Evangelism

    So, I am still reading, Jesus Rose for You by Charles Spurgeon. I wanted to share with you a couple of quotes from this book, which is a collection of his sermons. These particular quotes deal with evangelism. This is convicting for me and I hope that it convicts you.

"A preacher should never be afraid of getting in front of a congregation when the Gospel is his theme. Jesus, who gives him a consecrated tongue, will provide willing ears that will listen to him. At His command, deserted sanctuaries grow crowded, and the people throng to hear the joyful sound. Yes, and He can do more than that, for He can make the word powerful so that thousands are converted. ...It is our job to proclaim the Gospel and to believe that no one is beyond the saving power of Jesus Christ."

Alright, did you catch that. He said it was our job to proclaim the Gospel. By "our" he means all Christians. He didn't say pastors. He didn't say religious scholars. He didn't say super Christians. He said all. Don't believe him? "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20. Charles Spurgeon said it was our job to preach the Gospel, because that is what Jesus said. 

"Dear brother, dear sister, to how many have you told the story of redemption by the blood of Jesus? Perhaps you have been a believer for some time now. To whom have you spoken about Jesus, or whom have you written about Him? Are you distributing, as best you can, the words others have spoken or written about the Gospel, if you are not able able to formulate the words yourself? Do not reply, 'I belong to a church that is doing much for the Gospel'.  That is not the point. I am speaking of what are you doing personally. Jesus did not die for us by proxy, but he bore 'our sins in his own body on the tree' (I Peter 2:24). I ask then, what are you doing personally. Are you doing anything at all? I can imagine someone saying 'But I can not become a missionary.' Are you sure you cannot? I have been waiting for a time when numbers of Christians will feel that they must go to preach the Gospel overseas and will relinquish comforts and compensations for the Lord's sake."

This passage was very convicting to me. I tell people all the time about T.V. shows I like, movies I have seen, and books that I have read. I have not told a lot of people about what Christ has done for me. But I need to. Right now I am going through an evangelism study in Sunday School. Hopefully that will prepare me to share the Gospel with people. A lot of people think that evangelism is inviting people to church and letting the preacher's message speak to them. But this is not correct. The church is to prepare Christ followers to bring the Gospel into the world. People tend to focus on the church building and not on the work of the church.