What do you think of when someone says, "evangelism"? Maybe it's somebody passing out tracts, or preaching on a street corner. Maybe you think of giving a "testimony" of your salvation experience to someone else. But the bottom line is that evangelism is telling others the Good News, right? If it's in a tract, or a sermon, or a personal testimony, we're sharing what the Good News means.
So I have two questions for you:
1. What is the Good News that we are sharing?
2. Is there a Biblical command for us to share it?
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So where did that name come from anyway?
Three and a half miles is the distance I travel to work. Now, I'm not claiming that it's a long commute by any stretch, but in that short distance I pass hundreds of other people...people God has put in my path. So the question is, “What am I doing to increase their knowledge of God?” And I present the same question to you as God puts people in your path.
23 comments:
Ten Cent,
The "good news" is not "good" to some; at least they won't receive it as such. It is the message that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations". Bad news? Well, to a world that has sought to "break Their bonds in pieces, And cast away Their cords from us" the message of repentance kind of cuts against the grain. But, to those "who labor and are heavy laden" taking His yoke upon us is RESTFULL.
Hi Daniel.
One text answers both your questions in the affirmative:
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)Regards,
Hi Mark,
Glad to see you participate.
It is counterintuitive, isn't it. In order to have freedom, I must be a slave. That is how I would define the Good News...freedom from sin.
Luke 24:45-47
"And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
So this is what was being preached, "repentance and remission of sins."
Do you believe this to be our mandate as well?
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Hi Colin,
I believe you're a little confused, I'm not Daniel. But I'm glad for you're comment anyway.
So you're saying that the Gospel...the Good News...is that if you're thirsty, take the water of life freely. And the mandate is from the part that says, "Let him that heareth say, "Come". So we're told to tell people to come and drink of the water of life.
Is that a valid restatement of what you're saying?
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Oops! |o)
Yep - you have restated my position. Naturally there are dozens, if not hundreds,of verses that we could turn to - I see Luke 24:47 is getting quoted - but I;m happy enough with Revelation 22:17 which is (as all know) the last gospel invitation in the Bible.
Regards,
Hi Colin,
I agree, there are probably hundreds of passages to which we could turn where we can infer the command to evangelize.
Can you name some where it is a direct command?
Like Matthew 28:19,20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Of course, it depends on our definition of the Gospel as to whether or not this verse would be a direct command or not.
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Hi10C
Preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15)
Preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2)
Plus the examples of the early NT: Acts 8:4
Regards,
Colin.
Hi Colin,
I'm assuming from the verses you selected and from your definition of the Gospel that you would not have any problem with using a discipleship message when evangelizing?
There are some who would limit the evangel we bring to faith in Christ without the "confusion" of discipleship.
So when you witness (tell others about Christ) do you also include discipleship in that message?
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Hi 10c
Perhaps not on the first blush, but I would certainly introduce it somewhere along the line. If we explain salvation fully i.e. more than just justification, then we will be bringing in the sanctification part, which is as much of the salvation as pardon for sin. If we "preach Jesus" then we must point out that He is so called because He will save His people from their sins i.e. from the guilt and power.
Regards,
Hi Colin,
So the Good News is that we are saved from the guilt and power of sin. Is that what we are commanded to proclaim per Luke 24?
The reason I ask is that it's come to my attention that if I leave that out of the Gospel presentation, then I would be in violation of that command, would I not?
In Christ,
Ten Cent
It appears that for direct commands, there are but a few passages. Such as Luke 24: "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations". Or Mark 16:15 "Go and preach the Gospel..." Otherwise, it's by example or inference.
Colin, the 2 Tim passage I would consider to be a "by example", not a direct command for every believer. And it might be directed more at pastoring a group of people rather than evangelism as you and I know it. Of course, every sermon should be evangelistic by default.
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Certainly you would be offering a watered down version of it if you got the opportunity to expand upon the gospel and did not mention it.
Regards
I wouldn't limit 2 Timothy 4:2 to pastoring. "Preach the word" is, according to Robertson's Word pictures, in the imperative. Although not every Christian is a preacher with pulpit skills, yet we should all spread the word as we are able. Certainly the spirit of such is there in 2 Timothy 4:2
Regards,
subsencTen Cent,
It is THE message that Paul preached. Christ said that the world hated Him because He testified that it's deeds were evil. The first 2 or 3 verses of what we know today as the 2nd Psalm zeroes in the core problem: hatred of God's ways and of His Christ. Repent one must.
Hi Colin,
"Although not every Christian is a preacher with pulpit skills,"Exactly why I said that I view it as a "by example" passage. We can infer and imply what we ought to do by what Paul is commanding Timothy to do. However, I don't view it as a direct command to each believer.
In Christ,
Ten Cent
I dunnom why the word verification showed up in my adress to you...
Hi Mark,
Any passage that comes to mind that gives us a direct command to share that message other than what's already been shared?
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Ten Cent,
Acts 17:30
Acts 20:21
Acts 26:18-20
OK Mark, for the sake of all of us being on the same page, I've listed out the verses you referenced.
Acts 17:30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
Acts 20:21 "solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."
Acts 26:18-20 "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.' "So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance."
Now, I am NOT saying that we shouldn't tell others to repent, but I am saying that these are verses that serve as an example of what and how we should evangelise. They do not, however, contain direct commands to us as believers. That's what I'm looking for.
Is evangelism something that we've been commanded to do? Just to be clear, I'm not asking if it is something that is good for us to do. I think we all know that. Just trying to pinpoint the biblical basis for it.
In Christ,
Ten Cent
Because, here's the rub. If I believe that the content of the Gospel...the Good News...is limited to only faith in Christ for eternal life and is totally separate from Sanctification, then I have absolutely no Biblical basis for evangelism.
But if the content of the Gospel is broader than that and includes things like being saved from sin, given the righteousness of Christ and forgiveness. Then I have more of a warrant and a duty to tell others.
In Christ,
Ten Cent
I'm at a loss here....
I don't know who you are, Ten Cent, but from what I've seen so far on Antonio's latest thread in your exchanges with "Gary" on this topic, I sense that you operate with a degree of grace that precious few are able to maintain there.
For what it's worth, I think you are asking some of the more important questions, and I love your style. I'd love to see you interact with Rose and Michele in this area; I think you would find some common ground.
Thanks for visiting the blog, agent4him,
I enjoy the dialog like that (unless it gets heated) because it presses me to really think about what I believe. One of the difficulties I have found with a reductionist gospel is that I wouldn't know what to say to someone who comes to me with a life problem. What about a neighbor who comes and tells me about his brain cancer or other difficulties in his life. Trying to tell him, "believe in Christ for eternal life", would be good because his life is near the end. Yet it would be far more powerful to confront him with the fact that he is a sinner and he is need of a Savior.
Which does not negate the fact that he is assured of life after death. We most certainly have that through faith. But that's not all we have.
And I don't doubt that Gary and the others don't limit there gospel presentations to only talking about a future resurrection. Which is the point I'm trying to make. Some say that the gospel at it's core is "faith in Christ for eternal life". But yet when they present it, it begins to expand. Which begs the question, if this is the gospel at it's core and we shouldn't add anything to it, why do we add things to it when we're presenting it?
OK, I'm starting to ramble. I'll leave it at thanking you for your visit. And an invitation to return and join in a conversation when you get the time.
In Christ,
Ten Cent
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