Great Commission 101: Evangelism, not Evanjellyfish!

** Editors Note: This article is by Sonny Hernandez, and is being reposted here with permission.

The Great Commission is the manifesto that commissions Christians to habitually practice evangelism. Everything in a Christian’s life is corollary to this solemn responsibility. The church must be the citadel that recapitulates the necessity of evangelism, and Christians must epitomize love and intrepidity when adjuring the populace that they serve. If a Christian is ill-informed on evangelistic pedagogy or if a new Christian believer is in the rudimentary stages of Christianity, they must be reminded that Gospel boldness in evangelism emanates from our effectual calling. If not, what fruits do they bear? Charles Spurgeon once said: “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!”¹ The purpose of this article is not to cause dissonance or be captious towards anyone who does not evangelize. Rather, this article is intended to admonish Christians to denounce their aberrations of dead evangelism and put their faith into practice.

1. The necessity of evangelism

The word evangelism is unfortunately the antilogy that has caused pejorative debates over its definition. The English word evangelism comes from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (euaggelion) which basically means Gospel or good news. The Scriptures declare the Gospel as the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), and demands Christians to remain unyielding and unashamed (Mark: 8:34-38). If a Christian professes to believe in the Gospel but will not evangelize due to fear of reprisal or unpopularity, then here is a plausible question to ask: What good is your faith if you do not put it into practice? It is dead. Sadly, there are many professing Christians that abdicate their responsibility to witness, and dead faith will always be the result. This is why subservience to evangelism is a necessity for Christians.

1. Biblical precedent

Christians should never substitute the biblical edict of evangelism for cultural relevance. Why? Because Scripture must bind the conscience, and if it does, the Holy Scripture will impact the culture in lieu of the culture impacting Scripture. In a world that is replacing the Gospel for gimmicks, and theology for theatrics, Christians need to avoid accepting methodologies that are not warranted in Scripture. When a Christian fails to follow the biblical paradigm of evangelism, they are not following the trajectory of Holy Scripture; they are following the direction of imaginations and devices of men.

Christians must avoid devoting or yielding themselves to worldliness, because if a Christian is held under the yoke of counterfeited truth (worldliness), they will become enemies of God (James 4:4). Believers will always be antagonized by agents of Satan or by unlettered people who do not know God. Christians must be aware that human ingenuity, savvy relevance, and carnal imaginations have never saved anyone from their sins, because all they will do is delude and not deliver. Deliverance only comes from the Gospel (Romans 1:16) which is why evangelism must be practiced by consummately proclaiming with an audible and penetrating voice that Christ was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, and beseech the populace to repent just as Peter did when three thousand souls were saved at Pentecost (Acts 2:22-41).

Christians must also be aware that they can never cut to the heart of an unbeliever without the empowerment and conviction of the Holy Spirit. This is why Christians should never worry about eloquent speech or carnal fiction to reach an unbeliever. All a believer has to do is open their Bible, ardently preach the revelation of God and pray that the Holy Spirit will subdue the dead and resuscitate them to everlasting life. Peter is the example:

Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:29-36).

Christians must embrace and practice biblical evangelism. The wisdom literature chronicles “the fruit of the righteous as a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). Christians should be exhilarated about evangelism (Isaiah 6:8) and never cease from speaking truth (Acts 4:20) because they must apprise unscrupulous men and women to flee from the wrath that will smother them on judgment day (Ezekiel 33:7-9). If a Christian is endowed with conviction from the Spirit of God (Acts 1:8), they will be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), they will be eager to preach (Romans 1:14-15), and they will endure suffering to reach the unregenerate (1 Timothy 4:5). Why would a Christian do these things? Because a Christian is held captive to obey the decrees of God (Matthew 28:19), because they possess a bona fide love for sinners to lead them away from their demise (James 5:20), even if it costs them everything to include their life as it did for Stephen, which was well worth the cost:

Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:54-60).

