Sermon Tone Analysis

What is Evangelism?

A Warning to Calvinist, from a Calvinist

A sermon preached by Dr. R.A. Hargrave

My intention in this message, is to answer the question, “what is evangelism?”

At first glance it appears to be a rather simple proposition.

It’s simple enough to state the obvious, evangelism is “gospelism.”

Or to put it another way, it is the propagation of the “euangellion.”

It is to circulate, to disperse and distribute the “good news” which alone is the power of God unto salvation.

It is to broadcast the gospel as illustrated by the sower casting the seed indiscriminately on different types of soil.

As I stated, it appears to be a simple task to define it, but the simplicity of this definition is complicated by the presence of misinformation, the proliferation of the unfortunate meandering theology of our day and the consequential practice of promoting unbiblical means to obtain spiritual ends.

On the one hand, we call breaking a concrete block over someone’s head evangelism, while on the other hand, we call dead, lifeless, passionless presentations of orthodoxy evangelism.

While one preacher may see evangelism’s simplicity through leading a 4-year old in Vacation Bible School through the sinner’s prayer, another preacher see’s it as a complicated maze of theological formulas which even the most clever theologian can’t decipher.

While many are so consumed with the “numbers” of converts, others are unusually indifferent to the conversion of even one soul.

Some of us Calvinists are often more concerned with the recognition of our astuteness, our profundity, than we are the conversion of a sinner.

I personally loathe the former and I find the latter to be an extremely difficult act to sustain.

Spurgeon must have been right on, seeing that the Arminians of his day didn’t embrace him due to his forthright Calvinism, and the dead ultra-Calvinists of the day didn’t embrace him because of his passionate evangelism.

It seemed that the only ones who loved Spurgeon’s ministry were the sinners.

How many of us at this conference could be accused, as Spurgeon often was, of possessing too much passion for the lost?

Well, of course, after all, we as Calvinists are more like the Apostle Paul who thundered out the clarion message of God’s Sovereignty in passages like John 6, 10, 17, Ephesians 1 and Romans chapters 9-11.

We even count ourselves as guardians of the truth of God’s authorship in salvation.

But is it possible, that as preachers of the gospel, our zeal to guard the biblical truth of God’s sovereignty in salvation, has perhaps so overshadowed our zeal for the conversion of lost sinners that many of us preside over cold, passionless congregations, who by the way simply mirror us?

This is tough talk that may be offensive to some of the Calvinistic brethren, but don’t we Calvinists often remind our congregations to examine themselves?

Should we not also, as preachers of the gospel examine ourselves?

Iron sharpens iron and we must hold one another accountable to the Truth as set forth in the Holy Text.

Let us all be reminded that the wounds of a friend are more precious than the flattery of an enemy?

And even if these words or accusations are used by our enemies, is it not true that God often teaches His children through their enemies?

There are many enemies of the doctrines of grace that accuse us of coldness and indifference toward soul-winning and passionate preaching.

Personally, it is sad for me to confess that I have often found that my detractors sometimes know me better than my friends.

Do we possess the humility of heart to take heed to their accusations if they prove to be correct.

Remember, if God can use Balaam’s ass to chasten a prophet, He can use our enemies to correct us.

Now please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.

Those detractors in evangelical circles, many of whom occupy positions of great authority, who deride the teachings of God’s sovereignty in salvation, manifest, in my opinion, a profound ignorance of biblical theology as well as church history.

But that does not change the fact that God often uses those who vehemently disagree with us to point out our faults.

And anyone among us who would declare that his zeal for the conversion of sinners is adequate is disingenuous.

Since I’ve been a Calvinist for 28 of my 33 years of ministry in Southern Baptist life and the church that I have been the pastor of for the past 18 years is openly and explicitly Calvinistic, I think I have the credentials to say what I’m about to say.

Some Calvinist I know preach as though they’re afraid some non-elect people may accidently be saved.

Granted, there is a prevalent “so-called” gospel that, in the words of the late A.W. Pink, is not able to heal or wound.

Then there is also the reduced or minimized gospel, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for you life sort of gospel, which even the non-elect can’t reject.

But that should not sour our desire to passionately, persuasively, persistently preach the Gospel of Christ to the lost.

Enough of my opinion, what saith the Scripture on this matter, what saith the Holy Spirit, and what saith the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul?

Perhaps the most profound teaching in the Bible on our personal responsibility as well as our method and manner in evangelism is found in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church in chapter five, verses 17-20.

Under divine inspiration, the revelation through the Apostle Paul reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (ESV) Take note that following Paul’s testimony of the transforming of the old into the new in verse 17, he makes a most pivotal declaration – “All this is from God” (18).

We see in this statement a protective element that is most crucial as it pertains to Paul’s present subject.

It could be called an umbrella statement which guards the passage.

It guards not only the passage, it protects us from the rain which descends upon us from the storm-clouds of self-glory, carnality and human manipulation.

