Personal Evangelism Presented to the Ann Arbor Church of Christ by Ken Martin Evangelism as a way of life I believe that much of our evangelism is ineffective because we depend too much upon technique and strategy. Evangelism has slipped into the sales department. I am convinced that we must look at Jesus and the quality of life He calls us to, as a model for what to believe and how to reach out to others. Christians and non-Christians have something in common: we're both uptight about evangelism. Our fear as Christians seems to be, "how many people did I offend this week?" We think that we must be a little obnoxious in order to be good evangelists. A tension builds inside: should I be sensitive to people and forget about evangelism, or should I blast them with the gospel and forget about their dignity as human beings? Many of us (Christians) choose to be aware of the person but then feel defensive and guilty for not evangelizing. How people saw me mattered more than how god saw me. Ironically, most people respect and respond to a person who has definite ideas and who communicates them clearly rather than to someone who seems apologetic and wishy-washy. My experience with Jehovah's witnesses confirmed that. I was amazed to see how "evangelistic" and bold they were. Their style wasn't obnoxious but they were convinced and it showed. They communicated their beliefs articulately and with zeal. I was a little surprised to see how much respect they had for someone who really believed in something and was willing to stand up for it. I have had to learn from experience what scripture teaches in 1 Thesssalonians 2:8. To share the gospel we must share our lives, our very selves. If we don't grasp that Christ has freed us to be authentic, we will see evangelism as a project instead of a lifestyle. Most of us fear that who we are inside just isn't enough. So we cover up our honest questions and doubts thinking we won't sound spiritual. But in doing this we forfeit our most important asset in evangelism---our real person. We of all people should be offering the world a picture of what it means to be truly human. Yet it is often Christians who fear their humanity more than anyone else. When we get a good look at Jesus, we will see that it is not our humanity we need to fear. Jesus the Evangelist Our humanity is not our problem in evangelism. The most human of all human beings had no difficulty with who he was. Jesus came to us as the first whole person since Adam and eve before the fall . It is .Jesus, then, who provides for us the model of what it means to be human. By following his lead we will not only become more like God himself but we will find ourselves becoming more comfortable with our humanity and evangelism which will begin to flow naturally from who we are. Jesus one of us. Jesus told us that the father sent him into the world, so he is sending us (John 17:18). How then did the father send him? Essentially he became one of us. The word became flesh (John 1:14). God didn't send a telegram or shower evangelistic bible study books from heaven or drop a million bumper stickers from the sky saying, "Smile, Jesus loves you." He sent a man, his son to communicate the message. His strategy hasn't changed. He still sends men and women-before he sends tracts and techniques-- to change the world. In Jesus, then, we have our model for how to relate to the world, and it is a model of openness and identification. Jesus was a remarkably open man. He didn't think it was unspiritual for him (fully realizing he was the son of god) to share his physical needs (John 4:7). He didn't fear losing his testimony by revealing to his disciples the depths of his emotional stress in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-52). Here is our model for genuine Godliness. We see him asking for support and desiring others to minister to him. We must learn then to relate transparently and genuinely to others because that is God's style of relating to us. Jesus commands us to go and then preach, not to preach and then leave. We are not to shout the gospel from a safe and respectable distance, and remain detached. We must open our lives enough to let people see that we too laugh and hurt and cry. If Jesus left all of heaven and glory to become one of us, shouldn't we at least be willing to leave our home or our comfortable bible study class room to reach out to a friend? There is also confusion about what it means to be spiritual. We feel it is more spiritual to take our non-Christian friends to a bible study or to church than to a play or out to dinner or just out for pizza or a Coke. Just as we do not understand our natural points of contact with the world: we don't understand our natural points of contact with God himself. He made us human. He is therefore interested in every aspect of our humanness. We dare not limit Him to bible studies and discussions with Christians. He created life and He desires to be glorified in the totality of all that adds up to life. And His power and presence will come crashing through to the world as we let Him live fully in every aspect of our lives. Jesus the Delightful. I reread the gospels last year while flying to and from Pepperdine University lectures, out of a desire to "rediscover Jesus". I found out that Jesus was utterly delightful. He enjoyed people. He liked to go to weddings. He was the kind of man people invited to dinner. And he came. He went to where they were. When two men first approached him, they may have become a little tongue-tied and unsure of what to say (John 1:35-39). When Jesus asked them what they wanted, they responded, "oh well...We were kind of wondering where you lived." Now Jesus new that how He decorated his apartment was not the burning issue in their hearts. But instead of delivering a sermon, He took them home with Him and they spent the day with Him, and they became His disciples. Jesus established intimacy with people quickly. Partly it was because He was open, but also because He understood people and wanted to establish rapport. He let people know that He had a sense of who they were and that He appreciated them. He was approachable, He wanted people to know it, and they did. Jesus was a compassionate man. He cared deeply and was not afraid to show it. He was profoundly committed to setting people free and making them whole. He healed people because He cared about them, not merely so they would follow Him. (Luke 7:11-17). (Mark 1:40-45) Jesus the Exasperating. My first impression was that He was delightful, another equally forceful impression was that He was exasperating. Wherever He went He produced a crisis. He compelled individuals to decide, to make a choice. It has been said you can tell a lot about a person when you know who liked the person and who did not. In Jesus' case, we have the story of the holiest man who ever lived, and yet it was the prostitutes and lepers and thieves who adored Him, and the religious who hated His guts. People were offended with Jesus because He violated their understanding of religion and piety. The religious of His day were particularly incensed that He deliberately healed on the Sabbath. The religious accused Him of being a drunkard, a glutton and having tacky taste in friends. It has been said, "Jesus was not your ideal Rotarian". It is a profound irony that the son of God visited this planet and one of the chief complaints against Him was that He was not religious enough. The religious of the day were offended because He did not follow their rules and traditions. He was bold and outspoken. He favored extreme change and valued what they felt was insignificant, which was largely the "unlovely". Jesus knew the power and prestige of the Pharisees. But He loved the Pharisees and wanted them to see plainly who they were and how far many of them were from God's kingdom. Look at (Matthew 23). But for those who loved Him, He was equally exasperating. He constantly kept smashing some of His followers' expectations of what the messiah should do. He simply did not fit their mold. He did not try to. They thought the messiah would come in power and liberate Jerusalem, in their Maccabean tradition. (Acts 1:6) but the only power that Jesus demonstrated was the power of servanthood. His disciples wanted to know who would be first in terms of prestige. Jesus told them the first would be the greatest servant. For Jesus, greatness was not seen in the degree to which He was elevated, but the degree to which He came down and identified.(John 13) Why Jesus is Lord. The bible answer is: because He is the Lord. This is what the disciples preached ("what we preaches is...Jesus Christ as lord," 2 Cor. 4:5) And how they told us to live ("in your hearts reverence Christ as lord," 1 peter 3:15). He is lord because of who He is: God incarnate, lord of creation and lord of life. First, Jesus is God incarnate. Colossians 1:15 tells us, "He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation." Hebrews 1:3 says, "He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature." And Colossians 2:9, "for in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." Commenting on this text Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, "there is nothing beyond that, He is the sum total of all the divine attributes and power." C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity puts it this way: "then comes the real shock. Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sin. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time....And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was quite simply the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips." (PP 54-55) Second, Jesus is Lord because of His relationship to the universe. He is the lord of creation. Colossians 1:17 says, "for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities-all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." And Hebrews 1:3 teaches that by Christ all things consist. The Son is the agent of creation. He up holds "the universe by His word of power." Third, Jesus revealed His authority over nature. Imagine the scene. The disciples and Jesus were in a boat headed for the shore. Jesus was sound asleep. There were expert fisherman on board. Suddenly an awful storm arose. The wind and waves were so great that the boat began to sink. Experienced fisherman were alarmed. In desperation (and probably irritated at Jesus for sleeping and for suggesting they set out in the boat in the first place) they woke Him up and said, "teacher, do you not care if we parish?" And in the midst of this vicious storm and terrified passengers, Jesus casually got up, looked at the lake and said, "Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" if you think the disciples were feeling overwhelmed by the storm, think how they felt upon seeing this! "And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, 'who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him'?" (Mark 4:35-41). Finally, Jesus is