Tag: evangelism

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Learning from Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was known as “the prince of preachers.” He was possibly the most influential Christian pastor in the world in his time (b. 1834-d. 1892). He was the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle (Baptist) of London for 38 years. His preaching attracted large crowds and led many thousands to profess faith in Christ.

Recently, I read a biography of Spurgeon by one of his contemporaries (W. Y. Fullerton). This has inspired me to pass along to you some highlights of his ministry and some of the things I have learned from his example.

He boldly preached the Bible as the inspired word of God. His sermons were saturated with scripture. He had a genius for remembering everything he read. His knowledge of the Bible was encyclopedic and he was able to quote from memory many passages from scripture to support the doctrinal truths he was emphasizing. He said that if his church members were to be pricked, he wanted them to bleed the Bible.

Spurgeon vigorously opposed those who challenged the divine inspiration of the Bible. He denounced the liberalizing trends that he saw creeping into the churches of England from Continental Europe. He saw these trends as undermining the faith of the people and subverting the gospel.

He was an evangelist. Those who are familiar with Spurgeon know that he was a Calvinist who believed in, and preached “particular redemption,” the doctrine that Christ died for the elect, and only for the elect. However he maintained warm friendship with other leaders who disagreed with him on the doctrine of election. His Calvinism did not stop him from offering the good news of salvation through Christ to anyone and everyone. He pursued many means to do that.

Fullerton wrote, “Spurgeon himself ascribed his success not so much to his preaching of the gospel as to the gospel he had to preach. To him it was the truth that prevailed.”

Spurgeon had a city-wide vision for outreach. His sermons were published in newspapers and in best-selling books. He mobilized the people of his congregation to reach out with the gospel with Christian literature, an orphanage, a monthly magazine, a pastor’s college for training men for the ministry, a home for elderly widows, and twenty mission churches situated all over London.

The young pastors he trained were called to serve in many Baptist, and other “free” (non-denominational) churches. Spurgeon was gratified by reports that these congregations were growing and thousands were being led to Christ.

The mission churches started by the Metropolitan Tabernacle were evangelistic stations located in poor and working class districts in London. These missions were a response to the social upheavals caused by the industrial revolution. The urban poor, Spurgeon believed, were a great mission field.

The workers in these ministries were mostly members of the Tabernacle who were inspired by their pastor to seek to win the lost to Christ. He trained the people of his congregation to preach in the open air, to visit the sick, to teach Sunday School, and to share the gospel with individuals, all over London.

What was the secret to his success as a pastor? Fullerton mentions many qualities he had observed in his friend Spurgeon: his faith, his zeal, his courage, the novel style of his preaching, his fidelity to strong doctrine, his love for people, his humility, his natural wit, his hard work, his common sense, and his fluency of speech. But these do not tell the whole story.

Fullerton concludes, “It is the living mixture that produces the result. When, as in Spurgeon’s case, there is added to the great gifts of nature the power of the Spirit of God dwelling within the man, as in a holy temple, who can be surprised at the result?”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Go and Tell

Not long ago I was in a worship service in a large church in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Connie and I were in town to enjoy a visit with my brothers who live there. After an opening welcome the pastor made a few brief announcements. One of them caught my attention. 

It went something like this, “If any of you are shy about sharing your faith and want to learn how to talk with others about Jesus, we will be offering evangelism training classes this Saturday. Lunch will be provided.” I thought to myself, “That’s exactly right! If I were a member here I would attend those classes and encourage others to do the same.”

Christian witness should not be construed as salesmanship. Evangelism should not be distorted as manipulation or coercion. It is not imposing our beliefs on reluctant victims of our enthusiasm. It is, as James Kennedy put it, “One beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” It is simply sharing good news, or “gospeling,” an expression coined by Nepalese Christians.

I suspect that pastor wanted to see members of his congregation “gospeling” all over Chattanooga, sharing the good news of eternal life with neighbors and friends. I believe he was correct in this for several reasons.

First, the pastor’s job, according to scripture, is to “prepare God’s people for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12). One of those works of service is evangelism. Yes, the pastor should preach the gospel on Sundays, but he cannot go everywhere his people can go or have the relationships his people have. They are the ones the Lord is sending into the community as his ambassadors, speaking to others “with gentleness and respect” ( 1 Peter 3:15).

