The word “evangelize” (Greek, euaggelizo) comes from two roots: eu (good, well) and aggelos (a messenger, angel), so the word literally means “a messenger of good (news).” The word “Gospel” (Greek, euaggelion), which literally means “a message of good,” comes from the same roots, so an evangelist is simply a Gospel messenger. In most Bible translations, euaggelizo is translated “preach the Gospel.” A related Greek word, kerusso, which is usually translated “preach” means “to be a herald, to proclaim.”

Many of the prophesies of Isaiah foreshadow God’s good message to the world. New Testament evangelism begins when the angel Gabriel speaks to the priest Zacharias: "The angel answered and said to him, 'I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news [euaggelizo].'" (Luke 1:19) The good message Gabriel brought to Zacharias was that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son who would “make ready to people for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17) John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, fulfilled his evangelistic duties: “So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel [euaggelizo] to the people.” (Luke 3:18)

Soon after Gabriel’s appearance to Zacharias, an unnamed angel appeared to shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem with another evangelistic message: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news [euaggelizo] of great joy which will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) This angel was proclaiming the birth of Jesus.

Jesus Himself was an evangelist, and many Old Testament prophecies foreshadow the Gospel. In fact, Jesus quotes the messianic prophecies of Isaiah to describe himself (Matthew 11:5; Luke 4:18; 7:22). Throughout his life, Jesus evangelized: “Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming [kerusso] and preaching [euaggelizo] the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1, see also Luke 4:43; 9:6; 20:1).

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is a simple command to evangelize the world, and it is evident that the Apostles and many other disciples took Jesus’ instructions very seriously; “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching [euaggelizo] Jesus as the Christ.” (Acts 5:42) Evangelism was not an occasional events for the ekklesia, notice that it was a every day.

Writing to the churches of Asia, Peter said “…sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15)

When Saul persecuted the ekklesia, the believers were scattered, but they went on evangelizing (Acts 8:1). Philip evangelized in Samaria (Acts 8:12,25) and elsewhere (Acts 8:40). He evangelized to the Ethiopian court official (Acts 8:35). Believers from Cyprus and Cyrene evangelized in Antioch (Acts 11:20), founding the great missionary church of the New Testament. Paul, after his conversion on the Damascus Road, conducted a series of missions with the express purpose of evangelizing (Acts 13:32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35; 16:10; 17:18). He had a particular passion for evangelizing in areas that hadn’t heard about Jesus (Romans 15:20) and considered himself compelled to evangelize (1 Corinthians 9:16), having been personally commissioned to do so by Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:17). He charged Timothy to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2).

While only two people are named as evangelists (euaggelistes)—Philip (Acts 21:8) and Timothy (2 Timothy 4:5)—it is evident that there were many evangelists since it is one of the roles Paul says God gave for building up the church: “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Evangelism is absolutely essential to salvation of the world: “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?” (Romans 10:17) Without those who preach (euaggelistes or kerusso), Paul suggests that others cannot be saved.

What was the form of preaching in the early church? Jesus taught that “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’, calling that the “great and foremost commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38) Loving with the heart relates to emotion, loving with the soul to spirituality, and loving with the mind to reason. All three were part of New Testament preaching.

*The Ethiopian court official asked if he could be baptized after hearing Philip preach the Gospel, “and Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.'” (Acts 8:37a)

*“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21)

*“And he (Paul) entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 19:8)

So the evangelism of the ekklesia involved experiencing God, worshipping God, and explaining the Gospel.

The second century seems to have ushered in an era dominated by witnessing (martyrs) and intellectual evangelism (apologetics). Many detailed treatises were written, many ostensibly to Roman officials including emperors. For example, in his first apology, addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius (138-161), Justin Martyr lays out the case for Christianity and demands a judicial investigation. One of the primary purposes of Justin’s apologies and others was to convince the Empire that Christianity was not a threat; hence, Justin wrote that Christ taught civil obedience. He refuted charges that Christians were atheists, he cited ancient prophesies of the Christ, he attacked certain pagan practices (such as exposing unwanted children), and he described Christian practices such as baptism, the eucharist, and weekly meetings. His approach was entirely one of reason, but there is no evidence that his apologies had any affect on emperors.

Such apologies were powerful statements of reason, but in focusing on the mind, the heart and soul began to be lost. Today, many Christian groups have returned to more emotional and spiritual approaches to the Gospel, but it seems that every group is imbalanced in some direction. Some emphasize reason over emotion, others emotion over reason. What is really needed is a return to the balance evangelism evident in the New Testament.

There are few words in Christian vocabulary that carry as much negative connotation, both inside and outside the church, as evangelism. In today’s politically correct world, many Christians view sharing their faith as intrusive. One of my own relatives once told me, “we should allow people to believe what they want to.” But even a cursory reading of the New Testament clearly shows that evangelism is not an optional activity.

There are several reasons why evangelism might be intimidating to so many Christians:

1. We are not sufficiently passionate about Jesus and the Gospel to feel compelled to do so (a problem of the heart)
2. Our own shortcomings make us feel unqualified (a problem of the soul).
3. We are not sufficiently equipped to defend the Gospel against its skeptics (a problem of the mind).
4. We don’t care enough about others to bother.