the Lord of life. "I am the great shepherd." "My sheep know my voice and I know theirs." He created us. He understands human nature. He knows us thoroughly, He loves us and died for us. He is competent to direct our lives. In the new testament the Lordship of Christ is no mere abstract principle. The gospel writers illustrate as well as teach the principle. Mark does this through the idea of authority. Jesus began to teach and the people were astonished, "for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22). Jesus showed authority over the spirit world as He healed a demon possessed man. And the people were amazed, saying, "with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him" (Mark 1:27). Jesus demonstrated authority over the physical body as He healed Peter's mother-in-law from illness (Mark 1:31). And Jesus also revealed His authority over death by restoring the daughter of Jairus to life (Mark 5:35-43). Jesus is Lord because of who He is. Two things concern me about some Christians I meet. I am distressed by a frighteningly debased view of truth. Many may be convinced Christianity is true, but the truth of something doesn't seem to have any binding consequences. Second, there seems to be almost a disease of superficiality in their faith. This stems, I fear, from our impoverished understanding of what it means to call Jesus Lord. We are sometimes so anxious to get our friends across the goal line (baptism) that we fail to present a clear and honest picture of Christianity. Unless seekers clearly understand the gospel, both its costs and privileges, before they commit themselves to god, our harvest will be poor indeed. We must communicate that salvation is clearly tied to a relationship to the living Christ as Lord as well as savior; it is tied to objective truth that demands a total response. Warm feelings and shivers are not enough; they are not even required. If Jesus is our lord, then He is the one who controls, He has the ultimate power. There are no bargains. We cannot manipulate Him by playing" let's make a deal." If He is lord, the only option open to us is to do His will, to let Him have control. Jesus remains lord weather we accept Him or not. His lordship, His essence, is not affected by what we choose. But our lives are drastically changed by our choice. It is not a control that manipulates us or takes away our dignity. Jesus never presumes things or decides things for people. He does not abuse or bully people. In fact we find Jesus asking as many questions as people asked Him. He does not decide what people need and then give it to them. He asked the blind beggar Bartimaeus, "what do you want me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51). He asked the paralytic, " do you want to be healed?" (John 5:6). He asked Peter, "who do you say that I am?" (Matt. 16:15), "Do you love me?"(John 21:15) and "do you also wish to go away?"(John 6:67). And He told His disciples, " if you love me, you will keep my commandments"(John 14:15). Jesus always preserves our freedom. He allows us to choose Him over all others. Jesus will not control us in the wrong way. Nor will He control us in the easy way, by making every decision for us. He controls us in the right way: by being who He is without compromise and by insisting we become all we are meant to be. And He tells us this can occur only through following Him, obeying Him and maintaining a living, passionate, stormy kinship to Him. We are to reflect Christ and obey not only because of who He is but because of who we have become. The very nature of God dwells in us now. Oswald Chambers put it this way in his book, My Utmost for His Highest, (P. 265) "Jesus is ruthless in His demands and uncompromising because He has put into us the very nature of God." God created us for Himself. If we are living with any center other than Jesus, we will be living incompletely. So Jesus continually tries to help people see who or what controls them. That is why Jesus is far more interested in people's lives than in their God-talk. Your life, more than your words, will reveal what really controls you. When we begin to realize the reality and power of Jesus' presence in our daily living, our evangelism takes on fresh force. The failure to see how dramatically Jesus' presence affects a situation is, however, a problem His followers have always had. When we find ourselves in situations that seem beyond our limits (actually we should look for such situations!), We must not hesitate because we feel inadequate. We must not complain about our limited resources. God tells us He gloried in our weakness. God's spirit will take and multiply what we have. Some Fundamentals of Teaching Home Bible Studies 1. The place of study is important. A. Your home B. Prospect's home C. Church building 2. Do not plunge into the study with your very first remarks. 3. Do not be afraid to say, "I don't know". 4. Do not apologize for the truth. 5. Do not talk over the prospects head. 6. Do not become angry or loose self control. 7. Do not make it easy for the prospect to say, "no". 8. Review often and stress the basic principles all ready presented. 9. Be consistent. 10. Do not be resentful, try to understand why he thinks as he does. 11. Attempt to learn from the prospect. 12. Know as much as possible about the person to whom you are talking. 13. Do not begin any lesson with differences. Seek a common ground to begin on. 14. Take people where you find them and work from there. 