AAEVS - The Mission of Evangelism (Part 2)

First, we have a vision: what is our goal and how do we go about pursuing it? Jesus our Lord put it into perspective when He taught us to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Our goal then is to provoke people in every land to revere the holy name of God in repentance and discipleship, that God would be all in all. How do we embark on this quest? By making a commitment to make manifest the victory of Christ in our lives and in our world. We do this by remembering the second half of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." We seek the provision of God, His forgiveness and our forgiveness of others, and His protection from the wiles of the devil.

Second, we have an aim: what are we trying to accomplish and how do we get there? We have from the Great Commission our calling, to teach and baptize nations. We aim that they would share and enjoy our fellowship with the triune God and with one another. We wish that they would rejoice in the doctrines of grace, the principles of the Protestant Reformation, and most importantly the mysteries of the gospel of Christ. We start by seeking the establishment of churches that love Jesus Christ and worship Him in spirit and in truth; then we seek to teach them in the Scriptures from which thirsty and hungry souls are nourished by the Holy Spirit.

Third, we evangelize: what should our evangelism look like and how does it go forth? Our evangelism should be optimistic and joyful. (Isaiah 40:1-2; Isaiah 52:6-10; Isaiah 61-62) We do not get caught up in how wrong our society is or how cold our friends are treating us, but we do get caught up in how right God is and how fervent His care and mercy towards His covenant people; and we seek to share His mercy and care to our siblings in the faith and to our community. We seek to proclaim, not complain. First, our proclamation is God-centered, "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29) Second, our proclamation is urgent, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2) Third, our proclamation is calm and caring, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20) Have any of you been converted by the means of angry, disinterested Christians? Let these verses from James be your motto for interacting with one another and with the community: swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

Fourth, we seek the means: what do we do and what are we proclaiming? Having established how our evangelism ought to come across, how do we spread the gospel? First, let's start with what we proclaim: The Christ who is victorious over His enemies and gracious to His people; the God who took on human flesh to defeat the tyrannies in high places that controlled the affairs of men and the God who loved His adopted children from eternity and gave His life for them that they may share His happiness. This is the Gospel by which the nations are blessed; how do we announce it? We start with the weapons of our warfare which are not carnal but are mighty through God to pulling down of strongholds, weapons such as the word of God, the fervent prayer of righteous believers, the partaking of the Lord's Supper, the singing of God's praises, and the proclamation of the Gospel.

Fifth, we disciple nations with God's word: what does the Gospel look like when established in society? The Gospel is meant to transform nations from open sin to open holiness. This is not brought about by political means, although politics are not excluded from it; this is brought about by people choosing to lose their livelihood to follow Christ in every corner of their lives. We do not pay homage to secularism and seek to conquer its domain, namely politics, education, and science. Because we desire to be "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:5) we seek for the authority of Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth to be recognized in every sphere of life in word and deed.

Conclusion

Now we see that we cannot hold our faith private; it will be scrutinized, mocked, and maybe even opposed by force. But this is the path to glory, the path that our Lord took to conquer the world. We must trust His wisdom and His word to lead us in our interaction in the world; that we would not be ensnared by the expiring games and doctrines of this world but that we would fulfill our mission in this world, to make manifest the victory and grace of Christ in our lives and the lives of many.

But Jesus did not leave it up to ourselves; He sent His Spirit to go along beside us in the race that is set before us. He gave us His word that He will be with every step of the way; and that will be the subject of the next post, Lord willing.