Evangelism: Eight “Do’s” and “Don’ts” In Preparing For Conversations

“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

     Most Christians know that we need to talk to more people about Jesus Christ. Most of us recognize that we need to extend more invitations to worship assemblies, to Bible studies, to singings, and to anything that teaches one about the Lord and focuses upon the condition of the soul. Most of us freely admit that there is nothing more important in this world than preparing for the next. Yet, for a number of reasons, we are often hesitant to do much about it in terms of talking to others. This very broad statement is certainly not meant to encompass the entirety of the brotherhood but you'll know if it describes you.

     The biblical pattern for evangelism is found in the above verse from Acts 8:4. At the end of the day, we’ve got to open our mouths and speak to people about the Lord. What stops us from doing it? This is the first of a series on evangelism focused specifically upon conversations. Before the conversation ever begins there are several things to bear in mind.

Four “Don’ts”

1. Don’t saddle yourself with arbitrary restrictions. I have noticed that nearly every restriction that prevents us from beginning a conversation with someone about the Lord is a restriction of our own devising. Located on a college campus, I have seen these arbitrary restrictions fairly often and have even created a few of them myself. Here’s what I mean: a student passes by with several books and a purposeful walk. Clearly this student is too busy to speak so I’ll just let her pass. Another student is strolling along with his ear buds in mouthing the words of the song on his phone. Clearly he’ll not appreciate an interruption so I’d best let him go on by. This next fellow looks like a professor. Clearly he will not be interested in what I have to say. I’d better not approach him. Here comes a group of students laughing and talking loudly. I’m certain they won’t appreciate me stopping them. I’m just going to let them go on by.

     Do you see the problem here? Each restriction is entirely arbitrary. The truth is we have no idea how any of these people will respond until we speak to them. Friends, if we’re not careful we’ll saddle ourselves with so many arbitrary restrictions that the only person we’ll speak to is the one who walks up to us and asks us to tell them about Jesus. Honestly, how often does that happen?

2. Don’t decide for the person before ever speaking to them. This happens far too often. This man has too many tattoos; he won’t care one bit about Jesus. This woman is cursing up a storm; she’d laugh at me if I mentioned the Lord. Those teenagers are talking about their latest sexual exploits; they’ll certainly not be willing to give the gospel a hearing.

     Do you see the problem here? Before ever speaking a word to any of these people I’ve decided for them that they’ll not be willing to hear. I’m certainly glad Christians did not do that to me, aren’t you? Making our own decisions is enough; let’s not take up the business of deciding for others as well. We’re simply not qualified.

3. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Let’s just be honest about this: the vast majority of people who hear about the Lord will reject Him. This should never come as a surprise for our Lord Himself warned us it would be this way (Matthew 7:13-14). So what do we do when someone flat out rejects the gospel? We buck up, pray that they’ll change their minds in the future, and move on to the next person. Rejection is not a failure on our part; quitting because of it is.

4. Don’t be afraid of questions. Questions are a wonderful thing! If someone takes the time to question us it demonstrates that they’ve given at least a little thought to these matters and they care enough to ask about them. This is the person we’re looking for. Now’s the time to rejoice, not retreat!

     “I don’t always know the answers.” Neither do I. No one knows them all. Don’t be afraid to tell someone that you can’t give a thoughtful, Bible answer at the moment of the question. Tell them you’d love to study it with them or, if they’d prefer, you’d be happy to study it yourself and get back to them. I have found that the questioner is almost always a contact. Embrace questions; don’t fear them!

Four Do’s

1. Do remember that we work for and with God. The Creator of the Universe has commissioned us. There is no greater authority than His. Not only has He commissioned us; He has equipped us to carry out the task (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Indeed, Paul shows that we work with God, not just for Him (1 Corinthians 3:9). This is a reason for great confidence and joy. Even when we seek conversations without the aid of fellow brethren, we know that God Himself is working with and through us. With this thought firmly in mind, what is there to fear?

2. Do pray often. Do you need to pray more? Become evangelistic and I promise that your prayer life will blossom. When Nehemiah stood before Artaxerxes, the King asked him what he requested. At that very moment Nehemiah uttered a quick prayer to the God of heaven (Nehemiah 2:1-4). This prayer must not have taken more than a few seconds but it emboldened Nehemiah and filled him with confidence. It will do the same for us.

     A quick prayer for wisdom, courage, and proper attitude takes only a few seconds. Say one every time you prepare to speak to someone about the Lord. When the message is rejected, pray for continuing boldness and receptive hearts. When someone stops to speak to you, pray for wisdom in speech. When someone asks you a question, pray for clarity of thought and message. When someone agrees to study, thank God for having found this person. The evangelistic life is the praying life.

3. Do see everyone as a potential candidate for salvation. As long as the Lord’s invitation to come to Him continues to apply to every person willing to do it (Matthew 11:28-30), we must see every person as a candidate for salvation. Will Christ reject the individual who is a little rough around the edges should that person choose to become a Christian and submit to Him? Of course not! Then how can we reject them as candidates for salvation before ever delivering the message? Even the most unlikely may someday become a stalwart in the kingdom. Just ask Saul of Tarsus (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

4. Do get out of God’s way! Ultimately I suppose this is what it comes down to, isn’t it? The greatest hindrances to God’s message being spread in this world are often Christians themselves. In inventing restrictions, prejudging who will and will not hear, and fearing to speak at all we often stand paralyzed. It is only when we recognize that the sufficiency and power is in God that we will get out of His way and let Him work. Ours is to plant the seed while God causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6). The seed won’t grow unless it has been planted. Let’s plant and let God do His work!

     May every saint plant bountifully, faithfully, and zealously!

Finding Time To Read The Bible During A Busy Day

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the scared writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17

     Occasionally I’m asked what I believe to be the most important activity a Christian can engage in on a daily basis. I suppose such a question could be answered in several ways. A Christian should serve everyday, pray everyday, evangelize everyday, and just generally let their lights shine. However, I firmly believe that the single most important activity a Christian can engage in each day is Bible reading. In His Word God guides us, instructs us, and reveals His extraordinary plan to save us. Would we see spiritual growth in our lives? Getting ourselves into His Word on a daily basis is the way to do it.

     Most Christians know they should read the Bible every day and I believe sincerely desire to do so. However, many days come and go without the Scriptures receiving a single glance simply because our days are so full. Indeed, “I just don’t have the time” is the most common complaint I receive when it comes to daily Bible reading. It is my firm belief that the time does exist in every case, we’ve just got to have our eyes open to find those windows and our hearts prepared to take advantage of them. The following suggestions have been helpful in my life and in the life of many Christians.

Suggestions

-Train yourself to find opportunities. Daily Bible reading is a habit. Habits are formed and developed over time. Do you frequent a particular news site on your computer or phone? Perhaps you still take the daily paper? Do you find the time to read it every day, regardless of how busy your day is? If so, you’ve developed the habit and always manage to find time in your day to do it. The same is true of daily Bible reading. Write yourself notes, put a reminder into your calendar, program your phone to send you a reminder at the same time every day. Habits are learned over time and through regular practice. So, too, will this one.

-Leave a Bible program open on your computer (work and/or home) at all times. A site like biblegateway.com is wonderful for this sort of thing. Just choose the translation you wish to read from and start reading. If the program is always open, and you spend a great deal of time on the computer each day, then it will always be right in front of your face. Take advantage of it.

-Download a free Bible application on your smart phone. Most of us these days have smart phones that travel with us wherever we go. Simply go to your “app store,” type in the word “Bible,” and choose the application you wish to download. Many of them are free and even offer daily reading plans. Again, my preference is Bible Gateway but any application that lets you use the Bible will work. We cannot always carry around the Holy Scriptures in book form but we can keep them with us in digital form at all times. Downloading the Bible to your phone or tablet creates countless opportunities throughout a day. If you’ve not done it, do it now.

-Keep your eyes open! Do you have a couple of minutes between meetings at work? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Do you have a short window before you need to return from lunch? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Does your walk from one class to the next take a couple of minutes? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Are you filling up at the gas station? Set the pump to automatic and pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Are you in a long line to check out in a store? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Obviously this list could go on for a very long time. These few minutes add up and several chapters can be read throughout the day.

-Get out of bed twenty minutes earlier or stay up twenty minutes later. Not all of us have smart phones or tablets, right? What are the one’s who can’t carry a Bible around with them all day supposed to do? If need be, get up earlier and get down later. If you get out of bed twenty minutes earlier, go through your morning routine to prepare for work or school, you’ll have twenty extra minutes before you’ve got to go. Don’t turn on the television or computer, pick up your Bible and read for twenty minutes. Can’t get out of bed twenty minutes earlier? Stay up twenty minutes later and use that time to read.

-Never fail to read because you don’t have time to study! It is quite popular these days to hear it said, “Reading the Bible and studying it are not the same thing!” Unfortunately, that’s often said in a way that seems to deemphasize the foundational importance of simply reading God’s Word. That’s a grave mistake! It’s reading the Bible that creates a hunger to study it. Never imagine that because you don’t have the time to engage in a word study that you cannot benefit from simply reading God’s Word.

     Technology has allowed us to carry the Holy Scriptures around with us digitally wherever we go. Opportunities to read the Scriptures, if only for a few minutes at a time, abound. Busy Christians (and don’t most of us fall into that category?) have found these suggestions and techniques helpful in finding time to read their Bibles each day. May you benefit from them as well! 

How Can Busy Parents Serve The Brethren?

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” 
Galatians 5:13

“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Romans 12:13

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Galatians 6:10

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

John 13:14-15

     The New Testament is quite clear: saints are to be servants. We are to consider the needs of our brethren, seek out opportunities to fill those needs to the best of our abilities, and live as selflessly as we can. However, there is a time in the Christian’s life when being a servant to the brethren becomes especially difficult, not because of an unwillingness to do it, but because the demand on our time is constant and so very demanding. I am speaking of the years when our children are very young, very needy, and always requiring attention.

     For those of us who have young children it is very easy for our world to shrink to the confines of our own homes. We feed them, bathe them, play with them, bandage them when necessary, comfort them after a scrape or bruise, clothe them, hold them, put their pajama’s on, tuck them in at night, love them always, and then repeat the process the next day. Sometimes we even lose track of the day as they begin to sort of run together. This process is repeated daily for several years.

     I have seen in my own family how easy it is to stop being a servant to the brethren when young children are at home. It is not because we love the brethren any less or have no desire to serve them; it is simply that the demands on our time are so stringent. If we’re not careful our world quickly extends no further than the walls of our own home. As the above verses demonstrate, that’s quite a problem. Saints are servants; even when young children are in the home.

     So, how are busy parents to find the time to serve their brethren and others? Below are several suggestions that I have found helpful and hope you will as well.

Suggestions

1. Do not discount the service you can render without stepping foot outside your home. Make sure you listen to the announcements before worship to see who is in need of thoughts and prayers. If the congregation of which you are part prints a bulletin containing a list of those in need, make sure you take one home with you each week. Mention those people in your private prayers, but then take the extra step of giving them a call or sending them a card. If you’re especially busy and often lose track of time, write yourself reminders and put them in prominent places throughout the house. Write a different name and phone number on each reminder and give that brother or sister a call, preferably the moment you see the reminder. It may not seem like much to us, but it can make someone’s day to receive a call from a loving brother or sister, especially when they can hear the little one’s tearing through the house on the other end of the line.

2. Check with certain brothers or sisters before making the family grocery run. It is not easy for some of our brethren to get out these days. A simple visit to the grocery store can take about all the energy they have. There may be an item or two they could really use but just haven’t been able to get out to pick it up. Perhaps we can do it for them.

3. Prepare an extra serving and provide a brother or sister with dinner. This is such an easy thing to do and really lets the brethren know that we’re thinking of them. Often brethren who are hesitant to ask someone to make a grocery run for them greatly appreciate a prepared plate of dinner.

4. Make a drive through town to serve a brother or sister in some way a “family night.” I have noticed that often our children don’t really care what we’re doing as long as we’re doing it together. Taking a meal to someone, even if they don’t leave the car, is often great fun for the kids simply because they’re out of the house and driving around with mommy and daddy.

5. Have brethren with young children over to the house for a meal and conversation. With your children tearing through the house, it can make inviting brethren over seem a bit intimidating. We worry about how the children will behave and how many messes will need to be cleaned up. Inviting brethren with children about the same age provides the children some friends to tear through the house with, and provides the parents some adult conversation. It’s also a wonderful way to get to know brethren better and serve their needs.

6. Incorporate the children into your serving. As they get a bit older, start making a point of showing them what service looks like. Take them to hospitals and homes to visit. Have them write a note to a brother while you’re writing one to a sister. Start asking them what can be done with the extra food from dinner. Start asking them why we do these things for people. The sooner they learn what service looks like, the sooner they’ll come to understand the love and compassion that motivates it.

7. Read the Bible, sing songs, and pray with your children every night. I know we’re tired. I know they’ve been bouncing off the walls all day. I know we’re counting down the moments until they’re tucked safely in bed and we can collapse onto the couch with an exhausted sigh. However, let’s make sure our days are not complete until God has been allowed to speak to the family through His Word. Let a different child choose their favorite song each night (We’ve sung Trust And Obey more often sitting on the floor at home than in any building). Ask the children to say their own prayer before going to bed. Every night one of our children asks, “Daddy, can we do our reading now?” There is no surer way to teach them about service than in letting them hear it directly from the mouth of God.

   

     Parents of young children, we can be servants to our brethren. I hope these suggestions help you as much as they have helped me.

Be Not Overcome With Shame

     Romans 6:20-21 says, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?  For the end of those things is death.”  Many years ago I was in the home of an evangelist when a brother in Christ came to his house in tears, devastated and ashamed that he had given in to a particular temptation. Over the years I have seen many Christians in similar situations. Indeed, what Christian among us has not felt great shame at having committed an individual sin or a series of them?

     Shame at sin is good and something all Christians should feel. After all, Christ died so that we could be freed from bondage to sin and inherit salvation. Christians do not live in sin (Romans 6:15-18) so none of us should ever maintain a nonchalant attitude toward it. Paul reminds us that godly sorrow  (of which shame is part—see Psalm 51) leads one to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).

     However, sometimes Christians have been so overwhelmed by shame that they convinced themselves that God could not forgive them for what they’d done. I have heard Christians state that they no longer felt they could do “enough” to make up for the sins they had committed, that God could not be convinced to forgive them. Herein lies a sad misunderstanding of God’s grace. None of us, not even the most godly and righteous, can do enough to earn God’s forgiveness. What does “enough” mean? Who determines when “enough” has been achieved? Paul said, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). The wonderful teaching of this verse is that the greater the need for God’s grace, the greater the supply becomes! We can’t do enough to earn God’s grace, but because it is grace we don’t have to! Remember, “if it is the adherents of the law (those relying solely on their own ability to achieve salvation--AL) who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise void” (Romans 4:14). To walk by faith is to recognize that one’s own ability can never save him but only God’s grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

     All of this means that God does not require absolute perfection on our part (if He did who among us could ever be saved?), but a life lived in Christ. This life is no mystical, indefinable thing. It is the life of one who has “become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). This means that one’s practice is to walk in the light (1 John 1:7). They are not perfect but they are quick to repent of sins knowing that they will be forgiven because God’s grace is strong enough to forgive any sin (Romans 5:20) and has promised to do so (1 John 1:9)!

         So by all means, let us feel shame at sin. There’s a problem if we don’t! But let us always remember that we will not be saved on the basis of our own goodness and ability, but the grace of God as our lives continue to be those of faith. Praise God for that!                   

"Lord, What About This Man?"

     After Jesus restored Peter to service in a very touching scene, John concludes his gospel with an interesting exchange. “Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:20-22).

     Peter is often viewed in a negative light in this place and it is often assumed that his motive in asking about John was purely selfish. That could be true. However, it could also be that Peter was concerned and curious about a dear friend. After all, Peter had just been told that he would be martyred (John 21:18-19). I suppose it would be odd for Peter not to be concerned about the manner of his friend John’s death upon learning the manner of his own. While we do not know Peter’s motivation for certain, it is perhaps not entirely necessary to cast him in a negative light in this place. These could have been the words of a concerned friend.

     However, whether Peter’s motives were pure or not, Jesus used Peter’s words to remind him of something very important: Peter needed to follow Christ regardless of what anyone else was doing. Peter had to look back, taking his eyes off the Master, to see John following. Jesus told him to keep his eyes trained on Him. What a lesson for you and I today!

     Often when Alexander or Jacob does something wrong they immediately point at one another and say something like, “He was doing it, too. He shouldn’t get any cookies or snacks for the rest of the day!” Such behavior is understandable, even a bit humorous, from a 6 and 4 year old. Unfortunately, we Christians act like children from time to time, don’t we? I have heard Christians rightly rebuked respond with something like, “If you’re going to rebuke me, you’d better not forget about brother Smith!” or “Well, surely you don’t think I’m the only one! What about sister Martin?” All sin needs to be corrected, yet surely our Lord’s, “You follow me!” is appropriate in such cases.

     Other times Christians focus almost all their attention upon everything happening around them. They are focused upon the abilities, accomplishments, commendations, career opportunities, financial successes, and blessings of their brethren. Some brethren have even questioned why a brother or sister should be allowed to profit so extraordinarily. Jesus says, “If it is my will…what is that to you? You follow me!”

     None of this is to say that saints ought not to be concerned with their brethren. It is to say that at the end of the day Adam is responsible for Adam and Adam needs to be taking care of Adam’s business, not everyone else’s. The next time we find ourselves asking Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” let us make certain the man (or woman) under consideration is the one looking right back at us from the mirror. That man (or woman) follows Christ and must never forget it.    

Do We Play Any Role In Our Salvation?

     The above question was asked of a man not long ago. In his response he cited Ephesians 2:8 and said “we are saved by grace alone through faith alone.” From there he stated that grace cannot be earned or merited and thus there is absolutely no role for us to play in our salvation. There are two thoughts expressed in his response that I want to consider in this article.

     First, the Bible nowhere says that we are saved by “grace alone through faith alone.”  Paul’s actual words are, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”  Many like to add the word “alone” after grace and faith, which Paul did not do.  They make Paul’s words nonsensical for if one is saved by grace “alone” than he cannot be saved by faith “alone” and vice versa.  Adding to God’s Word in an effort to promote a particular position is exceedingly dangerous (2 John 9-10).

     Second, to claim that there is absolutely no role for one to play in his or her salvation is simply untrue. When God calls upon us to obey Him He is not instructing us to earn grace (which is impossible) but to prove that we have saving faith (which is a necessity).  This can be demonstrated any number of ways but for the purposes of this article we will consider Galatians 5:19-25.  “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

     

     Consider the following thoughts:

     -Galatians was written to Christians (Galatians 1:2-3).

   -The Galatian brethren were being warned about the works of the flesh for at least a second time (5:21b).

    -To make a practice of the works of the flesh ensures that one will not inherit the kingdom of God (5:21b).

    -Saints are not to live according to the flesh (controlled by passion and sinful desires) but are to walk by the Spirit (5:25).

   -Paul’s word “walk” is stoicheo and means “to be in line with.”  Thus, saints are to actively and purposefully seek “to be in line with” the Spirit.

    -We know the Spirit’s will through the revelation passed on to inspired men (2 Peter 1:20-21).

  -The Spirit says that those belonging to Jesus Christ “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  In this passage Paul speaks not of something done to us but something done by us (5:24).

     

     Taking all of the above together we arrive at this conclusion: Christians are to walk in line with the Spirit.  We accomplish this by doing what He says.  As those who have crucified their sinful passions and desires we must not revive them to again walk according to the flesh for those who do will never inherit the kingdom of God.

     So, do we play any role in our salvation? Yes. Does this mean that we are earning our salvation? No. Perhaps the most pertinent consideration in a discussion of this kind is the nature of saving faith. While we have not the room to explore it in detail Paul has shown us that saving faith is walking by the Spirit. The only way to know if we’re doing that is by paying attention to what He has said, not in some ill-defined whisper into our hearts, but through the revelation of Scripture. Obeying what is revealed therein is not earning one’s salvation, but proving one has saving faith (James 2:17-18).     

David's Source of Comfort After Tragic Loss

    “Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped.  He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.”  (2 Samuel 12:20)

     The events described in the passage above took place immediately following the death of the child born of the adultery committed between David and Bathsheba. For seven days David fasted and prostrated himself on the ground before God, begging that the life of the child be spared. God said no. The child died, David rose, cleaned himself up, and marched directly into the house of God to worship. That’s incredible, isn’t it?

     It occurs to me that David could have turned several places besides God to seek comfort. Let’s consider some of them now.

     David could have sought comfort in the world. He could have pursued every pleasure and succumbed to every temptation. He could have drowned himself in all that the world had to offer in an effort to escape the pain of his child’s loss. He could have, as many do, spew invectives at God as he destroyed himself through reckless, prodigal living. But the world held little pleasure for David. Too many of his nights had been spent hiding in caves and wondering lonely, barren ground for him to love the world. He could never turn to it for comfort.

     He could have turned to his fellow man. He could have built his faith upon man’s advice and wisdom. He could have found those who would have gladly pointed to the unfairness of God. He could have found men who would massage his ego and assure him that such a catastrophe should never happen to one as mighty as the king.  However, men had disappointed David too often for him to find lasting comfort there. Certainly he lamented on more than one shoulder and felt some respite in doing so. However, there was no lasting comfort there. David needed something more, something sure. He couldn’t find it in man.

     He could have turned inward. He could have decided that from then on he was going to keep his own counsel. But David realized that it was his own fault that all of this had happened in the first place. So how could David find comfort in himself when it was his own selfishness that had led to adultery, dishonesty, conspiracy, murder, and the death of the child? No, David certainly could not retreat inward to find comfort.

     For David to find lasting, true comfort he had to turn to the Comforter Himself. So too must we. The pleasures of this world are fleeting (Hebrews 11:25). Even the best of people will disappoint us (Acts 15:36-39). Keeping our own counsel is a sure path to spiritual ruin (Jeremiah 10:23). Let us find our comfort where David found his. Let us flee to the arms of God.