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For those who are interested about reading and praying for people groups who are unreached and have not heard of the Gospel, please check out The Joshua Project.
Also, for those who are wanting to know more about the persecution that is going on in the church, please check out Barnabas Fund.
One of the benefits of traveling to foreign countries is the time that is all of a sudden freed from previous engagements (I.e. work). In preparations to go to Korea and then to China, I thought a book on evangelism might be a good book to read, to stir up the heart and bring out some conviction. So as I scanned through my bookshelf, I came upon Mark Dever’s The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, a book I received at the Together 4 the Gospel conference. I flipped through the book and felt that this would suffice and packed it into my backpack.
For those who do not know who Mark Dever is, he serves as the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC and wrote several books (Nine Marks of a Healthy Church). Personally, I have never read Dever, even though I have heard much about him. I’ve read his church’s blog and heard his sermons, and if he writes like he preaches, then I know his book will be well-thought out, clear and practical, with his teachings stemming from the Scriptures. With a foreword by C.J. Mahaney and a few good recommendations from faithful pastors, this book has the potential to address the issues of evangelism.
If there is one thing that I am grateful for, in this book, is the relative ease and effectiveness of Dever’s writing and organization. I guess you can call me a “simple-minded” reader, which makes me appreciate the book even more, but that doesn’t detract from Dever’s ability to dig and extract biblical principles that are to be found in our evangelism. He broke down the book into questions that often enters the hearts of Christians in evangelism. Chapter headings like “Why Don’t We Evangelize”, “ What Isn’t Evangelism”, and “How Should We Evangelize” addresses the concerns Christians may have when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
In particular, I found the chapter “What Isn’t Evangelism” challenging because, in many ways, I tend to cop out and justify my subtle evangelistic attempts as sharing the gospel. Dever gives off 5 things that are mistaken to be evangelism, imposition, personal testimony, social action and public involvement, apologetics and the results of evangelism. As I reflect back, I must confess that many of my “evangelism” was in an imposing way. Due to pride and many other vices, that’s just the way I would evangelize. But read Dever’s words on imposition for yourselves:
“In biblical evangelism, we don’t impose anything. In fact, we really can’t. According to the bible, evangelism is simply telling the good news. It’s not making sure that the other person responds to it correctly. I wish we could, but according to the Bible, this is not something we can do. According to the Bible, the fruit from evangelism comes from God.” (70)
In addition to the addressing of issues in evangelism, Dever also shares practical tips and stories of his own evangelism experiences. Sometimes in the midst of studying theology and doctrine, one may not spend as much time on the practical applications of what is being studied. Fortunately, Dever does not simply leave the reader with Scripture and an explanation of it, rather, he includes steps and even a few funny stories of his evangelistic endeavors. I found them encouraging and you really see Dever’s pastoral heart in wanting the reader to not be ashamed but to simply go and share the gospel.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read and be reminded or sharpened for evangelism. It definitely has for me and I am appreciative that God would bless me with a timely book. I leave with one last quote from Dever:
“The Christian call of evangelism is not simply a call to persuade people to make decisions, but rather to proclaim to them the good news of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion.
We do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if we do not faithfully tell the gospel at all.”
Just a friendly reminder of one tool Berean LOT offers to help in evangelizing. You can also find this survey in the “Helpful Websites/Tool” section. Enjoy!
Spiritual Interest Questionnaire
Please ask the person to respond to the following statements and circle their response:
1. There is absolute truth.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
2. There is an objective standard of morality in the world.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
3. Morality is relative.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
4. First-degree murder is morally justifiable.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
5. Rape and child molestation is morally justifiable.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
6. There is a universal standard of morality accompanied by a universal standard of justice.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
7. These universal systems are not dependent on culture, education, social, or economic status, etc.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
8. Violation of this moral standard indicates that there is a perfect moral standard that has been broken.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
9. The existence of such a standard necessitates an external source that embodies these standards perfectly.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
10. The external source, embodying these moral standards perfectly, is God.
Strongly disagree Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly Agree
With the unbeliever, you should now have established that there is a perfect standard, which is God. From here, you can now share the gospel through personal explanation and using references from the Bible:
1. We have broken this moral law externally (actions) and internally (intentions and thoughts)
2. All are sinful as evidenced by man’s lack of love for God as well as seeking after him (Romans 3:23, 3:11, 1:18-20).
3. The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:12-15, Matthew 22:13).
4. How are we saved? Jesus Christ lived a perfectly obedient life. He loved God and obeyed God. He was sentenced to death as a criminal even though he did nothing wrong. He was punished for us, for what he did. It was God who was punishing him. (Matthew27:46, Romans 5:6-8).
5. Jesus Christ was dead and buried. He was raised from the dead. The resurrection proves He was who he said he was. It also showed that He conquered death (1 Corinthians 15:17, 54-57, Acts 26:23, by being raised from the dead, he was the first to preach the gospel).
6. By being raised, he was the firstborn among many (the first of what would happen to all of us—resurrection from death). Hebrews 2:14-15.
7. How does one partake of this resurrection? By faith! “For all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved…” (Romans 10:13).
8. What is faith? (Hebrews 11:1).
9. How do you accept Christ?
• Repent and be baptized.
• By faith alone, but a faith that is not alone (James 2:17, 24).
