Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle preach a sermon on “evangelism”. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “evangelism” as simply: The promulgation of the gospel. And in simpler terms evangelism is the sharing of our Christian faith with other people. It stems from the passage above called the Great Commission of Jesus Christ to go and make disciples of all nations. A lot of Christians become nervous about this topic they are uncomfortable approaching strangers, confronting others about sin, salvation and lordship of God, or not feel adequate to speak on this touchy topic in a winsome way in today’s culture. So, most Christians do not end up fulfilling this commandment, and the Great Commission becomes the Great Omission in their Christian life.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
In this increasingly secular world, the unbelieving “cancel culture” is very quick to label Christians who share their faith as haters and bigots. But, the truth is that Believers are well meaning, knowing that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That the wages of sin is death, separation from God and eternity in Hell, and speaking the Gospel truth in love is intended to seek and save the lost in God’s plan of salvation. We do not see people coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in the same way as great awakenings in the past; nonetheless, God is still at work and advancing His kingdom. His people are called to live the ways of the faith, teach the ways of the faith, walking in and through Christ, in His name and by His power, in order to boldly impact the people in their lives and world for redemption, reconciliation and resurrection. We are now those who are to send your message of the gospel into the world and moving forward in the advancement of the kingdom of God; disciples that make disciples, that make disciples .
Acts 4:1-7 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
We live in a day and age today where we expect every single act of our obedience to God to be met with something good in return from God. When that doesn’t happen, we get annoyed and frustrated. We question whether our prayer life is working. Many just throw in the towel right then and there. For sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Peter and John’s reward for their obedience to the Lord was to be thrown in prison. But, God uses seemingly bad outcomes for good. The true reward for obedience to God is having obeyed God, filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The unapologetically bold message of the Gospel is that there is salvation in no One else but Jesus Christ. What a intrepid message Peter and John proclaimed publicly declaring the absolute exclusivity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 2000 years later, it remains a bold message to believe and proclaim in our lifetime. For those in this world that want to believe that “good” people who try their best in life, wind up saved and go to Heaven, or that there are many roads to Heaven, or that people can take the best of all the truth claims of different faiths and blend them into one, fine. But, you will have to bear the consequences for that, but do not call that Christianity and do not claim that it is from the Bible because the Bible says: “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Let's continue Pastor Kyle's bold message on Evangelism in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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