Why Evangelize?

ACTS 2:36-47; MATT.  28:18-20

Every Christian can be properly informed and motivated to evangelize the lost in order to make substantial contributions to the growth of God’s kingdom and their home church. Evangelism is a God given responsibility and every believer must not only understand this wonderful ministry, but actively and fervently participate in these efforts to introduce sinners to Christ.   

                                                                 

Do you find that your heavenly Father gives you many opportunities to proclaim Christ’s salvation message, yet you often shirk back from those opportunities in fearful silence?  Have you ever imagined yourself filled with spiritual courage to boldly speak the truth in love?  Have you ever sincerely asked God to teach you what it means to be His witnesses?

                                         

Most believers are convinced that it is the pastor's responsibility to bring people into the church as well as into the kingdom of God. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Scripture is clear on this point. Pastors were given by God to the church to equip the people to do the work.… Sermons are not God's primary method for reaching people. People are His method for reaching people. What kind of people? Men and women whose lives and life-styles have been deeply affected by the truths of Scripture, people who have discovered the wonderful Spirit-filled life.
God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies, fears, and failures. Believers who have become discontent with “surviving” and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life.
God's method for reaching this generation, and every generation, is not preachers and sermons. It is Christians whose life-styles are empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit. People are the key to reaching people! (From The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life by Charles Stanley)

Study together with me and discover God’s answers to these questions and become one of those people God uses to reach other people with the hope in Jesus Christ.  Let us endeavor to answer this broader question, Why Evangelize?

WHY EVANGELIZE?    (Acts 2:36-41, 47)

Clearly, each NT church is commissioned to take the message of the gospel to the entire unsaved world. Evangelism and disciple-making is certainly one of the fundamental responsibilities of each church (Matthew 28:18–20).  Is it a priority for you as an Individual?

BUT, IS THIS SOMETHING WORTH REHASHING?

A survey of American adults found that few people could explain the meaning of commonly used religious terms such as the Great Commission (9%), John 3:16 (35%), evangelical (18%), or the gospel (37%). Among adults who describe themselves as “born again” Christians, fewer than expected could correctly explain the four terms: the Great Commission (25%), John 3:16 (50%), evangelical (43%), and the gospel (84%).”  [ National  & International Religion Report, March 21, 1994, 1.]

Clearly there is a real need to revisit this all-important subject of evangelism.

WHY SHOULD WE EMPHASIZE EVANGELISM?

Why bother with trying to win people to Christ?  What is it that thrusts a Believer into a life of aggressive evangelism?

The first church in Acts ministered very naturally, as an overflow of what God had done for them. The Holy Spirit had done some very remarkable things among the first Christians in Jerusalem, and thousands of people believed the powerful message preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost. These Christians then ministered to one another, fellowshipping, breaking bread together, and dividing possessions to meet one another's needs. But in addition to all that, they reached out to those who had not yet heard. They continued to visit the temple, presumably telling others about their experience, since “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (v. 47).  The following are just a few compelling reasons for emphasizing evangelism.

       1.  Because Christ Clearly Commands Us.

Mark 16:15,  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Simply, the truth that we are Called, Commanded, and Commissioned to take and send the gospel to the ends of the earth.  To evangelize consistently is an act of submission to Jesus Christ’s authority in my life.  To refuse to evangelize is to reject or ignore His lordship over me and my responsibility to demonstrate my love for Him through my obedience. 

       2.  Because of the Spirit’s Compelling Power in Us.

Luke 24:49, And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

              A.  What the Father "promised" (v. 49) is the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5; 2:16-17), who was indeed the promised "power" (Acts 1:8).

              B.  How could a group of common people ever hope to fulfill that kind of a commission? God promised to provide the power (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8), and He did. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the church and empowered them to preach the Word (Acts 2). After Pentecost, the Spirit continued to fill them with great power (see Acts 4:33).

Witnessing is not something that we do for the Lord; it is something that He does through us, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit. There is a great difference between a “sales talk” and a Spirit-empowered witness. “People do not come to Christ at the end of an argument,” said Vance Havner. “Simon Peter came to Jesus because Andrew went after him with a testimony.”(Jn. 1:40-42).  We go forth in the authority of His name, in the power of His Spirit, heralding His Gospel of His grace.

       3.  Because of the Grace of God Motivating Us.

1 Cor. 15:9‑10,  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

           A. Be a Witness Developed by the Grace of God and Not the Flesh. 1 Cor. 15:9‑10, “ . . . But by the grace of God I am what I am:”

One of the greatest witnesses of the Resurrection was Paul himself, for as an unbeliever he was soundly convinced that Jesus was dead.  But the living Christ changed His life and saved him.  The radical transformation—a change which brought him persecution and suffering—is certainly evidence that the Lord had indeed been raised from the dead.  It was the grace of God working in and compelling Paul and not the comfort loving flesh.  He made it clear that his salvation was purely an act of God’s grace; but that same grace worked in and through him as he served the Lord in spite of the difficulties.

