Biblical Evangelism
The summer is packed with church programs and activities we might label “evangelistic.” Vacation Bible School, mission trips, and children’s/youth camps fill the calendar. We often measure the results of these evangelistic efforts by the number of outward decisions or baptisms. Decisions and baptisms will be present where the Holy Spirit is moving and the message of Christ is changing hearts, but a fuller inspection of our evangelistic effectiveness would take place at multiple levels.
Faithfulness to the Message: The Gospel is Good News! We were lost and without hope of salvation before Jesus Christ came. Only God could pay the debt and free us from our death sentence. He did so through sending His Son Jesus. Jesus was born and lived His life without sin that He might bear our sin penalty on the cross. God’s wrath against sin was poured out on Jesus. Jesus bore our sin, died in our place and rose from the dead as the first-born among the dead. If we will turn from our sin and our best efforts and put our faith in (follow) Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will be forgiven and receive new life. God’s Holy Spirit will regenerate us (come to dwell in us) and we can enjoy a relationship with God through His Son that is eternal. THIS IS GOOD NEWS! The world needs to hear it!
Faithfulness to the Mandate: We can know the Word and experience the Word, but we only bear fruit when we share Word. Jesus gave us marching orders that are still incumbent upon us today. Jesus told us in no uncertain terms that we were to be His witnesses throughout the entire world in Acts 1:8. We bear witness to the person and truth of Christ as we share the Gospel with them. We bear witness to the life changing power of the Gospel as we live out our faith through self-sacrificial, holy living.
Faithfulness to the Method: Jesus did not simply tell us what to share and that we must continually share it. He gave us a plan for how His Kingdom agenda would be advanced. We are to make disciples. This involves a great deal beyond the initial decision to follow Jesus. We are to share the message fully, fulfill the mandate to share it always, and share it with the understanding that we are calling people to a relationship that is eternal. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus explained discipleship entailed passing on all that we know of Jesus to the next generation of disciples. This occurs within the community of the church (Body of Christ). It is within this community that disciples help one another become more mature disciples who are then able to make disciples.
Join me in praying any decisions we record and celebrate this summer will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God that is long lasting. Pray we will make every effort, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to help these disciples grow to be disciples that will make disciples.