Evanglism -- BY THE GRACE OF GOD ARE YOU SAVED

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Date Posted: 17:02:38 10/07/99 Thu
Author: V Hodges
Author Host/IP: pm3-1-ppp22.iximd.com / 151.196.80.86
Subject: Evanglism

Evangelism { The process of communicating the message of salvation to the unbeliever}

A. Scope: All Nations [ Matt. 28: 18-20 ; Mark 16:15]House To House [ Acts 5:42 ]Always [ 1 Peter 3:15 ]As Ambassadors [ 2 Cor 5:18-20 ]

Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name ofthe Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,even to the end of the age."
(NAS)

Mark 16:15

15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.(NAS)

Acts 5:42
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

1 Pet 3:15
15 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;

2 Cor 5:18-20
18 Now all {these} things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us;we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
(NAS)

The Bible Emphasizes that we are to go tell others the good news of the gospel. Thismeans we as who have been saved are to be involved in evangelism The mandate of evangelism can be seen throughout Scripture.

It begins in creation, extends through the chosen people, Israel, and culminates in the life of Christ and His Church.

God's mandates is recorded in five different passages for us to read. You may read them by turning to (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48, John 20:21; and in Acts 1:8)
Theses scriptures apply to all believers, and set forth the task in which we are to be involved until Christ returns.

In (Ezk 33:11 ) we read _____ "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and
live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'
(NAS)

Evangelism .......... Declaring the Gospel to the Unregenerate. To all nations........... Matt. 28:18-20
House To House.......... Acts 5:48 Always....... 1 Peter 3:15 As Ambassadors....... 2 Cor 5:18-20

Through out the scriptures God has made it clear that we as Christians do have the responsibility to be going and sharing the good news that Christ has come to save the lost through the giving of His life for them that they in faith in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ( John 3:16 )

Scriptures:

1 Chr 16:24-25.....Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods.

Matt 4:19...Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Matt 9:37-38....Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Mark 4:14......"The sower sows the word.

Mark 13:10.....And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.

Mark 16:15.....And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Luke 9:60......But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."

Luke 24:47......and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

John 15:16...."You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and {that} your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.

Jesus said; (Matt 28:19-20),"Go therefore and make disciples of all the 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."

Acts 26:18..... to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. '

Rom 10:14-15.......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!"

God puts it this way...........(Ezek 33:7-8)So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Ezek 18:23.......Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

The man who dies in his unregenerate state will be lost and lost forever. When a million eternities have passed by into the unthinkable past this will not shorten his time in the
lake of fire by one second.

Do we have a responsibility to warn our love ones, neighbors of the consequences of sin and not repenting and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? I remind you to read ( Ezek 33:17-18 and Matt. 28:18-20.

We not all have been called to be evangelist, but we all have been called to share our faith in Christ to all whom will listen. The scriptures tell s us to " Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ( Mark 16:15 )

We are to be ready at all times to give an account for the hope that is in us. We are to do this with gentleness and in reverance. ( 1 Peter 3:15 ) Of all the more experienced
evangelist they all have said that the most effective method of evangelism is where the "verbalization " of the gospel is preceded by the " incarnation" of the gospel ie. demonstrating the truth of the gospel in our lives before we try to preach to others.)

BILL HYBELS has said------" When true believers are awed by the greatness of God and the privilege of becoming his children, then they become sincerely motivated, effective
evangelists."

As we have seen in the commissioning of the church,effective evangelism is God's will for the church. How should we fulfill this commission? We need three elements in a successful evangelistic ministry:

1. A plan for proclaiming or sharing the gospel with non- Christians, and people willing and able to implement the plan.

2. A prayer ministry that opens doors for the gospel and renders people receptive in spite of satan's opposition.

3. A community into which we can bring those who are intrested in the message. In an evangelistic community, non-Christians see the gospel being lived out by Christians,
and have the opportunity to have their questions answered by more learned members if they desire. They also are in position to begin to learn the basics of Christianity
once they make the decision to receive Christ.

There are a wide variety of evangelistic methods available, the Church must select the evangelistic methods which God is guiding them into by the direction of the Holy Spirit.

It is my feeling that any Church that is not involved evangelistically in some way is a church that is either dead spiritually or will die spiritually.

Here are some suggestions for evangelism:

Friendship evangelism......... Evangelism occurs most easily within existing relationships, rather than talking to strangers.

Since we usually already have credibility with our friends and family members, they are more likely to take the gospel seriously. Because of indentfication with friends, it is easier for non-Christians to envision him/herself becoming a Christian. Also, the skills involved in effective friendship evangelism are much more common than those needed for cold-contact evangelism.

The scriptures which support the above principle is (Jn. 1:41-51, Acts 16:30-34, and 1 Peter 3:1,2 )

Those of us who family, friends who have never repented and receive the free gift of salvation should be aware of the responsibility and opportunity that we have to reach
these relatives and friends for Christ.

We should ask for prayer support from our Christian brethren and sisters in reaching the lost friends and relatives.

Then we should patiently and carefully endeavor to share
the grace of God with them. If we are unsure about how to bring the subject up, or what to say, we should ask older Christians for help in these areas. Likewise if we encounter
resistance or other difficulties, we should not hesitate to ask for ideas from older Christian friends.

If we have no unshaved friends or relatives, we still can :

* We can continue to maintain and foster a convinced outlook that outreach is right, and that it is important. This consensus is a vital part of the motivating, healthy environment needed to encourage evangelism in others.

* We can pray for- non - Christians by name.

* We can spend time with non- Christians trying to make friends, showing them the love of Christ in various ways. Christians need to be willing to socialize with non- Christians.This is directly implied in Christ's command that we not only "love them that love us." ( Matt 5:46,47 )

* We may be able to help those who have friends investigating Christianity by advising them, encouraging them, or joining them with friends.

The Bible has made it's self clear that God will give us the opportunities to share our faith and will create need in those people with whom we talk.

We need to seek every opportunity to reach the lost as we walk the pathway of life. One day we all will stand
before the Lord and give an account of how we lived our lives in relations to His will in our life.

Jesus came to do the will of His Father and to save the lost. He met both requirements and He has mandated us to be "Going , making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things I commanded and Lo I will be with you unto the end of the age.

My question is -----" Could the end of the age be near and are you sharing Your Faith?"

In Christ
Vernon Hodges

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