For too long American churches have relied upon the excuse that evangelism is the pastor’s job. After all, he is the specialist with all the training. But it wasn’t that way in the early church. Acts 8:4 says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” The word translated “preached” means “conversed.” It is a word for informal conversation in day-to-day situations. The point I am making is that these were ordinary Christians, not church leaders. We know this because Acts 8:1 says that because of the persecution “all except the apostles were scattered.” And those who were scattered engaged in gospel conversations.

That pastor in Chattanooga preached the gospel the Sunday I heard him. But he also expressed the concern that the members of the congregation be equipped for their own ministry of “talking with people about Jesus.”

Another reason is that the Holy Spirit is given to all believers. One of the ministries of the Spirit in the lives of God’s people is empowerment for witness. Jesus promised his disciples that when he went away, the Holy Spirit would come to take his place. He said that Spirit would testify about him, and “you also must testify” (John 15:26-27).

This is reflected in one of the great promises of scripture, that believers would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses about Jesus “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is not all up to us. It is the Holy Spirit in us who is the best evangelist of all.

I was pleased to hear the pastor’s announcement for a third reason. It told me that witness and compassionate concern for others were central to the life of that church. Evangelism was not unusual or exceptional. It was being thought of as a normal aspect of healthy church life.

There is an outstanding example of this in the New Testament. The  church in Antioch of Syria was founded through the witness of those Jews from Jerusalem whom I mentioned earlier. They had been scattered by persecution. It came into existence when they shared the message of Jesus with non-Jews (Gentiles) many of whom believed (Acts 11:20-21). As a result, the church took on the multicultural character of the city of Antioch. The assembly at Antioch became identified as Christian and influenced many more of their neighbors to turn to the Lord (Acts 11:24). Sharing the gospel was part of that church’s DNA from its very beginning.

Jesus and his disciples went across the lake of Galilee to the region of Gadara. There they encountered a man who was demonized, living in tragic solitude among the tombs, chained hand and foot. Jesus healed the man and gave him his sanity and dignity. When it was time for Jesus to leave, the man wanted to join Jesus’ team and follow him.

“But Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:38-39). That is what the Lord is reminding us to do. That is evangelism.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

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Motives for Evangelism

“It has been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known” (Romans 15:20).

There can be no doubt that Paul believed in evangelism. Like the other apostles, he took seriously our Lord’s command that the gospel of salvation should be “preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). So Paul began his letter to the Romans by declaring, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).

In the concluding section of his letter to the Romans, he wrote about plans for his further missionary work. He intended to press onward to Spain, a part of the western frontier of the Roman empire, where, apparently, the gospel message of Jesus Christ had not yet penetrated (Romans 15:24, 28). On his way westward, he planned to visit the believers in Rome. This was so that he could ask for their partnership in prayer (v.30)  and financial support (v. 24), as well as the encouragement of their fellowship in the Lord (v. 32).

This was because of the specific call of Christ to Paul (Romans 15:15-17). But in addition, Paul was motivated by the scriptures. He understood that the whole Bible shows that evangelism and world missions have always been on God’s heart. The sweep of biblical history, from the call of Abraham to the second coming of Christ, is the story of God’s calling out from the nations a people for himself.

Paul knew, and he wants us to know that the spread of the Christian gospel was in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. The inclusion of the nations was not an afterthought. It was always the plan of God “that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:9).

In Romans 15:9-12 Paul cites verses from each of the main sections of the Hebrew scriptures to prove his point: world missions has always been a priority with God. The message of salvation should and would go to the nations.

In v. 9 he quotes from the psalms: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name” (Psalm 18:49). In v. 10 he quotes from the law: “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). In v.11 he returns to the psalms: “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him” (Psalm 117:10).

Then in v. 12 he quotes from the prophetic scriptures to show that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope” (Isaiah 11:10).

Paul is quoting these scriptures to show the biblical authority for his missionary outreach to the Gentiles. It is integral to the plan of God. The Old Testament is filled with references to God’s compassion for the nations and his intention that they worship him. Paul quotes just a few of them in Romans 15.

This illustrates the continuing relevance of the Old Testament scriptures (Romans 15:4). This also reminds today’s believers of the continuing desire of our Lord that we be faithful to spread his gospel of salvation to others where we live, work, and play.

Everyone needs to hear the gospel. The message of the book of Romans is that all people without Christ are lost, guilty and without excuse (Romans chapters 1-3). If they are to be saved, they must call on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). In order for them to do this, somebody must tell them the good news (Romans 10:14). That’s evangelism, sharing the message of the crucified and risen Savior.

Pastor Randy Faulkner