15. Leave the door open so that you may come back again. Objectives of the Personal Worker In order to achieve his/her goal the personal worker will strive to: 1. Make the prospect conscious of their soul. 2. Help them to see that God always rewards the obedient and punishes the disobedient. 3. Help them to realize that they are sinners who will be eternally separated from God if they die in their sins. 4. Make them realize that their eternal destiny depends upon the decisions they make and actions they take in this life. 5. Help them to distinguish truth from error. 6. Point out the joy of worshipping and serving God and looking forward to spending eternity with Him. 7. Emphasize the happiness the prospect will find in sharing Christ with others after His conversion. Understanding Our Failures Here are some reasons why personal workers fail to lead lost souls to Christ. 1. He fails in dress, manners ? Attitude, tact or preparation. 2. He fails to offer an interesting and stimulating discussion of the bible. 3. He fails to analyze the needs of his prospects. 4. He is not familiar with the teaching of some of the major denominations, and cannot refute doctrine of men. 5. He takes rejection personally when in reality it is a rejection of Christ himself. 6. He does not use available aids to clarify the facts contained in the gospels. He has very little experience, and therefore, cannot benefit from past mistakes. 8. He fails, not through any fault of his own, but through a lack of interest on the part of the prospect. 9. He is unable to close properly. By understanding our failures, and striving to improve our methods, we can with God's help be more effective workers in His kingdom. How to Share God's Word with the Lost A. Biblical principles to follow: 1. Learn to relate to people of all backgrounds. A. Apply 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. B. Apply 2 Timothy 2:23-26. 2. Be conscious of their sincerity even though they are in error, (Acts 18:26), and approach them in love and concern. 3. Be a good listener as well as a good talker. 4. Stay with the gospel (Romans 1:16; Mark 16:15). 5. Find out where they are spiritually before you share the gospel. If you do not do this, they may state that what you as a soul winner have told them is what they have already done. 6. Be prepared for almost any response to the statement, "do you know for certain that when you die you will be with God?" B. Remember, God gives the increase. 1. Remain calm when one decides not to obey the gospel, they may respond at a different time. 2. What one says and how he says it will determine if the soul winner allows the gospel to move the person to respond. Objections in a Bible Study One or more of the following statements is given when a person is trying to justify a position he or she holds that cannot be supported biblically. "I'm already a Christian." Can one be saved outside of Christ? How does one get into Christ? Romans 6:3-4. Why be in Christ? 2 Timothy 2:10 Ephesians 1:3, 1 John 5:11: Romans 8:1. "how can one derive the benefits of a suit coat?" Put it on. Galatians 3:26,27. 2. "I believe I have faith just like you do." Romans 10:17 - faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 14:23b - whatsoever is not of faith is sin. John 17:17. If God's word tells you something and you refuse to do it, it is sin. God told you to arise and be immersed and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Are you going to sin by not obeying God's word? Faith includes more than belief. See Jude 3; Acts 6:7; 1 Timothy 4:1-3. 3. "I'll have to ask my preacher about that." Suppose that your preacher tells you not to do what Jesus says to do to be saved - Mark 16:16? .... They will say, " he won't do that." Then reply: "he hasn't told you thus far to be baptized for remission of sins, has he?" Who would you obey, Christ or your preacher? .... If you really mean Christ, then why ask your preacher for approval? See Gal. 1: 6-16. Paul did not consult anyone about obeying Jesus. 4. " You can not tell me a loving God would condemn a person to hell for not being baptized." If a missionary shares information on God being our creator but does not have time to talk about Christ and one of his listeners falls dead, will the person have eternal life in light of John 8:24 and Acts 4:12? Do the same with repentance, then confession, and finally baptism, to help the person see that the entire plan of salvation must be obeyed before God offers forgiveness. Compare Heb. 3:1&19 as recorded in the KJV. or NIV. to show disobedience is considered unbelief by God. 5. "Baptism is necessary for obedience, but not to be saved." "Do you understand the bible to teach that one needs to repent to be saved?"...."yes" ... Suppose a person says to you, "I don't believe a person needs to repent to be saved," what would you tell him , so that he could be saved? (I don't believe anyone would make that statement.) You might say I know of a group that teaches this. What would you say to help someone in this group? (I would show him what the bible teaches on the subject of repentance.) Suppose he says, "I see what the bible says on repentance, but I believe a person can be saved without repentance." What would you say to him? You can then say: where did repentance originate in, God's mind or man's mind? What will God's reaction be to those who say, "I know what the bible says, but I know I'm already saved without repentance." Is it enough to feel saved? Or do I have to do what God says? Would you consider a person who says" he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" a false teacher? Let me show you who made this statement. Hand them a New Testament and show them Mark 16:16. 