Evangelism
Reading J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God completely changed my outlook on evangelism and helped to make Reformed Theology clearer to me. I highly recommend it. Here are some great blog posts on Evangelism
Ligon Duncan’s The Gospel and the Local Congregation speaks of a culture of evangelism
- that your whole congregation would be able to articulate the Gospel, personally, in a compelling and understandable way;
- that your whole congregation would understand the importance and necessity of their lives, their prayers and their participation in Gospel witness;
- that your whole congregation would deeply care about conversions (and I would lay stress here, that we are talking about real conversions, not numbers; disciples, not decisions; changed lives, not merely prayed prayers);
- that your whole congregation would earnestly and regularly pray for conversions, talks about their own conversions and the conversions of others, and put a priority on people coming to know God; and
- that your whole congregation would be excited about the Gospel itself, and not simply about a method of sharing the Gospel, or a training program.
He then defines Evangelism
To bear witness to Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that
- people may come to put their trust in God, through Christ;
- to acknowledge Him as their Savior; and
- to serve Him as their King,
- in the fellowship of His Church.
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The Gospel must be shared with words. It is a message. We can’t tell it with our deeds (though our lives must reveal it effects). There is no such thing as wordless evangelism.
His follow-up post features a helpful comment from P.J. Tibayan
“I like the definition of evangelism and think that it is accurate. I think the “so that” helps us remember what we’re aiming at. I do want to say, however, that putting the “so that” in the definition might make someone think they are failing at evangelism when the aim is not realized. So though I’d use that definition, I’d be quick to emphasize that our responsibility, and therefore the standard of failure or faithfulness, is explaining the news clearly so that they understand the news. We aim at true conversion, but we understand that we are not responsible to convert, but to faithfully witness with love and honesty.”
Mark Driscoll posted at The Resurgence about Evangelism
Evangelism is the speaking and showing of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who do not yet know Him. Evangelism is the natural overflow of a life lived in joy as a worshiper of God.
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As Christians, our love for Jesus and people should cause us to delight in speaking and showing the transforming power of Jesus’ grace at every opportunity.
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Regarding evangelism, it is Jesus Himself who set an example for us as The Evangelist.
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Second, perhaps the most thorough treatment of the doctrines of predestination and election are to be found in Romans 9–11. But in the middle of that breathtaking theological treatise that shows how salvation is fully the work of God, we also read Romans 10:14–15: “But how are they to 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? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news [the gospel]!’”
God has not only determined who will be saved, but has also determined how He will save them—and this often includes using our evangelistic efforts, though God can also save people apart from us as He chooses. God often chooses to allow us to be involved in the process so that we might share in the joy of seeing people’s earthly and eternal lives forever transformed through Jesus.
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Practically, this means that by understanding that God is already at work on the elect, we are able up to do evangelism with the greatest amount of freedom and joy. We can share the gospel of Jesus in full confidence that God will use it to save some people because they are elect. On the other hand, if some people should not respond to the gospel in faith, we should not take that personally but rather pray that God would open their blind eyes to see His love and also humbly trust God’s will and timing in all things.
Lastly, the fact that Jesus remains to this day an active evangelist is of great encouragement to me personally. It means that children who are aborted in the womb, those mentally incapable of understanding the gospel, and those people who have lived in times and places that missionaries did not visit are not necessarily beyond the hope of salvation. Indeed, Jesus could visit and save anyone anywhere because He remains The Evangelist.
