This morning we come to the end of our study on evangelism. We began by studying a method for sharing your faith that I called “The Road of Life”. This method used the Gospel of John as our evangelism tract. Then, we moved on to the responses that a person should have to the Gospel, understanding that a person should repent, confess, be baptized, join a church, and live in sanctification. There is one last thing I want to say about the subject of evangelism, and that is to take a step back to consider the mandates for evangelism. I think this is an important place to end because, like so much of what we’ve covered in this series, there is a good bit of confusion about the mandate to evangelize. This confusion arises for a number of reasons. For one, we all have a sense that America is spiritually in decline. Until the last few years, church attendance, Bible sales, and baptisms were all in retreat. This has led to a sense of desperation among churches. I’ve been asked more times than I can say, “What can we do?” How can we reach the lost? How can we grow our churches? How can we stem the tide of spiritual decline in our society? In answer to these questions, churches have responded in various ways. Some churches think that the pastor carries the sole responsibility of evangelism, and so they expect him to do more. Perhaps if the preacher were more passionate in his sermons or spit more fire and brimstone, we’d see a change in the tide. Other churches put all of the responsibility on their members. It has become popular in our day for pastors to teach the idea that “every member is a missionary.” They will say that members should see their work, school, and community as a mission field. Often, there is a constant push for members to do more programs, bigger events, better productions, all in hopes of reaching the lost. Still others think that the real problem is with the political system. They might say, if we could just get prayer back in school, the country would get on the right foot again. Instead of faithful preaching, they hold political rallies in hopes of winning elections to spread the Gospel.
Today, I’d like to consider the call of the church to evangelize. We will look at two passages today, Matt. 28:19-20, and Matt. 5:13-16, and we will look at those in two points: The Institutional Call to Evangelize and The Individual Call to Evangelize.
First, let’s read Matt. 28:19-20 as we consider the institutional call to evangelism. This passage is the famous “Great Commission”. It is the final command that Jesus gave to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. In this command, he gives them assurance. In verse 18, he reminds them that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. In his resurrection, Jesus defeated death, bound Satan, and began to establish his kingdom. So, he is the supreme authority over all of creation. This is the foundation of the commission that he gives to his disciples. On the basis of his authority, they are to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. Now, this text has been preached exhaustively by Baptists for decades. Especially in our day, it is preached as a mandate for all Christians to be missionaries to the world. But, I want to suggest that this command was not given to each individual member of the church, but to the institution of the church. Jesus, here, is speaking to his Apostles - the eleven men personally trained to expand his kingdom to the uttermost parts of the earth. Those apostles were to establish churches, train men to serve as pastors and deacons, and serve as ambassadors of the kingdom to governors and kings. So, this commission and the methods it prescribes are given to the institution of the church. Pastors are to lead churches in carrying out this commission. Members are to work together in the government of the church to ensure that this work is done.
So, what is the work we are commanded to do as an institution. There are three works given for the church in evangelism. First, we are to make disciples of all nations. The primary work of the church is not to better society. The primary work of the church is not to feed the poor. The primary work of the church is not to pass righteous legislation. The primary work of the church is to make disciples of the nations. So, how do we do that? For one, we send missionaries to the nations. Romans 10:14-15 asks, “And how are they to hear unless there is a preacher, and how are they to preach unless they have been sent?” In the book of Acts we find this pattern - the church sets aside men and women to go into new lands with the Gospel, and churches join together to help fund them as they go. This is not work that an individual can do. It isn’t even work that a single church can do. It is the work of churches to join together and send out evangelists of all kinds - Gideons, short term missionaries, full-time missionaries, local evangelists, and even their own pastors.
The second work we find in verse 19 - baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, as the church supports evangelism and the nations are discipled, we are called to baptize. Again, this is not a task for the individual, but for the body of Christ. We are called to baptize because it sets men and women apart. It marks them out as members of the new covenant.
Third, verse 20 says that we are to teach them all things that Christ has commanded. Here we find that this commission is not just for evangelists, missionaries, and pastors. It is the responsibility of the whole church to make disciples. We are to teach the way of Christ. In Titus 2, Paul commands older men to teach the younger men by their example in sober-mindedness and self-control. He commands the same for older women. They are to teach the younger women modesty, family, and purity. Discipleship is the work of the whole church. Pastors teach sound doctrine. Members teach by their wisdom and example.
