Effective Evangelism

By Ellis Crum

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     Evangelists have a great responsibility toward the world--to those lost in sin. Oftentimes he is hindered in this important work by congregational squabbles and individual difference in developing talents, particularly with regard to qualifying for the eldership. There are many who "desire the office of a bishop," but few who will buckle down to the task of attaining the Bible qualifications.

     The very meaning of the word evangelist signifies that he is to be a "bringer of good news; a herald." He is to announce the terms of salvation as authorized by the King. He is a servant of Christ and the brotherhood. Paul charged Timothy to "Preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2). This word translated "preach" carries the idea of official proclamation. While every member should evangelize to the best of his ability, the New Testament makes it quite clear that there is an order or special group designated evangelists. The primary duty of those sent out by the church is to "preach Christ." The turning of men to God is his supreme object regardless of his subject.

     Evangelists today can learn much about proclaiming Christ by studying the written messages recorded by the Holy Spirit. Peter on the Day of Pentecost preached "Jesus of Nazareth ... Whom God hath raised up." Later, at the Beautiful gate of the temple, Peter again proclaimed "the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead." The Spirit-given message of Peter was the same when he and John were imprisoned. "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole" (Acts 4:10). Again when the apostles were brought before the council and high priest, Peter and the other apostles declared: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:30, 31).

     The message of Philip the evangelist followed the same theme. When he went down to the city of Samaria he "preached Christ unto them" (Acts 8:5). His preaching "concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ" resulted in men and women being baptized according to Acts 8:12. When Philip contacted the Ethiopian eunuch, he "opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:35). The world's greatest need today is still Jesus.

     Much of the world has heard of Jesus, but not many of them have been introduced to Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. It is the duty of the preacher to not only introduce, but thoroughly acquaint

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the sinner with the Savior. To do this effectively he must be an intimate friend of the Master. We must know something about a person before believing in him. "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14).

     Paul declared: "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord" (2 Cor. 4:5). Many have heard of Jesus, but they do not recognize Him as LORD or ruler in their lives. Too many preachers of our day are preaching themselves -- at least preaching smooth words and easy messages so they will be invited back for the next annual meeting. Preachers thrive on popularity; however, Jesus said: "Woe unto you, when all men speak well of you!" Jesus also declared that the world loves its own. If a preacher is quite popular with the world, it is very likely he has "conformed to the world" and is "of the world." Preachers who wink at sin and are afraid to cry out against sin in high places are not the servants of Christ. The true evangelist will always keep himself in the background. He will realize that the message is more important than the man! He will exalt only the "man Christ Jesus." He will not delight in seeing his name in large letters on signs or in advertisements. Neither will he use the word "Evangelist" as a high-sounding title. He will crucify himself and exalt Christ.

     Proclaimers of the ancient gospel will preach only a certified gospel as mentioned by Paul in Galatians 1:11. He will preach the summarized gospel as outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 -- the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. This is the pattern presented by the apostles and early evangelists. The gospel of Christ concerns a person-- a divine personality! While Timothy was specifically commanded to be "apt to teach" the command to be "apt to preach" is not so stated, but is inherent in the word evangelist. There is a time and place for both preaching and teaching in the work of an evangelist. Green's Handbook of Church History states on page 37, "The preaching of the Gospel properly so called, was distinct from the teaching and exhortation in Christian assemblies."

     Moses E. Lard gave this definition of the kind of preaching he thought was best: "That preaching is the best which including the most truth and excluding the most error, results in making the most Christians." To this I say "amen." If we had more of this kind of preaching we would have less brotherhood grievances. Preachers who are going about preaching war instead of peace, and who disturb congregations that are unaffected by the squabbles of others miles away, do not help the situation. Some may enquire, "How can we preach peace where there is no peace?" Brethren, if we don't put personalities and opinions in the background, and start preaching "THE PRINCE OF PEACE," there never will be any peace! "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." Where is the "bond of peace"? Practically every difficulty in the church has stemmed from elders, evangelists, or a modern-day Diotrephes.

     Some preachers only preach about the gospel -- others preach it! Both are useful: one to convert men from the sects, the other to convert men to Christ! What are you accomplishing by your preaching? When men are truly converted to Christ they will want to yield their lives to the Master. You will not have to harp on baptism all of the time; duty will then be a pleasure, not a chore! Someone has said: "I am growing more and more aware that all too often we preachers aim at nothing and hit it." Your aim, regardless of topic, should be to induce sinners to embrace the Savior. Your duty then is to immerse them into Christ, or see that they are baptized. You should not personally baptize them for any personal glory. After baptism new disciples need to be instructed in "all things" (Matt. 28:20). Here many evangelists fall down. Many have been ushered into the kingdom only to be left to the prey of wolves in sheep's clothing. Evangelists, it is also your responsibility to see that they are taught and properly fed. You must stop the mouths of false teachers too. The best

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way to accomplish this is to place the accent on the positive.

     There are many "isms" effecting the church of the living God today. While many are noted for being against certain "isms," there is one "ism" that I am for: evangelism. Let's get behind our evangelists -- and I don't mean too far behind them either! If each member of the body of Christ will endeavor to reinforce the labors of evangelists with personal evangelism, we will see a record number of recruits reconciled to the Redeemer during this year.