Evangelism Intro Paper

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Apr 3, 2024

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Evangelism- Tyler Rutherford In 1 Peter 3:15, we read, “ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” As we look at evangelism, we see something that has played a significant role in the growth and life of the church. We also see something that we are commanded to facilitate in scripture. When we look specifically at the verse shared from 1 Peter, we see the command to always be prepared to give an answer for the reason behind the hope that we have. This is not something we are tasked with doing in a haphazard kind of way. When speaking of giving an answer, the original Greek points to the idea of providing a defense. It equates our defense of the faith to that of an argument provided by a defense attorney. It means that we are tasked with applying logic and reason to our defense of the doctrines of Christianity in the midst of a world that is increasingly opposed to the message of the Gospel. This is evidenced in Paul’s encounter with Greek philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens. Paul began by connecting what he already knew about their hearers’ religious system to the message of the Gospel by pointing to the temple of the unknown God. It is important for us to understand that we need to be well grounded in our own doctrinal beliefs, but we should also seek to understand the beliefs of those to whom we are ministering so that we can do so in an effective manner. Christians significantly undervalue the facets of the human mind when we attempt to evangelize the world around us. We often neglect the application of logic and reason in our attempts to “convert” the unbeliever to our faith. As a result, we often leave the hearer with more questions than answers. It is reasonable to believe that one would want to
draw logical and reasonable conclusions to the validity of a belief before they are willing to commit to it. This is why we should share why Christianity is a logical and reasonable belief system. Further, it is important to understand that it is not our task to walk away from an evangelistic conversation with a conversion in hand. We are not called to harvest. We are called to be gardeners. We tend the soil. Other’s may water it, but it is only God who can give the increase. Just because you walk away from an evangelistic conversation without the hearer making a decision does not mean the conversation has not been fruitful. Too often we are looking to close the sale. I would propose that a wise ambassador of the Gospel carefully chooses their words and carefully assesses each individual occasion to develop an appropriate strategy. Sometimes the fruit is ripe, and we can get straight to the heart of the Gospel message. Other times we may be dealing with more skeptical individuals who are not yet ready to accept the message of the Gospel. When we walk into evangelistic conversations, I don’t think we should do so with the intent to close the sale. We aren’t peddling used cars. We should walk into the conversation with the intent to give the hearer something to think about. We should put a proverbial stone in their shoe and let them walk away with a nugget of truth that will prod them to further thinking. Many of our conversations are often short encounters that come about by chance. When we enter these conversations we need to take inventory ourselves. My prayer is often that God would give me one thing to say, one question to ask, or one thought that I can leave that will cause the other person to think. When we approach evangelism in this way, it takes the pressure off of us and allows us to carefully engage in conversation with the intent of spurring further thought.
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