It is suggested
that we have our eyesight checked at
least every two years. The ideal vision is 20/20. Most of us, as we
grow older,
need some assistance to enable us to see. Thus, we are fitted with
glasses from
time to time.
In the matter
of evangelism, we often suffer because of
the lack of spiritual vision. That infirmity is called “myopia,” which
has to
do with nearsightedness. So many Christians can only see that which is
near. We
are not looking far enough. We are confined within the walls of our
church
buildings. We are in need of having our eyesight improved by the Great
Physician who can heal our partial blindness. We desperately need some
“eye
salve” to anoint our eyes that we may see the fields “that are white
already
unto harvest (Revelation 3:18; John 4:35). He whose eyes are as “a
flame of
fire” (Revelation 1:14) has written us a prescription that will give us
20/20
vision. It is recorded in Acts 20:20: “how I shrank not from declaring
unto you
anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house
to
house.”
First of all,
it is needful that we teach the whole
counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Second, note the methods used by Paul in
the
proclamation of that which was profitable. He said that he taught the
Gospel of
Christ both publicly and privately. The persecuted prisoners of the
Lord had
earlier utilized these avenues in preaching Jesus as the Christ every
day “in
the temple and at home” (Acts 5:42). Personal evangelism and the public
proclamation of the Gospel go hand in hand. This formula was very
effective in
the first century. The church grew rapidly in the city of Jerusalem
(Acts 4:4;
5:14; 6:1). The church today relies greatly on the public teaching of
the
Gospel, generally ignoring the second half of the formula used by our
brethren
during the infancy of the church.
The truth is
the church is not growing in many locales
simply because the members do not have proper 20/20 vision. The Word of
God is
not increasing and the number of disciples is not multiplying (Acts
6:7) in our
society today. Oh, we do ‘swell’ our numbers periodically due to the
moving of
members from one place to another, but true numerical growth comes
about when
souls are being added to the church when they obey the Gospel of Christ
(Acts
2:38, 47). The fact is non-Christians seldom frequent our assemblies,
even
during special efforts such as Gospel meetings. There are individuals
who
hesitate to come to our church buildings. We must go to them. (Isn’t
that what
the Lord told us to do in the Great Commission, recorded in Matthew
28:19 and
Mark 16:15?)
The congregations that are experiencing
the numerical
growth of disciples are those churches that are complimenting the
public
proclamation of the Gospel with the individual/private teaching of the
Word. It
may be the showing of filmstrips, an open Bible study or it may be
conducting a
Bible class in one’s home. The method is a matter of indifference as
long as it
is in harmony with the principles of the New Testament. What we
need is a genuine
commitment from Christians to become more involved in instructing
sinners to
come to Jesus Christ where there is salvation from sin and where
there is
the hope of eternal life (2 Timothy 2:10).
20/20 Vision