149
Each of the fve-fold ministry
gifts has a unique and vital
contribution to make you
spiritually ft and vibrant.
Christians who do not evangelise
are like a broken bone.
They are not what they
ought to be.
when the sickness becomes full blown, or by
chance discovered through a blood test. It is
the same with evangelism.
When we dont feel the need to evangelise,
this doesnt mean God is not commanding
us to evangelise, or that our participation in
evangelism is not necessary.
It simply means that we are out of sync
with the will of God in this area of our lives. It will only be as we
begin to evangelise that well become aware of how sick we were
when we werent evangelising. In short, those who are currently not
evangelising dont know what they dont know.
A
n antibiotics analogy
If you are sick and the doctor gives you a ten-day supply
of antibiotics but you only take half the course, your medicine will
not work. Its the same with the fve-fold ministry gifts. Take out
the evangelism component (or any other gift) and the healing
wont work.
In most churches in the West, serious ongoing training in
evangelism is not on the calendar.
Take Britain for example.
Of 1017 churches in Britain who were surveyed to ascertain
how many had trained their people for evangelism in the decade
2001 to 2010, only a staggering 36
(3.5%) said they had done so.
All other Western countries
would fare no better.
How this situation must sadden
Jesus. Out of the supply of His
glorious riches and bounty He
gives a precious gift and we
reject it.
14

This ought never to be.
14 True, some evangelists deserve bad press. We can be insensitive, dogmatic, threatening, and one-eyed.
These are just some of our weaknesses. Yet, in spite of this, God calls us, and the strengths we bring, a
gift to the Church.
Of 1017 churches in
Britain who were surveyed
to ascertain how many had
trained their people for
evangelism in the decade
2001 to 2010, only a
staggering 36 (3.5%) said
they had done so.
And the church will never attain to the whole
measure of the fulness of Christ as long as this situation
persists. A key battle strategy from heaven, then, is to
utilise to the full all the fve gifts God has given to His
church, including evangelists.
T
he benefts of evangelising whats in it for you?
We are not yet fnished with this passage from
Ephesians. It indicates there are many benefts for
the Church when its members are equipped for, and practising,
evangelism. It helps to:
1. Unite the body of Christ in faith.
2. Unite the body in the knowledge of Gods Son.
3. Bring the body to maturity.
4. Bring the body to a place where it can attain the whole
measure of the fulness of Christ.
But it is not just Ephesians 4 which highlights the spiritual
benefts for the believer of being active in evangelism. There is also
Philemon 6.
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you
will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
How does this passage teach that all Christians are to proclaim
the gospel? Well, if it is Gods will that all Christians come to a full
understanding of every good thing we have in Christ, and sharing
our faith is a vital part of this process, then all must be active in
sharing their faith.
T
he gift of the Spirit and the call to witness belong together
Citing Acts 1:8, Dr John Stott argues that evangelism is
everyones responsibility: There is not room for evasion by trying
to limit the commission of Jesus to the apostles or to any subsequent
section of the Church. Acts 1:8 is clear: You
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you; you shall be My witnesses We can
only restrict the command to witness if we equally
restrict the promise of power. The gift of the Spirit
and the call to be witnesses belong together and
apply indiscriminately to all Christians. All Christians
may inherit the promise; all must obey
the command.
15

By witnessing, in this context,
Stott means proclaiming the gospel.
16

B
eing the ambassador God always
meant you to be
Dr R. Kent Hughes, Author and
Senior Pastor of College Church in
Wheaton, Illinois, interprets Acts 1:8 similarly: The command
to be Christs witnesses is for all true believers in Him. There are
no loopholes. No one can say, This does not apply to me. Our
mandate exceeds that of any worldly ambassador, whether it is to
mainland China, France or the private offces of the Prime Minister
of England. Christs last word is You will be my witnesses.
17

Dr Hughes also mentions 2 Corinthians 5:20 in support of his
case. We are therefore Christs ambassadors, as though God were
making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christs behalf:
Be reconciled to God.
Paul is referring not to the requirements of believers, Hughes
writes, but to the evangelistic duty of Christs ambassadors to go
into the world and announce the good news of reconciliation to
every creature, pleading with men to receive as their own what God
has freely provided in His Son. An ambassador speaks and acts not
only on behalf of but also in place
of the sovereign from whom he
has received his commission.
Since all Christians are Christs
ambassadors, we must all perform
the duty of an ambassador. If we
are truly ambassadors, we too
must proclaim, if indeed we are
15 Dr John Stott. Motives and Methods In Evangelism. IVP, 1973, p.5
16 Many in the Church misunderstand witnessing. For some it means letting a non-Christian know you
are a Christian. If, for example, a non-Christian asks the question, What did you do on the weekend?
and I answer, I went to church, some may think I have witnessed. But there is much more to the true
understanding of witnessing than this. I discussed this in chapter 2, device 10.
17 Dr R. Kent Hughes. Acts. The Church Afre. Crossway Books, 1996, p.17
We can only restrict the
command to witness if
we equally restrict the
promise of power.
Dr John Stott
The command to be Christs
witnesses is for all true
believers in Him. There are
no loopholes. No one can say,
This does not apply to me.
Dr R.Kent Hughes
truly representing our Sovereign. We cannot claim all the
benefts of an ambassador (eternal life, grace, peace, the
gift of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, etc) without taking up the
responsibilities.
18

