Mark No. 6: A healthy church member is a biblical evangelist

For a reason known only to God’s good providence, Christians often target me as a prospect for evangelism. Maybe it’s the hair. My wife and daughters were evangelized this week in the parking lot of a local Wal-Mart. Often, I play the devil’s advocate and make the would-be evangelist earn his keep by answering difficult theological questions, the questions I am typically asked during personal evangelism encounters (What do I need to be saved from? If your God is so good, then why do bad things happen to ‘good’ people? Is it really tolerant to say Jesus is the only way?). I wonder if there is a small part of me that takes pride in being a cranky evangelism prospect! My wife is much nicer and, true to her gracious bearing, takes the higher road; she warmly thanked the man for caring about her soul and for sharing the good news of God’s redeeming love with her.

Sometimes I leave these encounters disturbed by the information that was presented to me as “the gospel,” and think of Galatians 1. But I am always encouraged that God has moved His people out in the streets equipped with the good news of His marvelous grace. A desire to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to lost people, when driven by a compassion for them, is one of the marks of a healthy church member. But there is one important caveat that I must add before this discussion begins: a healthy church member will share the biblical Gospel of Christ in evangelism and not another message.

The good news of God’s redeeming love for sinners in Jesus Christ is not:

• “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” (Apart from special revelation, none of us knows God’s plan for your life)

• “God wants to give your life purpose and meaning.” (You are only able to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, which is the chief end of man, after you are converted)

• “God wants you to be healthy, wealthy and wise.” (Health/wealth ‘gospel’=heresy. Plus, God may want you to sell everything, relocate to a far-away land and lay down your life for the cause of Christ. Your best life is later.)

Equipped with a biblical view of conversion (Mark No. V of a healthy church, please see http://www.pbchurch.org/resources/pbc-blog/what-is-a-healthy-church-member-part-v-a-healthy-church-member-is-genuinely-conve), you are now free from the nerve-wracking notion that the salvation of sinners depends on your eloquence of speech, the mood you set in the conversation or the amount of pressure you apply to ‘closet the deal.’ No, you are free to present the Gospel, pray, and watch God do what He alone is able to accomplish. As Paul points out in 1 Cor. 3:7, we are to faithfully plant and water, but it is God who causes the plant to grow and bear fruit. Thabiti writes:

“Biblical evangelism requires of us one thing primarily: that we be faithful to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people God places in contact with us (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Specifically, faithful evangelism must (1) be content specific, presenting the truth about ‘who God is, who men are, what sin is, who Jesus is, what Jesus has done about our sin, and what we must do about what Jesus has done;’ (2) ‘include the notion that Christ is the exclusive way of salvation,’ debunking the idea that there are multiple paths leading to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12); and (3) call the hearer to repentance and faith in Christ.’” (Michael P. Andrus as quoted in Thabiti M. Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member? pp. 58-59)

Do you need to learn a “canned” approach to evangelism? While there are some very helpful gospel outlines that may be learned such as D. James Kennedy’s famous ‘Evangelism Explosion,’ it is best that a Christian merely know the biblical gospel and be able to present it in a clear and simple fashion as outlined by Thabiti in the last paragraph. Mark Dever outlines six things to keep in mind when doing personal evangelism:

1. Tell people honestly that if they repent and believe, they will be saved—but it might be costly. (see Luke 14:25-33)

2. Tell them with urgency, that if they repent and believe, they will be saved—but they must decide now.

3. Tell people with joy that if they repent and believe the good news, they will be saved—however difficult it may be, it is worth it!

4. Use the Bible.

5. Realize that the lives of the individual Christian and of the church as a whole are a central part of evangelism. Both should give credibility to the gospel we proclaim.

6. Remember to pray.

Michael Andrus offers additional advice:

1. Counsel seekers in a way that focuses on deeds, not words; a change of life, not justa change of beliefs. The last thing we should communicate is that by merely saying yes to a proposition, they can be assured of eternal life.

2. Focus on a biblical, serious view of guilt and sin.

3. Teach the Bible and Christian doctrine so that potential converts grasp that the plan of salvation is God’s counsel, not human wisdom.

4. Abandon the facile language of decisionism (“just believe,” “pray to receive,” “invite Jesus into your heart”) in favor of more rigorous language of conversion (“surrender to the Lordship of Christ” or “turn from sin, accept the forgiveness purchased by Jesus through his death, and live a life of obedience to him”). (Michael Andrus, Turning to God: Conversion beyond Mere Religious Preference, 161-62)