Some quote Ephesians 4:11, claiming that being an evangelist is a role given to some, but we must distinguish between a formal Evangelist (preacher) and the universal obligation to evangelize (be a messenger). It isn’t only a few who Peter charges to be ready to give a defense, but all. For my part, it is probably #2 above that most impedes my own evangelism.

Last week, however, I suggested that obedience is not the ideal response for believers since it implies doing something we’d rather not do. Nowhere is this truer, I suspect, than in the area of evangelism. Many Christian cringe at the idea of evangelism and claim “that’s not my gift.” But if we truly love God and are filled with the Spirit, evangelism becomes something we feel compelled to do, just as Paul did. The problem may lie in many of our current forms of evangelism.

Judgmental Evangelism
When people think of evangelism they often think of in-you-face condemnation of sin that raises the specter of eternal damnation. You don’t see much of this kind of preaching in the New Testament—the Gospel is not a threat, it is a hope! The World rejects judgmental evangelism for good reason—it has been given no reason to believe.

ET&N subscriber James from Pennsylvania forwarded me a joke this week that seems particularly appropriate to a discussion of the ineffectiveness of judgmental evangelism:
A priest and a pastor are standing by the side of the road pounding a sign into the ground that reads:

"THE END IS NEAR
TURN YOURSELF AROUND
BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!"

"Leave us alone, you religious nuts!" yells a driver as he speeds by. From around the curve they hear screeching tires and a big splash.
The pastor turns to the priest and asks, "Do you think the sign should just say 'Bridge Out'?"

When our evangelism focuses on the consequences of sin rather than the freedom of the Gospel, few people will listen. On the other hand, if we focus on the peace and hope that are the consequences of Grace, there are many people who will respond. And when our message is full of clichés and specialized language, the world can’t even hear it.

Defensive Evangelism
Another ineffective approach involves our bunker mentality. The World views much of evangelical Christianity as building walls to separate itself from the World. We hide behind our clinched language, our often-mysterious rites, and an increasingly separate subculture. We are often viewed as self-righteous hypocrites, a characterization that is all-to-often true. We need to get out from behind our walls and take on the enemy where he lives, just as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 10.

This mentality is probably borne out of a misinterpretation of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18:
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,'” says the Lord Almighty."

But Paul is not advocating complete separation from the World. How could he be when he spent most of his Christian life bringing the Gospel to the pagan world. Paul is merely warning the Corinthian ekklesia not to form relationships that force believers to compromise themselves? But the more the church separates itself from the World, the less effective its evangelism will be.

Impersonal Evangelism
Evangelistic approaches that are generic in nature and fail to take the audience into account are also likely to be ineffective. Paul adjusted his evangelism based on the prevailing culture. In Athens, he even quoted a Greek poet to relate what he was saying to the culture of his listeners. An impersonal approach is also why television and radio evangelism is unlikely to be effective. How many unbelievers stop on a TV preacher when channel-surfing other than to ridicule the gaudy set? TV and radio evangelists cannot know what is in the hearts of viewers when they’re sitting in a studio—how can they relate the Gospel to an individual’s reality?

There’s an old saying, perhaps even a cliché, that says “they won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” The most effective evangelism comes with people we have gotten to know because we’re part of their lives.

Personal Evangelism
As opposed to judgmental and defensive evangelism, there is certainly a place for sharing one’s personal experiences. The degree to which individuals change in response to their salvation is a powerful witness for the Gospel, but it is not sufficient because there are plenty of other groups that claim changed lives. The essence of evangelism must include the claims of Jesus and historical facts We must always be prepared to not only share our experiences, but also to explain the Gospel.

When Peter says we must be “ready to make a defense,” he is not challenging us to relate experiences, he is calling for a reasoned explanation. The word translated “defense” in 1 Peter 3:15 is apologia, the Greek work that is the root of apologetics. It is a spoken account in defense of oneself.

There a many ways to evangelize, and I don’t think the Bible suggests we are all supposed to be biblical scholars capable of detailed apologetics. There are many approaches every Christian can take to defending our faith, and there are many resources available, particularly through the web. One I would particularly recommend for those seeking to better equip themselves is www.evangelismtoolbox.com.

What keeps you from doing the work of an evangelist? And what is the prescription for curing each of the four problems above?

John from Kansas comments:
I appreciate your comments, and would add that a large part of our problem in evangelism is that even though we say we are to be in the word yet not of the world, we often do the very opposite. We are not in the world (turned in on ourselves) and are of the world (some level of syncretism). No wonder there is so little evangelism!

Gordon from Texas:
Thanks for the excellent lesson on evangelism. As well stated as I have ever heard. Might I suggest that your four meat sandwich on why we are intimated include spreading a little fear on our bread.
Comment: I agree wholeheartedly with Gordon—it was a major omission from my list. What is it that we most fear? Ridicule? Failure? Rejection? I am naturally reminded of Paul’s comments to his protégé Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

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© Richard M. Soule, 2003 Unlimited copy and distribution permission is hereby granted on the condition that this copyright notice is included. Website: www.peculiarpress.com
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical citations are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB)