Evangelism
Lesson Aim: To show the message in Part V of this series of lessons is the gospel of the kingdom that must be preached by the church in order to carry on the reconciliation plan of Jesus Christ; also, to show how the spirit of evangelism contributes to the church’s sanctification.
Introduction
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. I Tim. 2:3, 4
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. II Pet. 3:9
God desires all people on earth to be saved as His children in His kingdom; therefore, when Jesus received the authority to rule, He commissioned the church to make disciples of all nations. Jesus was speaking to His eleven disciples when He gave them what is commonly referred to as the Great Commission. But, when He said, “…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you,” this made the church co-recipients of the same commission. Consequently, the following is a directive to Christians from our king.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matt. 28:18-20
Jesus gave the apostles a geographical plan for accomplishing His goal in the following scripture:
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8
The Apostle Paul proclaimed the following methodology for evangelism to the church of Christ in Rome:
“Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Rom. 10:13-15
From the foregoing we can understand where to start and stop our evangelism and the method of implementation. We start in our own home town, reach out to the area around the city, go to the adjoining areas and finally to the uttermost foreign lands. Obviously, all of the church cannot go, some cannot preach in our own area; therefore, we must send the willing who qualify to preach. We pray some will hear, believe and be saved according to God’s plan for His obedient believers. Please note the correlation between the church sending and God’s saving according to our Lord’s methodology of evangelism.
Armed with our Lord’s commission to make disciples of all nations and a “sent-preacher” methodology there remains but one question, “What shall we preach?” Our discussion in this lesson of what should be preached will include a summarization of all the previous lessons in “The Man Dimension of God’s Kingdom with a Divine King” which is the title of Part Five.
From the Introduction of Part V we learned Jesus’ reconciliation strategy involved four main parts. Please re-read the Introduction. They are the evangelism of the world, the “seating in Christ” of people from the world, reconciliation by sanctification and faithful Christians’ resurrection and rewards at judgment. In this lesson we will show how our king depends upon the church to make the initial step of His reconciliation plan by preaching the kingdom of God. Also, we will show how our sanctification is enhanced by our spirit of evangelism.
Lesson
Jesus did not wait until He returned to heaven to start His evangelism campaign for God’s kingdom. He preached the kingdom in the cities of Israel. This was one of the reasons He was sent from heaven. He said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:43. Since the kingdom of God has always been a reality, the good news was not the establishment of the kingdom. See the Introductions to Parts Three and Four. The specific gospel for man released about God’s kingdom, during and following Jesus’ time on earth, was His kingship, His priesthood with the law of life and His personal sacrifice on the cross. This gospel made other aspects of the kingdom of God available to mankind. According to Jesus, the preaching of the gospel actually started with John the Baptist.
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. Luke 16:16
John proclaimed the kingdom was at hand, and then he said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:2, 11). The twelve apostles were sent to the lost sheep of Israel with the same message. Jesus told them to “be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matt. 10:16. He also said, “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops,” and “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” Matt. 10:27.
Jesus taught many concepts of the kingdom in His parables (Matt. 13:10-17). He also used the parables to show He had come to rule and how the Jews would kill Him (Matt. 21:33-46). Peter stood up with the eleven on the day of Pentecost, as the story is recorded in Acts chapter two, and declared these things had happened. The only difference in the message of the gospel of the kingdom before and after Pentecost was the content of Jesus’ preaching had become a historical fact. The Holy Spirit directed the apostles and others to continue to preach the kingdom with Jesus as king, priest and sacrifice for sin.
These new blessings made several other graces available to us which hitherto were not possible to receive. For instance, Christians have the right to become children of God (John 1:12). We have the new covenant and fellowship with the Holy Spirit in a very personal way (Acts 5:42; Heb. 8:6-12). In other words, Christians now know and can preach the truth about God’s purposes for mankind and the graces of God through Jesus Christ. These graces make it possible for Gods purposes to become a reality for Christians; therefore, we preach the same eternal kingdom plus all spiritual blessings in Christ. We should be careful to delineate the purposes of God and the graces of God, separately. The cross is not an adequate symbol for the Christian religion. It is used synonymously with the graces of God and the discipline by suffering concept to develop sons of God in several scriptures. See Matt. 10:38; I Cor. 1:17, 18; Gal. 6:12. However, the cross does not symbolize the kingdom of God and His purposes for mankind in His kingdom.
A glance through the book of Acts reveals the message of the apostles’ evangelism program was the kingdom of God (Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:30, 31). They did not preach a new kingdom but they did proclaim a new king. The content of their messages had all of the principles of life, zoe, Jesus preached in the Gospels, plus the resurrection of the dead (Acts 5:42; 10:36; 17:18). They preached the happiness attitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and the kingdom as a treasure, a dragnet and a pearl of great price from His parables. They also preached Christ crucified; in other words, His death, burial and resurrection was preached as the basis for our new birth (I Cor. 1:23; 15:1-5). We know they preached all of the good news of the kingdom Jesus taught because we learn from the letters to the churches Christians are expected to be what Jesus taught. Paul summed it all up when he said, “…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27.
The Lord’s church is careful to follow the strategy of our king in the initial reconciliation plan by evangelism. We learn His divine plan by a careful study of Jesus’ commands and the church’s activity as it is revealed in the New Testament. The geographical pattern and methodology is clearly stated, as we have seen in Acts 1:8 and Romans 10:13-15. However, the real power of an evangelistic effort is not found in the pattern or method. It is found in the message, if and when it is preached and believed. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek.” Rom. 1:16.
But what shall we preach? In order to get our gospel message of the kingdom together, we must study the entire Bible; however, to help us get started let us consider the Apostle Paul’s first encounter with the people who became the church at Ephesus. This will enable us to make an outline for our message according to his pattern of evangelism. On Paul’s third missionary journey he entered a Jewish synagogue at Ephesus and preached the kingdom of God boldly for three months. Later Paul separated the disciples who had believed and continued to teach them and others for two years (Acts 19:1-10). Several years later, while in chains in Rome, he wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus (Eph. 6:20). In his introductory remarks Paul summarized his message of the kingdom by mentioning several beautiful blessings he had, no doubt, preached while with them. Please read Ephesians 1:1-14. These subjects are vital to a basic understanding of God’s kingdom as it relates to mankind. The lessons we have presented in Part V are about these subjects in Paul’s introduction in the Ephesian letter. Also, this is the answer to the question, “What did Paul preach when he preached the kingdom of God?”
We will now summarize this series of lessons in order to present the gospel of the kingdom that should be preached to the people in the world. All the mature have become lost or separated from God (Rom. 5:12). Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has made available a spiritual realm where He transfers His converts. Every spiritual blessing is offered “in Christ,” but not in the world. Jesus is Lord of those of us who have redemption through His blood. We have been begotten by God, that is, we have been born again because we have the forgiveness of our trespasses. We are now adopted children of God who live in His grace because of Jesus’ role as priest and sacrifice for our sins. We are holy and blameless in God’s sight, not by our own merit, but because of His justification and sanctification. All of these blessings give us our initial reconciliation to God our Father (II Cor. 5:17-19). This is how Jesus seats us in heavenly places in Christ. We have a justified life, “according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace.” Jesus’ preparatory work was accomplished by His sinless incarnate life on earth and His death on the cross.
Nevertheless, Jesus’ goal for us is more than a right relationship with God based on the grace doctrines of the cross. Jesus’ goal is a unique reconciliation in that we enjoy a father-child relationship with God. Reconciliation denotes a change. We were enemies of God, but having been reconciled, we now have a friendly relationship (Rom. 5:10). However, our reconciliation is more than a change from enmity to friendship. It is from a slave of sin to a son of God (Gal. 4:7). Christians have reconciliation because of God’s grace. The result is a change of relationship. Since Jesus’ reconciliation work is for a father-child relationship, not in name only, but in the character of our inner-man, His work demands our sanctification. This is the Holy Spirit’s work He does through the word and by His fellowship (I Pet. 1:2).
The Holy Spirit’s presence is Christians’ seal we belong to God in Christ. He is also the pledge of our inheritance. We shall discuss our inheritance of eternal life and God’s kingdom in detail in Part Six; however, the fact of the inheritance should be preached to the alien sinner. When Paul stated the essence of his message, he was commissioned to preach to the Gentiles, he coupled the inheritance with the remission of sins (Acts 26:18). This is one of the reasons why the Holy Spirit was received by those who repented and were baptized at Pentecost (Acts 2:38). The alien sinners should be prepared to receive the Holy Spirit at the time they are redeemed.