2. Great Awakening paragon

George Whitefield was the personification of biblical evangelism. Isaiah was called to lift up his voice as a trumpet (Isaiah 58:1), and Whitefield was called to be the thunderbolt from heaven that would shake the foundation of America by shouting wisdom in the streets (Proverbs 1:20-21). Whitefield was an extemporaneous preacher who wielded powerful denunciations against sin and was given a valiant reputation for his prolonged orations of God’s unmerited grace to the populace in the streets. Whitefield was not worried about being fastidious to stylistic propriety or political correctness, because he had an implacable commitment to heralding a reservoir of everlasting truth to the unregenerate. If Whitefield denounced or abandoned his fidelity to evangelize, he would never have impacted the spiritual landscape of historical literature and his legacy would be void of any relevant substance. Christians should carefully think about the legacy of Whitefield and all the converts that were impacted by his preaching, and attentively heed the instruction from Charles Spurgeon about this theological giant:

Whitefield’s sermons were not eloquent, but were rough and unconnected. But it was not in the words themselves, but in the manner in which he delivered them, the earnestness with which he felt them, the pouring out of his soul as he preached them. When you heard him preach, you felt like you were listening to a man who would die if he could not preach. Where, where is such earnestness today? One sad proof that the Church is in need of revival is the absence of earnestness which was once seen in Christian pulpits.²

3. Gospel dictum

Embracing evangelism does not mean to espouse all of the cultural gimmicks that are gross misrepresentations of the Gospel. Telling unsaved people that God loves them and died for them is not evangelism. Providing inventive principles in worship so carnal people can experience spiritual euphoria is not evangelism. Preaching palatable and innocuous sermons is not evangelism. Being contentious or disputatious on Facebook is not evangelism. The new Reformed fad of wearing skinny jeans, growing long beards, showing tattoos, drinking beer, smoking cigars, boasting about robust book collection, lauding about favorite seminary, and using the “relevant” gimmicks on church slogans is not evangelism. Sharing the Gospel is!

What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). If unbelievers are by nature servants of sin, subjects of death, and do not desire God, then how can they hear the good news without a preacher? This is why the Gospel must be heralded. Why? It is impossible to earn merit or favor with God by keeping the law because no one is able to keep the law and because salvation is freely given by His Grace. Christ is the only One who is able to perfectly obey the Father (Philippians 2:8). When a person defies the law of God, the penalty is death (Romans 6:23). Christ received the imputation of (His elect) sin willfully and voluntarily submitted himself to be desecrated by wretched men. He received afflictions that are unfathomable to carnal reasoning. His appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and He suffered the pangs of hell that everyone deserves. The sinless Christ did not sip the full cup of divine wrath; Christ was pulverized with a fierce and torrential rage from His Father so His elect can receive the imputed righteousness of Christ (justified by faith). This is the message that must be proclaimed and shared without mitigation and without excuses.

 

2. The dereliction of witnessing

There are always going to be examples of gross misconduct when evangelizing the unconverted heathen. The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an infamous example of vilifying the Baptist appellation with their disreputable and contemptible practices. The WBC has brought reproach upon the kingdom of God by picketing at funerals for deceased soldiers and scolding the populace with hate speech. Another fabricated example of truth that pertains to evangelism is just as worse: it is called silence. When Christians in the local church are silent and disregard evangelism, and they hoard knowledge that they learn and don’t put their faith into practice, they are not exuding a loving heroism, but lawlessness and hypocrisy. This must be avoided!

What happens when evangelism is not put into practice? Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”³ If a professing Christian is always inaudible about their faith and fretful of being held in derision for witnessing, then how can anyone they know ever learn about the love of Christ? There are several plausible reasons why a Christian will not witness which will be discussed further in this article. Here are a few examples:

• Worried about not being liked or held in disrepute
• Fearful of disputations or quarrels
• Wise in their own eyes
• Ashamed of the Gospel
• Biblically illiterate
• Unregenerate

Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 8:34-38, Romans 1:16; 2:13, and James 2:17 and would be helpful studies to overcome the aforementioned reasons.

1. Vitiated examples

It is not uncommon for professing Christians to neglect evangelism. When evangelizing is substituted for excuses, love is replaced for laziness, and duty is downgraded to dereliction, then professing Christians must be asked this important question: why do you hate your brother? When the professing Christian who does not evangelize says: I don’t hate anyone! Tell them: yes you do! Friends don’t let friends go to hell. It is a hate crime to not tell friends, family, and the lost about the person and work of Christ, and His righteousness that can be reckoned to believers’ accounts, not because of works, but because of faith. There are several examples of excuses that professing Christians will use to justify their omission of evangelism:

1. The calling: “I’m not called to evangelize”

When Gospel-centered pastors implore their congregations to become involved in witnessing endeavors with the church (i.e., street-preaching, handing out tracts in church neighborhood, abortion mill, etc.), usually the response will be: “I’m not called to street-preach,” or “go to an abortion mill,” or “hand out tracts in neighborhoods.” Remind the professing Christian: You’re right, you’re not called, you are commanded! The Great Commission is not just an indicative for pastors. It is an indispensable command for everyone. This does not mean a professing Christian has to street-preach. Are not Christians called to love people enough to tell them the truth than can deliver the unregenerate out of the domain of darkness and deliver them into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13)? This is why professing Christians can distribute Gospel tracts and witness to the unregenerate, which are authentic examples of love (1 John 4:19-21).

