Category Archives: Evangelism
Our Only Hope of Success in Evangelism
J.I. Packer, in his excellent treatise Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, states:
“The sovereignty of God in grace gives us our only hope of success in evangelism.”
““Some fear that belief in the sovereign grace of God leads to the conclusion that evangelism is pointless, since God will save His elect anyway, whether they hear the gospel or not. This . . . is a false conclusion based on a false assumption. . . . So far from making evangelism pointless, the sovereignty of God in grace is the one thing that prevents evangelism from being pointless. For it creates the possibility–indeed, the certainty–that evangelism will be fruitful. Apart from it, there is not even a possibility of evangelism being fruitful. Were it not for the sovereign grace of God, evangelism would be the most futile and useless enterprise that the world has ever seen, and there would be no more complete waste of time under the sun than to preach the Christian gospel.”
The effects of such confidence in the sovereign grace of God should, according to Packer, produce three things:
1. It should make us bold.
“You are not on a fool’s errand. You are not wasting either your time or theirs. You have no reason to be ashamed of your message, or half-hearted and apologetic in delivering it. You have every reason to be bold, and free, and natural, and hopeful of success. For God can give His truth and effectiveness that you and I cannot give it. God can make His truth triumphant to the conversion of the most seemingly hardened unbeliever. You and I will never write off anyone as hopeless and beyond the reach of God if we believe in the sovereignty of His grace.”
2. It should make us patient.
“It should keep us from being daunted when we find that our evangelistic endeavors meet with no immediate response. God saves in His own time, and we ought not to suppose that He is in such a hurry as we are. . . . We are tempted to be in a great hurry with those whom we would win to Christ, and then, when we see no immediate response in them, to become impatient and downcast, and then to lose interest in them, and feel that it is useless to spend more time on them; and so we abandon our efforts forthwith, and let them drop out of our ken. But this is utterly wrong. It is a failure both of love for man and faith in God.”
3. It should make us prayerful.
“Prayer . . . is a confessing of impotence and need, and acknowledging of helplessness and dependence, and an invoking of the mighty power of God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. In evangelism, we are impotent; we depend wholly upon God to make our witness effective; only because He is able to give men new hearts can we hope that through our preaching of the gospel sinners will be born again. These facts ought to drive us to prayer. The knowledge, then, that God is sovereign in grace, and that we are impotent to win souls, should make us pray, and keep us praying. What should be the burden of our prayers? We should pray for those whom we seek to win, that the Holy Spirit will open their hearts; and we should pray for ourselves in our own witness, and for all who preach the gospel, that the power and authority of the Holy Spirit may rest upon them.”
What Evangelism Is Not
By Dr. Kevin Schrum
The Great Commission Resurgence proposals within the Southern Baptist Convention have reminded us of the high priority of evangelism and local/global missions. The same is true of many denominations across the theological spectrum of beliefs as Christian leaders worldwide seek to regain strongholds of spiritual influence in North America and Europe. However, unless we’re cautious and clear, a sloppy, imprecise definition of missions and evangelism will destroy renewal efforts. Let’s define evangelism by what it is not and then by what it is.
Evangelism is not…
1. Evangelism is not denominational renewal, reconstruction, or even deconstruction.
Sometimes, these are necessary to advance the cause of evangelism, but they are not evangelism. Denominations and ecclesiastical structures need occasional, healthy upheaval. But unless we’re careful, we may end up thinking that one more meeting and a new way of doing things constitutes evangelism. Structural reorganizations may end up being commensurate with rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
2. Evangelism is not inviting people to church or an evangelistic event.
Inviting people to events is important, but it’s not evangelism — it is pre-evangelism.
3. Evangelism is not imposing our will or beliefs on another person.
We make no apologies for attempting to persuasively make the case for Christianity. But in the end, only God can change the human heart.
4. Evangelism is not personal testimony.
A personal testimony does not save a sinner. The Gospel does. It’s quite right to support a Gospel presentation with what the Gospel has done in one’s life. Yet, we must never confuse the Gospel itself with a personal testimony.
5. Evangelism is not social work/justice or political involvement.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with seeking social justice, feeding the homeless, clothing the naked, and addressing institutional-political injustices. But social justice, food in a hungry belly, and a jacket on the back of a homeless man do not prepare that soul for eternity. Good deeds complement the Gospel enterprise; they do not replace it.
