Is Personal Evangelism Mandatory?

This is quite the philosophy of the emerging church heresy that refuses to rely on the Holy Ghost and instead has replaced Him with culture.

 

oh brother...every time I come on a post of yours you enjoy ranting about something like this. You rush to judgement to quickly. You will always be ignorant of the EC when you continually lump whatever sounds different than you with them. Just stop pretending. Look at me....now you've got me ranting.

 

Funny how those hobby horses always seem to pop up no matter what the post...

Personal evangelism is not a gift given only to some as I have heard before. That is simply an excuse given by some to not witness.

Personal evangelism is the responsiblity of all who know the Lord and His greatness!

 

So true! It is like that song, "I said I wasn't gonna tell anybody, but I can't keep it to myself, what the Lord has done..."

 

I'll also toss in that Christ's own words in Matthew 28:19 say that our lives are to Gospel presentations as we go. The word for "Go" in that verse in the aorist which means "As you are going..."

Ah, here is the disconnect. I really believe there are some examples of evangelism that are not needed nor should be celebrated given their context. To make an extreme example: the Inquisition was a form of "evangelism" that shouldn't be celebrated, the mobs during the Reformation that went around killing priests and uns are a form of "evangelism" that shouldn't be celebrted, etc. Now that is extreme but I toss it out there to say that some forms of evangelism need to be checked for their relevancy and ability to connect with people. We shouldn't throw out the baby and the bath-water when it comes to evangelism. Connecting with people on a relational level and leading them into a deeper, meaningful, encouraging conversation about faith is our principle goal. Imho, Jack Chick and other harsh forms of confrontational evangelism don't accomplish that. Christ concern was always with the people He was minister to, not their sin.

I agree that in order to be complete witnesses we must use words, but I also suggest that what we use to get to those words is mightily important.

 

This is my own view of evangelism: God is at work drawing people to himself. And as Paul puts it, What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth" (1 Cor. 3:5, 6). This is what I see:

1. God is at work reconciling the world to himself through Jesus.

2. He gives opportunity to his faithful servants to join him in this reconciliation business. He does it through us.

3. We plant and water.

4. But God gives causes the growth.

For example, Paul became dismissed in Corinth, and in a night vision the Lord said to him, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:9, 10). I also think of Hudson Taylor and what he experienced in China.

 

I'm not fond of the reduction of the Great Commission to the phraes, "Go and tell."

The mandate is more than "telling others about Jesus." That is a component, but we are commanded that as we are going, make disciples.

It's not just our "special trips" or "tuesday night soulwinning." It permeates who we are. And it's not just "getting the word out." But it is, through our words and actions, helping the people we see know who Jesus is, begin a relationship with Him, and help those who do to become more like Jesu.

Yep, it's all our jobs. We should tell...because that's a part of making disciples.

 

The Bible Answer

I think a fresh look at the following parable will show what Jesus thinks about evangelizing the lost. We know the condition of lost man. We have the ability to help them. If we pass by; we violate the law.

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Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Luk 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

 

Some do seem to be smoother in their presentation of the gospel. That does not mean that God isn't going to use that testimony that barely got out.

Personally, I want to be used. That means several things to me:
1) that I'm right with God.
2) that I'm doing the things I should be doing - kind, loving, caring, etc., and on the other hand not smart mouthed or short with people as is my natural tendency.
3) that I'm out and about doing the things he'd have me do - my job, volunteering - these places are generally where I'm going to find opportunities for conversation.
4) that I'm looking for opportunities to share my faith.

That's probably simplistic, but . . .

 

It has often been my experience that they who raise the question; "Does every Christian have to evangelize...." are generally they who WILL NOT and are seeking an excuse NOT to obey the Lord Jesus.

It was a sad day for me when I came to the understanding that in this present age we are faced more and more with Christians who seek to find some kind of minimal line of obedience to Christ in order that they may not be "inconvenienced". They wish to talk the talk but heaven forbid they should have to walk the walk.

A Christian by any definition is one who is a WITNESS of the saving power of the Gospel. And Paul has clearly told us what that Gospel is. Christ died according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. How can you claim to be a Christian and NOT tell others this simple message? Strictly speaking, a Christian is a 'little christ'; therefore to be 'Christ-like' is to TELL.

Shame on they who try to wiggle out of this duty and privilege.

 

Generally speaking, this has been my observation too. Since I work with youth, however, sometimes they are just asking for the sake of asking, clarification, learning - personal struggle - lots of reasons.

 

I agree. Sometimes, youth or new believers ask this kind of question simply for information sake or for clarification.

What I have found however, is that when they retort with a statement like "but that was written to the disciples....." they are not looking for clarification but rather an excuse to justify themselves. Whether that justification is because they know they are disobedient in this area or they are under conviction and are battling their flesh, this kind of question and rebuttal to the answer demonstrates that their motivation behind the question is likely an attempt at dodging their responsibility.

 

Yeah - the old dodge and justification routine. I'm ashamed to say I've done it in one or two areas myself across the years.

 

Well giving you the benefit of the doubt ahem.... What you miss in your assertion that the great comission was given to the Disciples is v. 20:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.



Who do you think they were to teach in this verse and what were they to teach?

 

By your statement here you are proving that you do not know the basic rules of biblical interpretation. Can you give me one single Bible commentary that agrees with you? Seems like Bible commentary authors would usually know basic rules of Bible interpretation, right?

In fact, the only group that I know of within orthodox Christianity that interprets the Great Commission the way you do is hyper-Calvinism. I am not accusing you of being a hyper-Calvinist, I am merely informing you so you know who you are hanging out with.

So what is going on? Are you going to ignore my refutation of your position and hope I go away? Do you call that debating? Come on, I challenge you, show me where I am wrong with your "basic rules of biblical interpretation." :thumbs:

 

Christianyouth, all the best.

Here is a question for you though. In the context, let us take the whole chapter, you will find the word "we" a number of times, 16 times in fact.

Which grammatical rule do you use to swap between it referring only to the apostles or to all believers?

Would the "we" in verse 1 only apply to Paul and the other apostles? (For we know if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God...)

What about verse 2? (For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven

What about verse 7? (For we walk by faith, not by sight

There are some which apply to select individuals, but the majority of them would refer to all believers.

The final verses in the chapter, especially 17-18, clearly speak of those who are in Christ being made new creatures and therefore recipients of the ministry of reconciliation.

Anyway, work away.

 

I believe I answered this, but you ignored it. Please go back to where I discussed the Great Commission in Matthew, Luke and John. Interact with me. Debate with me. Show me where I'm wrong.

I have to run and serve the Lord today--ladies meeting, sermon preparation, street evangelism. I'll check later to see if you really want to discuss this. I mean only the best for you. I'm trying to challenge you to think more deeply about the Great Commission. :type:

 

I see little emphasis placed on it compared to making disciples. However to make disciples non-Christians must first be evangelized.