A fairly recent survey released in April of this year by the American Christian pollster George Barna, found that six out of ten Americans had shared their faith with someone during a given time span in the past. According to Barna, this ratio has remained constant over several years.

However, based on my own experience, I’d say that this result is misleadingly high. If someone should ask ‘Are you a Christian?’ and you say, ‘Yes’ this will not pass for evangelism. Yet this is how most people understand the question. Nor is evangelism simply giving a personal testimony of how God has made you a better person, or how He has solved all your problems.

We’ve all heard jokes that start out ‘I’ve got bad news and good news. What do you want to hear first?’ and then we’re given the punch line. Evangelism is just like that. It has a ‘bad news’ aspect (the Law) and a ‘good news’ aspect (the Gospel).

Biblical evangelism is partially about our depravity, sinfulness and rebellion against God and His holiness; that’s the bad news. The good news is that there is someone who can save us from all the consequences of the bad news!

This article series has attempted to put evangelism into perspective and explore how we can begin with outreach and from there move into a more evangelical posture, engaging in it with increasing confidence and assurance in spite of obstacles that will inevitably come into play. It does not assume we will all be ‘super-evangelists’. Rather, it assumes we will have difficulties of one sort or another. Encouragement, not judgment, is the goal here.

If you have read the last issue of APC News, you will recall the presentation of what we have come to call the ‘Essence of the Gospel’. You will remember that the gospel consists of four essential components:

1. The sovereignty of God and His purpose for man;
2. the situation of Man, his predicament explained and its inevitable consequence;
3. the person and work of Christ as the only answer to man’s predicament; and finally
4. the call for repentance and faith in Christ on the part of all people. We are able to summarize these elements further by the terms Sovereignty, Sin, Sacrifice, and Surrender.

If these four elements are missing when we engage with unbelievers then we are not really presenting the complete gospel.

Therefore, with that understanding in place, we now turn directly to the relationship that exists between the gospel and evangelism. We do so because we are convinced that the gospel lies behind evangelism, that the gospel is its core and substance and without the gospel, there can be no evangelism leading to repentance and salvation (Matt. 4:17; Rom. 10:14; 2 Cor. 5:20; Thess.2:14; 1 Peter 1:23).

So, what is evangelism? Evangelism is nothing other than the proclamation of the bad news of mankind’s predicament (sin and condemnation) along with the good news of our redemption in Christ (repentance and salvation). Evangelism is in fact just another name for the gospel. Evangelism derives from the Greek euangelion, which is the ‘good message’, ‘the gospel or good news’ of the Bible.

If the gospel only consisted in the proclamation of our sinfulness and God’s perfect holiness, there would be truth, but such truth offers no hope for reconciliation. It is because of God’s redeeming love for His people, however, that we have not only truth, but also hope, a living hope (1 Peter1:3-5). Because this is so, we should strive to understand that the heart of evangelism is the gospel, but that the heart of the gospel is God’s justifying love through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

At some point in the life of one of His elect, God will begin to contrive events and situations in order to draw the sinner, inexorably, to himself. This can be slow or instant; it can be unremarkable or cataclysmic; it can be easy and comforting or hard and painful. Regardless of how it happens, God is all the while working in the life of the fore-loved sinner in order to bring him to the gospel.

In the case of God’s elect, hearing the gospel will eventually result in the new birth (Acts 16:14; 1 Tim 6:12) which is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3). Through hearing the external or general call of the gospel, God’s elect sinners will also hear the internal or effectual call (Matt. 11:15 et al.) to which they then give a willing response, sincerely repenting of their sins and placing all their trust and faith in Christ for salvation (Isa 55:6-7). Those who are not God’s elect will hear no such internal, effectual call. This is the essence of our evangelism. With these overarching thoughts in mind, let’s look at how evangelism might be done in Reformed congregations. We consider first corporate and then personal evangelism.

For convenience, evangelism is described as belonging to two categories: corporate and personal. In turn, corporate evangelism has two aspects: the first is the formal preaching of the gospel within the confines of the worship service. The second is informal and conducted by lay church members when encountering needy sinners through a congregational outreach ministry.

