Evangelism Handbook

The Old Testament from Creation to the dawn of Christ’s birth prepared for the “fullness of time” when He would provide the salvation promised by the prophets and longed for by the saints of old. His followers would be able to worship Him in Spirit and truth and take His commission to the nations. Following the ministry of our Lord, we see the apostle Paul as chief among equals who can teach us much today about sharing our faith by our lives. We often learn more effectively by watching others. Evangelism is caught as much as it is taught! Being a follower of Christ means to seek to be like Jesus. We can learn much from His example, as well as that of Paul.

Paul records the significance of the coming of Christ: “But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4–5). The angel told Mary to name her firstborn Jesus, for “He will save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning “God is savior.”

In the first century AD Rome had emerged as the dominant world power. No nation could stand against its might. From the Atlantic eastward to the Euphrates, from the Sahara to the Danube, the Roman Empire personified the word “dynasty.” Palestine existed as one tiny state under the heavy boot of Rome. Augustus, the cynical Caesar who demanded a census to determine a measurement to enlarge taxes, was declared a god following his death. Who could have noticed a couple making an eighty-mile trip south from Nazareth? What difference could a carpenter and a teenaged girl make compared to Caesar’s decisions in Rome? Who cared about this Jewish baby born in Bethlehem?

God cared. Unwittingly, mighty Augustus became an errand boy for the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Micah. He was a puppet in the hand of God, a piece of fuzz on the pages of prophecy. While Rome was busy making history, the One whose life split time—by whose birth we date our calendars—arrived. The world didn’t notice. History had seen Alexander the Great, Herod the Great, and the great Augustus, but the world missed it when the One who flung the stars into the heavens was born. History missed the coming of its author. But now, we know, He is the one John called “the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world.”¹

He showed unusual compassion for people. The “people of the land,” or ordinary Jews, were often disdained by the Pharisees. But Jesus looked at them with compassion. Following an intense time of ministry in which He visited all the cities in Galilee, He was moved with compassion for the people “because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matt 9:36–38 NKJV).

He preached the gospel of the kingdom to the masses. The message of Jesus was succinct: Repent and believe the good news of the kingdom of God (see Mark 1:14–15). The kingdom of God, the rule of God over all creation, has received little attention by evangelicals. This is due in large part to the emphasis earlier in this century by more liberal theologians who minimized the future hope of heaven. One example was the realized eschatology of C. H. Dodd. On a practical level, the preaching of the “victorious Christian life” in recent decades among evangelicals has received great attention. There is victory in Jesus, but the focus on believers living victoriously rather than focusing on God—as Jesus did in His preaching of the gospel of the kingdom—should be balanced. The focus of our Lord’s preaching was less on the benefit of the hearers than the honor of the One on whom the message was centered.

Jesus taught the priority of evangelism. He taught that salvation is the greatest thing in the world. His parables of the pearl of great price and the treasure in the field illustrate this (see Matt 13:44–46). Jesus taught the love of the Father for one lost soul. Luke 15 demonstrates the love of God as seen in the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In fact, the only time God is pictured in a hurry is when Jesus describes the father hurrying to meet the returning prodigal son. Jesus also trained others to evangelize. Before He gave the Great Commission, Jesus sent out the Twelve and the seventy. Robert Coleman’s book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, cites the role of Jesus in training His followers to witness.

There are over 40 accounts in the Gospels of Jesus’ personal evangelism. Studying these accounts demonstrates several truths. Jesus could adapt His presentation to different audiences. He obviously knew people well. He was sensitive to His Father’s leadership. He was urgent and persistent. And even our Lord did not reach everyone with whom He shared. The following illustrations help us to see how Jesus evangelized people.

First, Jesus sought people. In Luke 19, we read how Jesus sought Zacchaeus. He intentionally set out to meet him and even made an appointment to meet him at the tax collector’s house. He met Zacchaeus where he was as he sat in a tree (v. 5). He identified with a sinner, regardless of the consequences (v. 7). Jesus further convicted Zacchaeus of his sin. Finally, this account shows us Jesus did not just meet sinners; He sought to save them (vv. 9–10). Who are you currently seeking for the cause of Christ? Do you have names of people for whom you are praying, people with whom you are establishing friendships who do not know Christ? I recently took part in a survey of pastors. One of the questions asked the pastors how many times they had an unchurched family in their home and how many times they were in unchurched friends’ homes in the past year. Several of the pastors’ commented how the survey made them realize what a low priority they put on seeking those without Christ.

Next, Jesus was approachable. In John 3, we read of Nicodemus approaching Jesus by night. Nicodemus was searching for truth (v. 2). The reply of Jesus was direct. He boldly confronted Nicodemus (v. 3). A dialogue ensued concerning the gospel, but no immediate change was indicated (vv. 4–21). However, there is evidence of Nicodemus’s possible change (see John 7:50–52). He brought gifts to anoint the body of Jesus after His death (see John 19:39). Are you approachable? If a lost neighbor, family member, or coworker suddenly began to think of spiritual things, would they think of you as the person to speak with about their questions?

Third, Jesus made the most of every opportunity. While every example of the witness of Jesus is critical, His encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4 is especially enlightening. Compare Jesus’ approach to this broken and ostracized woman to the way He spoke to Nicodemus in John 3. Nicodemus crept in at night, was a religious leader, and flattered Jesus. Jesus replied to him directly, admonishing him to be born again. Jesus tended to be very direct with openly religious people, by the way.

