Evangelism

Marc Minter

FBC Diana

FBC Diana Values • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Main Point: Evangelism is God’s invitation for everyday Christians to share in the labors of all other Christians from all time and space, who unitedly contribute to the miraculous growth of Christ’s kingdom and will each proportionately enjoy a reward for faithfulness.

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Introduction

Who is the most successful evangelist you know of?

George Whitefield?

Whitefield preached about 18,000 times in 34 years of evangelistic ministry during the mid-1700s. He is one of the major leaders God used during the time of the First Great Awakening. Many of his sermons were preached to crowds numbering more than 10,000, and countless people are known to have been converted throughout his ministry.

Billy Graham?

According to billygraham.org, during the mid-to-late-1900s, Graham preached to nearly 215 million people at hundreds of evangelism rallies (he called them “crusades”). His lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion… and the number of people who responded with some sort of profession of faith through his ministry is innumerable.

Charles Spurgeon?

Spurgeon was an English pastor during the mid-1800s. Over the course of his 38-year-senior-pastorate at The New Park Street Church (later called the Metropolitan Tabernacle), 14,460 converts were added to the church’s membership. His was the largest independent congregation (a Baptist church, distinct from the Church of England) in the world.

However, Spurgeon once noted, “we do not consider soul-winning to be accomplished by hurriedly inscribing more names upon our church roll, in order to show a good increase at the end of the year. This is easily done,” said Spurgeon, “and there are brethren who use great pains, not to say arts, to effect it...”

Then he went on to admonish his fellow preachers, “Do not… consider that soul-winning is or can be secured by the multiplication of baptisms, and the swelling of the size of your church” (see Spurgeon’s full remarks at https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/charles-spurgeon-on-counting-conversions/).

Can successful evangelism be measured?

What does successful evangelism look like?

How should we go about our task of evangelism in our day?

And how will we keep from being discouraged when our evangelistic efforts do not produce the same kind of results as others before or beside us?

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 3:1–15 (ESV)

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.

And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul?

Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Main Point

Evangelism is God’s invitation for everyday Christians to share in the labors of all other Christians from all time and space, who unitedly contribute to the miraculous growth of Christ’s kingdom and will each proportionately enjoy a reward for faithfulness.

Message Outline

Christians Acting Infantile

Divinely Assigned Servants

God-Given Growth

Carful Building and Faithful Sowing

Waiting for the Reward

Message

1) Christians Acting Infantile

Church members in Corinth were acting as spiritual infants

“I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ” (v1).

These “infants in Christ” (v1) were acting “of the flesh” (v1), expressing “jealousy and strife” (v3) and “behaving only in a human way [κατα ἀνθρωπον or “according to man”]” (v4).

They were breaking into factions, saying “I follow Paul” or “I follow Apollos” (v4). And Paul says this sort of thinking is “being merely human” (ESV) or “carnal” (KJV) or “unspiritual people” (HCSB).

The Christian life is similar to typical life-development

Christian conversion and sanctification are supernatural, but they are also quite ordinary in their manifestation and progress.

Paul can tell the church members in Colossae, “1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above [note also the indicative -> imperative connection], where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:1-10).

Notice how spectacularly miraculous the indicatives are:

“you have been raised with Christ” (v1).

“you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (v3).

“you… will appear with him [Christ] in glory” (v4).

“you have put off the old self… and have put on the new...” (v10).

Notice how ordinary and practical the imperatives are:

“seek the things that are above” (v1).

“set your minds on things that are above” (v2).

“put to death… what is earthly in you” (v5).

“you must put them [those earthly desires and practices] all away” (v8).

“do not lie...” (v9).

Application

Friends, don’t be surprised when your fellow church members act immaturely… and even sinfully.

But also, don’t let spiritual immaturity rule (in you or among this church family)! Don’t let it go unchecked!

Brothers and sisters, don’t be so arrogant to think that you don’t need to grow in knowledge… in holiness… in spiritual maturity.

This is the endgame of Christian living… “Him [Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, [so] that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28).

If Christians [church members] are not to be factious and immature, then how are we to think about the various stations and skill-sets and opportunities we have for serving Christ and others?

We are to understand that God has assigned each of us, at this very moment and every moment before it, as He sees fit.

2) Divinely Assigned Servants

The Lord assigns His servants

“What [or “Who”] then is Apollos? What [or “Who”] is Paul? Servants [διακονοι] through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each” (v5).

