Part 6: Evangelism in the New Testament
In the first five parts of this series, we have covered the value of sharing the Gospel using Gospel Tracts. We looked at Brady’s testimony of how he was saved once a Gospel Tract brought him the knowledge of a need for repentance. We then turned to the Frank Jenner story and saw how people world wide were saved by the faithful efforts of one man in Australia which lead people to repent and believe in Jesus. In part 3, we looked at An Interview with An Atheist and heard how even a non-believer knows what the Bible says; namely that Christians are to warn people about the coming judgment of going to hell, share the Gospel and tell people to repent and trust in Christ. Finally, in parts four and five we looked at two foundational messages from Living Waters – Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversions. These two videos lay the foundation for why the Law is needed when sharing the gospel so as people repent and trust Christ for the right reason. With these, five parts, the intent has been to lay the foundation that there is a real need for Evangelism.
This week, in part 6, we begin to turn to the mechanics of how Evangelism should be done. As I mentioned in part 4, there are many “methods”. There are numerous books writeen on the subject of Evangelism. Some talk about so called “friendship Evangelism” where the idea is to develop a friendship with someone so that one day you may have the chance to share the Gospel with a person. Other “methods” are more of a “turn or burn” approach.
It’s not really important what men think Evangelism is or even should be.If we want to know how to Evangelize, then we must turn to the source, the Bible. Romans 1:16 says:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Does salvation come through friendship? No. Does it come through saying a prayer? No. Walking an aisle? No. The verse says that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. Many support friendship evangelism by quoting St Francis of Assissi in saying, “preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words”. However, Romans 10:14 directly contradict this saying:
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Does this negate so called friendship evangelism or servant evangelism? No, not entirely. But, in either of those efforts, the Bible must clearly be preached as well as being a friend or serving. As an example, the other night, my family and I were on our way to a high school football game. We had stopped at the gas station to put air in the tires of our car. Just then, a woman pulled up with a flat tire. She and my wife went inside the gas station to see if one of the employees would change the tire for her. None would. So, I did it. She was very appreciative. After changing her tire, I said, “I am able to do this for you because of what Christ has already done for me.” Then I handed her a gospel tract and asked her to check it out later. Normally, I might have had a one on one conversation with her at this point, however, she was headed to the hospital where her husband was having some tests run, so I felt it was better to get her on her way and ask her to read the card, which she said she would.Regardless, the message of the gospel was shared. She was not going off wondering “why did this guy change my tire?” She knew precisely that I changed her tire because of what Jesus did for me.
In the book, Evangelism in the New Testament, author Jon Speed examines what the Bible has to say about contact evangelism verses friendship evangelism. The book addresses the question of whether evangelism should take place only in the context of friendship and long last relationships, or if it is also done among strangers. Jon examines the texts of the four Gospels as well as the Book of Acts. His contention is that Evangelism in the New Testament is primarily done with strangers. Rather than summarize, the entire book here, I’d like to encourage you to read the book for yourself. Therefore, Bezeugen Ministries is offering free copies of the book to anyone (*) who will read it. You may also like to purchase a copy of the book from One Million Tracts. The book is about 40 pages. I have found it to be a quick read. However, it contains a wealth of information not found in much larger volumes of work.
It is my hope and prayer that you will request a copy of this book and read it. If you like the book, then please pass it on to your pastor, the head of Evangelism for your church or to one of the members of your elder board. If you don’t like the book, then please send it back to me so that we can give it to someone else who will enjoy it. Either way, after you read the book, would you please email me and let me know what you thought of it?
Jesus commands all Christians “to go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). This “go” literally means “as you go”. So, we then need to know how to Evangelize as we go. This book provides some wonderful Biblical background. Next week we will look at more of the mechanics of how to do it.
* – due to funding, this offer may need to be revoked in the future. Books will be shipped free of charge to the US and Canada. All other international requests will be considered on a case by case basis.
