What is Biblical Evangelism?

Evangelism has turned into somewhat of a dirty word in culture. It evokes connotations of uncomfortable high-pressure conversations in order to bring you to a decision point regarding your eternal soul. The discomfort exists for those being proselytized as well as the average joe Christian - and why shouldn’t you feel uncomfortable? Evangelism in its stereotypical portrayal relegates the evangelist into being a multi-level marketer for Jesus: determine your prospect, ready your script, anticipate objections, close the sale.

In Scripture, you don’t see this model explicitly shown. In fact, it seems the Bible is more concerned about speaking truth than it is about proselytizing in general. The Great Commission tells us to preach the Gospel and make disciples. There is no script and there is no urgency to close the sale. So, the Christian who fears he is being asked to bludgeon somebody with great arguments of apologetics and archaelogy or a rapid-fire memorization of the Romans road or spiritual laws can rest easy. These are not the requirements of evangelism. We’re called to preach the Gospel.

Now, if preaching the Gospel brings up pictures of a sweaty man standing on a street corner waving a Bible, it’s an understandable, though imperfect, generalization. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is both much simpler than street preaching while at the same time much more mysterious and complex. The Christian responsibility is to speak the truth in love. We are to proclaim the goodness of God and the dire state of man and the fact that the death of Christ purchased a miraculous thing: any person who calls on the name of Christ can be transformed from death to life.

Telling people about Jesus is not a scripted process - it is a relational and active one. We love them with the love of Christ and the fruit of our lips speak of His wonder and our love of Him who saved us should be evident in all that we do. This is at once simpler and far more difficult. It’s simple because we don’t have anything to memorize and get “just right.” It’s far more difficult because it’s about living a life of worship where His life is evident in our life and His name is always on our lips because we love Him that much. A script would be far easier… that’s why people create them.