Evangelism. Some churches have seminars and workshops about it. There are Christian organizations devoted to doing it and training people in it. Evangelists are supposed to be peculiarly gifted in it. All believers should care about it. Many Christians are intimidated by it. But with all that said, what is evangelism?
Depending on our religious background, previous church life, and personal experiences, we carry ideas (for better or worse) of what we think evangelism is and what it should involve. So we need to be properly instructed and to think rightly about evangelism according to the Bible. As we do so, I think you will find biblical evangelism refreshingly simple. It will not only help you know what the Lord wants you to be doing, but also encourage you to engage more confidently in it as he gives you opportunities.
What evangelism IS
In order to understand what evangelism is we need to begin with some grammatical digging. You may find this arduous but the nuggets of gold we will discover are worth it!
The verb “evangelize” is from the Greek word euangelizō. It generically means “to announce a message of good things.” In the Old Testament, evangelism took place when Philistine messengers delivered the news that Israel and their king, Saul, had been defeated in battle (1 Samuel 31:8-9). In the New Testament, evangelism happened when Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptizer to his father, Zachariah (Luke 1:19), and when a group of angels proclaimed the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds (Luke 2:10).
In the ministry of Jesus and the apostles, euangelizō is used alongside other verbal activities like proclaiming, heralding or preaching, and teaching (Isaiah 61:1 cf. Luke 4:18; 4:43-44, Acts 5:42). That is because evangelism entails ministering “the word,” a spoken message (Acts 8:4; 15:7).
Here is the simple idea I want us to see: evangelism involves verbal proclamation — the use of words. Imagine these envoys heralding their messages without the use of words. I’ve tried, and the thought is quite silly!
The content of the gospel
But when we evangelize, what should be the substance of our speech? What is the content of the Christian gospel?
In the latter prophets, evangelism occurred in relation to God’s acts of salvation, particularly the rescue of his people through the defeat of their enemies (Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15). A survey of the New Testament shows that the two most common themes of evangelism are Jesus as the Christ (e.g. Acts 5:42; 8:35; 11:20) and the kingdom of God (e.g. Luke 4:43; 8:1; 16:16).
When Jesus and the early believers proclaimed the gospel, the essence of their message was that God has installed Jesus of Nazareth as his Messiah to restore his kingdom on earth, and that he is able to rescue rebellious sinners from the judgment to come through his substitutionary death and resurrection, if they will repent toward and trust in King Jesus.1
This is an attempt to summarize both the objective and subjective aspects of the gospel: the objective realities of who Jesus is and God’s accomplishments through him, as well as the subjective benefits that flow from Jesus to those who respond positively to him in the gospel. More can and should be said about Jesus pre-existing with the Father in heaven, his incarnation into the world, and his future return to rule over the new creation, as well as how those who believe in Jesus receive the forgiveness of sins, a right standing with God, adoption into his family, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the sure hope of resurrection life forever in the age to come.
This is the gospel, the Christian message. And evangelism is simply the verbal communication of this message. You’ve evangelized when you have done that, regardless of where you are, how long you’ve spoken, and even how a person responds. Isn’t that refreshing and encouraging?
Since that’s the case then the real challenge believers should work hard at is speaking the gospel in fresh, clear, persuasive, and contextually meaningful ways in each circumstance.
What evangelism IS NOT
Even if you now grasp a more biblically accurate understanding of evangelism at the surface level, you might still have some common misconceptions lurking beneath. Therefore, I believe it will be helpful to conclude by explicitly stating what evangelism is not, in light of our biblical definition.
Evangelism is not imposing your personal beliefs on other people. Though you believe the good news, the gospel is not merely your own perspective on God or how to have eternal life. In evangelism, you are not communicating merely your own opinion, but a set of facts.
Evangelism is not sharing your personal testimony. Sharing the great things Jesus has done for you can produce a desire in unbelievers to experience the same. And it is possible to effectively weave the gospel into your testimony. But strictly speaking, evangelism involves telling people what God has done in history to save sinners through Jesus Christ and calling them to receive the gift of salvation through repentance and faith.
Evangelism is not social action or public involvement. Christians ought to care about the felt needs of unbelievers, as well as the injustices that are done in our society. We should desire the holistic well-being of others, and somehow be involved in showing compassion to hurting sinners around us. And such activity may build relationships and bring opportunities to communicate the gospel. But such activity, in and of itself, is not evangelism if we are not verbally proclaiming the gospel to those we are serving.
Evangelism is not apologetics or defending the Christian faith. It is right to give people reasonable arguments for the existence of God, to correct misunderstandings about his character, to show there are no contradictions in the Bible, and so forth. While defending the Christian faith can be a valuable form of “pre-evangelism” that God might use to prepare a person to be interested in and more seriously consider the gospel, it is not evangelism per se. As Mack Stiles notes: “A housewife meeting with a friend over coffee may be evangelizing, while a brilliant Christian apologist speaking to thousands in a church sanctuary may not be . . . Defending the faith is a fine thing to do, but it is easy to give apologetics for Christianity without explaining the gospel — and we cannot evangelize without the gospel.”2
Evangelism is not showing someone the errors of their beliefs. It is loving and helpful at times to cause unbelievers to critically evaluate their own belief system. Asking them questions and forcing them to think, showing them the errors of their beliefs in light of the Bible, can cause a person to rightly doubt their beliefs and question their organizational allegiance. Like apologetics, this can be helpful for preparing a person to want to know the truth of Christ by taking away the foundation they have sought to live on up to now. But it isn’t evangelism if we don’t positively tell them the true message of the saving work of Jesus Christ.
Evangelism is not presenting the biblical view on a topic. We are not ashamed to tell people that homosexuality and transgenderism is sexually perverse and abortion is the murder of unborn children. It is right to wisely interject the truth of God concerning such issues with wisdom and gentleness when the right opportunity arises. But if the gospel is not explicitly communicated, evangelism has not happened.
Evangelism is not inviting unbelievers to church or an outreach event. Churches should preach the gospel in church meetings where unbelievers are present. It is good to have events for the sake of communicating the good news of Jesus to unbelievers. But inviting them to church or bringing them to an event is not the same as personally explaining the gospel to them.
Evangelism is not merely telling people about their sin and condemnation. Some Christians are unhelpfully talented at informing people how wicked they are, how much God hates them, and that they are “going to hell.” But that is all they say, and sadly they often do so in an unloving manner. It is true that God hates sin and his righteous wrath hangs over every condemned sinner. Unbelievers do need to understand their awful condition before God to some degree if they are ever going to appreciate and embrace the good news. But if we don’t actually tell them about Jesus then we haven’t engaged in evangelism.
Evangelism is not living a gospel-transformed life. Your life should commend the gospel, demonstrate the grace of God that changes believers, and hopefully cause people to ask you to explain yourself, opening a door for you to proclaim the gospel. But your lifestyle is not the gospel, so living a transformed life is not evangelism. There is a well-known saying that goes something like this: “Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words.” Based on what we’ve seen, we ought rather to say: “Preach the gospel at all times. And because it is inherently necessary, use words!”