THE GOSPEL AND PERSONAL
EVANGELISM
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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Passages directed toward pastors/preachers.
 Acts
4:29 Peter prays, “And now, Lord, behold their
threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with
all boldness they may speak thy word.”
 Paul writes to Timothy, a pastor, to “do the work of
an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5).
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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But is the ordinary Christian doing evangelism like
the ordinary employee trying to the company’s
accounting? Are we average Christians all to be
evangelists or should we leave that Bible colleges
and seminary graduates?
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Paul says, “I am debtor, both to the Greeks, and to the
Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise. So, as
much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to
you that are at Rome also” (Rom 1:14-15)
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Amen.’” (Matt
28:19-20)
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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“This commission…is binding upon every
member of the whole Church…Every Christian
is called to be a witness to Christ in the
particular environment in which God has
placed him. Further, although the public
ministry of the Word is a high office, private
witness or personal evangelism has a value
which in some respects surpasses even that of
preaching, since the message can then be
adapted more personally.” ~John Stott
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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The book of Acts records that the apostles were constantly
evangelizing: Acts 5:42; 8:25; 13:32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35;
16:10; 17:18.
In Acts 2 all Christians had the Spirit poured out on them.
As a result of the persecution of the church “they that were
scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. (Acts
8:4)
In Acts 8 we also read the story of Philip, a deacon, doing
evangelism (Acts 8:5-12, 26-40); and later we read that
“they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution
that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and
Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word.” (Acts 11:19-21)
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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Peter instructs Christians to “sanctify the Lord
God in your hearts: and be ready always to give
an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear: having a good conscience;
that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of
evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely
accuse your good conversation in Christ.” (1
Peter 3:15-16)
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
We are told that Jesus, who is our chief
example, came to seek and to save what was
lost (Luke 15; 19:10).
 When asked what the most important
commandment is, Jesus replied that it was to
love God and to “love your neighbor as
yourself.” (Mark 12:31)
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WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
God’s intent in establishing the church was to
bear witness to himself and to his character. As
Paul wrote, “His intent was that now, through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God should
be made known.”
 Every Christian has a role in making visible the
gospel of the invisible God.
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WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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“The invisibility of God is a great problem. It
was already a problem to God’s people in Old
Testament days. Their pagan neighbors would
taunt them saying, “Where is now your God?”
Their gods were visible and tangible, but
Israel’s God was neither. Today in our scientific
culture young people are taught not to believe
in anything which is not open to empirical
investigation. How then has God solved the
problem of his own invisibility?
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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The first answer is of course “in Christ.” Jesus
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
John 1:18: “No one has ever seen God, but God
the only Son has made him known.” “That’s
wonderful,” people say, “but it was 2,000 years
ago. Is there no way by which the invisible God
makes himself visible today?” There is. We
return to 1 John 4:12: “No has one has ever
seen God.” It is precisely the same introductory
statement.
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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But instead of continuing with reference to the
Son of God, it continues: “If we love one
another, God dwells in us.” In other words, the
invisible God, who once made himself visible in
Christ, now makes himself visible in Christians,
if we love one another. It is a breathtaking
claim. The local church cannot evangelize,
proclaiming the gospel of love, if it is not itself a
community of love.” ~John Stott
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
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“Evangelism is pre-eminently dependent upon
the quality of the Christian life which is known
and enjoyed in the church.” ~Martyn Lloyd
Jones
WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?
(1) God calls all Christians to share the good
news.
 (2) Our church needs to make sure that we
know the good news and to make sure that we
can all express it clearly.
 (3) We should work to train each other in
having the kind of Christian lives and clear
understanding that will help us to share the
gospel.
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