Category Archives: Evangelism

Principles of evangelism from the book of Acts

12 Monday Oct 2015

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The book of Acts tells the story of the beginning of the church of Jesus Christ. Acts begins with Jesus teaching the apostles about the kingdom of God outside Jerusalem, and ends, about thirty years later, with Paul teaching Gentile Christians about the kingdom of God in Rome. The entire book shows an increasing expansion of the church from its starting point in Jerusalem, and a shift from an exclusively Jewish and provincial religion to a predominantly Gentile and universal church.

The first century church did not have many of the things we consider necessary for success: buildings, wealth, influence, status, legal protection, and so forth. But it began with 120 people, and within a generation Christianity had spread throughout the known world. Within a few hundred years, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman Empire. It is striking that church history has not left us the name of one great missionary from the death of the apostles until the legalization of Christianity in 313, and yet there were tens of millions of converts in the face of persecution that was often intense. Evangelism was done by regular people who shared the gospel with those they came in contact with. The early church did not use gimmicks to attract interest to the gospel, such as sports, the circus, the coliseum, Roman feasts, the Grecian play, popular music, or any of the other popular entertainments of the Roman world. Yet the church enjoyed great success, and converts to Christianity proved themselves genuine in the face of persecution and heresy. In our day, we tend to focus on the missionaries and evangelists who claim thousands of converts, and yet most Christians are saved through the work of those who never get such accolades.

What were the secrets behind the evangelistic success of the early church? Here is a list of twenty-four lessons about evangelism taken from the book of Acts:

