1995 issue 8 - the spirit of evangelism: recovering and practicing biblical evangelism - counsel of...

8/12/2019 1995 Issue 8 - The Spirit of Evangelism: Recovering and Practicing Biblical Evangelism - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/6

The Spirit of the

Lord

is the

Spirit of truth, holiness, and

unity.

He

is also the Spirit of

evangelism The prophet

Isaiah

spoke prophetically of the Spirit

of the

Lord

who

would

come

upon the

Lord Jesus to equip

Him as prophet to

proclaim

the

good news

concerning the

Kingdom of

qod

Luke 4:18-

19. Jesus

commanded

His

Apostles

to remain

in Jerusalem

until the

Spirit

of Promise came

and when He

comes

"You

shall

receive

power and

you shall be

witnesses unto Me

in Jerusalem,

JUdea,

Samaria, and unto

the utter most parts

of the earth," Acts

1 8

And

that same

Spirit

is the Spirit

who is promised and

given

to

all who repent, Acts

2:38. Where the

Spirit

of the

Lord is

there is the Spirit of

evangelism

The three

marks

of

a true

church

are:

1. The

faithful

preaching of the Word of

qod

2. The faithful administration of

the sacraments, and 3. The

faithful administration

of

Biblical

church

discipline. Of

late, however, a number of

theologians and

preachers

have

felt the

necessity

to add number

4., The faithful practice of

Biblical

evangelism.

Cireg

Bahnsen adds a fourth and

fifth:

4. Inwardly, fellowship in

worship toward Ciod and

mutual concern for His people,

Acts 2:42, 44-47, Hebrews

13:15-16, I

Cor.

12:7-2.7; and

5. Outwardly,

service

toward

the world in evangelistic

outreach, Acts 2:40, 41, 47,

Mat. 28:18-2.0, and

seeking

transforming holiness

in

every

area of life,

Rom.

12:1-2, I

Peter

1 14-16, Col. 1 9-23, Mt.

5:14-

16.

The practice of evangelism is

a mark of the church. Joe

Morecraft has written, A

church

which is not

being

faithful to the Cireat

Commission of Mat.

28

is a

shame.

It has

the form of

godliness, but denies the Vitality

and vision thereof. A church

that

preaches

the Bible,

administers

the sacraments,

and

practices church

discipline, but

which is unfaithful to the Cireat

Commission is a disobedient

church

in rebellion against her

Lord."

s

one has

said, the

church exists

by

mission as a

fire exists by buming, John

17:17-21. A church not

buming with

the

fire of

commitment to making the

world's

nations

Christ's

disciples

is

ingrown,

unbalanced,

arrogant, self

centered, ugly, and dead. As

R.J. Rushdoony has

written, "If

the

church indeed

is the Body of

Christ,

t

must function as

if it

is

alive. A dead

church is

a

non-

6

t THE COUNSELof Chalcedon t September, 1995

functioning church; it is salt

which has lost its

savor

and

it

is

fit

only

to be cast out and

trodden

under

foot by

men,

Mat. 5:13. This is a grim

possibility in our time. We

cannot say that in

all

places the

church

today

is

dead,

but in too

many

areas

it is

badly

arthritic

and feeble. Christ the

Lord

of

life, commands

us saying,

'I

say

unto thee, arise '''

nne

Chalcedon Report,

May 1988).

What

is

evangeliSll1

U

l

Whose task is

itl

What

is the

motive,

the message,

the

methodsl

What will

be the resultsl

It

has

been said that

one

of

the more common

ways of avoiding

evangelism

is

to

study

and write about it

That is certainly not our purpose

or intent.

Rather,

we would

state that in view of the sad

state

of

the church and the

world in

the

view

of extensive

evangelism that the church

should stop and

ask

if

t

has

got

the message and

the

methods

right. More

stUdy should

be

done before people

go

off to do

personal

evangelism. Jesus

prepared

His

Apostle-Disciples

for three years before

He

sent

them

out.

We cannot use the

argument that

people

are

dying

and

going

to

hell while we

are

studying

unless

we are willing

to

criticize

Ciod

for not sending

His

Son into

the world

sooner,

Jesus for not dying sooner, and

the Holy

Spirit

for not coming

sooner.


2/6

We are living

at

the

end of

the most evangelistic century

in

the history of the church

in

terms of

the extent and the

intensity of evangelistic and

missionary activity. That,

however, is not to say that

aU

that goes under the name of

evangelism is Biblical. Indeed,

we must question whether

much of

what

has

occurred in

the name of evangelism

has

resulted in the darkening of the

(jospel,

the

decline

of the

church,

and

the destruction of

culture and society. There is

zeal without knowledge

(Rom. 10:2) even on the part

of

those who have been

regenerated

by

the

Spirit of

evangelism. Yet, on the one

hand, we do not want

to

be

rebuffed like the woman who

complained to D.L. Moody that

she

did

not like his method of

evangelism. He responded, ..

Well, Madam, I like my

method of

doing

evangelism

better than

your

method

of

NOT

DOIN(j

EVAN(jEUSM "

Nevertheless, we do not have

to accept or

adopt every

successful method of

evangelism as appropriate for

the church. I heard of a man

who was saved through falling

down a well. We don't,

however, go around

pushing

people down weUs as an

evangelistic method.

At the time of the 1960

Olympics a magazine carried an

amusing cartoon showing the

celebrated runner

from

Marathon arriving in Athens

and falling exhausted on the

ground

while

he mumbles,

with

a blank look on his face,

1 have

forgotten

the message. This

is

much the same

case

with

evangelism in the 20th

Century. The (jreat

Commission, Mat.

2B:16-20,

is

not simply a

commission

to go

and

make

decisions

for

Jesus; it

is

a commission to go, or

going,

(evangelism

at home

and

abroad), make

disciples

(evangelism

that results in

discipleship)

of

aU

the nations

(not just individuals but people

as nations ), baptizing them and

teaching them to observe

everything that He

has

commanded

us

(establishing

churches

for

worship,

edification, and

evangelism).

Isaiah 61 propheticaUy

sets

forth the fruit and results of the

outpouring of the

Spirit

of

evangelism. Michael (jreen

says

concerning

this passage,

'The passage

in

Isaiah was

highly

significant.

It

relates to

the

period after

the

Babylonian

exile;

and the messenger,

anointed with (jod's own

Spirit,

announces (jod's

signal

victory,

His

kingly rule.

It

betokens

nothing less than the

dawn

of

a new

age,

and one

from which

the

heathen

are

not

excluded. The days of salvation

have

arrived. The people of

(jod

are ready

and waiting for

Him

like

a bride

for

her

husband, their unworthiness

covered by a robe of

righteousness, their relationship

with their (jod established by

an everlasting covenant. There

are days of liberation,

days of

healing,

days

of great good

news,

which

is

meant

to

spread

like

wildfire. (jod

is

reaching

out

from a rebuilt Jerusalem to

make

His ways known to the

(jentiles. All that, and more, is

contained

in

the chapter of

Isaia h from which Jesus read

this manifesto at the

inauguration of His good news

for the world," Op. Cit.,

pg.

B.

Isaiah 61

introduces the

MESSEN(jER

OFTHE

(jOSPEL, the one who

introduces

the

blessings

announced

in Isaiah

60.

I. 61:1-3, THE PVRPOSE

OF HIS MISSION. Not only

are

we introduced

to

the

messenger who is identified in

Luke

4:1B-19 as

the LordJesus

Christ, but also his method

(preaching),

his message ( good

news of restoration and the bad

news of (jod's judgment), the

objects of evangelism (the meek,

the mourners;

see Mat.

5:1 ff,),

and the

results

(joy, strength,

and

righteousness),

vs.3.

II.

61:4-11, THE

BLESSIN(jS OF HIS

MISSION are announced.

A. The ancient ruins will be

rebuilt by those who mourn in

Zion, vs.4, Mat. 5:4.

