Don’t let the negative stereotypes of evangelism prevent you from this vital work.
I read an article recently which asked the question “Does witnessing really work?”
The author’s conclusion was that it didn’t, and he came to that conclusion after he watched a Christian in a wrinkled suit sharing his faith, in a way the author believed lacked grace. He said, “This used-car salesman technique of spiritual solicitation rarely works.”
Granted, there are many who certainly lack grace—sign-carriers, hate groups, etc.—who give Christianity a bad name. But to abandon the cause of biblical evangelism because of a few bad witnesses is like firefighters giving up the fight and letting people burn in a building because a few bad firefighters aren’t doing their job.
The Apostle Paul rejoiced even when evil men preached the gospel—when they did so “insincerely, hoping to add affliction to my bonds” (see 1 Philippians 1:15-18). This is because the quality is in the seed, and not in the seed’s sower.
However, I don’t rejoice when I see much of modern evangelism.
This is because those who tell people to just ask Jesus into their heart because He will make things better are not preaching the gospel. The “gospel” is the good news that Jesus suffered and died on the cross and rose again on the third day. He did this to save us from the wrath of God’s Law and from a very real Hell.
But such hard biblical truths don’t go down too well in a blasphemous and sin-loving world. So they leave out the essentials of sin, righteousness and judgment. They water down the medicine to make it palatable, but in doing so they remove its curative properties. The modern message has no biblical basis, produces false converts, and defuses evangelism of any real urgency.
There are no words to describe the tragedy of the modern gospel. Not only has such misguided evangelism filled America with bitter “backsliders,” but it has also packed the Church (in pew and in pulpit) with false converts. Many of our pulpiteers have become nothing more than motivational speakers, rather than Sons of Thunder who boldly preach the righteousness of God. Feeble preachers have reproduced after their own kind, created a feeble Church, and this has destroyed our ability to be salt and light.
Instead of being a moral lighthouse for the nation, we have become irrelevant in the eyes of the world. Our nation is rotten to the core with sin, and it has found itself in gross darkness with no light, and I believe it all traces itself back to the unbiblical and insipid “give your heart to Jesus” message (I have expounded this with statistical evidence in a book entitled, God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life, which can be freely read and downloaded on freeWonderfulBook.com). Author/evangelist Bill Fay (Share Jesus Without Fear) said, “While reading this book my heart went into atrial fibrillation; it’s that good! After I finished it, I couldn’t sleep. There’s nothing like it. It is truly from God.”
When I became a Christian more than 40 years ago, I was horrified that any human being could end up in Hell.
So I grabbed a soapbox, put it in the heart of our city of 350,000 people and preached the gospel. I did that almost every day for 12 years. If anyone could have been considered a “fanatic” in those days it was me.
Today, I’m much worse.
I still regularly open-air preach, and I still share my faith one-to-one with whoever will listen. I do it because I’m still horrified that anyone could go to Hell.
How could I not be? If I didn’t, I would be like a firefighter who let people burn. Our evangelistic zeal will be in direct proportion to the depth of our love. Charles Spurgeon called those who fail to verbally warn of the reality of Hell “murderers.” He said, “Have you no wish for others to be saved, then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that.”
In the article, the author who watched the man in the wrinkled suit said, “Evangelism takes time. It has to be lived, demonstrated, proven.” I respectfully disagree. “Evangelism” isn’t getting a decision for Jesus after living out some wonderful plan. It’s simply planting the seed of the gospel. We plant, others water, and some reap.
Jesus spoke to the woman at the well about her adultery. What He said only took a few minutes. It didn’t have to be lived in front of her. It didn’t have to be demonstrated or proven.
He also spoke to the woman caught in adultery, the rich young ruler, and many others. Paul spoke using words to the Athens. He used words because it was necessary.
Scripture asks, “How will they hear without a preacher?” The answer is that they won’t hear if we don’t use words.
My heart breaks when I hear professing Christians demeaning evangelism.
Emergency vehicles demand access because human lives are at stake. Evangelism demands the same priority, for the same reason. Reaching out to the lost isn’t given the priority it should have, because the reality of Hell has been forgotten by many, and preachers who talk about everything but the reality of Hell, are likeable betrayers of the gospel.
May God help us to bring the Church back to biblical evangelism and raise up a generation of faithful men and women who will fear God enough to say with the Apostle Paul, “Wherefore knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
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