Evangelism E-Book

Rev. Norman Holmes

• Herausgeber: Zion Christian Publishers
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

We are all called to be Ambassadors for Christ, bringing His good news of salvation to this dark and hurting world. Regardless of whether or not you are a skilled speaker or easily make friends, you can be used of God to open people's hearts and minds to the Gospel. In this book, Rev. Holmes shares from his years of experience helpful wisdom and interesting stories on how to evangelize – and how not to evangelize! Learn how to be used of God in soul winning, and gain great joy and eternal reward for yourself and for many others! 

Leseprobe

EVANGELISM

How to lead people to Christ

by Norman Holmes

“Evangelism – How to lead people to Christ”

© 2020 Norman Holmes

Front cover design © 2020 Zion Fellowship, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

Cover photo taken by Mina Ivankovic and on Unsplash

Used with permission

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations, when not specified, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright ©1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.

Published by Zion Christian Publishers as an e-book on September 2020 in the United States of America

E-book ISBN 1-59665-729-4

Ebook Version 1.1 (2021)

For more information, please contact:

Zion Christian Publishers

A Zion Fellowship ® Ministry

P.O. Box 70

Waverly, New York 14892

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

http://www.zcpublishers.com/

Chapter 1 – Evangelism Explained

Evangelism is the communication of the Gospel message. The word “evangelism” comes from the Greek noun “euaggelion” which means the “gospel” or “good news.” The communication of the message of Christ’s salvation gives us the word “evangelism.”

The work of evangelism is not to be confined to a small group of ministers and church workers. You don’t need a special call or personal revelation from God to get involved in evangelism- actually, if you are a born-again Christian, you are already called to evangelism! 

Consider what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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,” -2 Cor.5:17-20 NIV.

Here we read that everyone who is in Christ- everyone who has been reconciled to God- has been given the ministry of reconciling others to God. We are ALL called to be ambassadors of the Gospel! Every Christian will not be a preacher or an evangelist, but we are all called to give to others what we have been given- the gospel invitation to salvation.

We do not need to be a skilled speaker or conversationalist to spread the Gospel. If we have received eternal life through the salvation of Christ, we can, each in our own way, point others towards receiving the same gift from God. We can pass it along- pass it forward- and seek to scatter ideas and words that will be like seeds that can grow up to become a fruitful harvest.

One of the most famous stories in Church history of how the Lord brought a sinner to see his need of salvation was in the life of John Wesley, who later became a revivalist and the founder of the Methodist churches. As a young man he was already an ordained minister of the Anglican Church, although he had not yet obtained a personal experience of salvation by faith in Christ. For years he had felt that he was a Christian seeking to serve God, yet his empty heart was exposed to himself during a dangerous storm on the high seas while he was on a missionary journey to the American colony of Georgia. When their ship was close to sinking, a group of born-again Moravian Christians on board were singing hymns, fully peaceful in the face of death. John Wesley realized that he was afraid of dying and did not have the fruit of a true Christian faith like these Moravians had. This experience caused him to return to England with the confession that he had gone to America to convert others, but he returned to England needing to first be converted himself! That led him to attend a Moravian Bible study in London where he did find his heart “strangely warmed” by the experience of salvation. But what was it that first caused his eyes to become opened to his personal need for a Savior? It was the singing of a group of Christians, not their preaching or their evangelistic methods. Whatever our giftings and talents- or whatever our lack of them may be- we can each be used of God to help lead others to Christ!

We Have a Responsibility

Not only do we all have the privilege of sharing the Gospel with others, we also need to realize that we have each been given a solemn responsibility to spread the Gospel. Consider what Proverbs tells us: “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?” -Prov.24:11-12.

We should be seeking to rescue those who are heading towards death and damnation- and our praying for them and sharing the gospel offers the only remedy for their condition.

Our Lord Jesus told us, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” Mt.5:13-16. We all have the opportunity to let the light of Christ shine through our lives, and be “salty” Christians that make others thirst after God. Yet we also have the responsibility to not hide our Christian witness or be “flavorless.” 

So in this book we are going to examine how each of us can become effective in sharing our faith. We can each, according to our own unique giftings and abilities, seek to evangelize and lead people to Christ and eternal life. The Lord Jesus said that heaven rejoices when a lost soul returns to God- and we can bring great joy to lost souls, and even to heaven, if we will learn to become effective in evangelism. 

Chapter 2 – What Do We Share?

In evangelism, there are basically two things that we share: #1 the Gospel in the Bible, and #2 our own testimony. This can also be described as #1 the Word of God written in the Scriptures, and #2 the Word of God personally alive in our own life.

When we share #1- the Gospel (or, “good news”) from the Bible, we are establishing the objective, eternal truths of God that can lead someone to salvation. But when we share #2- our own personal testimony of salvation- we are taking the eternal truths of God and are showing how they can be practically applied and are useful for us today. Your testimony can show how the Gospel transformed your life, and how it can also work for those who listen to you! So let’s dig deeper now into how we can share God’s Word in these two ways.

#1 Share the Gospel in the Bible

The Scriptures are God’s Word to mankind in general, but to reach an individual person with the message of salvation we need to effectively present to them just what they need. The Bible has messages for every problem that anyone might face, so we need to skillfully narrow down our presentation to quickly and accurately present the way to salvation. If we flood our listener with many unnecessary ideas they can easily become confused and unreceptive. Sometimes one anointed scripture quote, or speaking one short biblical concept, can be the sword of the Spirit that pierces a person’s heart and leads them to the Savior. As Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Some of the most effective scriptures that can “stand alone” in presenting the gospel are:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16

“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” -John 14:6

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 6:23

From any of these three verses the message of salvation can be shared quickly and effectively. Memorizing these scriptures, and many more as you are able, will help equip you to be able to share the Gospel.

It is also good for you to be able to put a number of scriptures (or a number of scriptural concepts) together to form a more thorough gospel presentation. One of the most simple of these presentations is called “The ABCs of Becoming a Christian.” It presents:

A- ADMIT that you are a sinner, Rom.3:23.

B- BELIEVE that Jesus, the Son of God, died for your sins and rose again, 1 Cor.15:3-4

C- CONFESS Him to be your Lord and Savior, Rom.10:9 

Back in the 1970s Campus Crusade for Christ (now renamed CRU) started promoting what has been the single most used modern gospel presentation, shared with countless millions of unbelievers in a tract form. It is called “The Four Spiritual Laws.” It states:

   1. God loves you (Jn.3:16), and has a wonderful plan for your life (Jn.10:10).

   2. Man is sinful (Rom.3:23) and separated from God (Rom.6:23).

   3. Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin to be forgiven, Rom.5:8, 1 Cor.15:3-6, Jn.14:6.

   4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives, Jn.1:12, Eph.2:8-9, Rev.3:20.

Another gospel presentation, called The Romans Road, can simply be shared by looking at five scriptures in the book of Romans. They are:

   1. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.

   2. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23.

   3. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:8.

   4. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” Romans 10:9-10.

   5. “For ‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,’” Romans 10:13