           B. Be a Witness Driven by the Grace of God and Not Peer Pressure.  1 Cor. 15:10, “ . . .  but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

He was not much for merely trying to outdo someone else, but the grace working in him moved him beyond the accomplishments of others.  Grace is a high motivation for a servant of Christ yielding the finest effort and effectiveness.  It is possible that Paul’s memory of having “persecuted the church of God” was a powerful motivation for his being determined that God’s grace would not prove to be in vain in his ministry.   Paul was able to truthfully state, that he labored even more than all the other apostles (vs. 10).  Yet he was not boasting in his own spirituality or power but in God’s power, because, as he hastened to add, “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” The same grace responsible for his calling was responsible for his faithfulness and effectiveness. God sovereignly appointed Paul an apostle and sovereignly blessed his apostolic ministry. Paul believed, responded, obeyed, and was continually sensitive to the Lord’s leading and will. But apart from God’s servicing grace,  the apostle knew that everything he did would have been in vain and worthless (Eph. 4:15–16; Col. 1:28–29).  It takes more then peer pressure to be this effective in ministry.

We should not be motivated to merely out preform the church down the road.  We should not be motivated to merely be known as a Soul Winner or a Soul Winning Church.  We should not be more zealous in evangelism simply because it will bring us notoriety or renown.  We are not seeking bragging rights nor do we want an opportunity to feed our ugly pride and arrogance.  No, we must humble ourselves so that the grace of God may work in us by faith as we sincerely seek the glory of God and the spiritual welfare of sinners.  May the grace of God develop and drive us to biblically, zealously, and wisely pursue sinners. 

       4.  Because of the Hopelessness of Sinful Man. 

Genesis 3:6,  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Romans 5:12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

               A.  Men are Hopeless Sinners Because of the Fall.   

Eve disobeyed the Lord's command and ate the fruit first. But Scripture says she was “beguiled” (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14).  Clearly Adam ate knowingly and, as the “federal head” of the human race, initiated the sin principle which Paul presented in Romans 5:12–21.

               B.  Men Cannot be Saved Except Through Christ. 

“Fallen Man” is more than a theological basis. It is a state of being with eternal consequences.  Every day, millions of people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus are going to their graves. How accountable are we for not having reached them and how accountable are they before God, as Judge, having never heard? Will they go to Heaven or Hell?  It is clear that there is no hope for them without Christ!

       5.  Because of the Horrifying Reality of Hell.

Rom. 3:19—“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Gal. 3:10; Eph. 2:3; 5:6.

The law of God demands a perfect obedience; but no son of man can yield such obedience; hence the curse of a broken law rests upon those breaking it–the whole world. The wrath of God remains on all who are not vitally united by faith to Jesus Christ (John 3:36).  The wrath of God means suffering forever in Hell.

             A.  Hell will be a place of unquenchable fire.  Matt. 3:12; 13:41–42; Mark 9:43

             B.  It will be a place of memory and sorrow. Luke 16:19–31

             C.  It will be a place of thirst. Luke 16:24

             D.  It will be a place of misery and pain. Rev. 14:10, 11

             E.  It will be a place of frustration and anger.  Matt. 13:42; 24:51

             F.  It will be a place of separation.  Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 15

             G.  It will be a place of undiluted divine wrath.  Hab. 3:2; Rev. 14:10

             H.  It will be a place of eternal punishment by fire.    Isa 33:14; Re 20:10.

             I.  The wicked shall be turned into Hell.  Ps 9:17.

             J.  Hell is Described as:

                  1.          Everlasting punishment.  Mt 25:46.

                  2.          Everlasting fire.  Mt 25:41.

                  3.          Everlasting burnings.  Isa 33:14.

                  4.          A furnace of fire.  Mt 13:42,50.

                  5.          A lake of fire.  Re 20:15.

                  6.          Fire and brimstone.  Re 14:10.

                  7.          Unquenchable fire.  Mt 3:12.

                  8.          Devouring fire.  Isa 33:14.

       6.  Because of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

2 Cor. 5:8‑11, We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. [9] Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.  [11] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

             A.  Motivating Paul’s ministry was his goal to please his Lord (Gal. 1:10; Col. 1:10). 

             B.  Contributing to this goal was Paul’s understanding that he would one day be evaluated by his Master.  He wanted to please Him and to hear from Him, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant!’ (Luke 19:17;1 Cor. 4:1-5). 

             C.  This judgment will reveal our lives of service for exactly what they have been.  Not only the amount of our service, but also its quality, and even the very motives that moved us will be brought into review.

We all must affirm and be motivated by this fact that all Christians will be evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:12).  We as Believers will be rewarded for the things we have done in our earthly lives.   

This perspective on a day of judgment and the hope of eternity should have a salutary effect on each of us. It should strengthen us to persevere in the face of hardships (2 Cor. 4:7-12). And it should motivate us to be faithful in discharging our ministry (2Cor. 5:11;1 Cor. 4:2-4).  The thought of one day standing before our Savior (2 Cor. 5:10) should captivate us all. As we look forward to that solemn moment, the fear the Lord should impelled us on in His service (Matt. 10:28). The purpose of our ministry will be to “persuade men” to “be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).

Evangelism is a God given responsibility and every believer must not only understand this wonderful ministry, but, actively and fervently participate in these efforts to introduce sinners to Christ.    We must expect our churches to bear fruit as the first century churches recorded in the Scriptures.  We must commit ourselves to make our churches obedient to the Great Commission locally. It starts when you and I avail ourselves to the Holy Spirit of God to proclaim the hope in Jesus Christ.