H
old your head up high you are a privileged
person!
Dr Warren Wiersbe, well known international Bible
conference teacher and author of more than 80 books, adds
further insight. He argues that since we are all ambassadors for Christ,
we all must act as such by announcing our Sovereigns message.
In the Roman Empire, he writes, there were two kinds of
provinces: senatorial and imperial. The senatorial provinces were
made up of people who were peaceful and not at war with Rome.
They had surrendered and submitted. But the imperial provinces
were not peaceful. They were
dangerous because they would
rebel against Rome if they could.
Rome had to send ambassadors
to the imperial provinces to
make sure rebellion did not
break out. Since Christians in
the world are the ambassadors
of Christ, this means the world is in rebellion against God. This
world is an imperial province as far as God is concerned. He has
sent His ambassadors into the world to declare peace, not war. If
sinners reject us and our message, it is Jesus Christ who is actually
rejected. What a great privilege it is to be heavens ambassadors to
the rebellious sinners of this world!
19
H
ow to grow your church
Dr Michael Green points to other
scriptures to support the case that evangelism is for
all believers:
The biggest difference between the New
Testament church and our own, he says, is that
18 ibid, p.17
19 Dr Warren W. Wiersbe, 2 Corinthians. Be Encouraged. Scripture Press, 1984, p.68
...What a great privilege it
is to be heavens ambassadors
to the rebellious sinners
of this world!
Dr Warren Wiersbe
every member was a witness. The responsibility of
bearing witness to Jesus rested fairly and squarely
upon every single member. You dont just fnd it in the
odd by-ways of the New Testament: Jude urges his
readers in graphic terms to save some, by snatching
them out of the fre (Jude 1:23).
Timothy, though naturally timid and not an evangelist, is
nevertheless bidden to do the work of an evangelist and to be
urgent in season and out of season (2
Timothy 4:2). You fnd it everywhere.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:8, Paul rejoices
that the Word of God has sounded forth
from the newly-fedged Thessalonian
Christians, and that their faith in God
has spread like wildfre. And in Acts
8:1-4 we fnd the Jerusalem leaders
shut up in fear in an upper room while the common believers were
scattered by a persecution springing from the death of Stephen.
What did they do? They went everywhere spreading the gospel.
Evangelism was the spontaneous chattering of good news. It was
engaged in naturally, continuously, easily and joyfully by Christians
wherever they went.
If you want evangelism in your church, do not hire a famous
preacher. Build up the congregation for informal witness. And the
church will grow.
20
Wise pastors and leaders take note. Michael
Green is speaking here of another
battle strategy from heaven.
Three other scriptures are
cited by scholars to show how
the responsibility to evangelise is
the privilege of everyone in the
Church: Follow my example, as
I follow the example of Christ (1
Corinthians 11:1). The Spirit of
20 Dr Michael Green. Evangelism Now And Then. IVP, 1979, p.118
The common believers
went everywhere
spreading the gospel.
Dr Michael Green
If you want evangelism
in your church, do not hire
a famous preacher.
Build up the congregation
for informal witness. And the
church will grow.
Dr Michael Green
the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to
preach good news [the gospel] to the poor (Luke
4:18). For the Son of Man came to seek and to save
what was lost (Luke 19:10).
If the goal of the Christian life is to imitate Christ,
and gospel proclamation dominated His life, then
surely, if we are truly in touch with this goal, we are all bound to
imitate Him in this vital task?
W
hat it takes to be like a top golfer in the world...
Think how amazing it would be if you boldly and
unashamedly added to your Christian experience the habit of
regularly proclaiming the gospel. You could then say honestly that
you were imitating the major aspects of the life of Jesus.
I cant think of any Christian behaviour which would put you in
a better position to receive the fulness of all that Jesus has for you.
To desire to be a sincere disciple of Jesus but omit regular personal
evangelism is like saying, Im going to imitate the number one
golfer in the world, but, if you dont mind, I dont want to hit any
golf balls.
Jesus never gave his disciples
the option of picking and choosing
which aspects of His life they
would like to imitate. The authentic
Christian life can never be reduced
to a spiritual smorgasbord.
J
esus is so great, He is worth
declaring
An Australian theologian, John
Chapman, cites 1 Peter 2:9-10 to
show how evangelism is a command