  1. Speak from the Word (8:35; 17:2; 28:23)
    1. The gospel presentations in Acts are explanations of Scripture, and quote directly from Scripture.
    2. Memorize Scripture and be able to quote it, as the apostles did in their gospel presentations.
    3. Stay focused on the gospel message.
    4. The basic message never changes, only the presentation.
    5. The apostles did not use gimmicks to attract interest.
  1. Find a cultural entry point (13:16-41; 17:22-31)
    1. Use the Old Testament with Jews
    2. Be sensitive to others’ religious convictions and culture
  1. Use different ways of presenting the gospel with different audiences (17:22-31)
    1. “Start communication at the widest point of mutual understanding, and narrow the conversation down to a specific point or message” (Edward Jones).
  1. Evangelize in teams (Paul & Barnabas, Barnabas & Mark, Paul & Silas, Paul & Timothy)
    1. Shared workload
    2. Accountability
    3. Increased boldness
    4. Physical protection
    5. Complementing strengths and weaknesses
    6. Two witnesses to the truth of the gospel (cf. Deut 19:15)
    7. Jesus sent out both the twelve (Mark 6:7) and the seventy-two (Luke 10:1) in teams of two.
  1. To impact the most people, focus on major metropolitan areas and important cities (Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, Rome)
    1. If cities are targeted, the gospel will naturally filter out to the countryside, as city folks take it there, or as country folks visit the city.
    2. In the majority of the twentieth century, most missionaries were from America, and nearly all from rural areas. When they went overseas, they naturally went to the countryside, since that is what they were familiar with. Many were disdainful of big cities in America, and were not comfortable living in them. Consequently, the big cities remained largely unreached by the great historic missionary efforts of our time.
    3. Seek to address large audiences to gain more converts (Acts 13:44; 28:17, 23).
  1. Evangelism requires boldness (28:31)
    1. Many people do not have as confrontational a personality as the apostle Paul, but it still requires courage to tell an unbeliever about Jesus Christ.
  1. Evangelism may take time (14:3; 19:10)
    1. Many people receive the gospel the second or third time they hear it.
  1. Expect persecution (13:50)
    1. Paul faced persecution virtually wherever he went. The persecution he faced was a direct result of his evangelistic work.
    2. Be surprised if persecution does not come, for it was the norm in Acts (cf. 2 Tim 3:12).
    3. Be prepared for Satanic opposition (16:16-18).
    4. Joyfully persist through trials (5:41).
  1. Obstacles in ministry should not be seen as failure, but as an opportunity for a new direction (28:28)
    1. Paul’s eviction from one city was the vehicle for the city down the road to hear the gospel (17:1, 10, 15).
    2. The split between Paul and Barnabas resulted in two missionary teams instead of one (15:39-40).
    3. The rejection of the gospel by Israel opened up the door for its reception by the Gentiles (28:28).
  1. Follow up with the churches you have planted (14:21-26)
    1. It was not Paul’s practice to evangelize one week and leave the next; if possible, he spent time discipling the new converts (14:3). Paul continued to revisit the churches he planted throughout his life. He also wrote to them, prayed for them, and sent workers to them. He was concerned with discipleship, not just evangelism. If it were not for this concern, Christianity would not have lasted long in the cities where Paul preached the gospel.
  1. We must go out to evangelize (8:5, 26; 13:3)
    1. Evangelism in Acts happened when people went out from the church and into the world.
  1. Baptize new believers (2:38, 41; 8:12, 36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16)
    1. Throughout the book of Acts, new converts are always baptized immediately. There was no such thing as an unbaptized Christian in the early church.
    2. According to Matthew 28:19-20, baptism marks an individual as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
  1. Minister to physical needs as an avenue for sharing the gospel (3:1-10; 19:10-12)
  1. Church planting is at the core of missionary work (14:23)
    1. Paul started churches in all the towns he evangelized, and he appointed pastors for those churches.
  1. Recognize sincere seekers (8:27-31; 10:17-23; 17:19-20)
    1. There are people in the world who are genuinely looking for truth, and who are open to receiving the gospel if someone would present it to them.
  1. Avoid unnecessary offense (16:3; 17:22-23)
  1. Be prepared to share your testimony (chap. 26)
  1. Maximize every opportunity (16:25-34; 17:16-17; 24:24-25; 28:30-31)
    1. Paul shared the gospel wherever he was, to whomever he happened to be with.
  1. Mentor potential missionaries (15:37; 16:1-4)
  1. Evangelize all ethnic and racial groups (10:34-35)
  1. Bring the gospel to all geographical areas (1:8)
  1. Missionaries should be commissioned by a local church (13:2-3; 15:40)
  1. Give God the glory, not man (14:8-18)
    1. Be careful not to pump yourself up when you succeed.
    2. The Holy Spirit was the power behind the extraordinary growth of the early church.
  1. Prepare to evangelize (1:14)
    1. Need the Holy Spirit (2:1-4)
    2. Need training (16:1-3)
    3. Need to pray (1:14; 2:42; 4:24; 13:3)
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A lesson on evangelism from the Gadarene demoniac

18 Friday Sep 2015

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Mark 5:1-20 tells the story of Jesus casting a legion of demons out of an untamable man in the region of Gerasa/Gadara (parallel accounts are found in Matthew 8:28-34 and Luke 8:27-39). Jesus evidently took this man, and the demons which controlled him, by surprise when he crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat and landed right where this man was to be found. This man lived in a graveyard, refused to wear clothes, and would break chains and fetters whenever soldiers attempted to take him into custody. Seeing the man’s plight, and wishing to demonstrate His power over Satan, Jesus commanded the demons to leave him. The demons made the man run to Jesus and beg Him for mercy, since they did not want to be sent to the abyss (a temporary place of confinement for certain demons before the final judgment; cf. Rev 9:1-11). Jesus responded by asking the demon for his name. This may have been because Jesus wanted to know who He was dealing with before deciding whether to grant the request not to be sent to the abyss.