In the first, unbelievers come into the church for a variety of reasons (guilty conscience, tradition, curiosity, outreach, or desire, for instance). In the second, believers take some risk and go out into the community looking for opportun­ities to share the gospel in love and compassion, believing as they do that the Holy Spirit is leading them. Personal evangelism is somewhat akin to informal corporate evangelism in that the individual Christian seeks out and prays for encounters during everyday life, but outside the security of the sanctuary. He or she takes some initiative and is willing to ‘step out’ as it were, in order to engage an unbeliever in a dialogue that will eventually include an exposition of the gospel. (This gospel exposition usually proves difficult, in part because many Christians are unable to summarize the gospel in plain and simple language.)

We should realize though that, in formal corporate evangelism, the roles of pastor and elders are different from other members and loom large, especially over the long term. This is because there must be a consistent, underlying approach by the congregational leaders for the accomplishment of the third purpose of the Church (ministry to the world) if she is to be a means for the salvation of sinners. The role of the pastor is primarily, but not exclusively, to preach the gospel, pure and unadorned. Within the worship service, the pastor must articulate the gospel in ways that all may understand. Whatever else of importance he may wish to speak on, there should be few messages from the pulpit that somehow do not include a brief exposition of the gospel in clear, plain and understandable terms.

I believe the message should also include a ‘gospel call’ or the invitation for sinners to repent and believe. Pastors have the responsibility of teaching the depravity and perdition of unsaved people but also the redeeming sacrifice of Christ on behalf of His people. A pastor preaches first the bad news and then the good news. He calls sinners to repent and accept Christ as their only and sufficient Saviour. This is the primary function of the pastor and special music, drama, ‘liturgical dance’ and all other such unbiblical contrivances will make no difference nor add any value to his message.

Concerning outreach and evangelism, the elders’ main responsibility is to husband the various gifts and resources of church members to make outreach and evangelism not only possible but also normal. This means ensuring proper financial, physical and legal management to be sure, but it also means working with the pastor in order to discover and encourage the gifts of members within the congregation, and to find ways to put these gifts into service for the Lord. This requires maturity and responsibility of course. It also requires dedication to a clear vision and deep understanding of and commitment to the purposes of the church, which include outreach and evangelism.

The pastor and his elders must share this vision and commitment if any progress is to be expected. Pastor and elders design and deliver bible study and other discipling activities of the church that incorporate a theological underpinning for evangelism. The pastor and his elders must be quick and eager to seek to inculcate an appreciation of the importance of outreach and evangelism in the members. Without a demonstration to the congregation of their own abiding belief in the work of the Holy Spirit to save souls through His chosen means, the Kirk Session will do a disservice to the Church.

Turning now to personal evangelism, we will find a model illustration by an individual in chapter eight of the book of Acts. It involves Phillip, not the apostle but rather the evangelist. It seems that Phillip was extremely adept at evangelism and partook of this gift of the Spirit in great measure.

The incident in view, in Acts 8:26-39, is a wonderful example of how personal evangelism can and perhaps should work. In this model example, God shows us yet again that He uses secondary means to accomplish His own good purpose. On the one hand, we have Phillip, a willing and committed disciple and on the other, we have the court official of the queen of Ethiopia, and in whom God had apparently created a hunger and thirst after righteousness.

God brings both of these men together on a dirt road on the way to Gaza somewhere south of Jerusalem. In this encounter we see God’s sovereignty at work, for He tells Phillip, by way of the angel of the Lord, to leave his thriving ministry in the city of Samaria and go down along the hot and dusty road and there, to do what? He does not say why He wants Phillip to go, He just says, ‘Go’ and Phillip obeys. Doubtless, as part of his ministry of outreach and evangelism in Samaria, Phillip was often praying for God to bring him sinners in need of salvation. In this particular case however, God brought not the sinner to Phillip, but Phillip to the sinner!