6. "Can you show me in the bible where it says baptism saves you?" Yes, 1 Peter 3:21; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 22:16. There are several things which save man (grace, christ, obedience, being faithful, hope, etc.), Do we have a right to choose which ones we want or do not want? 7. "As long as one accepts Christ as his personal savior, he will be saved." What do you mean when one accepts Christ? In Matt. 7:21-23, we see some people who accepted Jesus, but he never knew them. The bible likens conversion to a marriage. In every marriage, both parties must consent to the marriage, right? Colossians 2:6 says we must accept Christ and Romans 15:7 says Christ must accept us. What should be our response so that Christ will accept us. 8. "Baptism doesn't wash away sins." "Where does the bible make this statement? The only place that I know where the bible uses this terminology, 'wash away sin' in conjunction with baptism is in Acts 22:16. What does god say about it here? '...And be baptized and wash away thy sins...'" 9. "I need to work things out first." Who are you going to call on for help? You have just made a statement which tells Christ you are not going to obey him and become a Christian. Ephesians 1:3 tells us all spiritual blessings are in Christ but if you are out of Christ, where are you? "LOST". If lost, who can you call on since you refuse to obey your only source of spiritual help. 10. "I can't have any fun if I become a Christian." Define what you mean by "fun". If they are substituting "sin" for 'fun" (bible says sin is pleasurable, Heb. 11:25 ). Christians have more fun because they know they belong to God now and will throughout eternity. (give examples of Christians participating in sports, games, etc., just like non-Christians). 11. "You'd be wasting your time with me." 12. "We believe about like your church." 13. "We know we are going to hell, so what?" 14. "The Lord (or Holy Spirit) will tell me if I need to make a change." 15. "My bible says to believe and be saved." 16. "I'm too old to change now." 17. "I believe my baptism (sprinkling) is just as good as your baptism (immersion)." 18. "If my wife gets baptized then I will too." 19. "When a person dies, he becomes non-existent just like animals." 20. "If I don't make it to heaven, a lot of others won't make it either." 21. "You don't have to go to church to be saved." 22. "I don't know enough to become a Christian." 23. "I'm not good enough to become a Christian." 24. "I don't want to change churches." 25. "Well, we just use the bible as our only guide at our church." 26. "The conversion experience will be different for each person. 27. "I think what I do is my own business, you have no right coming in and telling me otherwise." 28. "I just know god can't forgive me, I've been too bad." 29. "The bible has gone through so many translations, you can't depend on it today." 30. "We have several churches we want to visit before making a decision to join a church." What is "PREMILLENNIALISM" True answers to two crucial questions point out the basic meaning of this term. (1) Is Christ now King over His kingdom? or (2) Will He (Christ) at some time in the future reign on a literal throne on the literal earth for a literal one thousand years? The Bible answers the second question negatively; premillennialists answer it affirmatively. Premillennialists hold that the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah (and the kingdom which He was to set up) refer to His becoming a political king over a political nation--that is, to an earthly king over a earthly kingdom. This means that premillennialism holds that the Messiah is to rule over fleshly Israel as a political ruler. Further, they hold that the purpose of the first coming of Christ (to the earth) was for the purpose of setting up that political (earthly) kingdom in the literal (earthly) city of Jerusalem in order to reign on a literal (earthly) throne for a period of one thousand literal (365-day) years. But, premillennialists hold, because the Israelites (as a nation) rejected Him as king, He was not able to accomplish what He came to accomplish, that is, He was not able to set up (establish) that kingdom. Still furthers premillennialists hold that since Jesus failed in His initial effort to set up the kingdom, He postponed its establishment and set up the church (as a sort of "after-thought). Since they hold that the setting up of the kingdom was "postponed," premillennialists also hold (1)that Christ will return to earth prior to His being seated on the throne of David, (2) that Christ will then be seated on the throne of David, and (3) that Christ will reign for one thousand literal years on the literal earth. ALL THE DIFFERENCE I got up yesterday morning and rushed right into the day: I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me ? more heavily came each task. "Why doesn't God help me?' I wondered, He answered, "you didn't ask". I wanted to see Joy and beauty, but the day toiled on gray and bleak, I wondered why God didn't show me ? He said "But you didn't seek". I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, "My child you didn't knock". I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day; I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.