The discipline of “evangelism” can also be called “witnessing” — bearing witness to others about God’s love, about Christ, and about what God has done in our lives. Telling others the good news of Jesus Christ is our duty and our privilege. Jesus commanded us to tell others about Him, so it is our responsibility, and how we carry it out can be a measure of our obedience to Christ. But it is entirely natural for us to witness and to tell others about Jesus even if He had not commanded us to. Because the joy we have in God — the joy of salvation — cannot be held back. Of itself it needs to be shared. The gospel is the power of God for salvation from sin and eternal death to everyone who believes. And when a person is saved, he is happy and wants to tell everyone about the joy he has in his heart — to share it with the rest of the lost people of this world who are doomed to eternal ruin, so that they too may be saved.
In this lesson we will consider:
- the command of Jesus to evangelize
- some examples of people who evangelize
- Why tell others?
- Where should we evangelize?
- How should we share the gospel?
THE COMMAND OF JESUS
In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus told us to do four things — to go out and bring people the good news of the gospel, then to baptize them in water, and after baptism to teach them to know and to apply Christ’s teaching in their lives. And through these things we do one central thing — we “make disciples.”
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
In this Great Commission Jesus says to us: “Go and make disciples.” “Matheteusate” — “teach” or “make disciples” — is the main verb in this final command of His. And Jesus said to make disciples “as we go.” So, in order to make disciples, we must first “go.” We must not wait for them to come to us; we must go to them, isn’t that so? When we go, we are to evangelize them, baptize them, and teach them Christ’s teaching. But what we need to understand is that making disciples begins with evangelism. Because before someone becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, he must first believe in Him, right? In fact, evangelism is a kind of “pre-discipleship.” It is still part of discipleship, but it is a preparation, a prior condition for discipleship. We see that Jesus called people. They were going about their work, but He called them and said, “Follow me!” And they left everything and followed Him. Jesus also preached to the crowds and said, “Repent! For the kingdom of God has come near.” And after the resurrection our Lord told us to evangelize in the same way. In Mark 16:15-16 it says:
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)
To preach the gospel “to all creation” means to preach to every creature, to every person. Of course, we are not going to go and preach to the animals, but to people. “All creation” is a metaphor that means “to everything living” — to every person in all the world.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
These words underscore how serious and decisive the gospel is. It is not merely an invitation. It is an ultimatum. An “ultimatum” means that you either accept the gospel or you reject it and go to war with God. There is no middle ground. An ultimatum is like a will — either everything or nothing — either you accept it with all its terms, or you refuse it and receive absolutely nothing. The gospel is an ultimatum that God gives to people through us, an ultimatum by which He tells them: “Either you believe and are saved, or you do not believe and you are condemned and perish.” There is no middle ground, no negotiation, no bargaining.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
And where must we witness about Jesus? In Acts 1:8 it says:
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
This means “everywhere.”
So, from Matthew 28:18-20 we learn what we must do — make disciples, beginning by evangelizing them; from Mark 16:15-16 we learned to whom we must do it — “to all creation,” to every person; and from Acts 1:8 we learned where we must do it — in our own culture, in cultures familiar to us, and throughout the whole world. Whether they accept the gospel and come to God is their affair. Our task is to tell them the gospel, to witness to them. But not only to tell them — also to persuade them. For we see that the apostle Paul persuaded them (Acts 18:4,13; 26:28; 2 Corinthians 5:11). And also to pray for them.
Likewise, we must not forget the Engel scale. It shows us the levels a person passes through on his way from being an opponent of God to being a disciple of Christ. This scale teaches us to understand what level a person is on — and if he is at level “minus 5” not to try to make him leap to “plus 2” without first passing through the necessary steps to get there. Instead, once we have determined his level with respect to his faith in God, we should simply help him move to the next higher level. If he does not believe at all that there is a God, we should first convince him that there is a God, and only then speak to him about the gospel, about sin and repentance.
EXAMPLES OF WITNESSING
In the New Testament we see quite a few examples of people who shared the gospel. Do you remember who the first evangelists for Christ were? The shepherds. They were keeping watch over their flock by night when an angel of the Lord appeared to them (Luke 2:9-12):
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:9-12)
And they went to Bethlehem and found the Baby in the manger. And they worshiped God. And in Luke 2:17-18 we read:
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, (Luke 2:17)
See, this is the gospel. It is not something complicated. It is telling people what we know about Jesus. Because many people do not know about Jesus. They may have heard something about Him, but they do not know who He really is, what kind of Lord He is, when He was born, how He lived, why He came to this earth… Why He died, how He died, how He rose again… How He is coming again? People do not know. And that is why we must tell them.
18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2:18)
Notice, the shepherds were not theologians. They were ordinary people. And we, as ordinary people, must tell other people about Jesus — and this is exactly what we call “witnessing for Jesus” or “evangelism.”
In Acts 8:4 we read how the believers, scattered by Saul’s persecution, witnessed for Christ. You know, when Saul was persecuting the church, many of the believers were scattered, and see what they did.
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8:4)
See here, they were believers, and wherever they went, they spoke of the gospel, because it was in their hearts. To be good evangelists, first of all we ourselves must have been touched by God’s love, changed and saved. If we have experienced salvation, we will not need to be prodded to tell this joyful news — it will well up out of our hearts.
In Romans 15:20 we read about the apostle Paul’s experience in witnessing and sharing the gospel.
20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. (Romans 15:20)
This is good advice — to witness not to those we have already spoken to about God, but to those who have not heard. Because sometimes we fall into an extreme in which we constantly repeat the gospel to the same people, but they no longer receive it as evangelism but as nagging, as “a constant dripping on a rainy day” (Proverbs 27:15), as someone “drumming on your head” — as a tiresome repetition. If you repeat the same thing to the same person and he tells you, “Stop repeating it to me! Enough of your gospel!” — that is a sign that we have become tiresome and that, at least for a while, we should stop speaking to this person about Christ. This does not mean, however, that we should stop evangelizing; it means we should begin to speak to those who have not heard of God at all. Let us share the gospel with those who do not know it. Of course, we must also speak to those who have heard the gospel, but gradually, little by little, leading them up the ladder of moving away from sin, understanding God’s plan of salvation, and drawing near to God. It is important to be tactful and wise, but it is even better if there are people around us who have not heard of God at all — to tell them. And here someone may say: “Everyone has heard, everyone knows!” Everyone knows, but since they have not turned to God, that means they do not know enough. Perhaps they know with their minds, but not with their hearts. And we must explain it to them, so that they understand the gospel. In the Parable of the Sower Jesus said that the difference between those in whom the seed of the Word bears fruit and those in whom it does not is that the ones, when they hear the word of the kingdom, understand it, and the others do not (Matthew 13:19,23). Besides, everyone has heard, but we must remember that generations are constantly changing. Those to whom we spoke a few years ago have grown old, and now in their place have come young people who have grown up and who have an enormous, desperate need to hear the gospel. If people do not read the Bible, we must encourage them to do so, and if they do read it, then we should ask them the question that Deacon Philip asked the Ethiopian official: “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30).
And these people who need to hear the gospel should be no obstacle to us. Because, if we ourselves have been saved by this gospel, we should simply feel the need to speak it, and no one should be able to shut our mouths. In 1 Corinthians 9:16 the apostle Paul shares how necessary and how important it is for him to preach the gospel:
16 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)
And Jeremiah says that the Word is in his heart like a fire (Jeremiah 20:9):
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:9)
This is how the gospel ought to be in us as well.
WHY MUST WE EVANGELIZE?
We have seen that to witness and to evangelize is a command of Jesus; we looked at examples of people who evangelized — the shepherds, the disciples of Jesus, the apostle Paul. But why must we tell others? What will happen if we do not witness for Christ, but keep silent? And what will happen if we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord? In Luke 12:8-9 Jesus says:
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8-9)
We must know that every time we confess Jesus Christ before people, Jesus confesses us in the spiritual world. This is an extraordinary blessing. So let us not hold back the gospel. We have an extraordinary message that can save people.
