A Never-Ending (and Often Forgotten) Step in Evangelism
My mind has been on evangelism as never before lately. On Sunday mornings, I am teaching a Bible class on the subject and it has lit a fire in me that should have been there all along. But it has also caused so many in the class (which has about 30-35 in attendance) to be more confident. We have been blessed with guests at church from their efforts, and we are praying that doors will continue to open–and that we’ll walk through them!
Recently, I was listening to a podcast (“God Magnified”) and the discussion was about 1 Peter 3. There is a well-known verse in that chapter that most of us know, but we may not really grasp how vital it is to our evangelistic efforts.
In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle wrote, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Too often, we take the easy way out and talk about how that verse teaches us to have all the Bible answers and we think we are basically to become some type of quiz master about the Bible.
But what, according to Peter’s words, are people asking about? “The hope that is in you.” They are not necessarily asking us (at first) about doctrinal positions or deep theological concepts. They are asking about why we are so filled with hope.
Now, what does that have to do with our efforts in evangelism? Maybe we are not getting as many Biblical discussions, Bible studies, or people wanting to worship with us because they do not see us living with that hope!
When we go around despairing of the world all the time and talking about how horrible everything is, why would anyone want to be part of who we are? After all, anyone can be upset, scared, confused, angry, or frustrated with the awful state of our world.
But, as Christians, we have the solution to all that, and that is what people need to see! No matter how terrible our circumstances might be, we do not live in despair and frustration; we live in hope! We are certainly concerned about the moral decay and the sadness that is in the world, but our citizenship is not here, so we do not despair of it. We love being together. We are not afraid of what sickness or disease can do to our body. We just have something different.
Yes, be concerned for things of this world, but tell people about the solution: Jesus! Live with that hope in you, and just see if people do not ask about it.
(And, when they do, “always be ready” to answer!)
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
