In the time it took to watch a typical length movie, I did something far more beneficial. I read Mark Dever's delightful book, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism. I don't know about you, but as a Christian, evangelism is something I'm always trying to do more and better. In this book, Mark shows us how -- not as some sort of "evangelistic expert" but as one who identifies with our common fears and failures. Mark freely confesses, "not only am I sometimes a reluctant evangelist, sometimes I'm not evangelist at all.... If there is a time in the future when God reviews all of our missed evangelistic opportunities, I fear that I could cause more than a minor delay in eternity" (p. 15).
Most of us have felt that way at one time or another. Thankfully, that doesn't have to be the case. With God's help, we can become faithful witnesses for Christ and create a culture of evangelism in our churches. That is Mark's aim in writing this book.
So for the rest of this week I'll walk you through the book by summarizing its primary points. But I would encourage you to get a copy of the book itself, because it contains some wonderful illustrations and other anecdotes that you'd otherwise miss.
With that said, let's consider the basic excuses for why we don't evangelize:
- "I don't know their language."
- "Evangelism is illegal."
- "Evangelism could cause problems at work."
- "Other things seem more urgent" (e.g. family responsibilities, praying, schoolwork, etc.).
- "I don't know non-Christians."
Some of these excuses are more valid than others, yet none of them is insurmountable. Why? Because "with God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26). The fact that God can save anyone should encourage us in our evangelism. The key, Dever says, is to plan to stop not evangelizing. To counteract our non-evangelism tendencies, we can take 12 steps to make sure that evangelism happens:
- Pray. Many times the reason we fail to evangelize is because we leave God out of it. We try to make it happen in our own power. That's a recipe for failure! If we don't ask God for opportunities to evangelize, we shouldn't be surprised when opportunities don't arise. God wants people to be saved. So pray to him confidently, asking him to open doors of opportunity.
- Plan. Think of all the appointments and priority tasks you work into your schedule. If evangelism is important (which it is), then why not make time to build relationships, putting ourselves in positions where we'll be able to have meaningful conversations with non-Christians? "We plan for so many less important things; why not plan for our evangelism?" (p. 24)
- Accept. Don't think of evangelism as someone else's job (e.g. the pastor). Realize that it is your responsibility to share the gospel with others. God has placed within your particular sphere of influence people he wants you to evangelize. Accept responsibility!
- Understand. Just because you don't have the spiritual gift of evangelism doesn't mean that you're not meant to do it. Not all Christians have the gift of mercy, but all Christians should show mercy to others. Not all Christians have the gift of faith, but all Christians should exercise faith. The same is true with respect to evangelism.
- Be faithful. "Maybe," suggests Dever, "we are more concerned about people's response than God's glory. Maybe we are more concerned about their feelings than God's. God does not like having his truth suppressed, and that's what the non-Christian is doing (Rom. 1:18). Good manners are no excuse for unfaithfulness to God" (p. 25).
- Risk. To be a faithful witness for Christ, we must be willing to break out of our comfort zones. Even if we don't share the gospel outright, we can at least invite people to church where we know they'll hear the gospel. We can share a book with them or a story from our own lives. We must be willing to risk in order to evangelize.
- Prepare. Think through what you'd say if given the opportunity. How would you transition the conversation? How might you respond to this or that question?
- Look. If we're praying for opportunities and planning for opportunities, let's not be surprised by opportunities when they come. Rather, let's be on the lookout for them! Dever quips, "We must not only close our eyes in prayer for opportunities, but we must then open our eyes to see them" (p. 27).
- Love. We share the gospel because we love people, which also means that we don't share the gospel because we don't love people. Instead, we fear them. We don't want things to get awkward. We don't want to look foolish. "We protect our pride at the cost of their souls. In the name of wanting to look weird, we are content to be complicit in their being lost" (p. 27). Friend, read that quote again and let the words sink in. Wow. Talk about convicting.
- Fear. We shouldn't fear people, but we should fear God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). So if we want to behave wisely toward unbelievers, we must revere God and live accordingly.
- Stop. We should stop blaming God for whatever keeps us from evangelizing. We should stop making excuses. Instead, we should read from the Word that God is calling to himself people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. This fact will fuel our evangelism. (Read Acts 18 to see how it encouraged Paul in Corinth when he was discouraged.)
- Consider. That's what the writer of Hebrews tells us to do: "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12:3). If we fail to consider what Christ has done for us, "our hearts grow cold, our minds grow smaller (more taken up with passing concerns), and our lips fall silent" (p. 28). Meditate much on God's great love, and you'll become a much better evangelist. "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). Dever notes, "A fire [of love and gratitude] so enflamed by God will have no trouble igniting our tongue" (p. 29).
Tomorrow we'll consider exactly what the gospel is (and what it is not).