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Jesus defined the church’s mission in Matthew 28:19a.
Mt 28:19a
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations
not too many Christians would disagree that evangelism is an absolute necessity if the church is to fulfill its mission
Paul in Romas 10 says,
80% of us are here today because someone shared the gospel with us and/or invited us to come to church!
if we are to be a faithful church we must be a a church with heart for evangelism
the question is what are the foundational principles
this morning our goal is to learn from the start of the Apostle Paul’s 2nd missionary journey some key things that make for effective evangelism and discipleship
A Passion for Souls
Acts 15:36a
And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return ...
“after some days”
after the delivery of the letter the delegation from Jerusalem went home and the pastors of the church at Antioch continued their preaching and teaching ministry (v.35)
it is likely this teaching and preaching was a focused on the nature of salvation
what it means that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
when the congregation had been sufficiently instructed and strengthened Paul determined to go back and revisit the believers won to Christ on his first missionary journey
reveals Paul’s passion to preach the gospel
Paul’s purpose to preach where the gospel had not yet been heard,
One of the keys to effective evangelism is a passion for the lost and for the spiritual growth of those won to Christ.
The Priority of Equipping
Acts 18:36b
… and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.
Paul intended to retrace their steps on their first missionary journey to see how those they had won to Christ were progressing in their spiritual growth
Paul was not only concerned that people hear and believe the gospel but that when they did they were strengthened in their understanding of the Word and thereby equipped for ministry.
he desired to see them grow into maturity
The ultimate goal of evangelism is discipleship, the last part of the Great Commission.
(Mt 28:19b-20a)
Mt 28:19b-20a
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
what does this discipleship look like?
Paul gives us the answer in Eph 4:11-16,
the work:
to equip the saints
the goal:
for the work of the ministry
for building up the body of Christ
attain unity of the faith
attain knowledge of Son of God (knowledge of new believer vs. mature believer)
to mature manhood (1 Jn 2:15-17)
to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
the result:
no longer tossed … carried about
speaking the truth in love we are to grow (we have a responsibility to each other’s growth!)
built up in love (note the connection between love and spiritual maturity!)
Paul was committed not just to making believers but to equipping believers.
he did not want to leave the church with spiritual infants, incapable of reproducing, weak in love and susceptible to false teaching
this was mirrored the ministry of the Lord Jesus who spent most of his earthly ministry with only 12 men
we all know that through those 12 men the HS changed the Roman world!
the 12 disciples were for the most part just like us!
a 2nd key to effective evangelism:
In the long run a well taught, spiritually mature church will have a far greater impact than massive evangelistic crusades.
It is better to go deep with a few than to be shallow with many!
The Right People
if the work of making and growing disciples is to be effective not only must there be a passion for souls and a priority of equipping those won, but the right people must be set apart
Principle: God uses the people of his choosing for the tasks he has determined for them.
he can and does use even the most negative circumstances to fulfill his purposes
before they were even able to begin Paul and Barnabas hit a road block
Barnabas fully intended to bring Mark with them
in his estimation it was unthinkable to go without him
Paul was equally insistent they not bring Mark because he had deserted them
we get our word “apostate” from the Gk word for “withdrawn”
when someone apostatizes they renounce what they once believed
example of Joshua Harris
after committing himself to Paul and Barnabas and their missionary journey he turned away from both them and the work
Paul had no confidence in Mark while Barnabas was determined to give him a second chance.
“sharp disagreement”
the Gk word for “sharp” sounds like the English word “paroxysm”
a sudden attack or violent expression of particular emotion or activity
the disagreement was so charged with emotion that Paul and Barnabas separated from each other
men who had pastored together and had risked their lives together for the gospel parted ways
Barnabas took Mark and sailed away to Cyprus
it is natural for us to wonder who was right, Barnabas or Paul
although we are not explicitly told the evidence points to Paul
as an Apostle Paul had been chosen by Christ himself and had been specially equipped and empowered
as such he possessed an authority and spiritual insight that Barnabas did not
Barnabas should have submitted to him
Paul and Silas were commended by the church (v.40) not Barnabas and Mark
Barnabas should have realized that if Paul did not trust Mark it would have been unwise and difficult to include him as a member of their team
although they did not minister together again (Barnabas is never mentioned again in Acts) it appears as if Paul and Barnabas eventually reconciled
In 1 Cor 9:6, written after this separation, Paul spoke approvingly of Barnabas’ ministry
although Mark was the cause of the separation
he later became a valued co-labourer with Paul (Col 4:10; Phm 24; 2 Tim 4:11)
he became a close associate of Peter (1 Peter 5:13)
he wrote one of the 4 gospels
in spite of their disagreement Barnabas appears to have had a very positive influence in turning Mark around so that he became an effective tool in the hands of the HS
after Barnabas turned away from Paul,
“Silas”
Silas was a well equipped partner for Paul.
as a leader of the Jerusalem church he could reinforce Paul’s teaching that salvation was by grace alone
especially important given their task of delivering the letter from the Jerusalem council (Acts 16:4)
as a prophet he was an effective communicator of the Word
as a Jew he had access to the synagogues where Paul often began his evangelistic work
as a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37) he enjoyed the same privileges and protections as Paul
because Barnabas and Mark had already gone to Cyprus there was no point in going there
instead they took the land route through Syria and Cilicia
as they did so they preached the gospel and strengthened the churches eventually coming to Derbe and Lystra
what can we conclude from what appears to be an ugly stain on Paul and Barnabas’ ministry?
Satan’s attempt to derail the spread of the gospel backfired!
Instead of one missionary team there were now 2!
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