There is a big difference between the way one does evangelism and the way one preaches within a body of believers. The doctrine that I love most is justification; Propitiation or Penal Substitutionary Atonement. When a believer understands what God did for us on the cross in Christ Jesus, it causes the believer to give thanksgiving and glory to God all the more.
These things are not for the immature, but for the mature. They are for the spiritual man, and not for the man of flesh. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:14
When I began preaching in open-air the message that I was preaching modeled what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:9-28, sometimes I would even recite that passage. I did this, because it is a doctrine that I love, and my understanding of it caused me to give thanksgiving and glory to God in Christ Jesus all the more. It is the reason that I started doing and am presently doing evangelism.
I love this truth, so why wouldn't the world? Besides that, it was the way that I had been taught to do evangelism. Use the law to bring the knowledge of sin, warn of hell, tell of Christ Jesus propitiation on the cross, and then call the unbeliever to repent and believe in the gospel. It never occurred to me that a carnal man could not understand this.
Through memorizing and repeatedly reciting the Gospel According to John I realized something. The doctrine of justification is found in the gospel accounts of our Lord, but they are not explained until you read the epistles. Jesus said to His apostles in John 14:25-26
With that knowledge, I plan, Lord willing, to continue to talk with men about Jesus through the eye witness account of the apostle John. How He promised eternal life to everyone who believes in Him. How He was crucified, dead and buried, and then on the third day rose from the dead. Telling men that they can trust in Jesus, because He died, and rose from the dead; demonstrating that He can, and will do, what He promised to do.
There is an order to the great commission:
Let us Go Make Disciples!
These things are not for the immature, but for the mature. They are for the spiritual man, and not for the man of flesh. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:14
But a natural man 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.He then tells the Corinthians in 3:1-3
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?Men who are walking in the flesh cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually appraised. The unbeliever needs milk not solid food.
When I began preaching in open-air the message that I was preaching modeled what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:9-28, sometimes I would even recite that passage. I did this, because it is a doctrine that I love, and my understanding of it caused me to give thanksgiving and glory to God in Christ Jesus all the more. It is the reason that I started doing and am presently doing evangelism.
I love this truth, so why wouldn't the world? Besides that, it was the way that I had been taught to do evangelism. Use the law to bring the knowledge of sin, warn of hell, tell of Christ Jesus propitiation on the cross, and then call the unbeliever to repent and believe in the gospel. It never occurred to me that a carnal man could not understand this.
Through memorizing and repeatedly reciting the Gospel According to John I realized something. The doctrine of justification is found in the gospel accounts of our Lord, but they are not explained until you read the epistles. Jesus said to His apostles in John 14:25-26
"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."It wasn't until the Spirit came that the apostles understood the cross, and then they passed that knowledge onto the church through the epistles. Who was Paul writing to when he wrote Romans? He was writing to the church.
Romans 1:7, to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.How then should we do evangelism? The fleshy man understands both life and death. He knows that men die. People today are not as aware of death as they once were. When men were riding on horseback, are in a covered wagon, they would come across the dead and the dying. Today the dying are institutionalized in hospitals, hospice, and nursing homes. Nevertheless, everyone still knows someone who has died.
With that knowledge, I plan, Lord willing, to continue to talk with men about Jesus through the eye witness account of the apostle John. How He promised eternal life to everyone who believes in Him. How He was crucified, dead and buried, and then on the third day rose from the dead. Telling men that they can trust in Jesus, because He died, and rose from the dead; demonstrating that He can, and will do, what He promised to do.
Matthew 28:18-20, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, " 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."
There is an order to the great commission:
- We first go make disciples.
- We then the baptize the disciples in the church.
- We then teach them to observe all things that Jesus commanded us.
Let us Go Make Disciples!
In Christ alone,
Salvation from the wrath of God that we all deserve for our sin is a gift, by His grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
