Thesis 32/36: Evangelism

DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH
Doctrine 32 / 36: Evangelism

Evangelism is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning gospel, or good news. To evangelize is to simply tell others the good news of Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This message is the plan of redemption that God established for the world, and of which the Bible is all about. The Great Commission that Christ gave before He ascended into Heaven was to go and preach the gospel, to be witnesses for Him (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). He wants His church to continue His work of seeking and saving that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

The church is the body of Christ, and as such, it has the same mission that the body of Christ had when He walked the earth: to seek and to save that which was lost. Because Christians have been reconciled to God by Jesus Christ, God has in turn given them the ministry of reconciliation. Their job is now to represent God on earth, to be His ambassadors. They are to carry the message to the lost world, and to beg them, in Christ's stead, that they too would be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). If God's purpose for the Christian was simply to get him to Heaven, then at the moment of salvation, He would take him home. However, God wants the Christian to turn around and bring more people to Him.

Evangelism is the roots for missions. Telling others of Christ must begin first by the local church, in the local area. The missionary himself ought to be someone that has established himself as being an evangelist at home, before he should qualify to be an evangelist to another place. The witnessing begins at "Jerusalem" and then goes out from there (Acts 1:8).

Much of the difficulty with evangelism, especially in America, is that people do not feel that they have any need of "good news." They do not realize the need for "Jesus." They do not care that He did something for them, however great it was. The reason for this is that they fail to see their sinfulness. For this reason, it is important to use the law when, or before, sharing the good news. If a person fails to see their sin, they will fail to see their need for the Savior. The purpose of the law was not to justify anyone, but rather to show everyone how sinful they really are (Romans 3:20; 7:13). So, the law must be presented to the person, to demonstrate that they are sinful, and the holiness of God must be shown to them to realize that their sin has created a major problem for them. After they truly see their sinfulness and God's holiness, they will beg for the Savior. It would be erroneous to invite someone to come to Christ if they never recognize their need for a Savior. They may respond to an invitation for wrong reasons: to please the person inviting, to fit in socially in a group, etc., but all of those reasons will fall them short of godly repentance.

Evangelism is to be accompanied by prayer. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but only God can give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). What Paul is teaching there is that Christians are to work in the fields, but at the end, it is only God that can do the saving. Christians must pray for those to whom they will be evangelizing, and they must pray that God would send more laborers into His field (Luke 10:2).

"How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace."