The Myths of Evangelism
WHAT NOT TO BELIEVE
ABOUT SHARING YOUR FAITH
Copyright 2006 Don Mansfield
2 Timothy 4:3-5
3
For the time will come when men will not put up
with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires,
they will gather around them a great number of
teachers
to say what their itching ears want to hear.
4
They will turn their ears away from the truth
and turn aside to myths.
But you,
keep your head in all situations,
endure hardship,
5
do the work of an evangelist . . .
Be willing to weigh the thought
Introduction
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In other words don’t . . .
“turn aside to myths.”
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Rather . . . Paul says . . .
“do the work of an evangelist . . .”
What is the point of out time?
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We want to avoid
PARALYSIS
in the area of evangelism.
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Today . . . what we want to know is . . .
WHAT AREA THE MYTHS?
THEY ARE OUT THERE . . . and
WE NEED TO AVOID THEM . . .
according to Paul.
From where do Myths come?
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Fads, theories, ideas, that seem to help,
Academically-based teaching by a number of
Christian missiologists . . .
Who have great hearts . . .
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BUT . . . come from limited experience in few locations
. . . which are then assumed to be the norm.
BUT . . . they end up being MYTHS.
Myths . . . Usually come from some
measure of truth, BUT . . .
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Become misapplied half-truths
which, many times, can lead to paralysis
Many of these MYTHS are also simply . .
The Lies . . . That sound good . . .
that Satan tells every believer.
Be willing to weigh the thought
Most myths have some basis in truth
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But that bit of truth . . .
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Gets twisted,
Gets wrongly applied and extrapolated,
Ends up deceiving us,
Ends up paralyzing us in the very area to which
that myth is suppose to be helping us!
People end up believing and acting on lies!
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 1

The Myth of Relationships
It goes like this:
“I must have a really solid relationship
with someone before I can share the
Gospel with that person.”
Every myth has at least one bit of
truth and a good question behind it.

The Myth of Relationships
The bit of truth . . .
Relationships are important
The good question . . .
How well do we need to know a
person to be effective?
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #1
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We always doubt that our relationship is
really good enough.
How many deep relationships can we build
in a life time?
We end up appearing as hypocrites about
what is really important to us.
We simply do not find this in Scripture!
We find in Scripture the exact opposite!
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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Getting to the substance of the Gospel ASAP.
Building relationships with people at the same
time as sharing the good news with them.
Overcoming the fear of relational rejection.
We find that a believer doesn’t really need to
know a person all that well in order to share.
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 2
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The Myth of “A Life Well Lived”
It goes like this:
“If I just ‘let my light shine,’
if I just live a consistent Christian life,
a person will see that I am different
and then . . .
ask me why I am different.
Every myth has at least one good
question behind it.
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The Myth of “A Life Well Lived”
The bit of truth . . .
We should live a consistent Christian life.
The good question(s) . . .
“How important is a consistent Christian life in
evangelism?”
“What needs to be the focus of causing curiosity
towards the God, Jesus, and the Gospel . . . in the life
of a non-believer ?”
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #2
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We doubt that our life is consistent enough.
We all have sin, we all need to grow.
In the many decades I have been a believer,
I have only had this happen to me three
times, outside of Albania.
We also don’t find this in Scripture.
Jesus did both! He didn’t live in a
needless dichotomy.
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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Living a consistent Christian life . . . AND . . .
Getting to the substance of the Gospel ASAP
Building relationships with people at the same
time as verbally sharing the Gospel with them.
Overcoming the fear of relational rejection.
We find that living a consistent Christian life is
very important, but that a good walk with
Christ isn’t a substitute for purposeful talk.
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 3
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The Myth of Theological Expertise
It goes like this:
“If I knew the Bible better, if I was a
graduate of a seminary,
if I knew theology better . . .
only then would I be more effective in
sharing Christ with a person.”
Every myth has at least one good
question behind it.
The Myth of Theological Expertise
The bit of truth . . .