It was Phillip’s initiative, his ‘stepping out’ in obedience to God’s will, which enabled him to bring the court official to repentance and faith and to receive baptism. It is likewise that we should conduct our own personal evangelism. We should pray to God that He would bring us into contact with a needy sinner, someone who needs to hear the gospel. Nor should we apply qualifications or distinctions of any kind but be open and sensitive to those with whom we come into contact, trusting God to make use of us as He sees fit, for ultimately His elect must hear the gospel in order to be saved. So pray to God for opportunities to be His instrument for bringing His elect into an engagement with the gospel. In addition, be sensitive to those around you who may be looking for just such a one as yourself.

In this, take the good advice of Peter, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV, emphasis added). You are not required to contrive artificial or insincere situations in which to engage or to challenge those around you. You need only develop a discerning sensitivity ‘a kind of radar’ for those whom God has filled with either a growing hatred for the world or a hunger for Him. More often than not such people are not even aware of their predicament at the point where you meet them.

While God has put a yearning deep in the hearts of His elect, that yearning may sleep on for many a year undiscovered. Yet in the fullness of time, it will awaken and at that point in their lives sinners begin the often long road home to the Father. Just as did the prodigal son of the parable, so too will they come to themselves, even though they be sleepy still, perhaps even defiant for a time. However, eventually each one will be encountered by the gospel and inevitably the sinner will repent and come home to his Father and his inheritance (Luke 15:18-24). You may ask, ‘In our personal evangelism, should we stress the bad news or the good news of the gospel?’ It is our belief that only those who have “ears to hear and eyes to see” will come, whether instantaneously or slowly, to a realization of their true predicament and so surrender themselves to the life-giving promise of salvation.

It is the good news, remember, that is the gospel. While there is an inevitable warning of condemnation because of our total depravity, the good news is the proclamation of salvation through the perfect and finished work of Christ. This is the promise of the gospel. This indeed is the good news! In His call to the world, we must see the truth that only God knows His elect. He knows them; we do not. We cannot tell by outward sign, lifestyle or by any other indicators who these people are. This is the reason behind the external or gospel call.

Remember Christ’s words: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Were ever words of such love and tenderness spoken in this world? We think not. Even though only few are chosen, it is not for us to stop calling the many.

But can we talk about subjects that don’t seem to have a direct bearing on God’s sovereignty, mankind’s sinfulness, Christ’s sacrifice (and resurrection) and a sinner’s need to repent and believe?’ Yes of course. You can use many techniques to create an interest in what you are saying. For instance, picking up a newspaper is often the best way to get a conversation going. Simply asking the question, ‘Why do you think people do this kind of thing?’ in response to a story of crime or obnoxious or immoral behaviour is guaranteed to elicit some kind of response. That is all that is required. Now you have an opening.

Is this kind of thing dishonest or disingenuous? Not if your motives are pure. If your intention is to engage this person in a debate that could change a life for good in the most dramatic and permanent way possible and you decide to use the daily newspaper as your vehicle, you have done no wrong. We need only remember Whom it is we serve and to use our good sense. Share your testimony, do outreach, but when you do, keep the summary of the gospel clearly and firmly in mind: Sovereignty, Sin, Sacrifice and Surrender.

I believe that if our evangelism is to be successful, we must always start with trust in God and His sovereign ability to carry out His own good pleasure. It is our own part to be as capable as we possibly can be to carry out our commission; a commission He has set before every believer (Matt. 28:19-20). However, let us not think that we must supply anything that He has not already given us. We need only be still and know God, and then He will use us for His Kingdom in whatever way He sees fit.

I am convinced that the blessing and power of the Holy Spirit are what will make the difference in all our efforts to be profitable servants. Without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, our own efforts will be, however well meant, paltry and insignificant. It is and always has been Christ’s Spirit dwelling richly in His people who give them the power they need to do God’s will. Without Him, all our efforts are ultimately doomed to failure.

Therefore, pray in humility and contrition that the Holy Spirit will overshadow you. Ask for His direction and blessing and, if what you do is in keeping with God’s Word, He will give the strength, the power, the ‘dunamis’ without which we are as the flowers of the field and as chaff in the wind.

We must trust that the Holy Spirit will bless our work. The gifts and talents that He has given us as uniquely our own, these are what we use to carry out His will. Be open, be receptive, and be quick to see opportunities. This is all He requires of us. The rest He will accomplish on His own.