The Biblical Foundation of Evangelism
Evangelism: Sharing Christ to a Lost World • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 8 viewsFrom "In the Beginning" to "Amen" the Bible is about restoration of a relationship between a fallen creature, man, and his Creator, God. This restoration/reconciliation only comes through one source, Jesus Christ. Through guides of the Scriptures, the power and working of the Holy Spirit, and the foolishness of preaching, God has chosen mankind, once restored, to share a life altering, life saving message, the "Good News," The "Gospel" of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Are we willing to go and share the good news?
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When one looks at the Scripture, they cannot help but see a purpose in play from “In the Beginning” to “Amen”. This purpose is a story is a love story between a God and His creation. It is a story that involves creative beauty, perfection at its finest. It is a story that involves deceit, loss, unfaithfulness. It is a story that involves war and problems of cataclysmic proportions. It is a story that involves one lover sacrificing it all for another lover even when the other lover does not want it. It is about a broken relationship between two lovers being reconciled by the ultimate sacrifice of another. It is a message, a story of newness, brokenness, war, famine, pestilence, sacrifice, reconciliation, restoration, hope and renewal. It truly is the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Opening Passage: Romans 10:14-15
14 How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? 15 But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
Outline
From “In the Beginning” to “Amen” We Find Evangelism
From fall forward we see God’s redemptive work (vv. 8-15)
8 Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”
As we look this text, we find several truths that will be repeated throughout the cannon of Scripture.
God takes the initiative in pursuit of His unfaithful creation (v.8)
This theme is found throughout the Scriptures. The Psalmist wrote, The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts; There is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind To see if there are any who understand, Who seek God. They have all turned aside, together they are corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 14:1-3 NASB). He then again writes, The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good. God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 53:1-3 NASB). This truth is so apparent that the apostle Paul quotes both of these passages in his epistle to the Christians at Rome (Romans 3:10-12).
As God pursues us, we find ourselves do what Adam and Eve did, running and hiding. We are not chasing after God. Rather God is chasing after us. God has chosen to reveal Himself to His creation. He has done this in two distinctive ways. He has revealed Himself through what we call natural revelation (creation itself) and special revelation (The Word of God and the Holy Spirit).
God takes the initiative in exposing the need of His unfaithful creation (v.9)
Up to this point, God and His creation always had a relationship that went hand-and-hand. They were always together. There was no separation. There was no fear. There was no shame. There was no hiding. Now, because of their rebellion and sin, fear, shame, and cover-up abounded. How did God go about exposing their need though. He calls out to them and ask where they are (v.9). They then confess that things are different and it because of their actions things are different. Then God goes a step further to draw out their sinful and rebellious action, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat (Genesis 3:11).
God takes the initiative in His redemptive plan for His unfaithful creation (v.15)
15 And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”
Through this single verse we begin to see a shadow of the Gospel, a glimmer of hope to come. Through the protoevangelium, or prototype of the good news, we see God’s redemptive plan begin to form. We see the battle lines being drawn for the souls of mankind, God’s fallen and unfaithful creation.
Satan, the enemies Of you and the woman (Israel), And of your offspring and her Descendant (Jesus the Christ); He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel (The Crucifixion and Resurrection).
To go a step further...
God takes the initiative in revealing that He alone can redeem His unfaithful creation (Genesis 3:7, 21)
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
21 And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
As we move forward through the Old Testament, we find the promised blessing to come through the the descendants of Abraham, the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3). Again we find that God then draws his people into a covenant (Mosaic Covenant) with Himself (Exodus 19:3-6). He then exposes the Messianic expectation of the Old Testament (2 Samuel 7; Isaiah 53). God, as only He can do, calls His chosen people to a missiological obligation (Exodus 19:3-6; Psalm 67; Isaiah 66:18-24).
Exodus 19:3-6 stresses the the priesthood of divine blessing through the people of Israel
Psalm 67 stresses that God’s ultimate purpose is to bless all people
Isaiah 66:18-24 stresses the Lord Himself is the missionary who gathers and rescues people all nations in order that they may see His glory
As Timothy K. Beougher states, The ultimate goal of missions is the glory of God, that He may be known and worshipped for who He really is (Beougher, 21).
As one moves from the Old Testament into the New Testament, they begin to see see throughout the Gospels, the “I AM” statements identifying Christ as Logos (The Word of God) in the flesh. They then see His Passion and fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant. We see how He ushers in a new and better covenant (Hebrews) and finally we see the ushering in of a New Jerusalem, a New Heaven, and a New Earth, where Jesus sets on the thrown and is the Tabernacle of His people and restores all to God through God’s redemptive plan and finally God is given all power, all authority, all honor, and all glory from the Son to Himself. This is the redemptive story of the Scripture.
However, it does no good to just know the story. One has to see the truth of the redemptive story, the Good News, the Gospel fleshed out. We see that through five “Great Commission Statements” found within the Gospels and the Book of Acts.
Five Great Commission Statements
As we briefly look over these five “Great Commission Statements,” we will see five characteristics of evangelism and the Biblical foundation for the charge of evangelism in the New Testament church.
The authority to evangelize (Matthew 28:18-20)
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Within the most wellknown and most quoted text for the Great Commission we find the authority behind the call to evangelize. It is the authority of Christ. Jesus tells His disciples, All authority…has been given to Me. He then follows it up by stating, behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. If Jesus has all authority and He is with us, then we by default have been given all authority to go and evangelize a lost and dying world for His sake.
The objective of evangelism (Mark 16:15)
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Our objective, the objective of evangelism, is a simple and to the point objective. It is to preach (go tell) the gospel (good news) of Christ to all the world.
The method of evangelism (John 20:21)
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
The message of evangelism (Luke 24:45-49)
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The power of evangelism (Acts 1:8)
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
We finally find that the power to evangelize is not within ourselves. It is infused within us through the Holy Spirit of God. However, the Holy Spirit of God does not just empower us. The Holy Spirit of God does so much more.
The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Evangelistic Experience
The Holy Spirit guides and empowers the witness (Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit convicts and regenerates the unbeliever (John 16:8-11; John 3:5-7)
The Holy Spirit seals the conversion of the redeemed (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Conclusion
I close with a passage from Beougher’s book, Invitation to Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel with Compassion and Conviction:
We labor in the confidence that the work will be finished. Evangelism, as the heartbeat of theology, directs our energy to that goal toward which history is moving—the return of Christ and the hastening of His kingdom. Victory is certain! In the councils of eternity, the celebration has already begun. As Andreas Kostenberger and Peter O’Brien maintain, “This theme of God’s saving purposes reaching the ends of the earth forms a grand envelope that contains the entire story of Scripture.” God’s saving plan is the major thrust of the Scriptures from beginning to end. (Beougher, 30).