Which would you choose?
My sister told me recently that one day I'm going to have to write a book on my experiences as an evangelist on the streets of our country, and she's right. I'm making an effort to log down special memories that would make such a book an encouragement to read. One of the things that I have learned through experience that I find very intriguing, and you may as well, is that the work of the evangelist that scripture speaks of in Ephesians has some work involved that is quite unexpected. The part of proclaiming the gospel to the world through any means possible certainly fits the job, as does the training of others to do the same. The part I didn't see coming (tunnel vision) was the energy the evangelist frequently expends among other professing believers, defending the command that all true born-again Christians are to actively reach out to the lost with the gospel. I've discovered that most of the people I have spoken with on the topic of witnessing have bought into four or five myths . If you aren't getting out of your comfort zone and sharing your faith on a regular basis, you will fit into at least one of these categories, and maybe more, as I did myself until a few years ago.
- You do share your faith, but you do so by "letting your light shine" before others. You allow your lifestyle to speak for you, hoping that others will see the love of God radiating from you in a way that would lead them to desire to have that same peace and joy in their own lives.
- You don't have the "gift" of evangelism.
- You weren't called to be an evangelist but to serve Him in other facets of life and ministry.
- You believe we should only witness to those whom the Holy Spirit has led us to do so.
- A person should build a relationship with others before attempting to share the gospel with them.
If your neighbor's house was on fire and they were on a second floor balcony enjoying a pleasant dinner together, oblivious to the smoke and flames, how do you think you would handle the situation? You certainly wouldn't try to coax them away from impending doom by offering them a better experience over at your place. Instead, you'd be jumping up and down like a kangaroo on hot pavement, screaming, trying to get them to look at the fire. I am forty-five years old and never, even once in my life, has someone come up to me and said, "You sure do look like you have a lot of peace and joy and contentment. Could you tell me how to get some of that for myself?" It's just not something that happens very often. And I am certainly grateful it's not my actions or lifestyle that would be the key component in whether or not a person repents of their sins. There is a saying that you can spend years building up a testimony, yet tear it all back down in a single word or action. I myself am but human and extremely fallible, and while my actions do build a testimony before God and men (and women), those same works are a poor and unscriptural tool to use as my lone witness to a lost world where 150,000 souls are dying every day, the majority of which have the future of eternal torment awaiting. What good will my lifestyle be to those individuals? Should I risk embarrassing myself by jumping up down like a kangaroo?
The gift of evangelism. Imagine you are traveling through a poverty stricken society in a third world country (though there are plenty in this country) and you see several children under the age of ten rummaging through piles of trash near a sort of market place. Each is barefooted and filthy with shredded rags attempting to protect their delicate skin from the harsh environment. A skirmish amongst the group catches your eye. One of the older boys wrestles something from the grasp of a little girl, pushing her aside, putting the prize to his mouth, chewing. Unknowingly you slow the car, taking in the heartbreaking scene through a veil of tears as your thoughts travel far away to the luxury that your own children have been blessed with, but so easily taken for granted. You park the car in urgency and locate just what this situation calls for. As you pull away from the sight moments later to continue your trip, you can't help but sneak one more glance in your rear view mirror at the satisfying picture of the children seated in a circle, each digging into their own box of food in front of them. Would it be accurate for someone to say that you have a gift for feeding starving children? Not really. The love and compassion in your heart simply moved you to take action by reaching out to your fellow man. And to say that someone has the gift of evangelism because they have the love and compassion in their heart to reach out to the lost would be inaccurate. Nowhere in the list of spiritual gifts will you find anything to do with sharing your faith, because it is not a gift; it is a command. And we follow the command through obedience and love for God and because we truly believe in a place called hell. Mark 16:15 commands us to "GO" and preach the gospel to everyone. If the picture of starving children would be hard for any of us to deal with, take a moment and reflect on the reality of hell. How much more should our hearts be breaking?
Ephesians 4:11 says, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers . . ." This is the "Ahaaaa!!!" moment for a lot of people. "So, you see! I wasn't called to be an evangelist." Unfortunately the next verse, verse 12, gets skimmed over. "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry . . ." The evangelist that scripture is speaking of here is the equipping evangelist. In other words, it is a person who helps train other Christians in how to share the gospel. So you may be right in the fact that you haven't been called to be an evangelist, but each follower of Christ has been called to evangelize. If you truly believe that each person who perishes without the blood of the cross covering their sins will spend eternity in hell, then why would you not want to reach out to them with love and compassion? Jesus said He came "to seek and to save that which was lost", and should that not be the burning passion of every born-again believer until they draw the last breath of life sustaining air that they have been blessed with?
I was told by a pastor (and many others) once that he feels we should only witness to those to whom the Holy Spirit is leading us. That doing otherwise is using a "shotgun effect." Did you notice the words "he feels"? That's because there is no scriptural basis to back up his claim. As a matter of fact, we have been commanded (Mark 16:15) to preach the gospel to every creature. The only time the Apostles didn't preach the gospel was when the Holy Spirit warned them not to, not vice versa. So, if you're wondering what theologian is responsible for the shotgun witnessing doctrine, check out Mark 16:15.
If I truly care about someone and their eternal salvation, I can build a relationship with them in less than two minutes. A relationship that allows me to share the full gospel with them in a very simple yet understanding way that reveals a disease in their heart that was nonexistent to them before. Most are then grateful to know that there is a cure for such an illness. With Friendship Evangelism, what happens to the friend if they die before you get comfortable enough to share the gospel?
There are two more reasons why less than two percent of professing believers actively share their faith, but these rarely ever surface in a discussion as to the reason for their lukewarmness in sharing their faith. One is they don't feel properly equipped. I was in this camp to some degree, but then realized I was like a firefighter sitting in the fire truck listening to a CD while an apartment building packed with people went up in flames behind me. I could claim that I would've helped save those people, but I didn't know how to operate the ladder. If I was a firefighter, I should have trained and learned how to operate that equipment to save people from burning buildings. I'll let Charles Spurgeon, the nineteenth century preacher known as The Prince of Preachers, put the last reason in his own words. "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that."
Way of the Master is a great first step if you are ready to go against the flow of myths and lies that has kept so many people in the barracks when there is a war for souls being waged and fought by so few. Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim against it. You make believe you are swimming because you've been trained to believe so, but what does Scripture bear out? When asked what the greatest commandment was, most of us know that Jesus said that we should love God with every ounce of our being and that we should love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. Friend, our neighbors are perishing by the thousands every day. Do we have any excuse to turn away from their cry without extending a warning of impending judgment to everyone willing to listen? Please go to The Way of the Master and take the responsibility of getting equipped today while God has given you the time to do so. And then get out and go serve your King.