It is, in fact, a safeguard against abuse which is often produced by an anthropocentric approach to evangelism and we would be wise to keep this groundwork before us at all times when we engage in the proclamation of the gospel.

It is to be understood in the context of a proper grasp of fallen man’s precarious position.

When Paul said in verse 17 that the “old” is “passing away”, it is to be understood as a fading away of things of short duration.

It is precisely a passing of man’s present wanton, willing disregard for God’s rightful rule and reign for which man is fully responsible.

And in this context it is abundantly clear that man in his fallen state will not make advances toward reconciliation with a Holy God.

This truth is clearly set forth in passages such as Romans chapter 3, which states unequivocally that no one is righteous, no one understands and no one seeks after God.

Jesus Himself declared in John chapter 6, that no one can come to him, unless, of course, it has been granted to him by the Father.

Fallen man does not possess the moral ability to come to God due to his radical corruption.

Therefore, reconciliation between sinful man and Holy God can never be accomplished by man but is the work of God from first to last.

This is what Paul is addressing when he states, “All this is from God.”

To fully understand the precision of this statement, “All this is from God,” as well as it’s rich contextual meaning, it is required that we not only see it in light of the precursory statement in verse 17 as to the new creation as being from God, but forward to what follows in verse 18, in which Paul declared two vital elements of the initiative of God’s salvific good pleasure.

First, Paul states that God “through Christ reconciled us to Himself”.

It is not man’s initiative or man’s first step as it is often referred to in today’s gospel preaching which procures reconciliation, but God’s initiatory intention and engagement toward fallen man which secures it.

This is an essential matter for the evangelist to comprehend, that the Gospel of reconciliation is of God, through God and to God.

In other words it is to be understood as God-centered.

This is the very essence of the Gospel, “All this is from God”!

The Bible speaks with abundance and authority concerning this truth.

But not only is God the Father procuring reconciliation to Himself, He is providing that reconciliation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Again, Paul states in verse 18, that it is “through Christ” that He reconciled us to Himself.

A Christ-less gospel is no gospel at all.

In fact, a Christ-less exposition of Scripture is not a true exposition.

The infinite God cannot be known apart from Christ.

The “logos” has revealed the Father.

The written “logos” makes known the living “logos” and He, in His condescension as recorded in the Scripture makes known the Father, not only the person of the Father but also the work of the Father.

And that work is to manifest the greatness of His glory to His creation.

And the primary means to declare the greatness of His glory in manifesting His divine attributes is through the redemptive work.

For in Christ we see justice and mercy together as is portrayed in the words of the Psalmist, “Mercy and truth have met together, Righteousness and peace have kissed.”

(Psalm 85:10).

For in Christ all the righteous demands of a Holy God were met through His active and passive obedience.

Active in that Christ actively fulfilled the whole law of God and lived an impeccably holy and righteous life before His Father.

Passive in that Christ gave Himself voluntarily as well as vicariously to that cursed death on the cross.

In that cross we see God’s divine attributes displayed for all to behold.

God’s wrath was poured out upon His Son and His mercy was poured out on the sinner through His Son.

Christ was pleased to be the sinner’s substitute and suffer the wrath that the sinner deserved eternally and to have His own righteousness imputed (attributed) to the sinner in exchange.

What mercy, what grace, what unfathomable love we see before us when we consider the cross of our dear Savior.

And it is not as though the Father was the angry party and the Son appeased His anger.

No, it was the vengeful Father who loved the world and gave His only begotten Son to redeem it.

Perfect wrath and perfect love in the same Father.

And it must be noted that the Son, who is deemed meek and lowly, also possesses wrath for the unrepentant sinner.

For such wrath is designated as the “wrath of the Lamb” in Revelation 6:16.

Though we could continue for eternity to glory in this vital element, we must move on from this point by stating again, “all this is from God.”

Now, the second element in verse 18 that Paul addresses concerning the fact that “all this is from God” is found in this statement, that God in Christ, “gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

In other words, the very ones that have been reconciled in Christ and declared blameless through His death on the cross, have subsequently been called to the “ministry of reconciliation.”

This is clearly a universal call to the redeemed.

All who have been reconciled have been commissioned to the ministry of the very same.

Again, this is all from God in that the ambassadors, as designated in verse 20, are not sent from man to God, but from God to man.

For instance, Jacob’s ladder was not illustrating man’s approach to God one rung at a time, but God coming down to man.

In fact the ladder was not “a way” at all, but “a person”, the person of Christ, according to John 1:51, who is, in fact, “the way, the truth and the life.”

And the messengers of that Christ are sent ones from the council of the Most High.

So the blessed triune God not only provided, in and of Himself, the atonement for our sins, He also provided the very means of the application of the atonement to sinners through sending the recipients of that atonement as His ambassadors of reconciliation.

So from the decree to reconcile sinners, to the provision of reconciliation in the merits of Christ, to the application of those merits to the human heart, “All this is from God!”