EVANGELISM OUT WHERE THE SINNERS ARE: LESSON 1

EVANGELISM

LESSON 1

EVANGELISM OUT WHERE THE SINNERS ARE

Romans 10:13-15

The word evangelism, defined as “the announcement of good news,” does not occur in the Bible. The word evangelist, including its plural form, occurs only three times (Acts 21:8; II Tim. 4:5; Eph. 4:11). Yet evangelism is at the heart of the New Testament, for the “good news” is the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no greater commitment given to the church or to the individual than giving ourselves to the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ. We are commanded to commit ourselves to evangelism: The Bible gives us no choice. Much like a situation with a burning house, no one has to force anyone to enter the flaming structure and rescue a trapped child. The need is enough to dictate the response.

A group of brothers were holding their regular prayer meeting. The evangelist at their church who was holding a revival had heard some of them talking about an immoral man who lived nearby. The evangelist asked: “And what are you doing to get that person saved?” One of them said: “We’re faithfully praying for his salvation every time we meet.” “Fine!” the evangelist remarked. “But he’ll go to hell while you pray. Haven’t you gone to visit him? Haven’t you spoken to him about his soul? Haven’t you taken the Gospel to his house?”

THE “ERRAND BOY PHILOSOPHY:

We have made an errand boy out of God. We forget that He is the Master! We busy ourselves telling God to do all the nice things which we ought to do, to visit the poor and needy, to pass by and comfort the feeble, bless and provide for the poor, to encourage the ones in prison, to sustain the weak, to speak to sinners. We want the God to do all of those things while we pray.

Haven’t we developed a convenient religion? Let me ask this one question: Can you tell me one thing which Jesus can do in our community without a body to operate through? When God visited man to show Himself, He came in a body. They killed Him. Then He returned in the form of the Holy Spirit to take up His abode in our bodies as His Temple (I Cor. 6:19). Now you and I are His body.

We are the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ. You are Christ’s Body today in your community. Christ ministers through His Body today the same as He ministered through a human body over 2,000 years ago. Today His Body is the Church and the Church is me, my body, and you, your body. We are His temple.

Christ can do nothing, except through the Church, His Body. That’s us! Not the congregation. The Church, Christ’s Body is me! It’s you, if you are a child of God. When you stand before God, you must give an account of the deeds you have done (or failed to do) personally; you will not be judged in the light of what the church did as a spiritual body. God will not call your church as a unit for judgment. You will not be able to say, “Lord, my pastor will speak for me; I am a faithful member of the Church.”

Many brethren like to know that their church is doing things. They are willing to pay for this as long as some other member does the job. Salvation is personal. If Christ has come to dwell in you, you are His Body. He dwells in you because He wills to minister through you. He must have your body to reach our community. The essence of your Christian experience is “Christ in you” (Col. 1:26-27).

 

GOD COULD HAVE SENT ANGELS:

How often we have said: “God could have sent angels to preach this Gospel,” but He did not; He has ordained that human beings must preach it, not the angels, not the rocks! If people do not preach it, it shall not be preached and souls shall be lost. The preaching of the Gospel is limited to the willingness of human beings to step forth and open their mouths for Him to speak through.

We have made an errand boy out of God through our tradition of prayer. How sacred we make our prayers sound; how humble and how dedicated we feel while we are in prayer and fast, sending God all of our orders for the day or the week! We tell him to do so many things which we ought to do.

THE GOSPEL IN YOUR COMMUNITY:

We talk about how the Spirit was with men before Pentecost. Now we rejoice that He is in us. That’s exactly where He is, in us. Not floating around all over the world, hovering down over human beings here and there as we direct Him.

Christ’s ministry in your community is limited to you! He longs to speak to souls about salvation, to save them from their sins, but He is in you; He works though your lips, your body. If you don’t go and witness or speak the message, your community will be lost. Jesus visits your community every time you do. Are you confining Him to your house and the church?

We like to live selfishly; we love to get alone and pray and tell God what He should do for us. It saves us the trouble. Besides we are so busy, with our TV programs, our jobs, our recreational activities and our own private concerns. No wonder the world is going to hell! No wonder the unconverted mock the Church and the Christians!

The Church, what we refer to as the Church, is segregated from sinners. It’s the sacred spot where we meet to minister to ourselves in seclusion. The reason the Gospel has not been preached “to every creature” is because individual Christians have misinterpreted what the Church is. To them it is their denomination, their congregation. But from a personal standpoint, the Church is you! Your body is Christ’s Body. He can only witness and minister through you!

This is Christianity! At first you may be afraid, or timid, or hesitant to act, but go in His Name. He is in you. Yield your emotions to Him! He will guide you. And you will discover a new dimension in Christian living which you never knew before.

You may ask: “How can I know when God is speaking to me and leading me to do something?” No one ever asks: “How do I know when the devil is speaking to me?” You know the devil’s voice! You know God’s voice too! Just listen and then obey. The reason so many question God’s voice is because they don’t want to obey.

You will grow deeper in Christ by witnessing. He will become more real to you than ever as He ministers through you. We must not forget the prayer request of our Lord: “Pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send out laborers into the harvest” (Matthew 9:38). There is no more accurate barometer of our spiritual status as a church than our response to evangelism.

It has been said, “Evangelism is what we do for God; revival is what God does for us.” If we would do more for God, He would definitely do more for us. Let us commit to evangelism so that we can enjoy revival.