Now, let’s consider my second point: The Individual Call of Evangelism. For that, turn with me to Matt. 5:13-16. You’ll notice that I’ve been very careful to say that the Great Commission does not apply to every Christian individually. As I’ve studied Scripture, I’ve noticed that the NT does not have a directive for every member to do the work of the evangelist. This command is given to pastors, not to church members. But, that doesn’t mean that church members have no responsibility in evangelism. The NT is very clear about the ways that church members should evangelize, and one way is found in the passage we just read. This commission of Jesus has a different audience than the great commission. With the Great Commission, he is speaking to his apostles. Here, though, he is speaking to a large crowd of followers at the beginning of his famous “Sermon on the Mount.” So, we can say with confidence that what he says here is meant for every Christian. And, what does he commission all of his followers to be in the world? First, he commissions them to be salt. I love this analogy because it has two clear meanings, and I can appreciate both of them. I love salt. I praise God every day for it, and I pray that I never get high blood pressure so that I can go on loving salt. Salt is amazing. For one, it is essential for life. Your heart will not work without salt. It is essential for flavor. If you take a bight of steak, and it has been poorly salted, it will taste like you are eating leather. But, if you put a little salt on it (or a lot, as I like to do), you don’t just taste the salt. It brings out all of the flavors hidden in that meat. Salt is also wonderful because it preserves food. Before refrigeration, people stuffed meat in a salt brine to preserve it, and if handled well, salted meat would last for years. Jesus uses salt as an analogy for the individual Christian. We are all salt in this world. Jesus makes the connection to salt’s flavor here. Like salt, we draw out what is good in this world. Through our faithfulness to Christ, we show the world what true life is. When we are faithful in our marriages, we show the world what true love is. When we are faithful in our work, we show the world what true commitment is.
But, Jesus makes another analogy for the Christian in the world. He goes on to say, in verse 14, that we are the light of the world. He makes two connections between light and the Christian. First, he says that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. I live far enough out in the county that, if you look to the west, you see nothing but darkness at night. But, if you look to the east, the sky shines with the light of Greenville. Even eight miles away, that light can’t be hidden. In a similar way, when we live for Christ, we shine a light on this world that cannot be hidden. Second, Jesus says that no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. The purpose of the lamp is to shine light into a room, and so when we light one, we stick it on a stand to maximize its light. In a similar way, the purpose of our life in Christ is to shine the light of the Gospel into all we do. We have the truth, so why would we hide it? So, Jesus follows these analogies with his commission: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” The commission for every believer is to be a light, to live in a way that witnesses to Christ and to speak the truth in a world that is full of darkness.
In closing, let me give you five ways that every Christian should participate in evangelism. #1 - Your character should be a light to a twisted world. Phil. 2:14-15 says, “[You should be] blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
#2 - Your speech should promote the Gospel. In Col. 4:2-6, Paul says, “Walk in wisdom towards outsiders… let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.” Oh, do we need to work on this one! It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we put our witness aside for a ballgame. I’ve listened to faithful Christians spew vile things at the refs, the visitors, or even players at ball games, and then turn around and complain that no one comes to church anymore. Gee wiz, I wonder why?! What we say at the ball field and on Facebook is a witness to the world.
#3 - You should be ready to give an answer. 1 Pet. 3:15-16 says, “Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” This is what I’ve tried to do in this series: to equip you to share that reason for the hope that is in you.
#4 - You should live peaceably. Rom. 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” As a Christian, we should pursue the common good, even with unbelievers. We should be peaceable in our attitude towards all men. We should not be quarrelsome or dishonest in our work. We should be trustworthy and hard working.
#5 - Finally, we should pray for all people. 1 Tim. 2:1 directs us to offer prayers for all people. We should pray for their salvation. We should pray for peace through good government. We should pray for the success of evangelists and missionaries.
Brothers and sisters, our commission is not to invent new attractions for people. It isn’t to gameplan some new program that might work with this generation. Our commission is to be salt and light. So, may we go from this place and live in obedience to the commission we’ve been given.
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