We recently discussed the BF&M article on evangelism and missions. Here is Article XI of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Here is my definition of evangelism from a different perspective:
The basic definition of evangelism should be based on Acts 1:8 (NASB) which says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” We are to be witnesses for Christ in “Jerusalem,” or where we live in our current context, and even to the remotest parts of the earth. Those of us who know Jesus in an intimate and personal way know what an incredible joy, peace, and abundant life God gives. In Acts 1:8, Christ commands believers to share that knowledge with everyone around.
That is the basic meaning. However, in order to grasp the full meaning of evangelism we should look at some models of it. One of these models is called “presence evangelism” and a good example of this model is being practiced by Steve Sjogren and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sjogren calls it “servant evangelism” and says that “if we can enter their lives at the point of their need, it shows God’s love.” They do this in various ways by performing acts of kindness for which they refuse monetary payment. These acts include windshield washing, toilet cleaning, shoe shining, car washing, parking meter feeding, etc. When they do the kind act, they give the recipient a card which has printed on it information about their church. This is an effective way of getting the church’s name out in the community and demonstrating that the church is taking an active role in society but it fails miserably in the area of confronting the non-believer the the gospel. Their goal is to get people to come to church but they are not really doing evangelism.
Another model of evangelism is the “relational incarnation approach.” This model is based on John 1:17 which says that “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” The basic idea is that God communicated the gospel by no other means than taking on human flesh and dwelling among us. Those who use this model believe that we should build friendships with others before telling them about the gospel, and this developed relationship “makes the gospel more meaningful and believable.” By developing the relationship and by living out a victorious Christian life in front of the non-believer, the gospel is given validity and credibility and shows the non-Christian that Christ has relevance in believer’s lives. This is an effective method but is it sufficient? Does this complete the task of evangelism?
There is still another approach to evangelism we should discuss. It is the “comprehensive-incarnational approach.” This approach takes the principles of the “relational-incarnation approach” and holistically puts them into practice. Mark McCloskey gives fives theological concerns which this approach addresses.
1. Example of Christ – We are to build relationships as Christ did.
2. Proclamation – Proclamation is a very important component of evangelism since this very gospel which we proclaim “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)
3. Holy Spirit convicts the hearts of non-believers – “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:5
4. All believers are called to be evangelists.
5. Evangelism is an urgent task.
The strength of this approach is that it is theologically comprehensive. It takes into account the urgency of evangelism while still emphasizing the need to be sensitive in communication and recognizing man’s spiritual blindness. It is also preferable to the previous method because this approach includes people beyond friends and those whom we are in the process of befriending. The gospel and the Holy Spirit are powerful so it is possible that the lost can be drawn to Christ without the context of a mutual friendship. Along the same lines, God has commanded us to make disciples of “all nations” which would not limit us to our friends. However, when we start discussing the gospel for the nations we leave the realm of evangelism and enter into the area of missions. I believe the two (evangelism and missions) must be distinguished.
This method (“comprehensive-incarnational approach”) is preferable to the other two approaches discussed. But we must still ask the question “is it adequate?” Is there more to evangelism than this? Let’s dig a little deeper to answer this question.
Consider Matthew 28:18-20 NASB:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
Through this Great Commission text God gives four commands: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. Three of those words, “go, baptize, and teach,” in the Greek are participles. Only one of the action verbs in the Great Commission is an imperative verb. The imperative verb is “make disciples.” C. Peter Wagner says that “it is clear exegetically that the goal of the Great Commission is to make disciples. Going, teaching, and baptizing falls short of the commandment without the making of disciples. These three actions are prerequisites to making disciples but all four must happen for evangelism to take place.
Here is the definition of evangelism upon which Peter Wagner and John Stott agreed:
The nature of evangelism is the communication of the Good News. The purpose of evangelism is to give individuals and groups valid opportunity to accept Jesus Christ. The goal of evangelism is to persuade men and women to become disciples of Jesus Christ and to serve him the fellowship of the church.
I have some serious theological problems with their definition but the strength of it is that their definition includes discipleship. Evangelism does not stop when God saves someone. The new believer must be discipled to become a responsible spiritually reproducing member of the body of Christ.
Another way stating my concerns about how evangelicals view evangelism may be to state what evangelism is not.
1. Evangelism is not washing someone’s car
2. Evangelism is not giving someone a warm meal
3. Evangelism is not befriending a non-believer
4. Evangelism is not giving someone a sermon on tape
5. Evangelism is not inviting someone to church
6. Evangelism is not getting someone to recite a prayer
7. Evangelism is not getting someone to walk an aisle
8. Evangelsim is not getting someone on the church roll
9. Evangelism is not complete until the new believer is discipled
Robert Coleman says it best in The Master Plan of Evangelism. Although he is speaking of the Great Commission, what he says applies to the task of evangelism as well.
“This means that the Great Commission is not merely to go to the ends of the earth preaching the gospel, not to baptize a lot of converts into the name of the triune God, nor to teach them the precepts of Christ, but to “make disciples” – to build people like themselves who were so constrained by the commission of Christ that they not only followed, but also let others to follow his way. “
The task of evangelism involves not only showing the love of Christ to others, but it also involves confronting non-believers with the truths of the gospel and teaching the newly-revealed elect how to become spiritually reproducing saints.
Regardless of how we define the task, most of us rarely engage ourselves in this task. Let us be about the task to which God has called us. Let us not forsake God’s command but let us be winners of souls so that God may be glorified. To God be all the glory.