Knowing the Bible is important.
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The good question(s) . . .
“How much do I need to know in order to
be effective in sharing my faith?”
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #3
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We end up doubting that we will ever
know enough to be effective.
This attitude can lead to pride, “I’m smart
enough to share, but you aren’t.”
We don’t find this in Scripture.
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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Were uneducated fishermen, astounding the Jewish
leaders and the smart guys of Jesus’ day (Acts 4:13),
Paul, who was very educated, on many occasions,
avoided deep theology . . . in favor of the simple
truths of the Gospel ( 1 Cor. 2:1-5),
Paul invited people to participate in the Gospel from
the very first day of conversion. (Phil. 1:3-5).
It is helpful to know Scripture, but ANYONE
can share their faith, and we are invited to do
so. God & the Gospel empower us.
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 4
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The Myth of Cultural Awareness
It goes like this:
“If I just knew the culture better
(the thoughts, values, background,
language, etc.) . . . then I would be an
effective evangelist.”
Every myth has at least one good
question behind it.
The Myth of Cultural Awareness
The bit of truth . . .
Culture is real & it affects communication.
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The good question(s) . . .
“How much about the non-believer should I
know in order to be effective in sharing my
faith with them?”
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #4
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We doubt that we ever learn enough about their
culture to get through to them.
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Cultures change so fast, what we learn can be
useless very fast, seeming to wasting time.
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The main issue remains . . .
- The non-believer learning the Gospel.
- Not . . . me learning about them.
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We also don’t find this in Scripture.
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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Have no preference in using cultural knowledge. It doesn’t
seem to be the main issue.
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If they are led to use it, fine . . . they use their knowledge.
(example of Paul in Athens - Acts 17:22-35)
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If they are led to not use it, fine . . . Paul, at times avoided
using “cultural knowledge”
(example of Paul in Corinth - 1 Cor. 2:1-5)
We find that it is helpful to know culture, but that is not
what changes people’s hearts.
What saves and changes people is the Gospel.
AND . . . that never changes . . . in ANY culture.
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 5
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The Myth of Finding the Right Person
It goes like this:
“If I can just find the right person with
whom to share Christ . . . you know, those
who seem open, friendly, who don’t look like
their heart is hardened, who I feel like I can
relate to . . . then I can share my faith.”
Every myth has at least one good
question behind it.
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The Myth of Finding the Right Person
The bit of truth . . .
Certain people are more open to the Gospel.
The good question(s) . . .
“What type of person do I need to be in order to be
effective with a certain type of people?”
“Can a person who is different from the non-believer
really be effective in sharing their faith with them?”
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #5
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Wouldn’t it be nice to find a perfect person?!?
Satan will say about every person . . .
“They aren’t interested.” THAT’S A LIE!
This ends up being an arrogant, prideful position
that . . . of course . . . suggests that most
people are “the wrong person.”
We aren’t that smart in evaluating the spiritual
condition of a person’s heart. Only God can do
that. We are fairly blind.
This is opposite to what Scripture commands.
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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Are going to everyone. When they hesitate to go to
the Samaritans, Ethiopians, Romans, and the rest of
the Gentiles, God intervenes most dramatically.
Learn that everyone is described the same way
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Sinful, lost, needing a savior . . . no one is different, or “right!”
We find that everyone is potentially a follower of
Jesus. We also find that Jesus commands us to go
tell the whole world, not just a select few that suit
our fancy. We find that we become the “right
person” only by the work of the cross in our life.
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 6
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The Myth of Geography
It goes like this:
“There are just certain places where God is
moving, where the Gospel really works . . .
but, where I live and work, it is different . . .
You don’t understand. In my world . . . the
Gospel just doesn’t work . . . I need to find
the right place . . . then I can share my faith.”
Every myth has at least one good
question behind it.

The Myth of Geography
The bit of truth . . .
Certain places seem to be more open to
the Gospel.
The good question(s) . . .
“What type of circumstances and atmosphere
need to be present in a location . . . in order for
us to be effective in evangelism?”
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #6
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We get stereotypes that may or may not be
true. “America is like this. Asia is like that.
The Middle East is so closed. The Balkan area
of Europe is so dangerous!”
We always think . . . “God is working . . .
over the there . . . but not here.”
We don’t think God can do it in our everyday
life. Some how . . . everyday life for the
apostles was somehow different than for us.
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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Ended up going everywhere they could.
Wherever they went and shared their faith, in
obedience to God’s call, God showed up!
God did lead them to certain parts of the
world or to certain communities, but what and
where those locations were do not matter.
We find GEOGRAPHY DOESN’T MATTER!
Be willing to weigh the thought
MYTH # 7
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The Myth of Identity
It goes like this:
“You don’t know me. I can’t share my faith.
I don’t have the gift of evangelism. I will
probably mess up . . . and I don’t want to risk
anyone’s eternal destiny. I let the other, more
gifted evangelistic-type people talk to nonbelievers. My spiritual gifts are in other areas.
I am exempt from sharing my faith.”
Every myth has at least one good
question behind it.

The Myth of Identity
The bit of truth . . .
Certain people seem to do a better job
sharing their faith.
The good question(s) . . .
“Who do I need to be or do, in order to be
effective in sharing my faith?”
Be willing to weigh the thought
The Problems with Myth #7
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This makes us think that we are exempt from
certain things in the Christian life.
This disregards the clear teaching of Scripture
that God calls every one of us His witnesses and
His ambassadors.
This attitude, while seeming to care about the
non-believer, really lets us have an invalid
excuse for not loving non-believers.
We also don’t find this in Scripture.
Be willing to weigh the thought
Be willing to weigh the thought
What Do We Find in Scripture?
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Our New Testament heros . . .
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All were told that Jesus would make them
“fishers of men.”
All were told by Jesus that they would be His
witnesses all over the world.
Learned that spiritual gifts were not just for
specialization, but to aid all believes to grow
up in all aspects of Christian maturity.
We find that NO BELIEVER IS EXEMPT
FROM EVANGELISM!
Be willing to weigh the thought
SOLUTIONS TO BELIEVING MYTHS
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1. Believe truth! Where does one find that?!
2. Follow the example of our NT heros!
3. Always check out “new” theories thoroughly,
doubt first, believe and incorporate later!
4. Believe in the power of the Gospel!
5. Believe what God says about your . . .
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New nature . . . New calling
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Invitation to be filled with the Holy Spirit, thus become His witness.
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New power and ability that is found totally in Him
Need for training, prayer and support within the Body of Christ
6. Decide & desire to be used of God in His power!
Be willing to weigh the thought
LET’S PRAY
“ but . . .
you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and . . .
you shall be My witnesses . . .” Jesus
Confidence / Boldness
in the New Testament
parrhsi,a parresia – confidence - boldness
John 7:26
John 18:20
Acts 4:13
"Look, He is speaking boldly, they are saying nothing to Him.
Jesus answered him, "I have spoken boldly to the world;
Now as they observed the boldness of Peter and John and understood that
they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to
recognize them as having been with Jesus.
Acts 4:29
"Lord . . . grant that Your servants may speak Your word with all boldness,”
Acts 4:31
And when they had prayed, . . .they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 9:28
moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly
Acts 13:46
Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
Acts 14:3
Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly
Acts 18:26
and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue.
2 Cor. 3:12
having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,
Eph 6:19-20; Col 4:3-4; Acts 28:31;
Be willing to weigh the thought
Questions to Discuss
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What have been my personal beliefs
regarding my role in evangelism?
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How has that been challenged tonight?
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Of the seven “myths”
(1. Relationships,
2. Well-Lived-Life, 3. Theological Expertise, 4. Cultural
Awareness, 5. Finding the Right Person, 6. Geography, 7.
My Personal Identity) . . .
which one(s) have caused me the most
problem(s).