Evangelism – what is it?
Evangelism.
It is the four, faithful men bringing the man on a stretcher, paralysed in sin and body, to the house where Jesus is, so he can meet him and hear the words of forgiveness and life (Mark 2:1–12).
It is the disciples in their joy going out to find and tell Thomas that ‘we have seen the Lord’, so that he might also believe what has happened (John 20:19–31).
It is Philip looking for his friend Nathanael to tell him, ‘we have found the one Moses wrote about … Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’ (John 1:45).
Evangelism is not simply about having a church committee, although this may help us come to realise what a joy it is to share the good news of Jesus with others.
The word evangelism comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning ‘the good news’ or gospel.
Jesus is the good news and his whole life proclaims the gospel. His birth is good news (Luke 2:10). His coming, work, death, and resurrection are good news for fallen humankind (Ephesians 2:14).
Hermann Sasse stated that evangelism is the preaching of the gospel, nothing else. There is no such thing as evangelistic preaching, evangelistic services, etc. Each service is a call to the unbeliever or believer alike.
The church lives by the gospel, not according to a set of common, religious convictions. It is rather the gracious word of Jesus Christ himself, by which he forgives us all our sins and gives us life and salvation.
It is not a set of bullet points on a screen about how and under what conditions there can be forgiveness.
It is rather the forgiveness in Christ personally proclaimed to us – your sins are forgiven!
Evangelism makes the church attractive and necessary.
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