Here are a few questions for professing Christians who blatantly disregard abortion mill ministries: do you love children? If the professing Christians say yes, ask them: if you saw a mother attempting to murder her child, would you try to prevent it? If the professing Christians states: of course I would, I love children. Ask them: are you sure you are not going to say ‘I’m sorry kid, I’m not called to help you,’ because that’s exactly what you are doing when you blatantly disregard your pastor when he asks you to participate by holding signs and passing out tracts to implore mothers to not murder their unborn children.

2. Evangelistic concealment: “I work a lot, so I evangelize at home and that’s it! I am not going to neglect my family”

When a professing Christian states these things, please remind them: no one is telling you to neglect your family. In fact, if a person is neglecting their family and they are ardently involved in evangelism, they must be reminded that they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8). In addition, their ministry must be rebuked as an idol. However, if the professing Christian makes time for recreational activities such as: fishing, sports games, watching favorite sitcoms, reading books, and being actively engaged in societies or boards, and they do not make time for the things of God, it is obviously what lord they serve: it is their enjoyment for laziness rather than evangelizing the lost, and their hiding behind their children rather than heralding the beauty of Christ. Professing Christians, who disregard evangelism for excuses, must not rejoice, but repent.

3. Friendship evangelism: “You’re doing it wrong because you need to make friends with them first”

It is not uncommon for open-air preachers to be criticized. There are many skeptics, who may even profess to be Christian, will attempt to correct or even chide open-air preachers about what they believe they are erroneously practicing while they themselves do not practice evangelizing at all. D.L. Moody was once criticized this same way:

The woman said to him, “Mr. Moody, I don’t like the way you do evangelism!” “Well, ma’am, let me ask you, how do you do it?” Moody asked. She replied, “I don’t!” Moody responded, “Well, I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it!”⁴

Even worst, there is an unconventional mode of witnessing that imperiously demands that cultivating a relationship is a necessary precondition that must precede biblical evangelism. This is called friendship evangelism. Developing a relationship is certainly advantageous for an evangelist. However, there are several problems that exist for people who believe relationships must precede evangelizing the unregenerate. Here are three arguments:

• Christians need to worry about today, and not tomorrow (Matthew 6:34).
• Building relationships take time. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, or whether anyone will draw their next breath (James 4:14-15) which is why Christians need to take advantage of every witnessing encounter.
• It is un-biblical to affirm friendship as a precondition that must precede evangelism. Ezekiel did not build a relationship with dead bones, he preached to them. Christ never built a relationship with Lazarus when he raised him from the tomb, because he was dead. Christians need to worry about today and witness to the lost, because they are dead (John 5:25) and need the Father to speak to their hearts and draw them to Himself (John 6:63-65).

4. Nominal commitment

There are many churches that will attempt to justify their Christian conscience by subtly abandoning biblical evangelism for fellowship time, discipleship training without ever witnessing, book reading clubs, and inundating ministries that are nominal.

Church fellowship time is vitally important (Hebrews 10:24-25). However, if churches habitually fellowship and never evangelize, and have a history of training fervently while never putting their faith into practice, then the church is not Scripture-centered, they are a social club.

Professing Christians will inundate ministries that are not commensurate with Scripture in an effort to satisfy their Christian conscience. Instead of going to an abortion mill to save the life of an innocent child, or neighborhood witnessing, professing Christians will adopt ministries that are comfortable (i.e., church cook-outs without evangelizing) and nominal (i.e., sings Christmas carols and passing out cookies to neighbors). Again, these ministries are important, but if that is all professing Christian wants to be part of, here is an important question to ask: are you willing to suffer for His (Jesus) sake? This is important, because if a Christian is not willing to be a public spectacle for Christ then they are not worthy of Him (Mark 8:34-38). Professing Christians need to be reminded: they are called to be faithful and bold, not facilitate barbecues. They are called to be servants of Christ, not sing Christmas songs, and they are called to proclaim Christ, not pass out cookies.

Book reading clubs in church will help to amplify membership responsibilities. If church leaders exhort their members to read books about heroes of the faith who impacted history but they fail to follow the examples of what they learned, then what good is the book? Here is an illustration:

In 2015, a friend asked me to preach at his church. While I was there, I asked several of the members about their outreach endeavors. The countenance on their faces indicated that witnessing was not one of them. I knew that my friend’s church had a book reading club where the men of the church would meet once a week which seemed to be esteemed by several of the men who lauded this ministry.

