#evangelism
Hi, I want to ask
how you would prefer to do evangelism.
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Let me state some
truths related to evangelism before dealing with the questions.
1. What is
evangelism?
- it is proclaiming
the good news; the good news of what God HAS DONE in His Son Jesus Christ to
save His people from their eternal condemnation from the lake of fire.
- the gospel is the
good news of what HAS HAPPENED, therefore believe it.
- the gospel is not
an offer of what WILL HAPPEN, therefore do something to make it happen! (Many
people have this idea of the gospel!)
2. The divine
purpose of evangelism:
- The Lord Himself
has ordained evangelism. Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:14-18. Why did the glorified Lord
ordain the gospel ministry (the preaching of the gospel)?
- What is His
purpose in ordaining the preaching of the gospel?
- It is the
appointed means to bring His redeemed people to know the truth of their
salvation in Him; to CONVERT them to the gospel truth of their salvation.
- ONLY those whom
God has effectually called to grace and salvation in Jesus Christ is able to
respond to the gospel call, the preaching of the gospel.
1 Corinthians 1:18
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
which are saved it is the power of God.”
- "... us which
are saved" are there first, the gospel is brought to them, and they
perceive the gospel as the message declaring the power of God in saving them.
John 3:3,5 “… except
a man be born again, he cannot see… he cannot enter...”
- He cannot perceive
the spiritual truth of the gospel.
1Co 2:14 “But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.”
- A natural man is
still spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and, therefore incapable of
perceiving spiritual truth.
Rom 1:16 ¶For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.”
- Please note the
words, “from faith to faith.” From the preacher who has faith to preach the
gospel to those whom the indwelling Spirit has worked faith. For therein, i.e.
in the gospel is the righteousness (of God’s own provision in Jesus Christ to
redeem His people) revealed (preached and made known) from the faithful gospel
preacher to those in whom the Spirit has worked the grace of faith.
The gospel ministry
HAS NO RELEVANCE to those still dead in trespasses and sins; it is intended for
a very specific audience, i.e. those whom God has effectually called out of
their native state of condemnation, death, and alienation to grace and
salvation in Christ Jesus.
It is elementary:
food is for the living. Feeding has to do with the LIVING… the Lord
recommissioned the disciples with these words, “FEED… FEED… FEED… my lambs and
my sheep.”
The new school kids
are all gospel regenerationists – they sincerely believe that gospel preaching
is the means ordained by the Lord for the regeneration of the dead in
trespasses and sins.
But God, through His
Spirit, regenerates each elect immediately and directly, without any human
intermediaries.
John 3:8 “The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the
Spirit.”
“… so is every one
that is born of the Spirit” permits NO exception.
=======
Danny Hodges
Amen. It is from
faith TO faith, not from no faith to faith. We as children of God are not
trying to turn the goats into sheep. We are rather trying to turn LOST sheep
into FOUND sheep by proclaiming the gospel.
Reggie Lee
100% agree...
Victorio Moises De
Guzman
Absolutely true.
Thanks Elder
Edna Allen
Strickland
AMEN!!!
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October 2, 2023
Hi, I want to ask
how would you prefer to do evangelism:
(1) Street preaching
aka the hit-and-run type
(2) hand hold those
who are willing to listen to you for many years, e.g.: 5 years n more OR
(3) God has his own
ways to reach his elect and these people are in his invisible church?
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Let me give some
thoughts:
1. I have experienced
street preaching while at London TS. During spring and summer, some of us would
preach in front of the Tesco and Saintsbury supermarkets, standing on a
stool...
I now conclude that
I WAS A PUBLIC NUISANCE. The culture of Apostle Paul's Mars Hill experience is
entirely different. The culture then had a place for open public discourse and
allowed Paul to do so. Otherwise, as his custom was, he visited the synagogues
and evangelize the Jews first, God's children are most likely found among them.
Willing preachers must have willing hearers.
2. I have vast
experience doing door-to-door evangelism too during the initial years after the Sungai Dua Church was gathered in Penang.
- A few of us would visit homes, systematically
and carefully covered all the housing divisions and apartment blocks in Sungai Dua, carefully marked, recording the labour on a big map of the suburb.
- I visited the student hostels
in the nearby USM... almost weekly, and made not a few lasting friends.
All these I now
consider as blind zeal without knowledge.
Pro 11:30
"The fruit of
the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise."
He that wins souls
is wise. Remember I have said men are living souls! Only souls that have been
effectually called by God himself can be won by converting them to the truth of
their salvation in the Lord by the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God has His children
who need to be converted. God has
ordained the means for their conversion to the truth of their salvation in Jesus Christ. And we are His instrument to bring the
good news.
Many affirm the
sovereignty of God but fail to appreciate the practical implications of this
wonderful truth. Do remember that God is sovereign, He is the Lord of
providence; in particular, He directs the paths of His children to cross paths
with those who will bring the gospel to them, and vice versa.
So what is important
to me is to have a mind and heart ready for the opportunity to share the gospel
with the people whom the Lord will bring to cross my path in my daily living -
in the natural course of daily life. This way, wherever we may be, and in
whatever circumstances, there will be people who will cross our path, and if
our hearts are prepared, they (the hearts) will be guided by the Spirit's leading.
Just in the evening
(after I sent the last message), I met a fine man in his late 20s; he is
trained as a lawyer. As a pastor, I have the advantage of saying, "I'm a
pastor, what do you do?" Some will inquire further... and that allow me to share the gospel. Since he
is a lawyer, I preach the good news of Jesus as the Advocate of sinners...
One can always find
a way to introduce himself that he is a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.
If a conversation is on a certain topic, he could say, "As a Christian, I
understand the Bible speaks about the matter in this wise..."
And depending on how
they respond, it gives him an indication of how he should carry on the
conversation.
That's the way I
train the people in the church.
The Lord warns us
against casting pearls before swine, Mt 7:6.
We are doing a great
disservice to the gospel if ever we make people feel that the gospel is forced
down their throats.
Willing gospel
witnesses must have willing listeners. Otherwise, they make themselves a
nuisance to others.
I'm working hard to
evangelize other Christians - to convert them to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
James 5
19 Brethren, if any
of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he
which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from
death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
This is a vital
aspect of evangelism that is largely overlooked.
So, I don't know
which one of the 3 categories I fit in.
You decide.