for all Christians rather than just those with the gift: But you
are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who
called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were
not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Jesus never gave the
disciples the option of
picking and choosing which
aspects of His life they would
like to imitate. The authentic
Christian life can never
be reduced to a spiritual
smorgasbord.
The people of God are described in 1 Peter in
terms taken directly from the Old Testament, writes
Chapman, who then goes on to amplify this.
First, Gods people are a special people, he
reminds us. As chosen specially by Him, they cannot
be ordinary. Had the choice of who could be Christians been left
to us we might have chosen differently, which only shows how
unlike God we are! He loves them and so should we.
Secondly, Gods people have a special task to declare the
praises of God, and these praises are all associated with
the work of salvation, when people move from darkness
to light. To whom is this declaration in 1 Peter 2: 9-10
made? Since Gods people are here described in Old
Testament terms which referred to Israel, the declaration
is clearly to be made to the nations (Isaiah 49:1) to
whom Israel is called to witness (Mark 1:17; Isaiah
56:6-7).
The declaration of Gods mighty deeds in salvation is to be
made known to those who are not yet Christian. All Christians
not just those with the gift of evangelism belong to the people
whose purpose is to declare the mighty deeds of God.
21
Chapman continues, There is a special gift of the evangelist
as there is a special gift of faith
(1 Corinthians 12:9), but that
doesnt mean all of us shouldnt
evangelise, any more than it
means we dont all need to
exercise faith.
22
G
od the Evangelist calls us to
be His fellow workers
The Lausanne Covenant
documents cite 2 Corinthians
6:1 as a key scripture to support
21 John Chapman. Know and Tell the Truth. The Why And How Of Evangelism. Hodder and Stoughton, 1991,
pp.42-4
22 ibid, p.42
There is a special gift of the
evangelist as there is a special
gift of faith (1 Corinthians
12:9), but that doesnt mean all
of us shouldnt evangelise, any
more than it means we dont all
need to exercise faith.
John Chapman
the truth that evangelism is the responsibility
of all believers.
23
As Gods fellow workers we
urge you not to receive Gods grace in vain.
Commenting on that verse, Dr John Stott
says, God the evangelist gives His people
the privilege of being His fellow workers.
For although we cannot witness without Him,
He normally chooses to witness through us.
He calls only some to be evangelists,
24
missionaries or pastors,
but He calls the whole Church and every member of it to be His
witnesses.
25
As Dr Leighton Ford says, If our goal is the penetration of the
whole world, then for the agents to carry out this task, we must aim
at nothing less than the mobilisation of the whole Church.
26
C
atholics take a lead
Sadly, Protestants and Catholics often disagree on points of
theology, but on the question of who is to do evangelism, we are
agreed. The late Pope John Paul II, addressing Catholic young
people at World Youth Day in 1992, had this to say: Here we are
before the Seventh World Youth Day. I chose these words of Christ
as this years theme: Go into all the whole world and proclaim the
gospel (Mark 16:15). Through the Church, these words addressed
to the apostles concern every baptised person.
The same Spirit who made us children of God compels us
to evangelise. Moreover,
proclaiming means precisely
proclaiming becoming
one who brings the word of
salvation to others. There is
indeed much ignorance about
the Christian faith, but there
is also a deep desire to hear
23 Cited in Dr Lewis Drummond. The Word Of The Cross. A Contemporary Theology Of Evangelism.
Broadman Press, 1992, p.363
24 Stott means those with the Ephesians 4:11-12 gift of evangelism.
25 For a full discussion on what it means for a Christian to be a witness, see chapter two.
26 Dr Leighton Ford. The Christian Persuader: A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row. 1976, p.45
Dear young
people, proclaiming the Word of
God is not the
responsibility of priests or the
religious alone,
but it is yours too.
Pope John Paul II
the Word of God.
And faith comes from listening. St Paul
writes: How can they believe unless they have
heard of Him? (Romans 10:14). Dear young
people, proclaiming the Word of God is not the
responsibility of priests or the religious alone,
but it is yours too. You must have the courage
to speak about Christ in your families and in places where you
study, work or recreate, inspired with the same fervour the apostles
had when they said: We cannot help speaking of what we have
heard and seen (Acts 4:20). Nor should you be silent!
27

