evangelism: an offer of freedom

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 7.  If freedom is defined as the authority to do whatever you want, you have a problem.  What you want often conflicts with itself.  You may want to serve God and follow his commands, but you also want to sin at the same time.  This inclination to sin causes even the words of God’s Law to promote sin within you. 

The gospel of grace is the only way out of that predicament, and into true freedom.  Through the gospel, believers get the chance to wed themselves to a new husband.  By trusting in Christ’s righteousness, and not in their own, believers can be free to find their place in God’s plan and follow it.  They are free to do what they want – and they find that what they want is also what God wants.

LORD, show us how to set people free with your gospel.

Posted in evangelism, freedom, gospel, grace, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

evangelism: an offer of resurrection

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelism

Romans 6.  Should Christians continue to live the sinful lives they were living before their conversion?  Absolutely not. Paul moves from the theme of justification by faith in chapter 5 to sanctification in chapter 6. He explains something he said in 5:9-10: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”  The Christian’s life begins with a resurrection, symbolized by baptism. It is lived free of the dominion of sin and death.  The Christian has been redeemed from the slave-block so is no longer destined to bondage, but is free to present his members to God as instruments of righteousness. He is being saved from sinfulness by Christ’s new life within.

 

LORD, help us to offer the new life you have given us to others — a life that is resurrected and free from sin’s bondage.


Posted in atonement, evangelism, gospel, Jesus Christ, mortality, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

evangelism: an offer of life

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 5:12-21.   Everyone you will ever meet on this planet was born into a state of condemnation and death.  They are all children of Adam, and so share in Adam’s curse.  When we share the gospel, we are offering life in the place of death.  Paul told the Romans that “by one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience the many (all who descended from him) were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience (Christ’s death on the cross) the many (all who follow him) will be made righteous” (19).  He used the future tense to indicate the potential for anyone in Adam to become righteous through Christ – “leading to eternal life” (21).

LORD, fill us with compassion for those around us who are dead in sin.  Teach us how to bring them to life through Christ.

Posted in deliverance, evangelism, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

evangelism: an offer of peace

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 5:1-11.   Everyone’s life manifests an inner struggle with God himself.  The evangelist offers reconciliation.  This is the message of the gospel.  God has reconciled us to himself through the atoning death of his Son.  No one has to know the agony and shame of God’s wrath.  By his grace, God has made it possible for us to have peace with him now, and hope for his ultimate salvation and eternal life.  Whenever you have opportunity to share the gospel, remember that every soul seeks this peace.

LORD, send us forth with compassion to speak words of reconciliation and peace to a world trapped in enmity with you.

Posted in atonement, evangelism, forgiveness, gospel, Jesus Christ, peace, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

evangelism: a call for faith

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 4.   Sharing the gospel gives us a chance to see the miracle of faith as it begins to emerge and display in the lives of new believers.  Two aspects of that faith can be seen in the lives of these Old Testament examples:

 

  1. Davidic faith trusts in the forgiveness of God’s grace, and accepts the blessings of this forgiving God (4-8).
  2. Abrahamic faith trusts in the promises of the God of hope, and refuses to let obstacles in the present dampen that hope (18-22).

Evangelism calls people to that kind of faith: a faith that can look past the past, and trust in an unseen inheritance.

LORD, make us proficient in calling people to put their faith in you.

Posted in Abraham, David, evangelism, faith, hope, trust, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

evangelism: not shoving Bibles down throats

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 3:21-31.   Some people’s idea of evangelism is shoving a Bible down a person’s throat.  That’s not going to be very productive, because it ignores what Paul says about the role of the Law and the Prophets (the OT Scriptures) in leading people to Christ.  It is true that the Bible bears witness to God’s gift of righteousness (21).  But the focus of our faith must be on Christ.  What Jesus did for them by his sinless life and sacrificial death is what unbelievers must convert to, and the Bible can help them do that.   The Bible can be a resource for us as we seek to follow the Great Commission and reach the lost with the gospel.  It can be an obstacle if we insist that anyone pursuing Christ must believe everything the Bible says first.

LORD, help us to focus on saving the lost, and allow your Holy Spirit and your word to teach and sanctify them.

Posted in Bible, evangelism, faith, gospel, Holy Spirit, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

everyone needs evangelism

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 3:9-20.   After showing that the self-condemned pagans need evangelism (1:18-32), and the self-righteous self-appointed judges need evangelism (2:1-16) – including the devoted religious people (2:17-3:8) —  Paul quotes several Old Testament scriptures to verify his conclusion:  everyone needs the gospel.  If you are ever concerned that you may be doing the wrong thing by sharing the gospel with someone – don’t be.  We all need to hear about God’s grace.  We who have tasted God’s grace cannot be offended by it.  Those who are offended by it are the ones who need it the most.

LORD, help us to make sharing the gospel a lifetime habit.

Posted in evangelism, gospel, grace, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

the religious need evangelism

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 2:17-3:8.   Paul had been devoted to the religion of Judaism.  It was through Judaism that he learned knowledge and truth about God.  But he found that this knowledge was only enough to confirm his own inner sinfulness.  He reaches out to the devoted Jews in Rome and tells them that without a relationship with God through Christ – their religion would only confirm their guilt.  Even some Gentiles are better at keeping the law’s commands – and they don’t even have them.  The advantage of Judaism is that the oracles of God point the way to Christ and the freedom that we can have by putting our faith in his atonement.

LORD, help us to reach the religious with the message of righteousness by faith in Christ.

Posted in atonement, Bible, evangelism, faith, Jesus Christ, witness | Tagged , | Leave a comment

the self-righteous need evangelism

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 2:1-16.  Even those who look down on the blatant sins of the self-condemned need evangelism,  because their righteous acts cover up a sinful nature that is just as repulsive to God’s holiness.  That is why God’s grace sends the gospel to the Nicodemuses and Corneliuses of this world.  Rome contained a number of those people who had pristine reputations but still needed to convert and be saved.  God shows no partiality toward such people.  They need to obey the truth and seek glory, honor and immortality by patience in well-doing.  They will never be able to do that without first coming to Christ.

LORD, help us to reach the self-righteous with the message of true righteousness through faith in Christ.

Posted in dependence upon God, evangelism, faith, gospel, Jesus Christ, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

the self-condemned need evangelism

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

evangelismRomans 1:18-32.  Rome (and everywhere else) contained two types of people: the self-righteous who thought they were better than others, and the self-condemned who were in such bondage to sin that they continued practicing evil – even though they knew that it was leading them to death in hell (32).  Paul first explains that he had a strong desire to share the gospel with this group of blatant sinners.  He argues that God had already started to judge them by giving them over to impurity (24), dishonorable passions (26), and a debased mind (28).  The only way for them to be set free – and escape hell – is to respond to the grace of God revealed in the gospel.  So, the best thing for them to experience – is the freedom that can only be introduced by evangelism.

LORD, give us the compassion to evangelize the self-condemned among us.

Posted in compassion, destruction in hell, evangelism, faith, gospel, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment