Should All Christians Evangelise?

Some medical students at St Mary’s Hospital in London were on a teaching ward round with their consultant. They were introduced to a patient with an advanced cancer in the throat. The consultant said to the students,

“This man will probably choke on his food and die within six months. Can you tell him what the meaning of life is?”

I was talking with my surgical registrar and asked him a similar question.

“What is the point of life?”

He wasn’t sure so I suggested the point of life is to discover what the point is and then to make that the point of our lives.

If we are Christians then what is the point of our lives? The classical answer is that we should be holy people, living our lives as God wants, and share the gospel with other people. Many Christian leaders accept the first part but today there is a questioning about the second. Is one religion really better than another? Shouldn’t we respect others religions as of equal validity? Is evangelism that important? I would like us to try and answer this with a quick overview of the Bible, starting with the Old Testament.

A child was once asked,

“What is the Old Testament”.

She replied,

“That bit of the Bible written before God became a Christian.”

This is a profoundly wrong answer, although the talks given in many churches give the impression that this is what many clergymen seem to think. Does the Old Testament have any answers to whether all Christians should evangelise?

The Creation Story

The first two chapters of the Bible are a pattern for so much that follows. It emphasises that God made us and right at the beginning there was a very close friendship between himself and the first couple, Adam and Eve. They had a perfect relationship with each other as they lived in God’s home, Eden. They had a joy and freedom never experienced by human beings since. This is the ideal Gods wants for all people. Genesis 2:16 is what so many young people would love to hear,

“You are free . . . . “

They had incredible freedom to make their own decisions about what to do. There was only one prohibition – God was to be the decider of what was morally right and wrong.

“. . . but you must not eat from tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat it you will surely die.” Gen 2:17

That remains God’s purpose for all people. He wants everyone to have a close relationship with him, enjoying all the fringe benefits that come with this. Karl Barth said,

“Blessing flowed unrestricted out of the garden in all directions.”

This is also God’s vision for the future, a place where people will ‘rejoice and be glad for ever’.

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.” Isaiah 65:17

The restoration of this paradise is taken up at the end of the Bible.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, . . . And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will be with them. They will be his people, God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rev 21:1-4

It is also important to note that this beginning was universal. Adam was the forefather of all people, not just the Jewish nation. God is concerned with the whole human race. We are all his creation whatever our ethnic background.

The rest of the Bible is sandwiched deliberately between these two book-ends. It describes the story of ‘Paradise Lost’ and then ‘Paradise Regained’.

That we are no longer in this garden of paradise is obvious; that was lost in Genesis 3. Somehow Adam and Eve were seduced into believing that life would somehow be better without God. The devil misrepresented “divine love as envy, service as servility and a suicidal plunge as a leap into life” (Derek Kidner). Adam and Eve were warned that there would be severe consequences if they disobeyed God.

“When you eat of it you will surely die.” Gen 2:17

What actually happened when they disobeyed was not their immediate physical death - that was to come later. They were however banished from the presence of God. Adam and Eve cannot just return if they want to, because of the armed guard set up by God. The whole Bible is clear that this expulsion represents spiritual death. Whilst the guard to the garden is there, the relationship with God cannot be restored. We cannot return.

The whole Bible is about this theme. How can the relationship with God ever be restored, when it is impossible for us to mend the divide? As we are in a hopeless hole, God must rescue us if we are to have any hope. This is the purpose of the church, to explain how a relationship with God can be found. The Church does not exist primarily to suggest better ethical behaviour, or point to other values in life that counter the anxiety and materialism so rife today. Such benefits may be indirect spin-offs, but primarily we exist to address the main problem of life, the main problem the Bible addresses - we are excluded from God because we have believed a lie.

If the church’s primary emphasis is on a friendly community supporting one other, on encouraging social concerns, on relieving anxiety or illness - in other words an emphasis on this life, then we can expect the response, “I am finding my satisfaction in the tennis club, golf club or meditation or other religious activities.”

When Adam and Eve had disobeyed God and faced his anger, God promised a solution and that this would be in the form of a man who would himself be the rescuer or saviour. He said to the serpent that a descendant of Eve would mend the damage done by Satan

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel” Gen 3:15

The Patriarchs

The great search of the Bible is for this saviour. The genealogies are not just there to show that all people descended from Adam, they point the way to this saviour. The Bible emphasises the descendants of Shem, the father of the Semitic (Shemitic) races. God then calls out one man from Ur called Abram. Would he be the Saviour? He was certainly told to “go to the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Isn’t it interesting how much the promised land features in the Old Testament. Abraham was promised,

“To your offspring I will give this land.” Gen 12:7

God is promising that through Abraham he will restore the lost paradise, yet this blessing was not just because of a geographical siting within a productive land. Abraham only owned one field within this land - he never owned the land. It was made clear that the blessing had to do with Abraham himself and this blessing was to be open to people of all nations.

“I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Gen 12:2,3

We need to remember that the God described in the Old Testament is interested in all peoples of the earth. The whole history of Israel is to demonstrate that God wants to deal with all nations. And this blessing of the nations will have something to do with a relationship with Abraham. If he is not to be the Saviour for all peoples, was one of his descendants to fulfil the role?

The remaining histories in the Old Testament, from Genesis 12 to 2 Kings 25 is all about God’s dealings with Abraham and his descendants in the light of this promise.

The next major development was the rescue of Abraham’s descendants from captivity in Egypt. The ‘Exodus’ was to bring them to the ‘Promised Land’. It became very clear that the promise was not just geographical, it had much more to do with the relationship the people had with God himself.

Why did God rescue Israel?

“But I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.” Exodus 9:16

In other words it was that God’s good news of Salvation should be told throughout the world – in other words, World Evangelisation. Our word ‘Evangel’ comes from the Greek ‘Eu-angelion’, which literally means ‘Good News’. Israel’s role in telling this news to the nations was to be central.

“ ‘Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a Holy Nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Exodus 19:6

Priests act as mediators between God and man. He draws men back to God by proclaiming God’s message and he brings God to men by praying. The main way they were to fulfil this role was to live such godly lives that others would see the blessings God gave and so want to return to him, although there were some prophets who had a special preaching ministry to other nations, such as Jonah and Amos. There were some interesting ladies mentioned in these Old Scriptures. Have you wondered why Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho just before the city was destroyed by Joshua, was mentioned? Is it a coincidence that she married Salmon, one of Joshua’s soldiers and that her great, great grandson was to become king David, the ancestor of Jesus?

During the following millennium it might appear that God’s promise to Abraham was being partially fulfilled. David was the next major character, who was obviously chosen by God to rescue his people. Yet David kept emphasising that it was through our trust and obedience that eventual blessings would come. Was David the Saviour the world was to expect? It certainly looked as if his family tree had been highlighted in previous history. Yet the sordid tale of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, destroy that concept, although he was very special. If he was not the Saviour for all peoples, could one of his descendants be the man?

David’s son Solomon was materially speaking the most successful of the kings of Israel. Yet he saw that all the blessings they enjoyed were theirs because of God’s promise. Furthermore other nations heard about Israel’s God - his name was being proclaimed throughout the earth. Israel was being a nation of priests. Other nations were being attracted to God. For example the Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed. Solomon’s wealth and wisdom far exceeded what she had heard and as a result she says,

“Praise be to the Lord your God.” (2 Chron 9:8)

The Prophets

But unfortunately, from this pinnacle, the state of God’s people goes from bad to worse. They loose their commitment to their God and chase after the like of the Baal’s and Ashteroths. It is just as if the history of the Garden of Eden is being repeated. God’s people believe a lie and think it would be better to serve another God. The result is also the same. They are expelled from the land of blessing into exile. God allows the armies of Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, to invade the land and destroy Jerusalem. This was not only a disaster for Israel; it was a disaster for the world. Israel was no longer acting as priests. Even worse, their behaviour was defiling the name of God. Paul says just this in one of his epistles, alluding to the prophecies in Isaiah 52:5 and Ezek 36:22.

“God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Romans 2:24

Yes, God’s people were meant to represent God to other people.

Yet the same prophets who foresaw the captivity in Babylon also looked forwards to an even greater blessing. It was made clear that still God’s Saviour had not appeared, the Saviour who was for all nations.

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come . . .” Isaiah 2:2

“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isaiah 60:3

Isaiah also reminds his readers that God’s Messiah is still expected. He would be come as a baby, but would be called ‘Mighty God’ and would live forever (Isaiah 9:6-7). He would be ‘The Servant of the Lord’. He would live as Israel was meant to. He would live a righteous life and would be God’s message for all people. When preparing this I looked up the four servant passages in Isaiah and was thrilled to see that in three of them the Servant King was ‘for the nations’, and not just Israel.

“I will put my spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” Isaiah 42:1

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” Isaiah 42:6

“I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

“See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. . . . so he will sprinkle many nations . . .” Isaiah52:14-15

The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) uses this idea of sprinkling to mean either cleansing from sin or consecration to the Lord.

New Testament Outlook

When Oscar Wilde was a student at Oxford, he took a viva in Greek. He was required to translate a passage from the Greek version of the New Testament. Having acquitted himself well, he was stopped by the examiner.

“Oh do let me go on, I want to see how it ends.”

The New Testament writers see that all these prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, recognised that the time had come for God to redeem his people, and that this salvation, promised to Abraham, was coming through one of David’s descendants.

“. . . . and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” Luke 1:72-75

The apostles also recognised that Jesus is the person through whom the blessing promised to Abraham can be obtained. Thus Paul writes to the Galatians,

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ . . . .” Gal 3:13-14

Jesus died to carry the curse that kept us out of Eden. God himself, our judge, became the judged so that everyone could receive God’s blessing. We can begin to enjoy this now but the main course is yet to come.

It is through Jesus that the promises about people of all nations coming into God’s kingdom are being fulfilled. Right at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, an angel appeared to some shepherds near Bethlehem and announced,

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people”

Straight after that a triumphal chorus joined this angel and said,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2:10-14

This peace was now available for all the nations, but note it was only available to those ‘on whom his favour rests’. Who are these people?

When the baby Jesus was presented in the temple, the elderly Simeon declared, quoting from Isaiah 49:6 which is about the Servant King,

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32

John the Baptist, quoting from Isaiah 40:4 preached,

“And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” Luke 3:6

Jesus himself taught this same message. After his crucifixion and resurrection he appeared to his disciples.

“He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations . . . ” Luke26:44-47

There is no doubt therefore that the early Christians saw Jesus as the fulfilment of all the Old Testament Scriptures; these were looking forwards to a Saviour coming for all people of all nations. Why did God choose Abraham? – so that all the nations could be blessed. Why did God arrange the Exodus? - that my name might be proclaimed throughout the earth. Why was Israel to be a kingdom of priests? – to be priests for the whole world, a light to the Gentiles.

The nations can only come into God’s kingdom by hearing the good news about God’s servant dying and rising for their forgiveness. They must be told that the curse can only be lifted through Jesus. So the Old Testament is fulfilled not just in the death and resurrection of Jesus but in the good news being preached to all nations. Preaching the gospel to unbelievers is put in the same breath as Jesus’ death and resurrection. The same divine necessity demands both. As surely as it was God’s plan for the Messiah to die and rise from the death, it was and is God’s plan to have this message preached to all nations.

John the Baptist had the highest of reputations. Jesus said about him,

“I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist . . .from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. . . .” Matthew 11:11-12

What made John so great, he told others about Jesus, called them to repentance and so advanced God’s kingdom.

Jesus mainly evangelised Jews but he certainly envisaged that these followers of his would spread the message of salvation throughout the world. As God said to Israel in the Old Testament,

“You are my witnesses.” Isaiah 43:10

. . . so Jesus said to his followers,

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

As God said to Israel,

“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth –” Isaiah 43:6

. . . so Jesus said,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations . .” Matthew 28:19,

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Saul of Tarsus felt he had been commissioned specifically by Jesus to evangelise the nations and he committed himself to this relentlessly. Martin Hengel is a highly respected ancient historian, who said,

“The success of the early Christian mission was unique in the ancient world.”

When Saul was talking to some abusive Jews at Pisidion Antioch he said something very striking indeed. He saw the prophecies about God’s Servant in Isaiah were referring to the church!

“Then Paul and Barnabus answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us, “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” Acts 13:46-47

They already knew that Jesus is the light of the world, but they now understood something very important. Since Jesus had ascended to heaven, his Church has now become his figurative body. He has put his spirit into the church so that he can continue the work of Jesus. The book of Acts should not be called the ‘Acts of the Apostles’, but is really what Jesus continued to do. Indeed the book begins,

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach . . . ” Acts 1:1

So the book of Acts is what Jesus continued to do after immersing his Church with his own Spirit. The early church clearly understood this – they were fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies that the word would be preached to all nations. No wonder they were passionate about this, no wonder they were willing to suffer for this. As someone said, “He left a trail of his own blood across Asia Minor, like a wounded hare in the snow.”

What about the Church Today?

Jesus and the apostles saw themselves as fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies about God’s name being proclaimed in all the earth, the light to the nations. Is the church today meant to do the same and are all Christians meant to be involved?

After the stoning of Stephen, “a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostleswere scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1) It was the ordinary Christians who recognised that the last command of Jesus to be witnesses to him referred to them and not just the apostles.

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Acts 8:4

No wonder the gospel spread so fast. There are many inferences that this was the thinking of all early Christians. Thus when Paul writes to the Philippians he can say,

“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. . . . The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” Phil 1:14-18

When Paul writes his first letter to the Corinthian Church he reminds them that all Christians should have the ambition that others should be saved. Chapters 9-11 are about evangelism and possible hindrances to others responding to the gospel.

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” 1 Cor 9:19

“For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1Cor 10;33-11:1

The end of the book of Acts is left in the air - it seems unfinished. Wouldn’t we like to know what happens next? What happened to Paul and Peter? How did the Church prosper later on? Just as Franz Schubert Symphony No. 8 in B minor is called the ‘Unfinished Symphony’, so the book of Acts is the ‘Unfinished Book’. Jesus is continuing to work through his Church. We are still writing Acts 29 now.

The Apostles’ Emphasis.

Although the apostles talk about the role of Christians in spreading the gospel, the emphasis is on the gospels power. They rather talk about what the gospel is doing than what we do with the gospel. When Jesus told the ‘Parable of the Sower’, the emphasis is not on how the seed, the message of God was explained, but on the nature of the recipients. The gospel is told but the responsibility lies with the hearers not the sower. What a reassurance this is to us who are apprehensive about sharing the gospel because we feel we are not very good at it. Paul could have written to the Colossians,

“All over the world we preachers are bearing fruit.”

Instead he wrote,

“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit.” Col 1:6

Later in this letter he emphasises the importance of prayer in effective evangelism. He asks them to pray for him as well as for themselves,

“. . . that God may open a door for our message” Col 4:3

At the beginning of I Thessalonians he could have said

“We came with the gospel”

But he wrote,

“Our gospel came to you”

Later he wrote to this church asking for prayer that,

“. . . the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured” 2 Thes 3:1

It is the message about Jesus, the gospel, that is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16). The spotlight is always on the evangel and not on the evangelist. It is the evangel that does the work. The reason that the New Testament is not full of commands to share the gospel is because evangelism is the very backbone of the Bible story - world evangelism is central.

David Bosch wrote,

“The only acceptable Biblical base for evangelising the world is if world evangelism is central to the whole message of Scripture.”

This requires the message of God’s salvation to be proclaimed and men and women to believe it. The whole Bible is about this. The main actor is God – he is doing the evangelising. When we remember the big picture of the Bible, the call to evangelism is as obvious as is the need for a saviour to die to take the curse of sin on himself.

Do you remember that speech by Martin Luther King, “I had a dream”, that he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC? He outlined his dream and reached a climax as he envisions his dream becoming a reality. He then quoted from a Negro spiritual,

“Free at last, free at last,

Thank God Almighty,

I’m free at last.”

It was that vision, that dream, which drove him on. Similarly it will be that vision that will keep us pressing on to share the gospel.

Many of us are longing for the return of the Lord Jesus. Why the delay? Peter reassured the Christians of his day that this was deliberate.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

The delay is to give us time to tell the gospel to others.

There is therefore urgency about this. Paul wrote to Timothy,

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word;” Tim 4:1-2

The Scottish Christian leader Robert Murray McCheyne understood this need.

“As I walked in the fields, the thought came over me with almost overwhelming power that everyone of my flock must soon be in heaven or hell. Oh how I wished that I had a tongue like thunder that I might make all hear, or that I had a frame like iron that I might visit everyone and say,

“Escape for your life!”

Ah, sinners, you little know how I fear that you will lay the blame of your damnation at my door.”

What stops us continuing this work of Christ today? Is it the trouble and discomfort? Are we more concerned about the opinion of others than that of the Lord? Is his reputation or our own that is our prime concern? The Victorian preacher Charles Hadden Spurgeon was speaking on the parable of ‘The Lost Coin’. He said,

“Carefully note that this seeking after the lost piece of silver with fitting instruments, the broom and the candle, was attended with no small stir. She swept the house. There was dust for her eyes. If any neighbours were in the house, there was dust for them. You cannot sweep a house without some confusion and temporary disorder. We sometimes hear persons complain of certain Christians for making too much ado about religion. The complaint shows that something is being done and in all probability, some success being achieved. Those people, who have no interest in the lost silver, are annoyed at the dust; it is getting down their throats and they cough at it. Never mind, good woman, sweep again and make them grumble more . . . .”

BVP