H
ow do I fnd the time?
Despite all the evidence, many Christians struggle to see
how they might ft evangelising into their daily lives.
Am I supposed to give up my job and be out there proclaiming
the gospel all day long to everyone everywhere? one might ask.
As a busy mother, how can I be obedient to this command when
I spend most of my days just surviving with my children?
I run a clinic for AIDS patients. How am I supposed to make
proclaiming the gospel the main thing?
I am a busy executive working 18 hours a day. Where would I
fnd time to do this?
These are honest questions.
The diagrams below help us to see the difference between how
people with the gift of evangelism might use their day and how
everyone else in the Church might ft evangelism into their routine.
They also help us see how engaging in evangelism is much
simpler and easier than we ever dreamed or
imagined.
With the revolutionary tools and strategies
God has graced us with, now literally everyone in
the Church can feel comfortable with evangelism
and actually engage in it. How good is that!
27 http://www.pcf.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/youth/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_24111991_vii-world-
youth-day_en.html
The circles represent all the various things an evangelist (i.e.
someone with the gift) does in their day. One of them is shopping.
When the evangelist leaves their offce, they can give the gospel to
someone while they are out shopping. In other words, they evangelise
naturally as they go about their day. The rest of their time is spent
organising training events for churches and preparing resources.
In contrast, the diagram below represents the waking hours
of someone who has a talent or a calling in an area other than
evangelism. Lets say the person represented by the diagram below
is a mother of three little children under fve and she has a husband.
Like the evangelist with the gift, she too gets out of her house.
This is when she can speak to someone about the gospel or at the
Reading
Dishes
Phoning
Eating
Shopping
Talking
Taking a child
to the doctor
Praying
Writing
Shower
Toilet
Eating
chocolate
Get library
books
for the kids
Take kids
to school
Vacuum
Reading
Dishes Phoning
Eating
Shopping
Talking
Researching
Praying
Writing
Shower Toilet
Attending
meetings
very least give them a booklet with the gospel written
on it or a www.biblein11.com business card.
28