B. The (jentiles will be

included among the people of

(jod and serve (jod's church,

vs 5

C. The inhabitants

of

Zion,

Jew and (jentile, will be priests

unto

the Lord, vs. 6-7, I Peter

2:9ff. They

shaU

inherit the

earth, Mat 5:5.

D. The covenant promises

will

be fulfilled

and

righteousness

will prevail, vs.

B

Jer. 31 :27-44.

September, 1995 t THE COUNSEL

of

Cha1cedon t 7


3/6

E

Their seed will

be

husbands, that

the

word of jod

follow Christ and

to

be sent

recognized among the nations

may

not be

blasphemed.

into all the world following His

as blessed of jod.

Likewise

exhort the young men

death,

resurrection,

111.61:10-11, THE

to be

sober-minded, in

aU things

ascension,and

the

outpouring

of

RESVLTS OF

HIS MISSION.

showing yourself

to

be

a pattem

the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As

of

good works;

in

doctrine

they

go (evangelism and foreign

A

The church of jod, the

showing integrity, reverence,

missions) they are

to

make

elect,

the true Israel

worships

incorruptibility,

sound

speech

disciples

of

all the nations,and

rejoices

in the

jod

of her that cannot be

condemned,

that

baptizing them (establish

salvation,

vs.

10.

one

who is an opponent may

be

churches) and

to

teach

them

to

B. The growth

of

the

ashamed,

having nothing evil

obseJve all that he

commanded

kingdom,

vs.

11, Mat.13.

to

say

of

you."

(ordaining

Elders

for

their

While evangelism is an

The point is not that

we

are

worship, instruction, edification,

essential and fundamental

not

to be

verbal witnesses of the

discipline, and mutual

care

of

(jospel, we are. But evangelism

function of the mission

one another). They did

of the church,

it

is not

not

command

every

the only

task.

Nor does

converted disciple to

it command every

leave

their

nets

and to

Christian

to

leave their

go

in tum. They

nets

to

become

full-time

commanded them

to

evangelists or

no,t forsake

the

missionaries. Jim

assembling

of

Peterson points

out

the

themselves together,

to

"puzzling fact" that the

love

one

another,

to

epistles have no

does not call

all

of

us

to leave

or

build up one

another,

exhortations to

"witness."

"One

neglect our own nets

or

families

to care

for

one another,

to love

would expect Paul's

letters

to their wives, to submit to their

abound with exhortations to

to

go

and

do evangelism.

husbands, to

bring up their

Evangelism, like charity, begins

Witness,

to

get out and

at home, in your neighborhood, children

in

the nurture and

continue what he had begun,

admonition

of

the

Lord, to

proclaiming the gospel to every

at work. And evangelism has as

honor and

obey

their parents, to

its goal restoring people to godly

person. But no such

and

holy

living as the people

of

work hard at their jobs,

to

care

exhortations are

there

Why

jod in the world. This is

the

and

provide for

their

families

not " Peterson in

contrast also

platform

for being light to the

and

the

needy, and

to submit

to

reminds us of what Paul did

emphasize in his epistles, as in

world,

a

true

witness to

the

and pray for

those in

authority

power, the truth, and the

over them in the

church

and in

Titus .2:.2-8, "The older men are

blessings

of the (jospel. The

civil govemment.

to be temperate .., the older

women likewise, that they

be

impression, the message, the

R.J. Rushdoony

has written

reverent in behavior, not

church has given

the world is

that

the work of the church, "Is

slanderers, not given to

much

that salvation is

only

good after

a dominion ministry, and

this

wine, teachers of good things;

you

die and has very little

dominion

is to

be manifested

in

that they admonish the young

relevance or

hope

for

life

now.

the

life and

the

work of

the

women

to

love their husbands,

The (jreat

Commission

was

members .... lt

is

living and

to love their children,

to

be

addressed to the Apostles of the

working in terms

of

obedience

discreet, chaste, homemakers,

LordJesus Christ who had been

to Jesus

Christ.

