“Tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”
Mark 5:19
Proclamation of the gospel of grace in Jesus is the church’s mission. It is the natural outflow of God’s people whose lives are geared toward the glory of God. It may be helpful to understand evangelism in the following dimensions.
“He gave some… to be evangelists” (Eph. 4:11-12)
Some individuals in the church have the gift of evangelism. The apostle Paul wrote of a brother who was famous among all the churches for proclaiming the good news (II Cor. 8:18). Philip is labeled an evangelist (Acts 21:8), and Timothy was exhorted to do the work of an evangelist (II Tim. 4:5). An evangelist in the strict sense is one who is equipped by God’s grace with a keen desire and ability to explain the gospel clearly and passionately.
All to “declare His praises” (I Peter 2:9-10)
A second dimension of public evangelism is what can be called doxological evangelism. It is what happens when we declare God’s glory together. This dimension takes place corporately in our praise, and individually in our acknowledgment of God in all our ways. Consider what John Dickson posits about our corporate doxological evangelism: “The number of our visitors is directly proportionate to the level of enthusiasm felt by our regulars.” When the church is being the church, she is beautiful!
Each to “give an answer” (I Peter 3:15-16)
All believers have the privilege to magnify Christ in our day-to-day conversations. Our allegiance to His majesty and a daily grasp of the gospel of grace are the basis of our bold compassion. Paul wrote to the Colossian Christians “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:6). Christians whose lives are geared to the glory of God say and do things worth questioning.
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