• Attitudinal—Finally, note Christ’s attitude toward people. Jesus had at least three general dispositions toward three groups. To the common people, broken and wearied by sin, He consistently showed compassion (as noted above). To the religious crowd, particularly the hypocritical and the legalists, He often demonstrated anger or unacceptance of them. Read Matthew 23 and see His denunciation of the Pharisees, for example. Finally, toward those who would follow Him, He expected nothing less than absolute surrender (Luke 9:23).

Our primary need is not education; thus, Jesus’ ministry was not essentially about teaching. He came for one main purpose: to die for our sins. Some people speak of those He came to save—the lost—as “pre-Christians.” Such a term smacks more of political correctness than biblical fidelity. It is a presumptuous term, considering the New Testament’s emphasis on lostness. I have a friend who refers to unbelievers as “delayed” believers, since every knee will bow and every tongue eventually will confess He is Lord (Philippians 2). But Luke 15 implies people without Christ are lost.

However, the word “lost” implies value. People are worth the death of the Son of God! Recently, as I sorted through the mail, I saw a flyer with the picture of a missing child. The number to call caught my attention: 1–800-THE LOST. Certainly no one sees the word “lost” as negative in that setting. Should we not have the same urgency for people separated from their Creator? Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, the good news we preach would merely be another story passing through history. But the death of Jesus makes the difference!

How Jesus Taught Evangelism

The eight characteristics of how Jesus taught evangelism to His disciples, from Robert Coleman’s Master Plan of Evangelism:¹

1. Selection. Men were His method: “His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow.”

2. Association. He stayed with them: “His disciples were distinguished, not by outward conformity to certain rituals, but by being with Him, and thereby participating in His doctrine.”

3. Consecration. He required obedience: “[The disciples] were not required to be smart, but they had to be loyal. This became the distinguishing mark by which they were known.”

4. Impartation. He gave Himself away: “His was a life of giving—giving away what the Father had given Him.”

5. Demonstration. He showed them how to live: “Surely it was no accident that Jesus often let His disciples see Him conversing with the Father. . . . Jesus did not force that lesson on them, but rather He kept praying until at last the disciples got so hungry that they asked Him to teach them what He was doing.”

6. Delegation. He assigned them work: “Jesus was always building His ministry for the time when His disciples would have to take over His work, and go out into the world with the redeeming Gospel.”

7. Supervision. He kept checking on them: “Jesus made it a point to meet with His disciples following their tours of service to hear their reports and to share with them the blessedness of His ministry in doing the same thing.”

8. Reproduction. He expected them to reproduce: “Jesus intended for the disciples to produce His likeness in and through the church being gathered out of the world.”

NOTES

1. R. Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1972), quotes taken respectively from 27, 42, 51, 61, 71, 72, 79, 89, and 97.

One of C. H. Dodd’s errors in Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments² was his sharp distinction between the kerygma, or evangelistic proclamation, and the didache, or the teaching ministry of the church. Teaching was also a part of evangelism. An obvious example of this approach came when Paul visited Ephesus, teaching at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Part of his approach to sharing Christ included educating his hearers in the truth of the gospel. In a culture increasing in biblical illiteracy, we must do the same.

Paul also gave instruction concerning evangelism to believers. He told the Philippians that the gospel was so important that even those who preached out of impure motives were doing valuable work (Phil 1:15–16). The most significant teaching of Paul on evangelism is the charge he gave to Timothy. Paul told Timothy, and thus all seeking to minister for Christ, to preach the Word “in season and out of season” (2 Tim 4:2 NKJV)—when you feel like it and when you don’t! Further, he instructed Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5). In Paul’s mind, under the inspiration of the Spirit, the evangelistic mandate was to be a central part of the ministry.

One might think in our day that the practice of literary evangelism began with Bill Bright’s Four Spiritual Laws or Billy Graham’s Steps to Peace with God. Not so. Paul’s treatise to the Romans gives a brilliant explanation of the gospel message. Beyond the ministry of Paul, the Gospel of John was written with an evangelistic intent (John 20:31). Mark’s and Luke’s accounts were written at least in part for evangelistic purposes as well. Paul also wrote letters that sought to evangelize as well as to encourage.

Paul utilized a follow-up strategy we would do well to emulate. First, he typically visited those he had won to Christ. His missionary journeys normally retraced the steps of his preaching and evangelistic ministry. Second, Paul wrote letters to encourage young believers. Read 1 Thessalonians as one example. He also sent others, such as Epaphroditus, to encourage the believers as well. Finally, he prayed consistently for those he had won to Christ.

Paul understood well what he said when he recognized that the gospel is the power of God to salvation (Romans 1). I have seen its power many times. While teaching a required New Testament class at Houston Baptist University, I was conscious of the fact that some students in my class were not Christians. Without preaching at them, I tried to demonstrate the clear message of the New Testament throughout the course. I prayed that the course would be more than another academic exercise for the students. I became humbled by the comments written at the end of a final exam. One student, a married woman about 30 years old, had never said a word the entire class. On her exam, however, she wrote these words: “Because of this class, both my husband and I have been saved and baptized, and we now read the Bible together every night and are active in a church. Thank you for this class!” There is indeed power in the gospel.