Let

me

cite an

good,

obedient

to

their called to leave their "nets"

to

example. A bank loan officer

8 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon September, 1995


4/6

shook

up

more than a

few

Having said that we must

also or

require that

to be

a good

people, including bank officers,

recognize that one of the most

Christian or witness one must

by

calling attention to the

fertile and necessaIY evangelistic

enter the Cjospel ministJY. "If

financial

penalties

of long term fields is the pews of churches on

evangelism happens at all in

our

debt and the advantages of

Sunday

moming. Many of

Westem society, it is likely to

obedience to the Biblical law.

those

who have joined the

be in one of two main lypes of

He had brought the

church into

church,

have

been

presentation: the large crusade

the

bank,

and

veIY practical

"evangelized," but

are

not

even

or the personal

consequences followed, saved.

One

of

the most

conversation.... The more

dominion in the lives of those dangerous and deceptive places

aggressive

evangelism of some

who listened to him." for people

to be

is

in

a pew at

of the parachurch movements

Rushdoony continues,

11 :00

am on Sunday moming

tends to be rather strong on heat

"Evangelism

is

the

basic task of because people

have

false peace

and weak on ligh ''' Michael

the church.

This

is veIY much about their salvation.

Cjreen, Evangelism Through the

stressed in

our

time,

and

rightly Moreover,

as

ProfessorJohn

Local Church,

pg.

xiii.

We

must

so but it needs to

be followed

Murraysaid,

"while

we

not limit evangelism to

by

application.

As members

of generally

understand the word

particular

forms.

Evangelism

by

one of another, Christians need 'evangelism' to apply to

the

definition is

the verbal

to care

for

one

another,

for

the

propagation

of

the

gospel

proclamation of the good news

sick, the

elderly,

the needy, and among the

unsaved,

we

must

conceming Christ. How and

the

troubled.

Visitation is not in

recognize

that we cannot limit it

where and when that

is

done

is

Scripture the

duly of

pastors but

to them,

...when it

is

as varied as eveIY person and

of

Christians, Mat.

25:31-46,

"

remembered that many

situation. That

is

not to say that

R.J. Rushdoony, Systematic believers in Christ have so

the Church or Christians may

Theology, Vol. II pg. 746. inadequate a knowledge of the

not develop a strategy or an

The work of the

church

is

gospel, and so impoverished a

outline to proclaim

the Cjospel

not

one, evangelism,

but three-

conception of

the Christian

in

a

particular

context.

But to

fold: MINISTRY DIRECTLY

faith, that a considerable part of

identify, to

limit evangelism

to

a

TO

CjOD IN WORSHIP,

the work of the church, properly

certain

method, revivals, altar

MINISTRY TO ONE regarded

as

evangelism, must

calls,

evangelistic crusades,

etc.,

ANOTHER IN CHRISTIAN

needs have as its aim the

so that if one does not

use

that

NVRTURE AND CARE,

instruction and

edification

of

method one cannot

be

AND MINISTRY TO THE

believers.

The evangelism that

considered

evangelistic

is

WORLD IN WITNESS AND

the true church

of

Christ

undertakes

must therefore

wrong.

COMPASSION. Cjod

has

contemplate

the bringing of the

TEN PRESVPPOSITIONS

called us

into fellowship

with

Him and each other to worship

gospel

in

its full import and

FOR BIBLICAL

Him,

to grow in

grace,

in

demands to those

Who, though

EVANCjELlSM

knowledge, righteousness, and

believers, are nevertheless the

1. CjODSAVES MEN BY

holiness

of

the truth through

our

victim of ignorance,

HIS

SOVEREICjN

CjRACE,

individual

gifts

and graces

in

unfaithfulness and

Acts 13:48, 18:10, Eph. 1 3ff.

compromising

associations,

the

context

of the fellowship

of

Biblical evangelism and most

believers

in the

church,

and

Collected Writings

of

John

contemporaIY

evangelism are

finally

to

support and pursue the

Murray, Vol.

1, pg.

124.

diametrically opposed. They are

task of proclaiming the Cjospe Also, we must never define

opposed because most

to

those who have not heard

or

limit evangelism

to

a contemporaIY evangelism

both at

home

and

abroad. particular

method

or to

demand

believes in free

will. Therefore,

September, 1995 l' THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedon ;. 9


5/6

evangelism

is

the effort to

get

one to change

his

-mind rather

than

so presenting

the

qospeI

that

qod

changes the heart.

