The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his107/ev.arj/EV.TXT

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    EVANGELISM: WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY


   In the last article, the ministry of reconciliation was discussed
and the fact that we are all to be involved in that process.  In this
article I will be presenting our responsibility and the Holy Spirit's
responsibility in that process.

   As I view Scripture, we as believers have four areas of
responsibility to keep in mind as we are involved in the process of
reconciling the lost to God.  Our first area of responsibility is that
of telling others.  Matthew 28:18-20, better known as the Great
Commission, is the most commonly used text to make this point.  Jesus
here told the eleven, "Go therefore and make disciples...."  The
emphasis here is usually on the word "Go," (which could better be
translated "As you are going,") instead of on the words "make
disciples" as it should be.  Jesus is not telling all of us that we
are to go, but that we are to make disciples.  And making disciples is
not a process that starts after a person accepts Christ, but before he
makes the decision.  Disciple making then, starts when we first share
who Jesus is and what He has done for us, up through the persons
conversion.   This can be seen in Acts 14:21 when Paul and Barnabas
went to Derbe and preached, "And after they had preached the gospel to
that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to
Iconium and to Antioch."  As is indicated, the disciples were made at
conversion, not after conversion.  And of course, after they had been
converted, then the process of seeing them baptized and teaching them
to observe all that Christ commanded starts.  So as we are going
through our daily lives, we are to tell people about Jesus and what He
has done for them so that we can make disciples as we have been
commanded.  Remember Romans 10:14, "How then shall they call upon Him
in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him
whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a
preacher?"

   Our second area of responsibility that we need to remember in
this process is that of using the Word of God.  One reason this is
important is because John 5:39 tells us that the Old Testament
Scriptures bear witness of Christ.  This of course can be applied to
the New Testament Scriptures as well.  Also,  Hebrews 4:12 tells us,
"For the Word of God is living, and active and sharper than any
two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and
spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart."  It does not tell us that our words are
living and active, etc., but only the Word of God.  This is important
to remember, because God's word is truth and fault cannot be found
with it, even though people may try.  Another point to be made is the
importance of Scripture memory.  Many today will not give you the
chance to open your Bible, but will listen to a memorized passage.

   Our third area of responsibility we need to keep in mind and in
practice each and every day is that of living out our faith so that we
may be lights to the world.  Philippians 2:14-15 tells us to "do all
things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves
to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as
lights in the world."   The application I would like to draw from this
passage is this: We as believers need to live our lives above reproach
in all areas before all men so that we can be a light to them.  We
need to be different than the world, especially if we are telling them
about Christ and how He changed our lives, as their expectations of us
are going to be higher.  They will be watching to see if we are
different and some may even go so far as to put us to the test to
verify our faith.  And if we are not living out our faith before them,
we have nothing to validate our message with.  Or to put it another
way, if our life is no different than theirs, then what does Jesus
have to offer them?

   Lastly, our fourth area of responsibility and one of the most
important is that of prayer.  We are told in Philippians 4:6 to "Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  Of course
evangelism would be included in this, praying for the opportunity to
witness and for the salvation of the lost.

   For most, the above may be a tall order to fill because
evangelism can be an uncomfortable endeavor.  But if we put it in
perspective, which I hope to start doing from this point on and in
following articles, it can become a part of everyday life.  To see
this, I feel that we need to understand the Holy Spirit's role in
evangelism.  Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is to bear
witness of Christ (John 15:26), and part of His bearing witness is
accomplished through His work in the process of evangelism.  You see,
evangelism is not just our resonsibility, it is that of the Holy
Spirit's also as will be seen.  The word for Holy Spirit in the Greek
is Paracletos which means, "one called alongside to help," and that is
what He does.  This in itself should be a comforting fact knowing that
the Holy Spirit is right there alongside helping us every step of the
way.  So, as we are fulfilling our four areas of responsibility; the
Holy Spirit is alongside of us fulfilling His three areas, which
without no one could ever be saved.

   His first area of responsibility is that of convicting the person
we are witnessing to of their sin.  John 16:7-12 tells us that "...He
will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness and
judgment...."  This is important to remember because a person cannot
come to Christ without seeing that he is a sinner and in need of a
Savior.  So as we bring the message, the Holy Spirit will convict the
person of their sins so that they will see their need for salvation.

   The second area of responsibility of the Holy Spirit is in that
of conversion.  Before a person can be converted, they must be able to
understand the teachings of Scripture.  This is seen in I Corinthians
2:14 when Paul said, "But a natural man (unsaved) does not accept the
things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he
cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."  What
Paul is saying here is that the natural man does not and cannot
understand the Word of God without the aid of the Holy Spirit.  So as
the Holy Spirit performs this function of removing spiritual blindness
from the unsaved, they now are able understand the truth needed for
salvation and how to receive it.  Once this occurs, the person has
come to the point where they can turn from their old ways (repentance)
and accept Christ.

   The third and last area of responsibility of the Holy Spirit in
the area of evangelism is that of regeneration.  This occurs at the
point when a person accepts Christ as Savior.  Titus 3:5 teels us, "He
(Jesus) saved us, not on the basis of deeds we have done in
righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."  Regeneration is
another way of saying that one has received via the Holy Spirit a new
birth.  Regeneration as defined by Unger's Bible Dictionary is, "The
spiritual change wrought in man by the Holy Spirit, by which He
becomes the possessor of a new life."  Jesus put it a little
differently when He said in John 3:3, "...Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Here
Jesus is telling Nicodemus about the new birth and goes on to say that
"unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God" (John 3:5).  Again we see that regeneration comes by
way of the Holy Spirit.  It is not something we can do on our own, but
something that is done to us "according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5).  So
without the work of the Holy Spirit, one cannot become regenerated.

   As you can see, evangelism is not something that is totally our
responsibility.  It is not something that depends totally on us in
that if we do not do or say the exact, precise thing a person will not
come to Christ.  Yes, we do have the responsibility of telling others,
using God's Word in doing so, living out our faith, and praying about
evangelism; but on the other hand, the Holy Spirit does have the
greatest portion of the responsibility.  And His areas of
responsibility are comforting facts that we can lean on when
evangelizing because He convicts of sin, He brings them to the point
of conversion and He regenerates them.  That makes our job so much
easier.

Copyright 1989 by Randy Hillebrand
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