In past, we’ve shared what is Biblical evangelism. We hope that it was clear and helpful to you. To follow up, we would now like to share some key points on what is not Biblical evangelism. To be evangelism, the Gospel must be clearly communicated, whether in written or oral form. What often appears to be evangelism can be a case of mistaken identity. We can have good intentions, but the goal in evangelism is to tell of the Good News of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for guilty sinners. With some help from Mark Dever, let’s define those lines.
Imposition
We mistakenly take evangelism to be manipulation, but that’s what the world says. In truth, we’re not trying to impose our beliefs on anybody. Biblically, we can’t impose our beliefs on anybody. Force and coercion cannot finally bring about the change that God demands. You can’t expand Christianity by the sword. Evangelism is not some sort of intellectual imposition. To believe that something is true and to share that with others is not coercion. We don’t impose when we evangelize. We freely offer it to all and do not, cannot, force it on anybody. The Gospel is news that is heralded; it is mail to be delivered. The Gospel doesn’t argue, it’s just declared.
Personal Testimony
A personal testimony is a wonderful thing. If you don’t have a conversion story, you probably don’t have a conversion. Far too often our testimony focuses on us (which is a biography), instead of focusing on Jesus Christ (which is more of a witness). Narcissistic evangelism unfortunately makes us the focal point. Our testimony should have the Gospel in it. It should commend the Hearer to Christ. Unless you’re explicit about Jesus Christ and the cross and resurrection then it’s not the Gospel.
Social Action / Public Involvement
Mercy ministries display God’s kindness, and they are good and appropriate for the Christian to do, but such actions are not evangelism. They may commend the Gospel to others, but only if someone has told them the Gospel. They need to have the Gospel added to them. Helping others or doing our jobs well, whatever they are, in and of themselves are not evangelism. Changing societies and influencing people and correcting injustice are parts of what Christians are called to do, but fulfilling them is not the same as obeying the command to share the Gospel.
Apologetics
Apologetics are valuable, but they have their own set of dangers. You can get bogged down in talking about purely intellectual or peripheral matters and never get to the Gospel. It’s fine for us to talk with unbelieving friends about questions that they have, but our attempts to try and answer them without setting the Gospel as the foundation does no good. Jesus must set the agenda for evangelism. Tearing down other religions is not evangelism. Evangelism is the positive act of telling the Good News about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation through Him.
Prayer
Without effective prayer, you cannot be effective in your evangelism. Prayer is overlooked in its necessity in conversion and the advancement of the kingdom. Far too often we replace evangelism for prayer. It is easier to talk to God about man instead of talking to man about God. If the Apostles would have stayed in the Upper Room and prayed after Jesus ascended, nobody would have been saved. Thankfully, they left the Upper Room and they opened their mouth and people heard the Gospel. A Gospel that is not communicated is not evangelism.
Results of Evangelism
One of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism (the conversion of unbelievers) for evangelism itself which is the simple telling of the Gospel message. Evangelism must not be confused with its fruit. 2 Corinthians 2:15 tells us that the same ministry has two different effects. When the Gospel goes forth it does one of two things: people get saved, people get offended. Don’t let the Gospel that you preach be molded by what it is that gets an immediate response. You are called to be faithful, not successful. We don’t fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the Gospel to someone who is not converted; we fail only if we don’t faithfully tell the Gospel at all. Preach the Gospel, trying to persuade–pleading for your hearers to believe–but knowing that you cannot convert a person. And then let God do with it what He will. He alone can call the dead to life. The Gospel is powerful, and God is committed to using us to spread His Good News.