What is Evangelism?
Simply put, it’s
taking advantage of opportunities to share what you know about Jesus with
others. And sharing what we know about
Jesus is for the purpose of leading people into a personal relationship with
God.
“Now,
brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you
received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved,
if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed
in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that
he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he
appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-5)
Now, I have
a confession to make, after all these years in ministry, I am quite possibly one
of the world’s most timid evangelists. I don’t wake up in the morning thinking,
“Maybe I’ll get to share the gospel today!” I know a few people like that—which
is great—but that’s just not me. Not even a little.
Why should I
be afraid to tell someone about the gospel? This is the “good news”—the
greatest news anyone could ever hear! Why wouldn’t I want to share
all that I believe is offered—forgiveness, a relationship with God, eternal
life—through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave? After
all, as a Christian, I believe this is of “primary” importance.
And yet, I
don’t use my fearfulness as an excuse for not sharing my faith. I can’t ignore
the fact that the Bible clearly says we are all called to evangelize. In fact,
I’m more confident than ever that I not only can, but must share the good news
with those around me. So what’s changed?
Because I
finally learned what evangelism truly is—and the good news about its results.
Now, please
do not be confused. Evangelism is not a method or a program. Often, when the word is mentioned, people get a
mental picture of putting up a tent, or going door to door, waving a Bible on a
street corner and so on. Some of these methods are valid ways to reach those
who need to hear, but at the heart of the matter is the idea of building
relationships between people and God. He
is a relational being, having existed in a relational community for eternity
(the Trinity), and it is God’s desire to spend the rest of eternity with you
and me. That is an awesome truth that people need to know!
I don’t want
to get into in-depth word studies at this point, but we do need to know where
the word came from in order to understand its importance to us today. The word evangelism does not actually appear
in the Scriptures, but the word Evangelist does. And by definition, an Evangelist is “a
preacher of the Gospel.” And we get
our English word, “evangelism” from the Greek word euaggelion. Most literally translated in the
noun form it means: “gospel” or “good news.”
In the
Bible, Jesus gives a command to His disciples that carries down to our
generation.
“Go
into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
Evangelism
is simply telling people the truth. And
the Gospel, the good news, at its core is the truth that Jesus Christ died on a
cross for our sins, was buried, and then rose again on the third day. Because of this single act of love and mercy
on the part of God, we have the opportunity and privilege of coming into a
personal relationship with Him.
If we will believe
that Jesus made this sacrifice for us, confess our sins to God, and turn away
(repent) from those sins, and live in obedience to His Word (the Bible), then we
are promised an eternal home in Heaven with Him. That my friend is quite a lot to absorb, but
it is important to learn this, as it is foundational to any other topic that
you will ever encounter in evangelism or living a Christian life.
Build on a
good foundation, and let the Holy Spirit expand your understanding.
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you to know
Him, and experience an amazing change
in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace with
God.
