Evangelism is the supreme,
dominant factor in growing a true New Testament church. It is chief and principal in all that we do
as God’s people; the overriding thing in the vision and focus of the church;
vital for life now and the days to come.
Let me introduce you to the
priority purposes of the church, before we look at this one, chief
purpose. In his book entitled, The
Purpose Driven Church, author and Pastor Rick Warren, lays out for us the
purposes of the church in chapter five, “Defining Your Purposes. “ On page 103,
he begins giving the definition of these purposes, as he names them off one by
one: Worship, Ministry, Evangelism, Fellowship, and Discipleship.
Some have said that these are
new, and exciting insights into the purpose of the purpose of the church. Yet, as we look into the book of Acts, we see
that the First Century Church put
them into practice immediately on and after the Day of Pentecost. The scripture we find to make a foundation
for this belief is found in Acts 2:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and
exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that
gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in
prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by
the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they,
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house
to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising
God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved.
Acts 2:37-47 (KJV)
In the preceding
verses you see that the purposes listed from The Purpose Driven Church, as
right there, active in the First Century Church . They are in
fellowship with each other, sharing the message of Christ, worshipping the One
Holy True God, ministering to each other, and growing in the teaching and the
doctrine. What a wonderful thing we see,
as it is made alive for us in that text.
Let there be real
harmony so that there won’t be splits in the church…Be of one mind, united in
thought and purpose. (1 Corinthians 1:10
Living Bible)
When Jesus spoke
to His disciples, we have recorded for us in Matthew 28, those last few verses
what we have grown to know as the Great Commission. Read with me the words:
All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
(Matthew 28:18-20 KJV)
If this verse is
true-which I whole heartedly believe to be nothing more and nothing less than
the inspired Word of God-then we are commanded to be about the business of
evangelism. As ambassadors of Christ our
mission is to communicate the Good News that Jesus came to “seek and save that
which was lost.” We seek Peter doing
just that in the earlier part of Acts 2.
The scripture
tells us that after the events of Pentecost, as the Spirit came to rest on
them, and empowering them, Peter stood, under the inspiration and the direction
of God to preach and preach he did! What
a sermon. He led them through the history
of the nations, told them that Jesus-the Messiah-had come and they had nailed
Him to an old wooden Cross, and He died for the sins of the people. But Jesus came back from the dead and now
lives among His people, empowering them to serve with Him in the building of
the Kingdom.
When Peter
finished preaching, three thousand people came to know Jesus as Savior of their
lives. WOW! In our churches today this would present some
real problems and constant headaches for the leadership. We would have seating problems, parking
problems, nursery problems, restroom problems, and problems on top of
problems. Would not that be the greatest
thing to ever happen in some of our churches?
Evangelism is so
paramount to the growth and vitality of the church, that Jesus gave not just
one Great Commission, but five-YES FIVE ! There is one in each of the gospels, and one
in the Book of Acts. We have recorded
and you have already read the one we know so well, but…
Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
(Mark 16:15 KJV)
And that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem . And ye are witnesses of
these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry
ye in the city of Jerusalem , until ye be endued with
power from on high.
(Luke 24:47-49 KJV)
Peace be unto you: as my
Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
(John 20:21 KJV)
But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem , and in all Judaea , and in Samaria , and unto the uttermost part
of the earth.
(Acts 1:8 KJV)
We are to tell the
world about Jesus! We are to carry the
message of grace and mercy to all peoples, to every tongue, to the ends of the
earth, and not rest until all have heard the message of life and hope found in
Christ Jesus. It is more than a
responsibility, it is a privilege. We
have been invited to be a part of the greatest act of a Christians life,
“telling another beggar where to find bread.”
The church must be actively involved in the task of reaching people if
it is to grow and continue to remain a viable ministry in this world.
During a testimony
time one Sunday evening, as several stood and shared how wonderful it was to
know Jesus, to share Him with others and to be a part of the work of carrying
to the message to ends of the world, the matron saint (well maybe it would be
better to just say the Church Matron) slowly stood to her feet. The words from her mouth were as cold water
being poured on the back of someone whose clothes were on fire. She stated matter-of-factly, “Well love our small
church and we are thankful for the little congregation, and we want it to stay
that way.”
As she sat down
something hit me, and it was not cold water, it was a thought; one which was
both startling and convicting. If that
little church had the answer to cancer, would it share that message with
others? Say someone in the congregation
had the cure, they were sure that it was the answer for the millions of people
who were affected by the most difficult and disheartening thing in the world,
would they make it available for the whole world? Would they risk being involved in making a
difference in the lives of individuals and families? Would they take the risk of having to build
and add ministries and expend money so others might know of their findings?
The answer came
quickly and quietly. It took my breathe
away and caused great sorrow. The answer
was “No they would no. Not at all. Because they were a ‘small church…little
congregation,’ and those who had the say-so liked it that way.” (A month later I was no longer afflicted…no I
mean affiliated with that ‘small church….little congregation.”)
Some church folks
think that since they are giving money to support missions in some other part
of the world, they have done the job-have fulfilled the Great Commission. Still others think that there money pays the
preacher to do the work and he will take care of things; there is not need for
them to GO. Then others say, they have
done their part, it is time for someone else to step up and take charge of
sharing the gospel.
We are to support
missions, we are to pay the preacher, and we are to work in the Kingdom in such
a way that we lead others to take over and go further in the work. But none of these should make us think we are
not to serve in sharing the gospel of Christ with the world.
Through our life
and through all areas of our involvement within the church and without, we are
to be witnesses of the Good News.
Through word and deed, we make a difference and give others an
opportunity to seek Christ. (Acts 7:22; James 1:21) This gives the name of Christ proclamation,
and invites the Holy Spirit to work in the life of individuals we come in
contact with, so He might draw them into His embrace and lead to them to the
church-the Family of God.
Evangelism is
paramount for church growth. As we unite
ourselves together, serve each other and the Lord, we are allowing the Holy
Spirit to use us in the Kingdom.
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