During my sermon, I asked the members if any of them owned a business. After a few hands rose, I then proceeded to ask them if they would be okay if they had a business that employed sales and marketing consultants that showed up to work and did not attempt to sell, market, or do anything despite the fact that they were given well respected wages to promote and sell their respective product. I asked the congregation: “how would they feel?”

One man said: “we would fire them all.” I then looked at the man and said: “how should Christ feel about you all when you are commanded to make disciples and you do nothing in your local church but warm the pews and read books?” I also asked them: “what good is your faith if you do not put it into practice?” I reminded them: “faith without works is dead,” and to “be doers of the word and not hearers only.”⁵

5. Categorically labeling evangelistic endeavors

Evangelism is undoubtedly a “trigger” word for professing Christians who do not evangelize. If a pastor makes a recommendation for the church to meet once a week to witness in their local community, the pastor should not be perplexed when the attendance is desolate. Why? Professing Christians will murmur and say: I don’t like witnessing. I see a lot of open-air preachers on-line that are saturated in hate, and all they do is yell at people. I am called to love. What makes professing Christians believe that people who evangelize are not called to love? Remind them: if I did not love, I would not take time to evangelize. Here is a helpful illustration that may help to overcome categorical objections to witnessing:

During a conference I preached at in 2015, I met a hotel owner of Middle Eastern descent who professed to be a Christian. After discussing Christianity with the hotel owner, I asked him how he felt about church involvement. He said, “I am not involved in any church activities or evangelism.” I asked him, “Why?” He then said, “Because the church is filled with hypocrites.” Here is my response: Sir, if I told you that I did not want to stay in your hotel because I served in the Iraq war and I believe people from the Middle East were terrorists. What would you say? The hotel owner said, “I would say you are a racist for making that assertion, because how could you possibly believe that all people from the Middle East are terrorists just because of your bad experiences?” My response: thank you for your response Sir. How can you possibly believe that all Christians are hypocrites and you judge every Christian and the bride of Christ just because of your bad experiences?⁶ If you are a Christian, you should be devoting yourself to the ministry of the church (Acts 2:42), submit to the elders who will care for your soul (Hebrews 13:17), and not neglect meeting with the saints (Hebrews 10:25).

The illustration provided will help professing Christians to overcome the gigantic obstacle in their life which is essentially called excuses. Why is this important? There are many professing Christians who profess to love sinners, but they won’t witness to them. They profess to care about the lost, just not enough to tell them about Christ. They profess to care about their children, just not others that are going to be murdered at the abortion mill by their mothers. In addition, if a professing Christian says: well, no other church in the community is out evangelizing. Remind them: laziness and idolatry is quite popular. Repent!

 

3. Practical Application

Christians have invaluable resources to learn how to evangelize. There are voluminous evangelical ministries that offer academic training and mentorship for pastors. It is not uncommon to meet a conservative, Bible-believing pastor who is zealous about academics and has a true affinity for reading books, which are advantageous to spiritual development. If pastors are going to be trained by any ministry that espouses “shepherding pastors,” then this underlying theme must be taught by example: evangelism is not a theoretical practice; it is an indispensable command! Here are a few questions for ministries that train pastors, and also to my fellow conservative, Bible-believing pastors who are advocates of academia and reading solidified books:

1. Pastoral accountability

What good is your ability to train pastors or exegete a text historically, grammatically, and typologically if you do not evangelize (witnessing in community and workplace, sharing the Gospel with unsaved family members and friends, street-preaching, passing out tracts, etc)? If you respond by saying, “I am not called to evangelize,” you are correct. You are not called, you are commanded (Matthew 28:19)! There are several biblical and historical examples that you can emulate who typify evangelistic rigor (e.g., Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Paul, Whitefield, and Spurgeon). You must be the example to those entrusted to you (1 Peter 5:3)! If you say, “I preach to my church, that’s my calling,” then you must answer the next two questions:

How do you preach on evangelism to anyone when you do not evangelize yourself? Do you not practice what you preach? The Master warned about certain men who told others to do something that they would not do (Matthew 23:3-4). If you do not possess the desire or calling to be an evangelistic example to those entrusted to you (i.e., church members, interns, etc.), then maybe you’re not called to be in the ministry! If you are content with a stable (pastoral) job with a respected paycheck and refuse to be an evangelistic example to those entrusted to you, then maybe it’s the paycheck that you are called to receive and not to be in full-time ministry. You must determine if your calling is authentically Gospel centered or false and vitiated. Either you possess the vehement desire to witness out of an inexpressible love for sinners, or you possess the attributes of a trifling pastor who contemptuously tells others what they are doing wrong in evangelism while they themselves do not evangelize at all.

