Every believer should evangelize because it is an issue of obedience. It should be the concern of every believer to be regularly involved with evangelism because the Lord to whom we pledge allegiance has commissioned us all to be evangelists. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The main verb here is μαθητεύσατε meaning “to make disciples of all the nations” and the three participles that modify the main verb is “going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching.” In other words, all of these actions are part and parcel to the command to make disciples of all the nations (or evangelize). Furthermore, in verse 18 Jesus says that all authority has been given to Him in the name of the Holy Trinity. This means that the command to evangelize that follows immediately afterwards is given with the most authoritativeness possible. Therefore, any believer who shirks his duty to evangelize is in direct violation of the One who commissioned Him. Evangelism is a serious issue of obedience.
Not only is it an issue of obedience, but it is also an issue of urgency. God has so designated that people shall be saved through the gospel. That is the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). On the flip side, if the gospel is removed from the equation then there no longer remains any hope for salvation. The message of the gospel must be articulated in order to convict a sinner and produce a repentant and changed heart resulting in salvation by God’s grace. And most of the time, the way that happens is through someone preaching that gospel to someone else. Romans 10:14-15 makes the point very clear: “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” There is then a sense of urgency that should drive us to evangelize because lost people will stay lost if nobody preaches the gospel to them.
Not only is evangelism an issue of obedience and of urgency, but it is also very much an issue of love. In Romans 1:14-15, Paul says “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Paul saw himself as being under obligation to all people due to the fact that he knew the very message that they needed to hear in order to be saved. As a result, he eagerly preached the gospel because he could not stand the idea of withholding from people the very thing necessary to save their lives if he kept his mouth shut. It’s an issue of love that Paul was faced with when it came to evangelism. He loved people and so he could not forsake them to their deaths by keeping his mouth shut about the gospel. And Paul also evangelized because he loved God. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, he says “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Paul didn’t evangelize just for the sake of evangelizing, but he really did want to see people be reconciled to God. And He wanted it so much that he was willing to beg for it. Notice it says there that he begged on behalf of Christ. In other words, Paul was deeply concerned with the desires and cares of his Lord. His love for God drove him and he knew that God desired for men to repent. So knowing that, he preached with all of his energy. This should be the profile of every believer: the believer ought to evangelize because he fears God, because he does not desire the death of unbelievers, and because he is driven by love for people and ultimately love for God.
Post by Alan Bui.