–Under Orders—
When I was a boy, learning how to work like a man, I occasionally grumbled that chores my parents directed I perform were too difficult. Mowing a lawn, washing cars, and sweeping the family garage were oh so difficult. Now the very things about which I grumbled are either easy or second nature.
At this hour, Billy Graham is frail. Our founding pastor, Bob Pitman is semi-retired. They are evangelists. For many, evangelism is what they did and not meant for others. Can that really be true? Are the Biblical directives to evangelize for the gifted only? At the Berlin Congress on Evangelism John R. W. Stott said: “We engage in evangelism, not necessarily because we want to, or because we choose to, or because we like to; but because we have been told to. The church is under orders. The risen Lord has commanded us to go, to preach, and to make disciples, and that is enough for us.”
Recall: The Christmas angels evangelized. They brought “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). Jesus evangelized. He preached the “glad tidings of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). Paul evangelized, “I have preached to you the gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:7). Philip evangelized. He “preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Evangelism in the Bible, then, was a ministry of spoken words. Evangelism means “to make known the message of the gospel.”
“Setting the example” is good but it is not a substitute for evangelism. Words have to be spoken; the core content of the gospel has to be communicated. The good news is that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sins and to purchase a place for us in heaven. Jesus turns away God’s justifiable wrath on the cross. (Romans 3:25; John 3:36). Evangelism then, is the presenting of Jesus Christ, so people will accept Him as their Savior from their guilt and sin’s power to declare him Lord of their lives. Evangelism and witnessing can become second nature. After all, we are under orders.
We have been told several times: Is.43.10; Mt. 28.16-20; Mk.16.15; Lk.24.46-48; Jn.20.21; Acts 1.8.
