1. The methods of evangelism:
Go and preach the gospel.
John 4:4: And He (Jesus) must needs go through
Samaria.
Mark 5: 18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to
thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and
hath had compassion on thee.
20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great
things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
Mark 16:15: And He said unto them (that is His
disciples), Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Luke 14:23: Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Inviting
to come to Jesus.
John 4:29: Come, see a man, that told me all things
that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Revelation 22:17: And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Inviting people to come to church to hear God’s preacher.
Acts 10:24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
What about the paper and website ministries? Can the Lord
use these methods?
This is a rather silly question to ask a church that printed The Baptist Examiner,
which was used of the Lord in perhaps a greater way than in other single work in the twentieth century.
I don’t believe that the word publish, which means to herald, precludes the printed press as a means to herald the gospel message. Note the following Scripture:
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Not only do I believe that the printed page is approved of the Lord in the Scriptures, but also I have seen the Lord use the printed page to bring His people to salvation and to His church. Thus it is a tried means of publishing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What
about the radio ministry?
This is just another way of heralding forth the gospel. “Faith cometh by hearing (that is with the inner ear), and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17. The key is that the message must be according to the Word of God, according to the message of evangelism that we studied this morning.
2. The subjects of evangelism:
Who are we to take the
gospel message to?
-Every creature (that is person), throughout the world (Mark 16:15).
We should not shun to take the gospel to any, regardless of their age, gender, race, or social status. All people have souls, and all need Jesus as their Savior.
What kind of people does the
Lord save?
-Jesus only saves sinners; so if you are not a sinner, then you cannot be saved…there is
no hope for you. But the good news is, whether you realize it or not, you are a
sinner…”for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.
-Yes, Jesus saves sinners…
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Mathew 9:10 And
it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and
sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12 But when Jesus
heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick.
13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Jesus mainly saves wicked, vile sinners. Think about the woman in our text. She had had five husbands and was shacking up with a man at the time she met Jesus. In John 8 Jesus saved a harlot woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. In Luke 19 Jesus saved Zacchaeus who was an extortioner. Jesus saved that old thief on the cross who by his own confession was worthy of condemnation. And Jesus saved the chief of sinners, the Apostle Paul, who was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a murderer (among other things). Jesus saved Paul as an example, to show that no one is beyond the saving grace of God.
We might also mention that Jesus saves a few wise, a few mighty, and a few noble
(1 Cor. 1:26). Not many of this sort are saved, but thank God, a few of these are saved.
3. The participants in evangelism:
-Jesus, in our text in John 4, was our great example of an Evangelist.
-The woman in our text got involved in evangelism…
John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
A lot of people, especially some Baptists, don’t think that women can be involved in evangelistic work. I tell you what, I wouldn’t mind having a hundred women in our church like this woman of Samaria! She got all the men in town to come out to hear Jesus; and many, many were saved. They were saved either by believing her witness, or by attending her invitation to come to Jesus to hear Him for themselves. Either way, souls were saved.
Consider all the women who helped the Apostle Paul with his evangelistic work. Beloved, our Baptist women can help with the evangelistic work of this church. Right now we can use all the help we can get with the church paper. This is a great work of the Lord, and the Lord will bless you for helping with it.
-The disciples, who represented the first church, were certainly commissioned to be evangelists. That Gadarene demoniac, from whom the Lord cast out a legion of demon spirits, was commissioned by Jesus to be evangelist. The impotent man in John 5 was an evangelist, as well as the leper that was cleansed in Matthew chapter 8.
-In fact, all true believers are to take part in evangelism, especially all those of us who are members of the Lord’s Church. Again in Revelation 22:17…
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.”
4. The results of evangelism:
Souls are saved by believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ…
Our church will grow numerically. Oh, how we long to see souls saved and added to our church through the waters of baptism. Not for our glory, but for our Lord’s glory and the good of others. And yes, it certainly is to our joy and great rejoicing to see people saved and added to the Lord’s Church.
Conclusion:
Have you believed the gospel of Jesus? Have you believed the message of evangelism. If so, then you need to surrender to Scriptural Baptism, so that you may serve Him acceptably as a member of a local, New Testament Baptist Church.