The gospel Paul preached to the Ephesians also included the revelation of God’s mysteries concerning His will for all of mankind, including the Gentiles (Eph. 1:17, 18; 3:6). Jesus is truth and we become the enlightened. We apply the law of life to ourselves. We praise God’s glory in certain acts of worship but also by growing spiritually to the point of getting to know Him. We have citizenship in this great administration suitable to the fullness of times. We find our niche by becoming “members one of another” in the body of Christ which is the church of God “in Christ.” I Thess. 2:14. We accept Jesus as our Lord and the elders as our overseers in the local congregation of which we are a member (Eph. 1:22, 23).
This is the message presented in Part V because these are the subjects the Apostle Paul expected the Christian’s at Ephesus to understand. Evidently, he had preached these things because he referred to them in the introduction of his letter without explanation. Each of these theologies is profound. The question we want to consider is this: Was this also the message of the kingdom he preached to the people who were not Christians? In other words, how much do people need to know before they can effectively repent and be baptized? How much gospel does an alien sinner need to hear before they can be born again?
Since repentance is a change of mind on sinners’ part before their baptism, we can conclude they must have a good understanding of the mystery of God’s will. We need to ask this question: “Which of the foregoing subjects could be excluded in our message to the people in the world without seriously impairing their repentance? The answer is none. We must remove the mystery about God’s plan for mankind by preaching all of the above before a sinner can accept God’s new covenant in their repentance (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 8:10-12). Faith mixed with godly sorrow in this message will move them to “repentance without regret.” II Cor. 7:10. The new birth is accomplished only when repentance precedes baptism. Also, a baptism without Jesus in the water produces nothing more than a wet sinner. Consequently, the preacher must also preach the gospel of the cross to the extent the hearer understands these things. Paul was commenting on what he had preached in order to establish the church at Ephesus when he said; “Solemnly testifying to the Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:21. This is also how Christians have become children of Abraham and heirs according to promise (Gal. 3:26-29).
Now we will study the role of the church in evangelism. We want to understand the church’s role in the book of Acts and the letters. We want to understand the responsibility of the church today. The evangelism program of Jesus started with the preaching of the kingdom of God by John, the Baptist, to the Jews in Palestine. The good news was the Messiah had arrived on earth and the kingdom was at hand with His leadership. Jesus would take away the sins of the world but He would also serve as priest and king. Jesus prepared twelve apostles to lead the church in His strategy of the reconciliation of all people on earth to God on a father-child relationship. The Holy Spirit cooperated with Jesus in His strategies after He returned to heaven. This is where the church enters the picture.
The evangelism program of the church includes the church’s geographical strategy, methodology and the gospel message of the kingdom of God. The Christians who preach to the lost are called evangelists. This English word is transliterated from the Greek word euangelistes. It means a messenger of good (eu, well; angelos, a messenger). Paul admonished Timothy to “…do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.” II Tim. 4:5. Philip was identified as an evangelist (Acts 21:8). Their message and powers was a spiritual gift which some of the church members possessed in the first century (Eph. 4:11). The function of evangelists is different from the office of deacons and elders. The Lord’s church does not have a special office to which they are appointed. We have no list of qualifications for the evangelists as we do for elders and deacons. Evangelists are evangelists if they proclaim the good news of the kingdom to the lost. This fact opens this ministry up to all faithful members of the church. A study of the following scriptures shows the early church understood the “them” in Matt. 28:20 meant them as well as the apostles.
And every day, in the temple and from house to house they (apostles) kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Acts 5:42
Therefore, those (church) who had been scattered went about preaching the word. And Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. Acts 8:4, 5
But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also the word of the Lord. Acts 15:35
The Holy Spirit directed the apostles and the church in the geographical pattern commanded by Jesus. They started in Jerusalem and worked outward. Paul said, “…so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named.” Rom. 15:19, 20. Furthermore, they preached publicly, in the market place and from house to house (Acts 17:17; 20:20). While under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit the early church used the methodology of “sending and saving” according to the following scriptures:
And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them they sent them away. So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Acts 13:2-4
So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. Acts 16:5
Whether the preachers were sent, just went, or were taken; whether in private, public, or even in jail, the message was always the kingdom of God. The book of Acts ends with the following statement:
And he (Paul) stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. Acts 28:30, 31
The scriptures readily reveal the evangelism program of the apostles and spirit-gifted evangelists; however, our interest in this lesson is in the church’s role. In other words, what was the rest of the church members doing about evangelism? How many husband and wife teams does the Lord expect to find like Aquila and Priscilla in the church today doing evangelism? Please read Acts 18:1, 2, 26; Rom. 16:3, 4. Was preaching a portion of the “hard work” performed by those whom Paul acknowledged in Romans, chapter sixteen?
