Evangelism
I. Frustration
Frustrated, I walked out.
You know the feeling when something you've been praying for has been granted, but you didn't have enough courage to grab it at that very moment?
Today could've been the chance for me to share the gospel to a friend. But I was dumbfounded. I was hesitant. I was afraid.
II. Evangelism
Frustrated, I went to church.
The preaching on evangelism dug deep into my heart. Evangelism was defined as the "sharing of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit to sinful people for them to trust in God as their Savior and Lord."
To share the truth about Christ is a command (Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). Sadly, we often choose to disobey it.
Why?
We are afraid. We fear that the message we carry will be rejected. We fear for our reputation.
We think that a specialized training is a prerequisite for evangelism, such that we have an adequate amount of Bible knowledge to answer every single question thrown at us.
We think we can leave the work of evangelism to the leaders of the Church, to pastors, and to those who are more mature in the faith. We think they're better at it than us.
III. Grace
Like everything else in the Christian life, sharing the Gospel is by grace only. Therefore we can never say that a person received Christ because of our eloquence--no. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to evangelize.
Successful evangelism is sharing the gospel in its entirety, regardless of whether the person accepts it or not. We're called to proclaim Christ (1 Peter 2:9). We don't worry about the results. It is God who converts sinners, not us.
IV. Prayer
O Lord, help me overcome my fear, my pride, and my insensitivity in order that I may preach Christ to sinners who need Him ultimately.
Frustrated, I walked out.
You know the feeling when something you've been praying for has been granted, but you didn't have enough courage to grab it at that very moment?
Today could've been the chance for me to share the gospel to a friend. But I was dumbfounded. I was hesitant. I was afraid.
II. Evangelism
Frustrated, I went to church.
The preaching on evangelism dug deep into my heart. Evangelism was defined as the "sharing of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit to sinful people for them to trust in God as their Savior and Lord."
To share the truth about Christ is a command (Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). Sadly, we often choose to disobey it.
Why?
We are afraid. We fear that the message we carry will be rejected. We fear for our reputation.
We think that a specialized training is a prerequisite for evangelism, such that we have an adequate amount of Bible knowledge to answer every single question thrown at us.
We think we can leave the work of evangelism to the leaders of the Church, to pastors, and to those who are more mature in the faith. We think they're better at it than us.
III. Grace
Like everything else in the Christian life, sharing the Gospel is by grace only. Therefore we can never say that a person received Christ because of our eloquence--no. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to evangelize.
Successful evangelism is sharing the gospel in its entirety, regardless of whether the person accepts it or not. We're called to proclaim Christ (1 Peter 2:9). We don't worry about the results. It is God who converts sinners, not us.
IV. Prayer
O Lord, help me overcome my fear, my pride, and my insensitivity in order that I may preach Christ to sinners who need Him ultimately.
Labels: faith
posted on October 07, 2007
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