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I subscribe to a daily e-mail feed called Grace Gems. Each day I receive a devotional writing. Some are short, some are long. Some reference audio for listening.
I found the one from New Year's Day very instructive with regard to evangelism. I have reproduced it below (Grace Gems uses Public Domain materials, and gives permission for use of their material). This message was originally produced by Arthur Pink. The emphasis found is mine. I hope you enjoy this excerpt. If so, you can find the full message here.
Arthur Pink, "Present Day Evangelism"
The nature of Christ's salvation, is woefully misrepresented by the present-day "evangelist." He announces a Savior from hell--rather than a Savior from sin! And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire--who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!
The very first thing said of Him in the New Testament is--"You shall call His name Jesus--for He shall save His people...[not "from the wrath to come," but] from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, and who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. He is a Savior for no others. Were He to "save from hell" those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God. What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing, with which to charge the Holy One!
True, as the Christian grows in grace, he has a clearer realization of what sin is--rebellion against God; and a deeper hatred of and sorrow for it. But to think that one may be saved by Christ, whose conscience has never been smitten by the Spirit, and whose heart has not been made contrite before God--is to imagine something which has no existence in the realm of fact. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick" (Matthew 9:12). The only ones who really seek relief from the great Physician, are those who are sick of sin--who long to be delivered from its God-dishonoring works, and its soul-defiling pollutions.
As Christ's salvation is a salvation from sin--from the love of it, from its dominion, from its guilt and penalty--then it necessarily follows, that the first great task and the chief work of the evangelist, is to preach upon SIN: to define what sin (as distinct from crime) really is, to show wherein its infinite enormity consists, to trace out its manifold workings in the heart, to indicate that nothing less than eternal punishment is its desert!
Ah, preaching upon sin will not make him popular nor draw the crowds, will it? No, it will not; and knowing this, those who love the praise of men more than the approbation of God, and who value their salary above immortal souls, trim their sales accordingly!
My previous post asked what you might say to share the gospel at a funeral. But in thinking about this post, not much changes for other situations. Why? Because when sharing the gospel, God doesn't need your wisdom added to His gospel. You do, however, need to show love toward your audience. This may require some discretion in how you choose your words.
What would you say if given the opportunity to share the gospel? Would you talk only of God's love? Would you talk of peace and prosperity? Would you share scripture about blessings and long life, or trials and persecution?
I believe the right thing to do is rely upon scripture for the answers, and a great place to start is in learning how Christ shared the truth with those He encountered. One example is found in John 4:7-26. This is probably one of the best known examples on one-on-one evangelism. As you scan the passage, notice several things.
- The passage describes Christ having a normal conversation with a woman at a public gathering place.
- In verse 7 He turned the conversation to spiritual topics by relating the natural world to the spiritual world.
- In verses 16-18, He shared the truth of her fallen state with her by using the Law (the Ten Commandments).
- When she recognized her hopelessness, He revealed grace to her (v26).
As you study the New Testament, you find that this is the approach used repeatedly by the disciples and by Christ (see, for example, Acts 5 and Acts 17). It's clear this is the same approach we should use when sharing the gospel.
What about prosperity, love, and a better life? First of all, not everyone experiences prosperity, love, and a better life as a Christian. In addition, what do you say to someone who surrenders to Christ, then experiences serious illness or the loss of a job? Where's the prosperity, love and better life? Chances are that person did not surrender to Christ, they desired a better life now. More stuff. More leasure. Fewer worries. That's feeding pride, not surrendering to the Savior.
If you can't share the gospel without talking about prosperity, then you're not teaching a Biblical gospel message. Look what the disciples went through. Persecution, hard life, confrontation, and martyrdom. But, too many Christians today want to talk all about love and prosperity. It's simply not Biblical. Besides, what would you say to someone on their death bed, or on death row? That, "the sun will come out tomorrow!"? As Mark Cahill says, "If it doesn't preach on death row, don't preach it."
In addition, scripture promises that Christians are to be set apart from the world. In the words of Chris Walker, pastor of Hamilton Baptist Church in Hamilton, Virginia, "Conversion is a declaration of war against the flesh, the world, and the devil." In other words, you're in for a bumpy ride. It's a ride where you have the best pilot ever, but it will not be uneventful.
With all that as background, let's get you in front of your funeral audience. What do you say? If you haven't decided yet, allow me to share what I said.
I began by talking about the life of Mrs. Duncan. I noted one of her favorite songs, Amazing Grace, and read a few lyrics from the updated version by Chris Tomlin. Those lyrics are: "My chains are gone, I've been set free, My God my Savior has ransomed me."
I then asked what terms like chains, freedom, ransom... terms frequently used when discussing slavery, have to do with us? Then I turned to scripture, specifically, John 8:34-36, which reads, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.... if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."
I then spent time talking about what sin is, examples of sin (by walking through a few of the Ten Commandments), the price for sinning against a Holy God, and our only hope for redemption... our only hope for a ransom that can free us from the chains of sin that hold us in bondage to sin (repentance and surrender).
If you find yourself asked to share the gospel at a funeral, or if you get an opportunity to share the gospel with a co-worker, friend, family member, or stranger, follow the model that Christ and the disciples gave to us:
- Talk about the natural world.
- Turn the conversation to the spiritual.
- Explain sin by using the Ten Commandments.
- Explain that without repentance and surrender to Christ, there is no redemption from the slavery of sin.
Until next time: Be ready. Then be bold!
