I may be wrong, but chances are most Christians will
agree that we are supposed to evangelize. The Lord’s final words were in
essence marching orders (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). The Bible compels us to
tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God to
salvation (Romans 1:16). Yet, with all this truth in mind, our gospel
proclamation is not what it should. We know we should evangelize, but we do not,
and we often excuse, justify or rationalize why we do not tell our unbelieving
loved ones and strangers about the gospel. Let me suggest five reasons why we
do not evangelize.
We
are afraid God will have compassion
This may seem strange, but we are sometimes guilty of
Jonah’s attitude and fear. Jonah resisted going to proclaim repentance to
Ninevah because he feared the Lord would have compassion and save them from
their sins. We like Jonah know the power of the gospel and the heart of God to
save sinners, but sadly we have a prejudice towards sinners that, if we were
honest, we do not desire for them to be saved.
We
are not persuaded of the sinfulness of the people
We believe people are bad and no one is perfect. Moreover,
we may even use the word sinner, but we are not convinced of the hopelessness
and helplessness of those who do not believe. We have been conditioned to think
lightly of the wickedness of man. In fact, we blame people’s sinfulness on
culture, circumstances and their relationships. In addition, because of this
deficiency in our view of the sinfulness of people, we do not see the urgent
need of the gospel. We are not compelled to plead with people to be reconciled
to God.
We
cannot clearly state the gospel
We have heard the gospel mentioned hundreds of times.
We claim to believe it, but many evangelicals cannot clearly articulate what
the gospel is. Invariably we are hesitant to tell people about it. Are you able
to explain the gospel when called upon without planning? Can you summarize it
in a minute or two?
We
doubt the wrath of God
Do you believe in hell? Are you convinced that
non-believers are under the wrath of God (Ephesians 2:3)? Part of the urgency
of the gospel is the miserable condition that unbelievers are in and the
sentence of judgement from God which is upon them. When we doubt the wrath of
God, we lose the urgency of the gospel.
We
are too preoccupied with self
Many things preoccupy our attention. In addition, they
seem more important and urgent. We have family, school, work and social
responsibilities and commitments. Intentionally talking to people about the
gospel is simply not high on the priority list or that important and urgent.
So what is a Christian to do in light of these truths?
For starters, it is clear evangelizing does not come accidentally; it calls for a
deliberate effort on our part. Let me offer five ways we can cultivate a heart
for evangelism.
1. Pray
for the salvation of the lost with fellow Christians.
2. Apply
the gospel in your life on a daily basis; the transforming power of the gospel
should be evident in your life.
3. Talk
about the power and impact of the gospel in your life with fellow believers.
4. Practice
hospitality and invite people into your home with the goal of talking about the
gospel with them.
5. Seize
opportunities and be willing to take risks for the sake of the gospel.
Facing
a task unfinished
That
drives us to our knees
A
need that, undiminished
Rebukes
our slothful ease
We,
who rejoice to know Thee
Renew
before Thy throne
The
solemn pledge we owe Thee
To
go and make Thee known[1]
We are trained by the clergy when we "meet together" to be silent, always outsourcing any preparating to speak truth to the hired man. This is the opposite of "meeting together" by God's design.
ReplyDeleteHebrews 10:24-25
And let US (all of us)
consider how
to stir up ONE ANOTHER
to love and good works,
not neglecting to MEET TOGETHER,
as is the habit of some,
but encouraging ONE ANOTHER,
and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
This is 100% "one another" communication by ALL God's people, not merely one hired man. They are trained to speak truth every week.
Plus, this results in "love and good works". This is the CORE of evangelism. One man lecturing the Bible WILL NOT produce what God has asked for. Can you understand this?
Do not blame the lay people for clergy disobedience. It's been in your Bible for 2000 years. You devote your life to the Bible. The bad habits of the clergy system blind you to what is simple and clear. We are brothers. Let's interact on this.
Tim, are you responding to anything in particular in the article? I do not quite follow what the connection is, kindly help me.
DeleteI am responding specifically to the article.
DeleteSpeaking truth to the lost, requires speaking truth to fellow believers while "meeting together". I gave scripture for this.
Every Sunday the saints gather together and 100% of the speaking of truth is reserved for the hired man. But when the lay people leave the building, they are suddenly responsible to do all the speaking of truth to the lost. This is a horrendous contradiction. This is a false dichotomy of speaking truth.
I gave scripture that assigns the speaking of truth to the lay people and in "one another" dynamic when they "meet together". This is what trains them to speak truth when they leave the building. This is what results in "love and good works" that goes with the gospel message to "live the gospel".
Clergyism teaches the opposite of God's instructions for "meeting together" which trains them to speak and live the gospel to the lost. So God's people are not equipped to speak the gospel to the lost Is this clear now?
Clergyism "preach the word, in season and out of season", forces into it strict one way communication by hired men, restricts this work to men with Bible degrees, and then uses these assumptions to nullify "meeting together" by God's design, as I gave the scripture above.
People who love God have practiced this routine for 500 years. But that does not make it right or Biblical. kerusso, for preach, is a messenger sent from a higher authority to deliver a message. EVERY believer is such a messenger from a higher authority. Preaching and teaching is NOT RESERVED for specially trained men who claim they should never work in the marketplace to deliver weekly Bible lectures for 30-45 minutes each. Please respond to the scripture I have given. Please don't be afraid that there is corruption baked into clergyism. God is merciful and kind to those who humbly receive his word and turn to obey it. Much "one another" quality communication is required to fix this problem so saints can be equpped for EVERY good work, not just sitting in the pew or witnessing to the lost outside the building.
Tim, I just don’t follow what the connection is between the article and your argument. I did not make a distinction between the clergy and the congregation, neither did i blame the lay people for the lack of evangelism. I spoke in general terms.
DeleteSo I am not seeing how your argument is connected to my argument in the article.
Great article.
DeleteI think is just trying to say that many lay people feel ill-prepared to speak Gospel truth to others because he believes that all of the speaking of truth in our Sunday gatherings only comes from the pulpit and the lay do not get a chance to practice or even to speak the truth to others in a formal or specially set aside time.
If our only time together as believers is Sunday and our only time in or under the Word is Sundays, then I get what Tim is saying.
One of my main reasons for not evangelizing like I ought to is feeling people don't want to hear it. I actually had a couple of family members say something like, "We're glad you found something that works for you, but we don't want to hear about it." One said, "If I ever want to talk about it, I'll ask you." Plus I tend to avoid controversy and confrontation anyway. One thing that helps is your #3. I can talk about what God has done in my life even if I am not sure whether or how to ask them about their own relationship with Him.
ReplyDeleteAmen, may God bless your conversations Barbara. In a sense the more we talk to people about the gospel the easier it becomes to initiate the conversations.
DeleteI have trouble evangelizing; I've had some hearts say, "That's awesome!" And of course, some have rudely walked away and rejected me. Others have gotten angry, and their anger gets kindled against me. I cannot force the gospel upon anyone, so to that end I pray, as Paul did in Colassians 4:3, for the Lord to open a door for the Word, that I may make it clear and testify as how the Lord Jesus changed my life. I bet most of us struggle with evangelism. God will work through us to get His message out. We're called to the priviledge of making disciples of Jesus. What a priviledge to declare the gospel.
ReplyDeleteWhat a privilege it is indeed! More grace to you.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete