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Considering Evangelism

  1. Evangelism is telling another person about the good news that Jesus Christ brings into the lives of those who love him.
    • Remember that someone told you about the Gospel.
    • Remember that you at one time didn’t know God.
    • Remember that you had doubts and questions.
    • Remember that you still don’t know the answer to every question.
  2. Evangelism is talking about Jesus Christ.
    • You don’t have to know theology or even be able to quote the Bible in order to do evangelism.
    • You have to be able to overcome the fear of rejection and the fear of offending another person.
      • Reading through John 9 and 10, Jesus was confident and he was confrontational.
      • Confidence comes in knowing that you are doing an action that pleases God — you are telling another person about Jesus, the Son of God.
      • Confidence comes in knowing you are doing the will of God — that you were commanded to tell the Gospel in all the world (Matthew 28:19-20 — making disciples is helping people know and follow Jesus).
      • Confrontation comes from the courage to speak the truth to people.
        • It is difficult to tell someone the truth about God, if they understand that they are not in a relationship with him. They may feel you are condemning them, when in fact you are just telling them the truth. Often it comes down to this:  Does the person you are talking with believe you are their best interest in mind, or do they think you are trying to get them to give up something they love and become someone they do not want to be?
        • What is evangelism?
        • Definition of Evangelism and its purpose.
          • If evangelism is getting people saved so they won’t go to hell, the strategy will develop to support that end.
          • If evangelism is to introduce people to a new life-changing relationship with God that lasts forever, the strategy will develop to support that end.
            • How is evangelism to be done?
            • If evangelism done without consideration of the person who we are sharing our faith with?  If that is possible, the person we are talking to is unimportant. The goal is giving out the information, not building a relationship of trust and love.
            • If evangelism is done so a person will go to Heaven. That goal hide the grander goal of the knowledge of God and love and service rendered to him. Many people feel that they will go to Heaven because they have prayed a prayer or walked an aisle during an evangelism service, but they bear little fruit in their lives and God is relatively unimportant to them in their daily lives.
            • If the purpose of evangelism is to bring God honor and glory, by our obedience and by the love we share with other people, that will be the reference-point and focus of all that is done. Not only is it important to do what God has commanded but to do what he has commanded in the manner in which he has commanded us to do it. How many people have been discouraged by a harsh or manipulative offer of the Gospel?
            • The offer of the Gospel must be consistent with the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.
              • If you share with a person who is living quite apart from God and who is making every moral choice apart from God, you may need to explore how they make decisions about right and wrong, and how they can live in a world where consequences seem to matter and where people are usually (not always) held accountable for what they do. That would be a tough conversation.
            • Listening to the person first, and not assuming you know what a person believes and why they believe it. Some people have very strong unbelief because of experiences they have lived-through.
            • Understanding the other person as best you can. Identifying with the person’s objections and questions VERSUS pushing questions aside and diminishing their objections, can be an important bridge to sharing your faith with another person in a life-changing way. If you are answering questions they aren’t asking or if you are talking when you could be listening, you may be missing important objections and questions that a person is willing to share.
              • It is interesting to note how quickly people will tell you EXACTLY why they don’t believe.
            • Have empathy with the person you are sharing your faith with.
              • When the offer an objection (“Where did Cane get his wife?” “I can’t accept the account of Genesis about creation. I believe in evolution.” Didn’t some apostles just make up a bunch of stories about Jesus? They aren’t even sure he really existed, are they?”)
        • You don’t have to have all the answers to people’s objections.
          • It is more important to stay in conversation that to answer all their questions. You can always say, “Wow! That’s a great question. I don’t have a good answer for you on that. But, I can make a phone call and I am pretty sure I can find out. Give me a day or two and I will get back to you one that. Ok?”
        • Don’t spend you time in evangelism with people who are not interested in talking about the issues of faith. If all they want to do is argue with you, you can have fun with them in other ways, but don’t get bogged down with a person who is not truly interested. Pray for them, but don’t commit to them as you would to someone who is interested and open to the Gospel. Even Jesus didn’t convince everyone to follow him (the Rich Young Ruler, Mark 10:17-27).
        • Know how to answer key objections to the Christ faith:
          • Is the Bible reliable? (Did Jesus rise from the dead? Didn’t Jesus just pass out and then was revived?
          • Aren’t there many ways to God that are equally valid?
          • Christianity may be true for you, and that’s fine, but it isn’t true for me.
          • I don’t need any religion in my life. I am fine without it.
          • How do we know if God exists?
          • If the church is filled with such hypocrites, why should I take Christianity seriously?
          • How can you know which denomination is the “right” one?
          • I don’t want God telling me how to live my life.
          • And many others.
            • How would you respond to these questions?
            • Do you know the questions you couldn’t answer effectively?
            • Where would you seek answers to these questions?
            • Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for the Resurrection; Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict; C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity; R.C. Sproul (Defending your Faith), and many others. See “apologetics” in Amazon.com 
            • Practice “not knowing the answer.” Don’t fake an answer. Don’t dismiss a serious question, treat the question with respect, even if it seems silly to you — people get stuck on some issues that may seem trivial to you but you are not the one with the question.
            • Stay in relationship. The connection is most important. Sometimes you may meet with a person you are hoping to share with and the time together may be just a nice time of socializing. If it is just having fun, there is an issue, but some times it is just good to be with a person to prove that you value and respect them. Hold confidences.  Don’t share things shared in a private conversation with others. Be real. Be honest. Be accepting of where they are.
        • The content of the Gospel. These are important issues that need to be addressed.
          • Who is God?
          • Can people know God?
          • How can we know that God is real?
          • How does God make himself known to people? How can God speak to us. He is God the infinite; we are people the finite?
          • Who are human beings? Why are we here? What is our purpose? Do we have a purpose? Why should we believe that?
            • What is the Gospel? Who is Jesus Christ?  This is a key matter to consider because EVERYTHING in the Gospel hinges on him.
            • Was he the Son of God, or not?
            • Why should anyone believe that what is credited to him in the Gospels is what he actually said?Why should the New Testament documents be considered reliable (See F.F. Bruce, New Testament Documents:  Are they Reliable?; Walter A. Elwell, Encountering the New Testament).
            • What did Christ come to accomplish?
            • What is the result of his life, death and resurrection (See Ephesians 1, Romans 1-3, John 1 and 9, and 1  Corinthians 15, etc.)
            • What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
              • John 3:16
              • 1 Corinthians 15:1-10
              • Mark 1:15  and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
              • John 10:7-10 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
              • Acts 15:7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.”
              • How is it Good News?  Good News to whom?
            • What is faith? For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)
            • What is forgiveness?  In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:14 ESV); Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22 ESV)
            • What is reconciliation?  That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV)
            • What is the hope of the Gospel? Iif indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Colossians 1:23 ESV)
            • What is spirtual life and death? Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:13 ESV);  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, (Romans 8:38 ESV); And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (Colossians 2:13 ESV)
        • Preparation for evangelism.
          • Prayer and study. Confession of sin and declaring dependency on God.
          • Self-examination and humility. To know Christ and to serve him in a way that is consistent with his nature and character.
          • Honesty and lack of presumptuousness. Many share the Gospel with people and never see a “convert.” Sowing seed (Matthew 13:18-30)
          • Faith and faithfulness. Doing what will result in people coming to know Christ, over and over. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV)
          • Salvation is the work of God, not of people. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37 ESV)
          • The servants of Christ obey his commands, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 ESV)
        • Results in evangelism.
  • Resources.
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