One campus worker

said

to a

preacher,

I use

the soft

sell,

you

use

the hard sell." While this

statement

is

revealing,

it reveals

a much deeper issue. Modem

evangelism

is salesmanship

it is

also blasphemy ...True

evangelism does not

sell, t indicts, RJR,

still under qod's wrath and

cO'ndemnation for sin and

unbelief.

3. EVERY CHRISTIAN

MUST BE A

WITNESS

TO

qO AND

HIS

CHRIST.

People

are particularly

called of

Clod

to

be

evangelists,

pastors

and teachers, Eph. 4:11-12.

While not all Christians are

called to be preachers, evety

surrender

to the

Lordship of ,

Christ, and presents

the Biblical

basis of assurance as rooted in a

life of obedience, faithfulness,

holiness,

and perseverance, 2

Pet. 1:8-10

, Heb.12:14., Mat.

7:2.1-23,

2.4:13.

4. THE MESSAqE OF

EVANqEL/SM is "The triune

Clod proclaims the kingdom of

qod

as open

to

men through

Salvation and qodly

Rule,pg. 448. Modem

evangelism

does

not

believe nl tal

depravity or

regeneration preceding

faith . Thus, evangelism

degenerates

into

While not all Christians

are called to be preachers,

every Christian is and

ust be a witness.

the

salvation made

possible

by

Jesus

Christ and his atoning

death,

resurrection,

and ascension Acts

15:7, 20:24,

25,

I

Peter 4:17, I Cor.

15:1-3.

t

is

the

gospel

of qod and His

Kingdom

Mark 1:14,

decisional

regeneration.The foundation

of evangelism is that qod saves

sinners. Salvation, the

conversion of sinners, is not a

"(l1atter of salesmanship.

2

qO

SAVES MEN

THROUqHTHE

MINISTRY OF HIS WORD,

Rom. 10:14ff, I

Cor.

1:20. The

primaty means of evangelism is

still the preaching of the word

of qod by the man of qod, the

setting forth of the Word of

qod in truth. While inviting

people

to church is

not

evangelism

in

the

proper

sense

of the word, we need

to

get

people to where the Word of

qod

is proclaimed. Sermons

ought

to

have an evangelistic

note and

clearly

distinguish for

the hearers that

there

is a

difference between

those

who

are believers and those who

are

Christian is and must

be

a

witness, Acts 8:4, I Peter 2:9ff.

Methods must

be

flexible and

variable. The essential

message

must always

be

the same .

While Christ calls us to be His

witnesses, it

is

His witnesses

that we are

to

be, ie, faithful

to

the

message.

We

are

not

to be

like the

Pharisees

who

make

people

doubly lost

, Mat.

23:15,

by

a truncated qospel that tells

people to "Just ask

Jesus

into

your heart," and give them

assurance and false peace.

Many of these will on

judgment day hear the

words

, I

never knew

you"

or

fall

away

and

become

gospel hardened.

While we

are

not responsible

for all who do not persevere, we

are responsible to proclaim the

truth of the

qospel that calls

men

to discipleship

, that calls

for

faith,

repentance, obedience,

2

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon September, 1995

Rom.

1:1, 15:16, 2

Cor. 11

:17,

Mt. 4:23, 9:35,

24:14," RJR, The Journal of

Christian

Reconstruction,

Symposium on Evangelism, ,

Vol. VII , Winter 1981 , No.2,

pg.10.

5.

THE TASK OF

EVANqELlSM is

given

by

Christ

to

His church under the

oversight of His called,

qualified. and

gifted

8ders,

Mat. 28:18-20, Acts 15,

20:17ff.

We are called

to

proclaim the

"Apostolic"

message

of

the

qospel. That

message has been committed

to

the

church

under the oversight

of Elders, men

called,

qualified,

and

sound

in the faith. No one

was ever commissioned to

evangelize with a false

or

erroneous

message

of the

gospel.


