It is my prayer, that by God’s grace, I would never waste the pulpit of Midlane Park Baptist Church. I encourage you to hit the link and watch the video. If you find yourself asking, “what does Pastor Dwayne want to accomplish with His preaching on Sundays?” then this video may help. May we be consumed with God’s Word and may His Word consume us!
When discussing the task of evangelism it seems that a perfectly acceptable place to begin the discussion is with the reasons that we do NOT perform the task of evangelism. I know what you are thinking… “Why do we always have to discuss my negative reaction to evangelism?” Well, frankly, your negative reaction to performing the task (remember, it is a command!) of evangelism is sin that you need to deal with! The author, Mark Dever, lays out five basic excuses that people use to justify their “non-evangelism.”
Basic Excuse #1: “I don’t know their language” Okay…admittedly, even by Dever, this is a “semi-legitimate excuse.” However, there are ways around this. Within our own community (that of Midlane Park Baptist Church), there is a multiplicty of ethnicities who speak either (1) no English - only their heart language, or (2) very little, “broken,” English. Does this excuse our responsibility of proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called us? No! We should become more familiar with the “globalization” of our own communities. If you have neighbors that speak a different language, understanding very little English, there are ways to (1) learn their language [why can’t you learn a new language?], (2) purchase Bibles in their language, and/or (3) purchase evangelistic material in their language. While this may be the most challenging excuse to “get over,” it certainly is an obstacle that can be overcome.
Basic Excuse #2: “Evangelism is illegal” Maybe illegal in certain countries….America, not so. There are times where we must obey “Caesar,” as Jesus would tell us. However, there are also times where it is completely evident that “Caesar” does not govern the situation. In matters of eternality, “Caesar” does not rule and reign; Christ does. It will be He who commends us to glory, not the government. Recently, when encouraging a younger brother in the ministry I wrote to him, “In whatever you do, love Jesus infinitely more than the world, serve His church with undying passion, and pursue obedience to Christ at all costs, even if it means your life!” In matters of the eternal destination of souls, I pray, as your pastor, that you not let “Caesar” stand in front of you.
Basic Excuse #3: “Evangelism could cause problems at work” “But, my job prohibits me from sharing the gospel!” Really? Certainly there are concerns by employers for receiving the time they pay for from their employees; and as Christians leading biblical lives, we want to honor the commands that we are given concerning employer/employee relationships. However, what stops us from befriending our lost co-workers for the sake of the gospel? If your co-worker presses you regarding your faith, what are you going to say? “I don’t want to lose my job!” That is not a response full of faith, is it? While this may be a concern in some parts of the world, or in isolated employment positions here in the U.S., for the most part, by the grace and providence of God, we do not have to worry with this.
Basic Excuse #4: “Other things seem important” Each of us, living in this fast-paced world, could sit back and almost watch the time pass as if it were a train coming down the track at full speed. It mattes not, really, if we are retired or employed, student or not, early in marriage or seasoned in it, time flies! I understand this completely! But ask yourself…”What is truly most important?” What is the best thing you could do for your neighbor? Is it cutting their grass, helping with their kids, or fixing them cookies? Yes, but… It MUST contain the gospel. As important as it is to be “neighborly,” it is infinitely more important that you obedient.
Basic Excuse #5: “I don’t know non-Christians” This says more about your lifestyle than it does about the excuse. You must be in the world, not removed from it. This is a challenge for many, do not feel alone. You must, however, be intentional about praying for and developing relationships with non-Christians. Think, in the coming days, about ways that you can be intentional in developing a relationship with a lost person. You don’t have to have 35 non-Christian friends tomorrow. However, you need to be intentional about developing the relationship with the next one. Concentrate on the next one!
I have just finished reading an excellent book that I wan to commend to you as your pastor. The book is entitled, “The Gospel and Personal Evangelism” by Mark Dever. I received this book last week at the Together for the Gospel Conference that I attended and have been wanting to read this book for a while now. In order to (1) spur you on to possibly purchase and read this book and to (2) instruct you in some wonderful teaching on evangelism, I have divided this book into 10 summaries that I will post on this site in the coming weeks. This being the first of ten, I want to take the opportunity to provide you with some background to Mark Dever, the author, and his work through 9Marks Ministries.
This book is published by 9Marks, which is based out of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., of which the author, Mark Dever, is pastor. 9Marks has made it their mission to help pastor and layperson alike seek to develop healthy, biblical churches. In fact, they have identified 9 marks (hence 9Marks Ministries) that characterize a healthy church. It should be noted that a biblical understanding of evangelism is the fifth mark of a healthy church.
If this is indeed the case, that a healthy, biblical church has a correct view of evangelism, then you can see the importance of reading and studying this topic from a scriptural stand point. I believe a healthy, biblical church is one that has a correct view of evangelism. I believe that if we do not possess a correct view of evangelism then we are an unhealthy church. What do you do if you or a loved one is unhealthy? Do you seek the remedy from a doctor? Or do you allow the illness to take over? We will seek to understand evangelism from the Bible. Mark Dever will help us to accomplish that!
I trust that you will enjoy the coming series on The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. I trust that you will purchase the book and read for yourself how you may acquire a healthy understanding of this fifth mark.