The demons’ response to Jesus’ inquiry about their name was shocking: “My name is Legion, for we are many” (Mark 5:9). A fully manned Roman legion contained 6,000 soldiers, so this man was possessed by thousands of demons. The demons saw a herd of about 2,000 pigs feeding on a nearby hill, and they requested that Jesus allow them to go into the pigs, rather than the abyss, after leaving the demoniac. Jesus granted their request—not out of any compassion for the demons, but in order to show people how many demons were in the man, and to prove that they had gone out. In addition, pigs were not to be kept under the Mosaic Law, so there was nothing unjust about allowing a herd of pigs to be ruined. As soon as Jesus spoke the word, the demons left the man and went into the pigs, and they did what Satan always seeks to do—they destroyed their lives, causing the pigs to run furiously into the Sea of Galilee and drown.

The herdsman, fearing that they would be blamed for the loss of the pigs, immediately went to the Gentile city of Gadara and other surrounding regions to tell people what happened, so witnesses could verify their story. Unwittingly, these herdsmen were doing pre-evangelism. Many people went to see the sight for themselves. They were amazed by what had happened, as they saw the notorious demoniac clothed and in his right mind. However, their reaction was not to repent of their sins and to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Gadarenes were people who loved their sin and hated God. They did not want their pigs and demons removed. They therefore begged Jesus to leave their territory. Apparently Jesus honored their wish, and never returned to that region.

There was one more matter to be dealt with, however, before Jesus got back into the boat and departed for Jewish Galilee: what would be the fate of the man who had been cleansed of the demons? He himself earnestly desired to stay with Jesus, knowing that Jesus had saved him an otherwise completely hopeless and unremediable condition. But Jesus had other plans. One problem was this man’s race—he was a Gentile, whereas Jesus had been sent to the nation of Israel (cf. Matt 10:5-6; 15:24). No one with the time and space limitations of a man, not even Jesus, can do everything; we need to focus on the ministry that we are called to accomplish, even if that means neglecting other pressing needs that we might well be able to meet. Yet Jesus still had compassion on Gentiles, and He saw in this man a natural evangelist to the people who had just rejected Him. This man was one of them; he could find a natural acceptance among them that Jesus could not. He also had a personality and background which made him unafraid to speak boldly in public.

And so it was that Jesus gave the command to the cured demoniac to go evangelize his home territory, which was the Gentile region of Decapolis: “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). The man did as he was told: “He went his way, and began to publish in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him” (Mark 5:20; note the implication that Jesus is Lord). Mark tells us that all who heard this man’s preaching “marveled”; whether they believed in Jesus or not, they at least heard and understood the message about Him.

Jesus’ instructions to the demoniac contain a lesson for us on evangelism. This man was a brand new convert, saved out of a horrendous past. In fact, rough backgrounds do not get any rougher than this man’s background—he was extremely lewd, violent, obsessed with death, defiant of all authority, and possessed by thousands of demons. As a Gentile from a Gentile city, he was probably raised as a pagan, with little or no knowledge of the Bible or theology. He had not been trained in effective methods of evangelism. He only knew one thing: he knew what Jesus did for him. So Jesus told him, “Go home and tell your friends and family what I did for you.” He did, and they were amazed. This guy was a hopeless case! Now he is well! What happened? He said, “Jesus saved me.” See, you don’t have to be an expert in evangelism or apologetics to share the gospel. You just need to be saved. If you are saved, then you can tell people what Jesus did for you. It is that simple.

Evangelism is not as complicated as we make it out to be. Jesus did not tell this man, “You need some training before you can start evangelizing.” He did not say, “You need some time to make sure that you don’t go back to your old habits.” He said, “Go and tell the people you know what the Lord has done for you.” This is something that any genuine Christian can do. Evangelism is more than just asking strangers a clever lead-in question, quoting Bible verses from memory, and presenting a multi-step plan. The simplest way to evangelize is to just tell people what God has done for us, and specifically how He transformed our life by saving us from our sin and from Satan’s oppression. If people want God to do for them what He has done for us, it will be easy to explain to them how they can be saved; if not, we are still doing evangelism. Let’s stop scaring people away from evangelism by demanding they follow a professional method and use the extroverted, confrontational techniques of a professional evangelist. Telling the people we interact with about the things Jesus has done for us is something that even a new Christian can do, and simply talking about God and church is another thing that any Christian can do.