Furthermore, he told the Philippian church “I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith.” Phil 2:17. And then he said, “Brethren, join in following my example.” Phil. 3:14, 17. Is Paul an example to every member or just some special people in the church? Who should do the preaching to the lost that the church only can and must do if it is done? How many people in a local church should choose the role of an evangelist? One, two, several, or all? For an answer to these and other questions we must look “behind the scenes” of the letters and Acts. We must get “a feel” for what went on in the first century in order to have a divinely inspired program of evangelism today.
In the New Testament we read about Christians who travelled and preached. They cooperated in evangelism to the degree they functioned like a team. Some of these people were mentioned in Rom. 16:1-15. The following scriptures suggest many teams were active:
And I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus; because they have supplied what was lacking on your part. I Cor. 16:17
But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. Eph. 6:21
But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. Phil. 2:25, 26
Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. II Tim. 4:9-12
We understand by these scriptures and others a large number of Christians were moving about trying to reconcile people to God in places where the church did not exist. However, all of the foregoing examples were during the time the Holy Spirit gave gifts. What we must decide is; what Christians do without the power of the apostles and the spiritual gifts. The shortest epistle recorded in the New Testament may hold the key to our study. Please read III John. The plan is simple. Teams went out from certain churches to evangelize (v. 5). The churches they came in contact with as they moved about were expected “to support such men.” Verse 7. The matter of support did not influence their decision to go out. They went out to preach. Of course, they had needs that had to be satisfied. These were taken care of in the first century in one of two ways, or a combination of the two: One, they worked (Acts 18:3): Two, they received help from the church (I Cor. 9:6). Of course, people like Diotrephes will always be around to protest against evangelistic efforts but thank the Lord for Christians like Gaius and Demetrius.
Certainly, the church today can put teams of evangelists in the places where the church does not exist. A majority of the world population needs an evangelism program today just like we read about in the first century. Just as Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matt. 9:37, 38.
The church members are the only workers the Lord has available to send out but now there are thousands and thousands of us. Our lifestyle in the Western hemisphere suggests we are stewards over a large amount of “mammon of unrighteous.” Luke 16:11. Another factor enhancing our evangelism is we have world peace to the degree we can travel – and that at record breaking speed. Our own abilities and communication systems have never been equalled in previous generations. Still, members who work at evangelism are few indeed. Those who do something we call “mission work” are becoming an “endangered species” in the Lord’s church.
It may appear to some Christians there is not a command in the Bible for every member to do the work of an evangelist. However, if we take the view that the main goal of the church is evangelism, then many scriptures could have a different message for us. For instance, if we believed each member should be an evangelist, or at least an active supporter of an evangelism team. Then if this team considered it a sin to fail to function, the following scriptures would be a command to evangelize.
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. Phil. 1:3-5
For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. Phil. 1:29, 30
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Phil. 2:12, 13
The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you. Phil. 4:9
If we believed a church without an effective outreach program would be tantamount to a manufacturing company without a shipping department, we would see many commands in the Bible to evangelize, based on the “necessary inference” theory of interpretation. Obviously, it is not possible for every member of the church to become one of those who travel on a world evangelism team. Still, each of us can be supportive of a team or at least a preacher where the church is not strong, or does not exist. Of course, there is always the lost in our own area for the church to evangelize. The Apostle Peter had the following advice for us: “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” I Pet. 3:15.
If every Christian must wear the Christian armor to protect ourselves against the schemes of the devil; consequently, we should not hesitate to learn how to use the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). We need to be willing to play offense as well as defense. True, all Christians will find ourselves in the “baby and child stage” at one time or another but we must not remain in these stages too long (I Pet. 2:2; I Cor. 14:20; Heb. 5: 12-14). In the secular field people often set goals above their present status and enter into rigorous and time-consuming training in order to qualify to perform certain tasks. When Christians believe our Lord will not be happy until all people hear the gospel and when we understand the church is responsible for the preaching, we will prepare ourselves for the task (II Tim. 2:2). If we are illiterate or just ignorant about God’s word we can learn to read and go on from there. What is more important than pleasing our Lord?
In this series of lessons we have shown how all spiritual blessings serve to form a healthy mental environment, or Christian armor, for those of us in Christ. Our environment serves our spiritual growth; that is, we come to have the fruit of the Spirit. Paul said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Gal. 5:22, 23. An elaboration on just one of the components that form the fruit of the Spirit is enough to convince us; those who walk with the Spirit have a desire to save the lost. Let us consider love as it relates to evangelism from the following scripture:
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law. And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Rom. 13:10-12
Can we do no wrong to our neighbors and fail to tell them about God’s plan for them? It would have been impossible to stop Jesus from evangelizing because He is love, agape. When we begin to put on Jesus Christ we will want to evangelize because of our love for those who will have to suffer the terrors of hell, if we don’t. Although Jude was speaking of members saving members in the following scripture, the principle is the same – those who love, are evangelists.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Jude 20-23
Christians need all of the spiritual blessings in Christ, so we can become the kind of people Jesus described in His Sermon on the Mount. Although the blessings help us, we need something more. We must practice righteousness in order to grow in righteousness (I John 3:7). Nutrient behavior, that is serving others, does more for the performer than the one who is being helped. Christians must develop transpersonal goals. This is the same principle of life as “it is better to give than to receive.” We know we cannot develop love as a part of our personality without practicing the behavior of love. Evangelism is a practice of love. To desire to love but fail to practice it is to fail to have love emotions in our personality.
The highest challenge of a son of God is to love like Jesus loved. He loved us when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:8). The spirit of evangelism may very well be the only spirit which will produce this type of love. In many cases the people we try to evangelize will be our enemies. We cannot learn to love our enemies without loving them. Evangelism is a perfect loving exercise; therefore, evangelism contributes to our own spiritual growth. Jesus wants Christians to love our enemies so we may be sons of God.
But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matt. 5:44, 45
In order to overcome Satan, all Christians must fight him. We must work with Jesus to get God’s children back. The Apostle John said the Christians in the first century overcame Satan by of the word of their testimony, plus two other reasons: their faith in the blood of Christ and they did not love their lives unto death.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even until death. Rev. 12:11
The last question we may want answered is; how far should I, personally, go for evangelism? This certainly is a personal question and the answer depends on some variables. One thing is certain, Christians must have a healthy eschatological view; that is, a healthy view of physical death and things beyond, before we will give ourselves to long range evangelism – with or without support. Paul could commit himself totally because he had a strong faith in the resurrection of the dead (Phil. 1:21-24). He was comfortable the “earthen vessels” concept (II Cor. 4:7-14).
Biblical Eschatology is the title of Part Six, the last part of this series of lessons. It should help our dedication to evangelism.
Questions for Discussion
- Why did Jesus give the Great Commission?
- What is the geographical strategy of Jesus?
- Where can we find the methodology of Jesus in the scriptures?
- What is the message that should be used in evangelism?
- List the four parts of the reconciliation strategy of Jesus.
- List the scriptures that chronologically traces the preaching of the kingdom of God in the New Testament.
- What is different about the message Jesus and John, the Baptist, preached about God’s kingdom and the message of the apostles preached in the book of Acts?
- How do we know the gospel preached by the church included the concepts presented by Jesus in the parables and in the Sermon on the Mount?
- Make a list of the theologies set forth in Paul’s introductory remarks to the church at Ephesus.
- Why might we believe the foregoing list is the gospel of the kingdom of God? Why might we believe this should be preached to the lost people in the world?
- What is unique about Jesus’ reconciliation work?
- Who is an evangelist?
- How did the church understand the “them” in the commission Jesus gave in Matt. 28:19, 20?
- How can we learn about our own personal evangelism responsibility?
- Give your understanding of the evangelism program that was in operation in the first century? Is this applicable for today?
- Why should the church today be able to initiate a good evangelism effort?
- How can different attitudes about the main activity of the church change our understanding of certain scriptures in relation to evangelism?
- If we decide we are too immature in our sanctification to engage in evangelism, what should we do?
- What is the connection between the fruit of the Spirit and evangelism?
- How can our participation in evangelism help our spiritual growth?
