The Ways of God – Evangelism
Evangelism takes on many forms in the Bible. Jesus shared the Good News to large crowds from a mountain, and to medium sized groups (one would assume) in various places of worship. He sent the Twelve and the Seventy to towns and homes. We therefore understand that God has not prescribed a single way for evangelism.
Consequently, man being God’s most creative creature, the church has devised many approaches and methods to reach the lost. As we should expect, some have been more successful than others. We are not here to analyze and critique, but to instead offer a couple of dependent truths that may have been lost over time.
The Message
Most in the Western church have been taught to believe that Jesus was sent to save mankind from hell. We call it, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ” – the good news of man’s salvation. Man’s salvation is good news; but it is not the gospel that Jesus came to preach.
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15
Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” Luke 4:42-43
Notice that Jesus was not sent to preach the gospel of man’s salvation. The salvation of man is the smaller part of God’s eternal plan; something of a necessary sidetrack. First, there is the kingdom.
Now is a good time to remind ourselves that God’s story is more about Him than it is about us. Believe it or not, God had a much bigger mission for His Son: The mission to take back the throne of mankind’s heart; to restore His kingdom. This is the same mission He give to the Twelve and the Seventy.
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1-2
Jesus and His disciples preached something other than His death, burial, and resurrection for our salvation. They did not preach death, burial, and resurrection because they did not understand it.
Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. Luke 18:31-34
Let that sink in for a moment. Who hid the message from them, and why? Perhaps it has something to do with the story not being about us, but about God’s kingdom.
Our participation in Jesus’ mission should not begin with what He can do for us. It begins with the opposite of what got us in this predicament. It begins with our surrender. Surrender is easier when we understand the gospel of the kingdom, its place in God’s story, and our place in it.
Kingdom (basileia): royal power, kingship, dominion, rule (not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom; of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah; of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom); [secondarily] a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king; used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah. Outline of Biblical Usage, BlueLetterBible.org
Notice that the primary meaning of basileia is the power and right to rule over a kingdom. The Gospel is the gospel of His reign. It is only secondarily the place or people of that rule – a critical distinction in God’s way for evangelism.
In America, we have grown up with the philosophies of a “democratic republic”. It has been a great political experiment. Regrettably, it has created a cultural mindset that makes it difficult to live in a healthy relationship with God.
In God’s kingdom, there is no “of the people, by the people, for the people”. The King has the only and final vote. He is the one that determines and executes mercy and justice. Our rights are what He determines them to be.
The gospel of the kingdom is a difficult message to preach, and certainly a difficult one with which to lead an invitation: “Come subject yourself to my king”, sounds more like fighting words.
Now get this: That reality has never surprised God. He knew the lost would reject such a notion based on their understanding of earthly kings (i.e., most are difficult to live under).
But our King is nothing like the kings of the Earth. He is the best of all kings. Our king is good.
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21
Make no mistake about it: Surrender and submission to the King comes with benefits. Healing, liberty, vision, and acceptance await those who heed the invitation. But – and it is a very big “BUT” – Jesus must be our king, if He is to be our savior.
To exclude this part of the Gospel – even to defer it to a secondary condition for salvation – dishonors the King and risks confusing and/or discouraging those who respond to a sweet bye-and-bye guarantee, only to find there is a higher price to pay.
The way of God for evangelism must include the gospel of the kingdom.
Roles and Responsibilities
Our desires and passions for visible results not only threatens the message of the gospel, but our understanding of roles and responsibilities in the process. As strange as it may sound in today’s church culture, we – and that includes evangelist and preachers – are not responsible for convicting people of their sin, nor drawing them to an event or down to the front for the sinner’s prayer.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment… John 16:8
So, what is the Christians role and responsibility in sharing with the lost? Two things come to mind. First, we are to speak as an oracle of God (1Peter 4:11). Oracle means “mouth piece”; that’s our role. Our responsibility is drawn from that: We are commanded to only say what God is saying. If this seems strange, consider that Jesus said the same thing of Himself:
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. John 12:49
Secondly, the evangelist’s role and responsibility are described in Ephesians 4:11-13:
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…
In concert with the apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers given by Christ to the local church, the evangelists role and responsibility is “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry”.
It should interest every Christian to know that the Greek word for equip (katartizō) means “to perfect”. It is also the word used to describe what the disciples were doing when Jesus showed up: They were “mending” their nets.
In secular Greek, katartizō is a medical term used to describe the repair of a broken bone. All this adds new meaning to “… till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…”. God’s way for evangelism must not end with converts, but envision the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-23.
Pause for Consideration
As it has been our habit in these series on God’s ways, we will pause for consideration of these matters before moving on to the importance of unity in God’s way for evangelism. Here are a few questions to help your meditations:
- What does it mean for Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? Is the order important to you?
- In what areas of your life are you seeking our King’s healing, liberty, vision, and acceptance? Does He reign there?
- Are you one of Jesus’ gifts to the church as an evangelist? How does the understanding of your role and responsibilities help and challenge you?
Remember, the Father loves talking to His children. Take these questions to Him. As you are meditating on God’s way for evangelism, take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ – particularly the discouraging and distracting ones.
God bless you with the sweet fellowship of His presence.
Humbly yours and forever His,
Rob
#iamjustthepen