If you do not put your faith into practice by evangelizing then what profit have you gained from your seminary academics, erudition, and robust book collection? It would be absurd to hear about an aspiring medical student who endured laboriously to graduate, then never practiced medicine. It is also absurd to hear about a pastor who professes faith in Christ but will not witness. If you do not evangelize, your seminary degree and books will be nothing more than a compilation of inconsequential rubbish. According to Martin Luther: “You may as well quit reading and hearing the Word of God, and give it to the devil, if you do not desire to live according to it.”⁷

 

2. Christian accountability

Christians are commanded to be subservient to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). The Great Commission does not apply only to pastors, but everyone. It is scandalous to know that cults are exercising their faith, while Christians are making excuses. How come there are many professing Christians in local churches who do not evangelize? Paul Washer provides a possible explanation (preface) why: “people are not Gospel hardened; they are Gospel ignorant because many of their pastors are.”⁸

Do you truly love sinners enough to share your faith with them? If you hear sermons every week and you do not put your faith into practice, then you are not an example of holiness but hoarding, which is a serious issue. Why? It would be appalling to observe an obese man or woman gorging themselves in the midst of starving children. How is this any different from observing a spiritually robust Christian who hoards solid, spiritual food that he receives from church and does not share with anyone? If you do not make a practice of evangelism, then you are: a salt without taste that is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet (Matthew 5:13), and a light that is under a basket and not on a lamp stand. Professing Christians must be reminded: faith without works is dead, and believers are commanded to be doers of the Word and not just hearers (James 2:14-26).

Are you willing to suffer for the sake of Christ to make disciples? Sadly, many professing Christians will profess Christ with their lips while their hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:8). Here are a few plausible reasons why professing Christians will not evangelize: worried about offending, always avoids disputations and quarrels, ashamed and disbelief in the Gospel.

Professing Christians must be willing to consider everything obsolete to include family and even their own life (Luke 14:26) compared to the glory of God. If professing Christians are reviled, or involved in unwelcomed disputations and quarrels, and this is the reason they will no longer evangelize, must be reproved with this message: the Master was called an agent of Satan (Matthew 12:24) and was homeless, indicted on false charges, ridiculed, rejected, tempted by Satan, tried illegally multiple times, mocked, misunderstood, betrayed, forsaken, and beaten by His own Father, and you are worried about unwelcome rhetoric. Jesus said that the world hates you because you are not of the world (John 15:18-19). Therefore, rejoice, and evangelize even more.

If Christ lived your life right now, would He have ever been crucified? Or would the devil and his agents say: we are not going to persecute you, we like you because you do absolutely nothing except talk about theology, read books, flex your theological muscles on social media, warm the pews, talk tough conservative rhetoric with your lips, while your actions are liberal. Do not ever be ashamed of the Gospel (Mark 8:34-38) or fear man (Matthew 10:26-28). Also, do not be like the hypocrites who tell others how to evangelize, while they do not evangelize at all. Be imitators of God, as beloved children. “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1).

 

4. Closing

If this article offends you, is it because the article contradicts itself? Or because it contradicts you? If you are in pastoral ministry and you call yourself a Christian, you must be willing to be a public spectacle for Christ. There is no excuse for a Christian not to witness! This article is not just for pastors, it is also for Christians in the local church. You can pass out Gospel tracts or witness when you are at work, go to the grocery store, restaurant, dropping off kids at school, go to an abortion mill to plead with mothers to have mercy on their unborn children, or by calling unsaved family members or friends. How can anyone you know or meet ever know the love of Christ if all you do is remain silent and never put your faith into practice? Remember what the Lord commanded:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20)

 

3 “Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” QuotesWave.com. April 20, 2016. <http://www.quoteswave.com/picture-quotes/410567> Read more at http://www.quoteswave.com/picture-quotes/410567#1yqAsd4HAyuZATDR.99

4  James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988, pg. 178.

5  This illustration is an excerpt from a sermon I preached at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

6  The excerpt is an illustration I used when witnessing to a professing Christian during the 2015 “Christ, Not Culture Conference” in Jacksonville, Florida.

7  “Martin Luther.” AZQuotes.com. Wind and Fly LTD, 2016. 20 April 2016. http://www.azquotes.com/quote/543335

8  This is an excerpt from a sermon preached by Paul Washer titled: 10 indictments against the modern church in America

[Guest Post by Sonny Herndandez]