The Lord assigns the “servant” and the Lord assigns or gives or grants the results of his/her service.

Romans 12:6 teaches us that we have “different gifts” from God which have been given to us “according” to His “grace.”

1 Peter 4:10-11 commands us to live as “stewards” of God’s gifts in our lives and that we should use them for His glory.

Who are you? And who is anyone else?

Understanding our life-status, our circumstances, our skills, and our opportunities as God’s providential gifts obliterates pride!

1 Corinthians 4:7 says, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

This is true in every aspect of life, but we are especially focusing our attention on evangelism (and the results of our evangelism) this morning… And this feeds us directly into our next point.

God grants or assigns or gives the growth!

3) God-Given Growth

Planting and watering

We will get into this more in point 5, but let’s notice the division and chronology of labor we already see in our passage.

Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered” (v6).

Paul established the church in Corinth by preaching the gospel and baptizing those who responded with repentance and faith (Acts 18:1-11), and Apollos preached and taught in Corinth later on (Acts 19:1).

Paul and Apollos both contributed to and shared in the growth of Christ’s kingdom in Corinth… but only as God gave the growth (see especially Acts 18:9-10).

God gives spiritual growth… God creates spiritual life… God converts sinners… God builds His building… God grows His field

Man-centered acclaim is foolish!

The whole point of Paul’s message to the church in Corinth is that they are foolish to join themselves to one preacher or another on the basis of his visible results… as though “This guy is really effective, because he has this many converts or followers or church members!”

The whole Bible stands in opposition to such an “infantile” and “fleshly” mindset!

The doctrine of man - fallen humanity is dead, impossible to manipulate, convince, or argue into conversion.

The testimony of biblical history - it’s almost always the unskilled, uninteresting, or seemingly impotent people that God elevates and uses for His glorious kingdom expansion.

The clear statement of Scripture - “18 the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… 26 Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God… 31 Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:18-31).

Man-centered acclaim is foolish! Let us boast in the Lord!

God-given growth

God is the one who “assigns” or “gives” or “grants” to each of His servants the “growth” he/she sees as a result of his/her “labors” (v5, 8).

Paul “planted” and another “watered” after him, “but God gave the growth [i.e., spiritual fruit]” (v6).

Paul said, “neither he who plants nor he who waters [think evangelism, teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade] is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (v7).

This verse above all others in our passage clearly makes God the decisive factor in conversion and spiritual growth!

The results of “labor” entirely belong to God, for “you [i.e., the church] are God’s field, God’s building” (v9).

Paul’s “skilled” efforts to “lay a foundation” were a gift from God, “according to the grace of God” (v10).

Application

Friends, do you think you’re a terrible evangelist?

Why?

Is it because not many people respond with repentance and faith?

Or is it because you don’t explain the gospel well? You don’t call others to repent and believe?

Friends, do you think one Christian or one church is more “successful” than another because of the number of people he/she/they have around them?

Why do you think that way?

Don’t you know this is carnal, worldly, infantile thinking?

Friends, do you hate to hear about another church growing or do you envy the size of another church’s ministry?

Why? God gives the growth!

God merely calls us to faithfulness where we are, and all labors will be shown for what they truly are in the end… And that’s the next to points.

4) Careful Building and Faithful Sowing

Let’s understand the “building” and the “foundation.”

v10 says, “Let each one take care how he builds upon” the foundation which was laid.

Paul speaks in this same way, about a “foundation” and a “building” in Ephesians 2… a passage which may help us to understand what’s being said here.

“19 You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord”

Jesus Christ and His Apostles laid the foundation of the New Testament Church.

Local churches are visible manifestations of the universal Church, and local church members are symbolically joined together with one another, as pieces (as it were) of God’s New Testament dwelling place… which will one day be fully made visible in the glorified universal Church.

Therefore, all Christians who follow after the Apostles are sharing in the labor of building upon the foundation that has already been laid… and we should “take care how [we] build” (v10) since “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (v11).

Furthermore, we are warned in this passage that there are different types of labor we might contribute… some is like “gold, silver, [and] precious stones,” and some is like “wood, hay, [and] straw” (v12).

Careful building or valuable labor is that which builds upon the foundation.

God invites everyday Christians to share in the labors of all other Christians from all time and space… but we only share in such labors when we join with our Christian forebears in focusing upon the biblical Christ and the biblical gospel.

