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| Volume 25 Number 12 December 2023 |
Page 7 |
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| Volume 25 Number 12 December 2023 |
Page 7 |
David Myers
At its core, evangelism is making known the good news of Jesus Christ to a dying world. Evangelism refers to the verbal and visible declaration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of mankind, done with the intent of leading people to salvation.
The intent in evangelism is a very important part of its definition. Paul said he declared the Gospel and the Corinthians received it (1 Corinthians 15:1). Simply stated, the Gospel is not evangelism because evangelism is more than information. The information is delivered for a purpose.
In evangelism, we are commissioned not only to go tell people the Gospel, but are to do it with the intent of winning the lost to the Savior. For example, Paul told the people in Athens that God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30-31). Our task as Christians is to make God’s plan of salvation and His expectations known. Jesus said, “…I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 NKJV). I don’t know of any fisherman who says, “Oh well; if the fish bite, fine, but if they don’t, that’s okay, too. I’m not going to bother baiting my hook or making sure I have a strong line. It’s no big deal either way.” No one fishes that way. A fisherman goes fishing to catch something. Evangelism has to do with presenting the Gospel – the good news of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins (1Corinthians 15:1-4).
There are pragmatic questions we all need to ask ourselves. “When was the last time I shared Jesus with someone in my family who needs Him? How long has it been since I discussed the Gospel with a coworker or a neighbor?” Every Christian should know why evangelism is important, and yet, sometimes it is hard to find many Christians who are consistently acting on that belief. Jesus believed evangelism is important, and we as believers (disciples) should also acknowledge the same.
