The Battle For . . .Evangelism/Service
Let me begin by saying that evangelism is not my spiritual gift. I know a dear friend who obviously has this gift. She shares Christ with people easily and without reservation. I am thankful for examples like her. However, even though, it is not my spiritual gift, I am still called to make disciples of all nations. So, know that as I write this I am writing it for myself as much as for you. We need to tell the world about Jesus (which could be overseas, but also more than likely across the street or in your workplace)! I also know that it is not just our words, but also our actions. Some people need to know they are loved before their hearts are opened to the gospel which is where acts of service come in. And even though I have them separate in the title of my post, I really believe they closely intertwined.
Here are the lies we tell ourselves or Satan yells at us about evangelism/service:
Matthew 28:18-20 says, "Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Romans 10:13-15 says, "for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:9 says, "that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Matthew 9:37-38 says, "Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 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. . . "
It is important to remember that we must balance grace and truth. Proving you are right and that you have the truth without caring for the person is not good evangelism. It is either selfishness or arrogance. Similarly, minimizing sin is equally a wrong approach. We have a Savior who died for all of our sins. Eliminating sin from our vocabulary or reinterpreting God's Word to make it easier for people to come to church is not helpful. You might be viewed by the "world" as more accepting and open minded, but have damaged the absolute truth we find in God's Word. It was written to be a guide for us. The world needs the truth and that is where we need to "speak the truth in love" by sharing about the reality of sin, but also the wonderful news of grace offered by Jesus Christ. It is all about Jesus!
You might say, I agree, but the world is not interested. I believe this is where service comes in. We need to offer our communities service in the name of Jesus. In Iola, I started a ministry called FCC Cares that focused on random acts of kindness in Jesus' name. We would usually provide food boxes to families, quarters at a laundry mat, etc. to people and share that we are doing this because Jesus loves them and we want to share that love with them too. There are many ways we can serve and through our gift of service share about what Jesus has done in our own lives. Let's all pray and ask God to show us who we need to be sharing Christ with and how we need to do it!
Here are the lies we tell ourselves or Satan yells at us about evangelism/service:
- I wouldn't know what to say.
- Someone else will do it.
- They might ask me a question which I cannot answer.
- They would be upset that I questioned their faith.
- There is always tomorrow to share.
- Dropping a tract at their home is sufficient.
- I am really busy at church.
- They don't want to hear what I have to say.
- They will just take advantage of you if you serve them once.
- They are busy and I don't want to bother them at home.
- They have made it clear they are not interested in faith.
- I think they are a Christian.
- Just doing good things for them without words will lead them to Christ.
- Have you seen or heard what they do? They have made it clear what they value.
- I won't make a difference.
- I will leave this to the evangelism/outreach/missions (whatever you call it in your church) committee.
- I don't have the time to share Christ with others.
- My actions don't matter. No one is watching me.
- The list goes on and on.
Matthew 28:18-20 says, "Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Romans 10:13-15 says, "for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:9 says, "that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Matthew 9:37-38 says, "Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 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. . . "
It is important to remember that we must balance grace and truth. Proving you are right and that you have the truth without caring for the person is not good evangelism. It is either selfishness or arrogance. Similarly, minimizing sin is equally a wrong approach. We have a Savior who died for all of our sins. Eliminating sin from our vocabulary or reinterpreting God's Word to make it easier for people to come to church is not helpful. You might be viewed by the "world" as more accepting and open minded, but have damaged the absolute truth we find in God's Word. It was written to be a guide for us. The world needs the truth and that is where we need to "speak the truth in love" by sharing about the reality of sin, but also the wonderful news of grace offered by Jesus Christ. It is all about Jesus!
You might say, I agree, but the world is not interested. I believe this is where service comes in. We need to offer our communities service in the name of Jesus. In Iola, I started a ministry called FCC Cares that focused on random acts of kindness in Jesus' name. We would usually provide food boxes to families, quarters at a laundry mat, etc. to people and share that we are doing this because Jesus loves them and we want to share that love with them too. There are many ways we can serve and through our gift of service share about what Jesus has done in our own lives. Let's all pray and ask God to show us who we need to be sharing Christ with and how we need to do it!
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