In Luke 24:48 Jesus told the apostles that they are “witnesses” of His ministry — not only of His death, but also of His resurrection.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:44-48)
In their day, and through their writings even now, the apostles are witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. But we too are witnesses — witnesses that the message of the apostles is true and that it works in our lives. Today the apostles are not on this earth, but we are — and we can testify that Jesus Christ is alive even today. Why are we witnesses? Because, when we repented of our sins, we felt the joy of salvation. Have we felt it? Whether or not we have felt it, God has acted with power in our lives and changed them. Does God answer our prayers? Does He heal us from illnesses? Perhaps not from all of them, but He has healed us of some, right? So, of these things that God has done in our lives we are witnesses. This is what we are to tell people — what we ourselves have experienced. How we lived in sin, how God set us free. We witness to people because we are sent by Jesus (John 20:21):
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)
Also, in Acts 4:20 the apostles said:
20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20)
I have seen people who were brought on a stretcher to Christian marches and evangelistic meetings and were healed instantly and walked away. I have seen people in the church for whom I prayed and whom I anointed with oil in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they got well and thanked God for the miracle in their lives. I have seen the power of God, and this is what I testify to. I have seen drunkards who, after believing in Christ, stopped drinking. I have seen smokers who, after surrendering their lives to Christ, stopped smoking. I have seen drug addicts whom Christ set free supernaturally from drugs. I have seen a man who died in a car crash, named Daniel, who was brought to an evangelistic meeting of Reinhard Bonnke, and this man was raised from the dead after three days spent in the morgue. I have seen people who were on the brink of divorce, but God met them and they became a wonderful family. Have you tasted the power of God? This is what we are to testify to — that God is alive and even today He works miracles and answers prayers, that He loved us with a boundless love, so much that He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for us.
We must witness to others about Christ because we are His ambassadors. And an ambassador is someone who does not speak his own words, but conveys the message of the one who authorized and sent him. May God help us to prove worthy of the trust He has shown us by giving us the ministry of reconciliation and entrusting to us the message of the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 we read:
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)
And finally, if we witness for Christ, we can be assured that we abide in God and He in us. In 1 John 4:15 the apostle says:
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. (1 John 4:15)
And so, why should we evangelize? We said that it is a command of Christ, which is universal. It includes every person, all nations, the whole earth. We also looked at examples of people who evangelize — the shepherds, the early church, the apostle Paul. We see that we must tell others about God, because when we confess Christ, He also confesses us before the angels of God. Moreover, we are witnesses — we have seen and tasted the grace of God, and a witness is expected to share with others what he has seen and heard.
WHERE SHOULD WE WITNESS?
Where should we witness? Where should we speak about Christ? From Deuteronomy 6:6-7 we learn that our first mission field is our own home.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
God said these words about the Law of Moses, but they apply to the gospel as well. Also, in Psalm 34:11 it says to teach the fear of the Lord first of all to our children:
11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (Psalm 34:11)
Besides our home, another place to witness for Christ is our work. In 2 Kings 5:2-3 we read about a young slave girl who witnessed to her mistress (to her “superior”).
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:2-3)
This “young girl” knew the Living God and knew that He had a prophet in Israel whose name was Elisha. And we see that because of her suggestion, because of her witness, the Syrian commander Naaman went to the prophet Elisha, dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, and was healed of his leprosy.
Others to whom we should witness are our fellow citizens and countrymen. In Mark chapter 5 we read how Jesus set free from demons the man who was possessed by them. Jesus drove the demons out of him and sent them into the herd of pigs. Then the citizens of that country begged Him “to leave their region.” They saw in Christ a threat to their business. Jesus is not a coercer; He does not impose Himself. He does not wish to be where He is not wanted. But where He could not go in person, He sent a man to witness for Him. In Mark 5:19-20 we read:
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:18-20)
Jesus did not allow this man to come after Him because He did not love him, but because He had work for him. He was to witness to his own countrymen about the miracle that Christ had done in his life and about the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
This is what witnessing is — to tell “how much God has done for us” and “how He has had mercy on us.” To tell it in our home, to tell it at our work, to tell it to our countrymen — everywhere, and finally — to tell it to the whole world as well. In John 17:18, in His high-priestly prayer, Jesus tells the Father that He has sent us throughout the whole world.