How else might this mother evangelise?
29
She
might:
Have coffee with a friend and share the gospel
while the children play outside.
Attend a recreational activity while a baby sitter looks after
her children and share the gospel with someone there.
Leave a tract in the doctors reception rooms after taking her
preschooler to an appointment.
Give a www.biblein11.com business card to the library
assistant when she takes out a book.
She might give a www.biblein11.com card to someone she sees
sitting in a car next to where her car is parked.
30

What each of us must realise is that we are nearly all brushing
with non-Christians everyday and each and every brush is a
potential opportunity.
We need our eyes opened to see these opportunities and our
hearts changed so that we possess the heart of Jesus to take and
make them. We also need great tools and strategies which make
evangelism quick and easy.
Thankfully, we now have these so
absolutely everyone in the Church
can now participate.
W
e have to be intentional
For me personally,
I have found that if I try to
28 To fnd out more about this concept, just email me: julian@esisite.com
29 Most people in the world perceive they are extremely busy and most are. It is easy to see how evangelism
would quickly shut down if every Christian thought they were exempt from proclaiming or spreading the
gospel just because they were busy. This is why I wrote chapter fve of this book to show that what we
make a priority will nearly always get done. To illustrate this truth, I have often put the following scenario
before Christians: Imagine if the richest man in the world became a Christian and he became radically
committed to evangelism. In fact, he became so committed that he offered to pay any Christian $US1000
for anyone with whom they shared the gospel. I am certain the priority of many Christians would suddenly
change quickly. Courses on evangelism would be full to over fowing. Christians proclaiming the gospel
would food the world. Evangelism would boom. Serving mammon has become more precious to many of
us than serving God. What other conclusion is there?
30 E.g. giving them to tellers at shops and banks, placing them at ATM machines, public telephone boxes; on
the table in cafes and restaurants any situation where we mix with non-Christians or where someone might
pick it up and read it.
Has serving mammon
become more precious to us
than serving God? What other
conclusion is there?
ft evangelism into my day, I will end up not
evangelising i.e. when I go shopping, I intentionally
take time out to reach someone with the gospel.
How often should we do it? Really, this is a silly
question. Its like asking how often should I love
my children, read my bible, or pay my bills on
time?
As long as people have not heard, we must reach them. Anyone
can evangelise in the course of a day by putting a tract or www.
biblein11.com business card in a strategic place. I cant think of
anyone in the Church who couldnt do this. Really, how hard is it to
give out a business card or leave it where someone will fnd it?
W
e are all busy, but
No matter how busy we are, if we truly get it in our hearts
and minds that the evangelisation of the
world really and truly is Jesus priority,
any genuine believer would make it their
personal priority, surely? What would
it look like for a busy person to make it
their personal priority? Someone I know
works in the inner city in a busy offce.
He has a wife and children at home and
has one hour for lunch each day.
Before he eats, he leaves the offce to give the gospel on the busy
streets. He wont eat until he has evangelised. He has made this a
habit. He also holds himself accountable to another friend so that he
wont slip back into old ways.
Another lady simplifed her lifestyle in order to make evangelism
the priority. Instead of watching fve hours of TV a week she
watched only four, dedicating the other hour to
evangelising the world. She leaves her house one
evening a week to go out and look for someone to
whom she can give the gospel.
Another whole family dedicated Saturday mornings
to going out as a family to evangelise. They report that
it bound them together as a family like no other family
How often should we do
it? Really, this is a silly
question. Its like asking
how often should I love
my children, read my
bible, or pay my bills on
time?
activity had ever done.
Making evangelising a priority is,
ultimately, just a choice. Every person
in the world has 24 hours in their day.
What each person does with it depends
on whats in their heart.
P
roclaiming the gospel from the
heart
Whatever commitment we make,
it is the spirit with which we make it
that counts. The heart of any genuine
believer, though their time might be limited, will be to reach
more people with the gospel and go out of their way to create
opportunities. Their frst motivation is for the glory of God, the
second is because they love people.
S
ix things that could stop us from evangelising
In my experience it is not just a question of time constraints.
Most of us want to be able to evangelise, but six things stop us:
1. We dont know how to start the conversation.
2. Once weve started, we dont know what to say.
3. We lack training and tools that are contemporary, designed for
todays culture, and easy to use.
4. We dont feel confdent to answer the questions which non-
Christians might ask when we share the gospel with them.
5. We fear others will respond negatively when we share with them.
6. We have been infuenced by the enemys devices and think it is
someone elses responsibility.
We want solutions to these problems. We want to evangelise in a
way that is quick and simple, which glorifes God, and which does
not compromise the gospel in any way. What would you think of
a gospel tool or method which omitted no important truth, which
was not unnecessarily complicated, and which left the
non-Christian feeling loved yet utterly convicted by
the Holy Spirit of their need for Jesus?
Thats quite some wish-list! Fortunately there are
some tremendous tools available now which will
Making evangelising a
priority is, ultimately, just
a choice. Every person
in the world has 24
hours in their day. What
each person does with it
depends on whats in their
heart.
enable you to evangelise in just such a way.
31

