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Winning Souls for Jesus Christ is not merely the work of those who are called to be an evangelist. It is the work of every true believer.
There are many passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament which show that God requires everyone that believes in Him to seek to share their faith with unbelievers with the aim of expanding the kingdom of God, and de-populating the kingdom of Satan. Some of these passages are listed below:
Proverbs 11:30
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”
Daniel 12:3
“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”
Matthew 28:17-20
“When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Mark 8:38
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 16:15-18
“And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
The Truth About Personal Evangelism
Active faith is never redundant. A person may be naturally shy or quiet. They may not have social skills for communicating or befriending others, but this in itself does not matter. Those who truly believe in Jesus Christ will always seek occasions to talk about Him to unbelievers. They will use every opportunity to mention His name to others in the hope that those who hear them will believe, repent of their sins, and become united with Christ Jesus.
There are reasons why believers fail to talk to other people about their own faith in Christ. These are some of the reasons:
They are ungrateful and unthankful.
The Bible says that in the last days, people will be ungrateful and unthankful. If the Lord is wondrous to you, if you have received mercy from Him, you certainly should make mention of His name to others as a matter of gratitude.
See 2Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 1:18-21.
Psalm 9:1
I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
Psalm 71:15-17
“My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness, and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works.”
Psalm 22:22
I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
They are selfish, self-conscious and egoistic.
If you keep the good news of salvation to yourself, you are putting many lives in danger of going to hell. Some people say they are shy, some say they are afraid of being called names, some say they have no knowledge of the Bible or of what to say if unbelievers question their faith. Some people are just too proud to be associated with something that is not fashionable, such as preaching the gospel!
2Kings 7:8-9
“And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household.”
Ezekiel 33:6-7
“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.”
2Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Matthew 10:19
“But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak…”
Psalm 149:4
“For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.”
Their lifestyle is in conflict with the teachings of Jesus.
When a believer’s personal life is not different from unbelievers’, it is difficult for them to talk about salvation. Their own sinful life is not an example of the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ. If indeed the believer is a city set upon a hill, sharing the gospel is very easy because their lamp will be shining in the darkness around them. Actions indeed speak louder than words!
Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Their faith is tested and weakened by the kind of society they live in
A society in which people believe in science, idols, material things and hate to hear about God often makes strong believers weak, and weak believers lose their faith altogether. The fact is when believers are not focused on Jesus alone, their attention is divided and their faith becomes gradually unproductive. Society is not to blame for this, it is the believer who takes his or her sight away from God!
Genesis 19:26
“But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Luke 17:26-29
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”
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Examples of Evangelism in the Bible
Genesis 19:12-16 – The Example of Lot
Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city-take them out of this place! "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Matthew 24:37-38 – The Example of Noah
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Daniel 12:3 – The Example from Daniel
Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
Jeremiah 1:5, 10 – The Example from Jeremiah
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations… See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.
Isaiah 1:18 – The Example from Isaiah
“Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
John 1: 35-46 – The Examples of John, the Baptist, Andrew and Phillip
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Other Patterns in the Bible
John the Baptist
John 1:19-28; 29-35
The unnamed disciple - Luke 9:49-50
Andrew - John 1:40-42
Philip - John 1:43-51
Barriers to Personal Evangelism
1John 5:21
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
2Corinthians 6:14 -
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”
Romans 12:2
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” |