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:18)
HOW SHOULD WE WITNESS TO OTHERS
We have already said that the way to witness to others about Christ is by telling them of the works of God (Psalm 73:28).
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalm 73:28)
One thing that would help us to witness to others about Christ is to write out our personal testimony. It should include three points:
- 1. What were we like before God met us? What was our life like?
- 2. How did we meet God? In what way did He draw us to Himself?
- 3. What has our life become after we believed?
Another thing that would help us in our witness is to tell people about creation, about the history of Israel… And finally to tell them about Christ — about His death and resurrection.
It is important to witness to people with our words, but it is even more important to witness to them by our deeds. Without an overlap between words and deeds, our witness loses its power. In Matthew 5:16 the Lord Jesus told us that our “light” is not our words, but our “good deeds.”
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)
If we do not live what we preach, people will not listen to us. It is no accident that one of the spiritual disciplines is “doing good.”
Furthermore, it is very important, when we witness to others, not to speak only our own words or the words of other people, but to tell them “the gospel.” In Romans 1:16-17 the apostle Paul stresses that it is nothing else, but precisely the gospel, that is the means by which we are saved.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)
Something that would be of particular help to us when we evangelize others is to know the “Roman Road” and to be able to lead others along it.
- Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)
- Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
- Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
- Romans 10:9-10
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)
- Romans 14:17-18
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. (Romans 14:17-18)
We must not evangelize others without prayer. We should pray not only for them — that God would open their minds so that the light of the gospel may enlighten them — but also for ourselves — that God would give us boldness and anointing as we speak. Even though he was an apostle, Paul did not only pray for himself, but also asked all the mature believers he knew to pray for him. In Ephesians 6:19 we read:
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, (Ephesians 6:18-19)
We must not think that the gospel is something ordinary. It is a spiritual battle with the powers of darkness. Satan does not want us to evangelize and to witness. And he will try to make us become confused, to keep us from being bold, to make people distracted so they do not listen to us — to give them a headache or make them sleepy so that they begin to yawn, or to have someone interrupt us with a phone call or something else. Through prayer we bind Satan and the powers of darkness, so that they are paralyzed and cannot hinder our witnessing and the deliverance of the person who has been held in bondage to darkness, sin, and ignorance.
In 2 Timothy 4:2 the apostle Paul says to his spiritual son Timothy:
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:1-2)
Timothy received the charge to preach the Word as a solemn commission. It underscored our responsibility as evangelists. We are responsible before God, and we are responsible before people as well, because we know what they still do not know, namely, that Christ will come again to establish His kingdom in fullness on this earth, and that there will be a judgment over the righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore, the unrighteous must turn to God and be justified. And this can happen only through the gospel. This is precisely why we must not stop witnessing to others — because on our witnessing and on their reception of the gospel depends where they will spend eternity.
Let us, as the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15, always be ready to answer those who, seeing that we are different, take an interest in our faith.
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (1 Peter 3:15)
Notice, this verse assumes that people in this world will notice that there is something unusual in us. They must see that we are different, that our families are different, that our children are different, that we have a different life, and this should awaken their curiosity and their interest in what makes us so different. Do people ask you about your hope? Do they ask you, “How do you help one another? How are you so close-knit? How are you always smiling? How can you be at peace in such a time of crisis? How can you always be content and thankful? How can you do good to your enemies?” If they do not ask us, then something is wrong, then we are not living in a way that impresses them with our holiness and our love.
APPLICATION
Every disciple of Jesus is expected to be a witness for Christ. He may not have the gift of an evangelist, but he must — regardless of the gift, ministry, talents, or the temperament and mindset he has — he must be a witness for Christ. Therefore, we must be encouraged to witness for Christ — first of all by our deeds, and, if we are asked, by our words as well — at home, at our workplace, at school, and everywhere we meet other people. And, as we have already said, you do not need to be a preacher or a skilled orator to witness. Tell in the simplest words what Jesus has done for you and how He has changed your life. This is the most powerful testimony — and God will honor your obedience, and those to whom you witness will be saved through your evangelism.