We must have gospel conversations that end up pointing people to their need for a savior.

We must tenaciously hold to the biblical revelation of Jesus Christ and to the exclusivity of the gospel.

We must call our hearers to repentance and faith… to turning from sin and to trusting and following Jesus… to putting off the old man and to putting on the new.

Faithful sowing is that labor which is active and repetitive.

The New Testament is full of admonitions to persevere!

“let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).

“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good” (2 Thess. 3:13).

“my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Since God gives us the job of being careful and faithful, what kind of evangelists ought we to be?

We ought to be careful evangelists.

We ought to know the gospel well.

We ought to talk about the gospel often with those who know it better than us.

We ought to learn to avoid false gospels and almost gospels.

We ought to be regularly preaching the gospel to ourselves… learning just how many and how wide are its applications and entry-points.

We ought to be faithful evangelists.

We ought to plant and water seed… the seed of Scripture, especially the gospel.

Read the Bible with your friends or family or neighbors or co-workers.

Make Bible reading a priority in your own home.

Invite others to read the Bible with you.

Kathy -> Wanda -> Pam

Scott Henton -> David Hartman -> Billy

Read good Christian books…

on the gospel, on Christian living (applying the gospel daily), on Church history (how Christians in history have held and preached the gospel), on Christian theology (understanding how the gospel is a message loaded with doctrine)...

and invite others to read good books with you.

Make confession of sin, repentance, and gospel hope regular features of your daily conversation.

You and I don’t just need Jesus at some point in the past… we need Him today, right now, and every moment of every day.

We will come to understand the gospel better, and we will explain the gospel to others better when we practice this sort of life-long return to repentance and faith.

Just aim for faithfulness… and leave the growth up to God… and wait for that coming day when all our labors will be evaluated and rewarded.

5) Waiting for the Reward

All our labors will be evaluated

v12 says, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”

Again, this passage teaches us that there are different types of labor we might contribute… some is like “gold, silver, [and] precious stones,” and some is like “wood, hay, [and] straw” (v12).

The coming “Day” will bring all things to light [i.e., “disclose” all] (v13).

Though Christians should have no fear of wrath, we should also know that our work, our labor, our service for/to Christ will be “tested” or judged (v13).

Application

Not all labors will produce immediate, visible growth… but faithful labors are always valuable.

Learn to play the long game

Think in terms of generations, not days.

Remember that God is the one who gives spiritual growth

Aim for faithfulness, not for results.

Take your discipleship seriously

Christ has called all His disciples to be pilgrim-ambassadors, not merely religious consumers or individualistic spiritualists.

Keep an eye out for biblical features of conversion

True conversion is marked by love for Christ (which provokes an eager desire to obey Him) and love for Christ’s people (which compels the bond and practice of church membership), not merely a profession of faith or momentary decision for Christ.

patience with sinners

kindness toward those who don’t deserve it

joy in salvation

goodness and virtue, despite the temptations of this world

A summary word from Bridges:

Writing primarily to pastors, but it fits the context of our topic this morning, Charles Bridges said, “Ministerial success must be viewed, as extending beyond present appearances. The seed my lie under the clods till we lie there, and then spring up... And is it no ground of comfort, that our work may be the seed-time of a future harvest? Or, should we neglect to sow, because we may not reap the harvest? Shall we not share the joy of the harvest, even though we be not the immediate reapers of the field? ...It has been admirably observed on this subject – ‘In order to prevent perpetual disappointment, we must learn to extend our views... It often happens, that God withholds his blessing for a time, in order that, when the net is cast in ‘on the right side,’ it may be clearly seen, that ‘the multitude of fishes’ inclosed are of the Lord’s giving: lest men should attribute their success to a wrong cause, and should ‘sacrifice unto their own net, and burn incense unto their own drag.’ ...Our plain and cheering duty is therefore to go forward – to scatter the seed – to believe and wait.”[1]

May God help us to share in the evangelistic labors of Christians before and beside us, and in the labors of those Christians who are yet to come.

May God help us to play our part in contributing to the miraculous growth of Christ’s kingdom in the world.

And may God help us to labor diligently and patiently, even as we wait for that coming day when all things will be made new and all our faithfulness will be graciously rewarded.

Endnotes

[1] Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry with An Inquiry into the Causes of its Inefficiency (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2009 [1830]), 75-76.

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