EVANGELISM-DEFINED

 

 

 

A biblical evangelist…is one who studies to know what the Bible says about God, Christ, sin, holiness, justice, wrath, grace, love, and the salvation of sinners, and then teaches those doctrines to unconverted people. Relying solely upon the truth of the doctrines of the Bible and the working of the Spirit of God, he urges them to repent and believe the truth. The biblical evangelist is not a clever or manipulative person who says or does whatever it takes to get people to “make a decision for Christ.” He is not the one who, because he genuinely longs to see people saved, is willing to stray from, add to, modify, or reduce the doctrines of the Bible. The biblical evangelist is the one who is convinced that God saves those who believe “the foolishness of the [biblical] message preached” (1 Corinthians 1:21). He has no confidence in a message that seems more palatable, user-friendly, culturally relevant, or seemingly more effective in persuading people to “make a decision” or say a “sinner's prayer.”

 

Daryl Wingerd

Speaking Biblically About the Death of Christ, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

 

 

Evangelism is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making out a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting; it is not exposing the contemporary dilemma, or arousing interest in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge saying, “Jesus Saves!” Some of these things may be right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism. To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what He has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

John Cheeseman
Saving Grace, 1999, p. 113, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle PA.

 

 

Evangelism is communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ with the immediate intent of converting the hearer to faith in Christ, and with the ultimate intent of instructing the convert in the Word of God so that he can become a mature believer.

 

M. Cocoris

Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, Moody, 1984, p. 14.

 

 

The call to evangelism is a call to turn our lives outward from focusing on ourselves and our needs to focusing on God and on others made in His image who are still at enmity with Him, alienated from Him, and in need of salvation from sin and guilt.

 

Mark Dever

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Crossway, 2007, p. 101.

 

 

(Evangelism) is telling the good news about Jesus, and doing it with honesty, urgency, and joy, using the Bible, living a life that backs it up, and praying, and doing it all for the glory of God.

 

Mark Dever

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Crossway, 2007, p. 107.

 

 

The Christian call to evangelism is not simply a call to persuade people to make decisions, but rather to proclaim to them the good news of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion.

 

Mark Dever

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Crossway, 2007, p. 112.

 

 

Evangelism is not simply a matter if bringing individuals to personal faith, though of course that remains central to the whole enterprise.  It is a matter of confronting the world with the good, but deeply disturbing, news of a different way of living…the way of love.

 

N.T. Wright

 

 

To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repeat and believe.

 

The Lausanne Covenant

 

 

Evangelism is to present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to sinful people, in order that they may come to put their trust in God through Him, to receive Him as their Savior, and serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His Church.  If we want to define it simply, we could say that New Testament evangelism is communicating the gospel.  Anyone who faithfully relates the essential elements of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ is evangelizing.  This is true whether your words are spoken, written, or recorded, and whether they are delivered to one person or to a crowd.

 

Donald Whitney

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 100, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.  For more information please see the website www.BiblicalSpirituality.org.

 

 

How then should evangelism be defined? The New Testament answer is very simple. According to the New Testament, evangelism is just preaching the gospel, the evangel. It is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouth-pieces for God's message of mercy to sinners.  Evangelizing, therefore is not simply a matter of teaching, and instructing, and imparting information to the mind. There is more to it than that. Evangelism includes the endeavor to elicit a response to the truth taught. It is communication with a view to conversion. It is a matter, not merely of informing, but also of inviting.

 

J.I. Packer

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, InterVarsity Press p. 41, 50.

 

 

To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe.

 

John Stott

The Biblical Basis of Evangelism, p. 69.

 

 

The Christian call to evangelism is a call not simply to persuade people to make decisions but rather to proclaim to them the Good News of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion.  We don’t fail in our evangelism if we faithfully present the Gospel and yet the person is not converted; we fail only if we don’t faithfully present the Gospel at all.

 

Mark Dever

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Crossway, 2000, p. 123.

 

 

Evangelism is the spontaneous overflow of a glad and free heart in Jesus Christ.

 

Robert Munger

 

 

To evangelize is so to present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, that men shall come to put their trust in God through Him, to accept Him as their Savior, and serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His church.

 

William Temple