Personal Evangelism: Do You Share the Gospel?
In your personal evangelism do you think to yourself, “I need to share my faith story: my experiences, my struggles, the ways Jesus has helped me.” Shar- to offend anyone, now, would we? I wonder, however, if sharing falls short of the biblical idea of evangelism. The Bible really doesn’t present evangelism as sharing a personal experi- ence but rather a proclamation of an objective truth. Proclaiming is the act of emphatically announcing or praising something, often with authority or con- of evangelism. “But proclaiming is harsh,” you may object, “whereas, sharing shows kind- ness.” Instead, you should be thinking, “Whose story am I to tell?” Instead of sharing: “This is what Christ has done for me?” we should be proclaiming: “This is what God has done in Christ for the world.”
Jesus also said to his followers, “Go into all the world and the gospel
opinions. What he does is delivers the king’s message faithfully and clearly. So as followers of Jesus, we’re not just telling personal stories, we are ambassadors for the Lord.
These days, proclamation feels kind of scary and dangerous. None of us wants to be considered intolerant or arrogant. Sharing seems more acceptable because we can speak without making universal claims, even though all ev- erywhere will one day give an account at the Final Judgment. Therefore, we proclaim historical realities with eternal consequences. Sharing in evangelism can make Christianity something like a preference. When we say only, “This worked for me,” we imply that the gospel is one op- tion among many. But Scripture tells us that Jesus is the only Savior and Judge. Some might think that proclamation is not loving. However, when we think about it, the loving thing to do is to declare the truth. If a cure for a deadly dis- ease existed, it would not be loving to merely share how it improved your life. The loving thing to do would require you to announce that a cure is available and urge others to take it. In the same way, if Christ alone reconciles sinners to God, then proclamation is an act of loving compassion. Just to be clear, proclamation is to be done with gentleness. Christians are
need to remember that humility doesn’t mean being silent, and respect means without judging. We can proclaim without pride because we speak as forgiven
sinners, not as those who are moral superiors. The power of the message is in Christ, not in us. Wondering, is your evangelism just safe sharing? When was the last time you clearly declared that Jesus is Lord and called someone to respond? Maybe we are more concerned with being uncomfortable than with tell- ing the truth?
The early Christians prayed for boldness, not safety. They under- stood that the gospel is news to be announced. Christ is reigning today, and everyone needs to be reconciled to him. The Church still has the task to proclaim this truth. you just be a sharer of experiences, or will you be a herald for the King?
Planting, Strengthening, and Evangelizing 14 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Outreach North America
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