W
hats in your heart? Do the test...
We could react to the content of this
chapter that the task of evangelising is given to all
of us in at least four different ways, each being a
cunning device of the enemy to knock us out of active
participation.
First we could decide that it is true, but do nothing about it.
This would be wilful disobedience.
Next we could put the responsibility on the pastor, saying we
will get serious about evangelising as soon as some training is
organised. This would be passing the buck.
Thirdly we could employ delay tactics: Im going to pray
about this, we might say, and when God tells me to do it, I will.
This would be delaying obedience.
Fourthly we could deny the truths
outlined in this chapter and return
to our old way of life, clinging to
the myth that evangelism is to be
done only by those with the gift
or by people who are less busy than ourselves. This would be
suppressing the truth.
Lets not react in any of these ways.
B
eing in the best position to fourish
Without doubt obedience positions us for the blessing of
God.
32
James says, Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers
(James 1:22).
We are called to obedience (1 Samuel 15:22); passing the buck
is a sin which has been around since the beginning of
time (Genesis 3:12); Jesus specifcally taught against
delaying obedience (Matthew 8:18-22); and James
(James 13:3) and Paul (Romans 1:18) both warned
against suppressing the truth.
31 Please email me at julian@esisite.com and I will give you access to an on line library of tools and strategies.
32 There are exceptions of course. Obedience can sometimes bring torture, persecution, separation from family
and friends and even death.
Obedience positions us
for the blessing of God.
In contrast, those planted in the house of the Lord
[i.e. those who seek to live in obedience] will fourish
(Psalm 92:13).
D
ont blame your pastor.
There is a sobering warning in Ezekiel 33:7-9
about not putting all the responsibility on our leader or pastor:
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel;
so hear the word I speak [to you] and give them warning from me.
When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you will surely die, and
you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked
man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his
blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and
he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved
yourself.
G
od is talking to you too
Notice Ezekiels constant use of the pronoun you. The
enemy would like us to brush this verse aside. We might say, Oh,
God was only talking to Ezekiel the prophet, and through him to
Israel. This verse does not apply to believers today.
D
oes Ezekiel 33:7-9 apply to all of us today?
Why would Ezekiel 33:7-9 not apply to us today? Whats
different between Gods charge to Ezekiel and Jesus command
to us in Mark 16:15? The judgments Ezekiel was to proclaim are
similar to those in the gospel. For example, Ezekiel is commanded
to transmit a message given by God, and so are we. He is to
alert the people around him to the peril of their ways and to call
them to righteousness, as we are (e.g. Luke 13:3). The offer of
forgiveness is certain for those who turn, which is the core of
our gospel message (e.g. 1 John 1:9). If sinners dont turn, they
will meet with a violent and terrible end (John 3:18). There are
consequences for not evangelising (e.g. Luke 9:26).
W
e are all Gods sentries
Dr Christopher Wright, former principal
of All Nations Christian College, London, is also
convinced Ezekiel 33:7-9 applies today: The
implications for Christian ministry seem to fow
naturally [from these verses] those who are among the
fock being pastored need the challenge of the evangelistic
warning and appeal. The sentry is never off duty.
33

The fact that Paul in Acts 18:6 and 20:26 uses the same
imagery as Ezekiel when his audience rejects the gospel,
further strengthens the argument. Dr John Stott
34
and
Dr I. Howard Marshall
35
are two other scholars who
connect these two verses in Acts with Ezekiel 33. It is not
only pastors and leaders who will be accountable for the blood of
those who perish without having been warned through the gospel,
but each of us, individually. If your church doesnt provide training
in evangelism, it is your duty to seek it out.
W
atch out for self-deception
As for saying, Ill pray about it, before deciding to
actively evangelise, really, what is the point? The Bible already tells
us clearly that proclaiming the gospel is the will of God for each one
of us. Yes, we ought to cover our activities and decisions with prayer,
but lets not use prayer as a delaying tactic.
I urge you in Jesus not to return to your old way of
thinking. Consider the many exhortations in the Bible not
to be deceived. For example: But I am afraid that just as Eve
was deceived by the serpents cunning, your minds may somehow
be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ
(2 Corinthians 11:3).
Of course, even once we are convinced it is true that we must all
take responsibility for proclaiming the gospel, Satans next cunning
device is to suggest the come to me approach. He persuades
Christians to pray, Lord, if you want me to reach someone with the
gospel, please bring them to me and make it obvious. If you dont
do this, I will know you dont want me to do any
evangelism today.
J
esus created the opportunities
Dont fall for this. Jesus specifcally said
33 Dr Christopher J.H. Wright. The Message Of Ezekiel, IVP, 2001, p.221
34 Dr John Stott, The Message Of Acts. IVP, 2003, p.298
35 Dr I.Howard Marshall, The Acts Of The Apostles. An Introduction And Commentary, IVP, 1987, p.333
Go (Mark 16:15).36 Once trained in
evangelism, we must do more than wait
for opportunities to fall into our lap. We
must learn to create them, as Jesus did.
In the parables of the lost sheep and
the lost penny,
37
the shepherd and the
housekeeper went looking for what was
lost. These parables illustrate important
truths about evangelism:
First, as God sought us, so we in turn ought to seek the lost
around us and present the gospel to them. Imagine what Jesus
endured in coming to us. In heaven
He was worshipped and adored by
the angelic host and yet He left the
comfort of His home to come to
earth and seek us out. For His efforts
He was rejected, beaten, mocked,
despised and eventually crucifed.
Jesus set the level of the bar with
respect to inconvenience.
38

Second, seeking out the lost will
cost us something. It will nearly always be a hassle, or at the very
least an inconvenience. Having to leave the 99 sheep and look for
the lost one was a major inconvenience for the shepherd.
He probably had to fnd someone to look after the 99, and this
may have cost him fnancially. Then there was the irritation of
the actual search. Having to contend with steep hillsides, thorns,
bushes, wild animals, heat, thirst, and an animal quick
on its feet that delighted to resist capture was, overall,
one gigantic inconvenience.
Similarly, looking for the lost coin took a lot of the
36 Better still, as you go.
37 Luke 15
38 Often Christians ask, If I go and look for lost people to present the gospel to, how do I know who to
choose? Please email me. I will direct you to resources which will answer this question. Julian@esisite.com
Seeking out the lost will
cost us something. It will
nearly always be a hassle,
or, at the very least, an
inconvenience.
The truth is, God can
grow a seed from the hand
of a farmer with a bad
attitude but never a seed
from the hand of a farmer
with a good attitude, who
doesnt sow it.
womans time. Moving all
the furniture, getting down
on hands and knees, endless
back-bending. What a chore!
Yet she did it because of the
value of the coin. Jesus said,
If anyone would come after
Me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily
and follow Me (Luke
9:23).
39
Putting ourselves
out is one way to take up
our cross. To know how to
create opportunities and to be
intentional about evangelism are two vital battle strategies if we
want to win this spiritual war.
P
ushing through
I will close this chapter by telling a personal story of the
blessing which comes from embracing the inconvenience factor
in evangelism. One cold, rainy night in the middle of winter I was
travelling home around 11:30pm. I had been ministering all day, and
the last thing I felt like doing was reaching
a non-Christian with the gospel. As I drove
down a long, inner-city road near my house, a
great battle arose in my mind.
Look, Im weary! I told myself. The
commitment I made to reaching one person a day
is just legalism.
40
I dont have to do it. God can see
39 This was one scripture which guided me to setting a goal of reaching at least one person a day with the
gospel. By Gods grace, for many years, I have been able to keep this commitment, missing no more than
a dozen days. Some days, I admit, I have gone out and given the gospel with a very poor attitude. I have
wanted to tick the box rather than really sincerely love my neighbour or glorify Jesus. But I reason
that going with a bad attitude is far better than sitting at home piously congratulating myself for not going
because I would dishonour the Lord with my bad attitude. This is yet another of the enemys devices. The
truth is, God can grow a seed from the hand of a farmer with a bad attitude but never a seed from the hand
of a farmer with a good attitude who doesnt sow it.
40 On his retirement, I once asked Bob McNaughton, an old, greatly-used-by-God evangelist of many decades
the question, what is the one piece of advice you would give me as you retire from this organisation? He
looked at me with his piercing, clear eyes and replied with some force, Julian, never stop actually doing
evangelism. This is my advice to you.
On his retirement, I once asked
Bob McNaughton, an old, greatly-
used-by-God evangelist of many
decades the question, What is
the one piece of advice you would
give me as you retire from this
organisation? He looked at me with
his piercing, clear eyes and replied
with some force, Julian, never stop
actually doing evangelism. This is
my advice to you.
Ive been doing His work, and He will love me no less
if I miss a day!
As I began to settle this in my mind, another voice
spoke up.
You made a commitment just do it! Hey, if you
cant push through the hard times, what kind of an example is that
for others? You can only lead others where youve been yourself.
If you make excuses, everyone else has a right to also. You know
that in the past when you made big sacrifces for the lost, God came
through. Just do it.
Thankfully I listened to the second voice. As I drove up the
road, I could see a lone fgure inside a McDonalds restaurant. The
persons face was obscured by the rain running down the window.
I parked the car and made sure I had the little tool we use to deliver
the gospel, plus a follow-up booklet. Then I made a dash from my
car through the rain. When I got inside, it turned out the fgure I
had seen through the window was in his ffties. He was reading the
newspaper and enjoying a hot drink.
D
own to the wire
By now it was about 11:40pm. I approached him in the usual
way, but to my surprise he said politely that he would rather not hear
what I had to say as he had had a big day and was just unwinding.
There was no one else in the restaurant and time was running out.
Would I have to go out in the rain to fnd someone?
I decided to buy something to drink and think what to do next.
The friendly woman who came to serve me was in her ffties.
Suddenly, an idea came.
Hey! I said to her. I wonder if you could help me with
something? Immediately she agreed; and we went all the way
through the gospel presentation. About a third of the way through,
we were joined by two other McDonalds employees
who also seemed eager to listen and watch. At the end
of the presentation, all of them agreed that if they died
that night they would go to hell. This was clearly a
shocking revelation. They had always believed that all
you had to do to get to heaven was be a good person.
M
ore follow up booklets needed
I had brought only one
follow-up booklet with me when I
frst entered, and so I quickly gave the
one I had to one of the younger staff
members and asked the other two to
wait a moment while I dashed to my
car to get two more copies.
When I returned, the older staff
member did a most surprising thing.
She lunged forward and tore one of the booklets from my hand.
Pressing it to her chest and looking upward, she exclaimed, as if to
God, Oh, thank you! I have always wanted to know about this!
By this time it was 11:59pm, but I felt refreshed both physically
and spiritually. I drove off, listening to my favourite praise music
on the stereo. When I got into bed I just lay there, basking in the
Holy Spirit as I thought about what had just happened and the
goodness of God to hold me to my commitment.
What are the lessons here? It seems to me that the bigger the
inconvenience/pain, the bigger the blessing. We will never grow
unless we continually push our personal boundaries and limits. Why
not make it your goal to progressively move up the levels in The
Six Step Master Plan of Evangelism which I detailed in Chapter
One?
D
o not leave it to chance put it in your diary
Pastors and leaders, diary into your day or your week an
appointment to reach someone with the gospel,
either through a tract or through proclamation.
41

Let it be an inconvenience for you. Feel the
weight of the Cross. Set the example in your
church. Take up Pauls exhortation to Timothy to
do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5).
Your sacrifce and discipline will give your people
courage and confdence to enter confdently into
41 To watch a short video of a Presbyterian minister who took up this challenge, whose life and ministry was
completely changed by doing so, please visit http://youtu.be/g3E7Xt8mALY
The bigger the
inconvenience, the bigger
the blessing. We will never
grow unless we continually
push our personal
boundaries and limits.
the battle for souls.
I
have found that wherever the leader in a church
sets the bar, the people will follow a little
underneath
For example, if you as the leader in your church
evangelise once a day your people will evangelise once a week. If
you evangelise once a week they will evangelise once a month. If
you evangelise once a year they will most probably never do it. It
is really that simple.
42
So here is another divine insight in the battle
for souls. If you are a leader and you are struggling to mobilise the
people in your church to evangelise, and you are not doing it and
you want to know why they are not doing it, the answer is that you
are not doing it.
Furthermore, if you are active in
evangelism, please let your people
know. I long for the day when pastors
around the world drop stories of
their evangelism experiences from
the previous week into their Sunday
sermons and general conversations.
Tell your staff you will be out of
the offce for 30 minutes to go and
reach someone with the gospel. Let
them see you go and come back.
Tell them what happened. Share
your experiences in staff meetings. Tell them about what happened
when you were on holiday sharing the gospel. As fre ignites
petrol, so you will inspire people to follow your example. And
please, dont just relate your successes.
Tell them of your inner struggles as you sought to establish
this new evangelism habit in your life. I experienced brokenness
many times before I eventually broke through in
evangelism.
If you are a leader, be open, honest, vocal and
visible about your evangelism experiences. For
42 I deal extensively with the topic of the role of leaders in evangelism in chapters 12 to 17.
If you cant get the
people in your church
evangelising, and you
are not doing it and you
want to know why they
are not doing it, the
answer is that you are
not doing it.
you, more than anyone, this is a critical strategy from
heaven in the battle for souls.
D
ont rely on feelings for motivation, they are
unreliable
I dont wake up every morning looking forward to
going out evangelising. Some days, in fact, I dread the thought,
and some days I dont feel any compassion whatsoever. Most days,
the prospect of going into the world and proclaiming the gospel
even frightens me a little.
So when I go to the lost, it is often just a cold, hard decision.
But often when I have reached one person with the gospel, or
during the giving of it, the fresh inflling of the Holy Spirit comes
and I suddenly want to reach
others, one after the other.
R
eaching lost people with
the gospel leads to a
greater desire to reach more
lost people with the gospel.
I go out weeping but return
with songs of joy! (Psalm
126:5-6).
Then, when I wake the next
day, the strong desire to evangelise and the sheer joy I experienced
the previous day are gone. They are only a positive memory.
Why is this so? I believe the Holy Spirit allows these feelings of
joy from the previous days evangelism experiences to leak out
overnight for a good reason.
He is trying to show me where to fnd a rich source of joy in the
Christian life.
He is saying, Julian, I am trying to show you where
to fnd living water. Keep going to the lost with My
gospel. Keep planting the seed. Go and have a drink. See
how sweet it is to be about my priority. Dont sit around
glorying in your past victories. Get living water fresh
every day. My supplies are limitless. Julian, people must
here my gospel. They must know about the great love I
The truth is, we will never
ever succeed in proclaiming
the gospel if we base our decision
to go (or not) on our feelings
of the moment. Love
is a decision, not a feeling.
have for them and why I died on the cross for them.
Every time you plant the seed with love and grace,
the Holy Spirit will grow it. We, the Trinity, will
do the hard bit which is to bring belief to those who
hear my precious gospel. Go!
The decision to evangelise each day continues to
be an act of the will but the weight of the cross these days is not as
heavy as it used to be. I have found that the more one does it, the
easier it gets. Truly, it is a learnt skill.
The truth is, we will never ever succeed with evangelising the
world if we base our decision to go (or not) on our feelings of the
moment. If we let our feelings rule, the not now or Ill do it
another day feeling will always win every time.
Let me draw this chapter to
a close. The responsibility to
evangelise the world falls on the
shoulders of every believer and there
are no loopholes.
Having said that, I am cautious
when I hear teaching which is
peppered with red fag phrases
like we have to or we must or
we have no choice or we are to
do it whether we feel like it or not.
Legalism is always lurking looking
for an entrance into our lives, and we ought to bar and lock all
possible entry points.
So how is what I have written in this chapter not marching
everyone straight back into legalism? After all, this chapter is
pregnant with the red fag phrases I have just mentioned. Answer?
The command to evangelise the world was given by Jesus
who is God. When we signed up to become Christians
we said to Him I make you Lord of my life (Romans
10:9-10).
Whether we realised it or not, at that moment we
invited Him to become our commander in chief
The truth is, we will
never ever succeed with
evangelising the world if
we base our decision to go
(or not) on our feelings of
the moment. If we let our
feelings rule, the not now
or Ill do it another day
feeling will always win
every time.
and we submitted oursevles to Him and His authority as one of His
soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3).
Now when a commander of an army in the natural world gives
his troops a command, he is not being legalistic. Hes simply
commanding his troops to do something upon which a great victory
depends.
And when the troops obey, they are not falling into legalism but
simply obeying an order given by their commander which is what
they agreed to do when they frst signed up (John 10:27; Matthew
7:20-24).
And if his troops obey, and the commander is smart enough, and
experienced enough, and has all the details of his battle strategy
perfectly accurate, and the strategy is a winning one, that army will
win the battle.
We in the Church ought to have no worries about whether Our
Commander is smart enough, experienced enough, or whether His
battle strategy is a winning one.
These things are not up for debate. They are settled. What is up
for debate is whether His soldiers will obey His command and not
reneg on what they agreed to when they frst signed up.
S
ummary
It is the responsibility of all believers to help evangelise the
world.
There is unanimous support for this truth in the scholarly
world.
Evangelism will not happen unless we are intentional about
it.
We must also be accountable to one another.

A
CTION POINT: Help others
become aware of the issues raised
in this chapter to other Christians,
particularly leaders. Email everyone on
your address book and encourage them to
do the same. Send them a PDF fle of this
chapter by writing to julian@esisite.com.

A
CTION POINT: Go to the leaders of your church. Ask
them to make changes to their mission statement so that
evangelism becomes central. Ask them to bring evangelism
back to centre stage in the life of your church. Pray for them.
Encourage them.
Even if we overcome his devices just described, he does not let
up. Our next challenge is to learn how to overcome fear.
Trying to instil a fear of evangelism into the Christian troops is a
key tactic of the enemy.
If there is one device he employs ceaselessly in
the battle for souls, it is this one.
God has taught me how to deal with fear, and
I want to share my secrets with you in the next
chapter.

14 CH 6 FA Pg151-183 All2evangelise

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Descrição original:

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

14 CH 6 FA Pg151-183 All2evangelise

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

151

Você também pode gostar