6/6

6. CONVERSION

S

NOT

AN

END N AND

OF

ITSELF.

Conversion

makes men

a part of the

kingdom

of qod

The Christian

has berome

a

part of a new rommunity, a

new

rulture

. He is literally now

a

foreigner

to

the

world.

He

has

new

rustoms,

language, goals,

values.

"Evangelism speaks

to

lost men in a lost world, and

it

summons all such to a new life

in

Jesus

Christ, and

to

a

new

creation in and through

Him.

Evangelism

calls for

repentance,

a total

re-direction

of

life and

thought. t

places

men under

the

dominion of the Lord and then

orders

them

to exercise

dominion in

and

under Him.

Having

been made

a new

creation, they

are

in faith

and

obedience to their

Savior-King

to

make of their sphere and the

whole world a new creation,

R/R.

7 WITHOVTA

BIBLICAL CONCEPT

OF

TIME

THERE

CAN BE NO

EVANqELlSM. t wi not

do

to construct

evangelism

programs in terms of man

shortened chronologies (qary

North), or eschatologies. We

recognize that Christians have

different

views

of

future events

and

the timing

of

those

events.

You must recognize the

evangelistic implication

of

those

various eschatological positions.

Much of

contemporaJy

evangelism

is predicated

upon

the view that

the rapture

is

imminent, therefore, we need to

get decisions as quickly

as

possible, and who cares about

the

church, the

family, or

the

future of society. While there is

a Biblical

urgency,

that urgency

should

not lead us to dilute the

message

nor doubt the

sovereignty of qod You can be

certain

that

the

Lord

will not

return until every

last

one of

His elect

is

converted.

8. EVANqELlSM MVST

BE

TRVLY

PERSONAL.

Any successful evangelism

program

must

recognize

the

personalities of

the

listeners

and

the historical context of the

appeal. Men come with vaJying

capabilities, vaJying

backgrounds, and varying

insight into theological matters.

No program of

evangelism

that

isn't based

on

the idea of

maturing in knowledge is

realistic. No one-shot

package,

no single

tract,

no one appeal is

going to bring men

into

a full

understanding of the

gospel.

One-shot soul-winning

systems

are

generally promoted by

churches holding a limited view

of qod and His kingdom,'

qaJy North, The

Journal

of

Christian

Reconstruction,

Symposium on

Evangelism,

Vol. VII, Winter 1981, No.2,

pp.

4-5

That is not to

say

that

one

cannot be born again

immediately

. Rarely, however,

is

it the

case

that

one

so

converted

did not have some

prior knowledge of the Bible

and the qospel. We must be

careful of pre-mature deliveJy

that end in the still-birth of the

baby.

9. WEMVST

RECAPTURE

BIBLICAL

BOLDNESS, Acts 4:13,8:4,

13:46, 14:3. Boldness comes

from confidence in qod, the

Spirit

of qod, the Word of

qod, and in the knowledge of

the Word

of

qod What we

need

is

a

dynamic,

a

psychologically motivating

impulse to give godly men

confidence

that their

efforts

are

not

in vain, and that their work

for the kingdom of

qo

will

have

meaning in the future, not

just in

heaven, but in time and

on

earth,

qaJy North,

Vnconditional

Surrender.

10.

WEMVST

PARTICIPATE N BIBLICAL

PRAYER,

Mat. 6, Acts 1 13-

14, 2:1-4, 42, 4:22-31. "Prayer

starts

the promises of

qo

on

their

way

to fulfillment,"

John

"Jack" Miller, Evangelism and

the Local Church.

In

Psalm 2,

the Father

says

to the

Son, Ask

of

me

and I will give you the

heathen

for

your inheritance.

"We need a thoughtful,

sustained, relevant presentation

of the Christian faith in word

and in action, embodied in a

warm, prayerful, lively local

church that has a

real

concern

for its community at

aU

levels,"

Michael qreen, Op. Cit., pg.

xiii.

September, 1995

t

THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedon t

21

1995 issue 8 - the spirit of evangelism: recovering and practicing biblical evangelism - counsel of...

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