6. Evangelism is not doing apologetics in order to win an argument.
Apologetics is a necessary part of the Christian mission. Apologetics can help answer questions and remove intellectual objections, but only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change the heart.
7. Evangelism is not the results of evangelism.
It is very easy to get caught up in numbers in the church business. And numbers are important. Even Jesus told three successive stories involving numbers in Luke 15 — one lost sheep, one lost coin, and two lost sons. But souls are not notches in our belt or numbers on our denominational charts. "One" represents a precious soul for whom Christ died. This means that we are to communicate the Gospel regardless of the results — God alone takes care of the results.
8. Evangelism is not church planting.
Church planting is biblical and necessary. Many church plants succeed at a higher rate of growth than already established churches. But it’s not because of the magical words — "church plant." The reason church plants grow fast for a season is because the believers of that new church have been reminded of the basics of one person sharing the Good News with another person.
Evangelism is…
So what is evangelism? Evangelism is a believer sharing the person/claims of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a person who has yet to believe the claims of the Gospel or trust the person at the center of the Gospel — Jesus Christ. The Gospel is "that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 10:9-13) The Gospel is clearly stating what God has done in Christ for the sinner, calling for repentance and belief. To fail to do this is to fail at evangelism. All the other dimensions of church life are but outgrowths and/or complements to the Gospel itself.
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Dr. Kevin Shrum has been in ministry for 29 years, currently pastors Inglewood Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and is an Adjunct Professor of Theology for Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.
Are We Trying to Catch The Wind?
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8
Way back in 1965 British singer/songwriter Donavan recorded a song called “Catch The Wind”. It was his first recording and a chart buster. It was a love song about the woman he later married. Perhaps the most memorable line, repeated at the end of each stanza and a few times at the end of the song was (at least to this guy):
“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.”
What does a ‘Golden Oldie’ have to do with this blog post? Thanks for asking!
Well, the song compares the romantic thoughts a young man has concerning a young woman, and the chances of real romance being as elusive as ‘trying to catch the wind’. That memorable line line came to mind this morning while I was doing my morning workout and listening to a short teaching by a Baptist Pastor concerning evangelism; specific methods used, and of course the topic of obtaining an immediate decision for Christ, or ‘closing the deal’. If we can just obtain a ‘decision’ we can add another ‘saved’ soul to our evangelistic tally sheets. The question he posed the listener was “Who really ‘closes the deal?”
And an excellent question it is! While a decision for Christ is sometimes an immediate result of an evangelistic encounter (we see several accounts in the book of Acts alone), are decisions for Christ the product of our efforts or the result of the Holy Spirit’s work of impressing upon a human heart the gravity of sin, opening that heart to hear and receive the message of the gospel, offering grace through the gift of faith, and in essence ‘closing the deal’.
When we realize what happens in the above process, we can also see that there needs to be someone who delivers the gospel message. That’s where we come in, and it seems to be our only role – just a messenger. But not ‘just’ a messenger. The good news we have for the lost and dying all around us is the greatest news a person could ever hear!
In that encounter with Nicodemus in John, Chapter 3 we have displayed before us, the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “– vv. 3-7
How does the ‘new birth’ happen? Do words of men, cleverly presented produce the new birth? Is it our presenting an attractive Jesus the hearer might like do it? Does the ‘fire and brimstone’ of threats of eternal punishment in Hell do it? Can we direct, steer, or otherwise influence a spiritual rebirth? I think not! Listen the very next verse:
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (v. 8)
The one who ‘closes the deal’ – produces faith to to believe, is none other than the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who gives life to spiritually dead men and women, who turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, creates a desire for God where there was none, who opens hearts to hear the message of the gospel, impresses the truth of the gospel on the human heart, causing the one who realizes his/her condition apart from Christ to run to the Cross!
At the same time, we are to persuade others of the truth of the gospel, since we have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:11). In our persuading however, we need to remember that it’s not our job to ‘close the deal’. Rather, remember Donavan:
“Ah, but we may as well try and catch the wind.”
Sin, the Gospel, and Evangelistic Responsibility
Comment addressed to me on a Christian blog today”
Ya know, Daniel, I do not need to talk to people about their sins. I only want to talk to people about the Savior that loved me enough to come and assist me in living a successful life on this earth.
Once the people I talk with about my LORD and Savior and what He is to me and done in my life, it is then up to Him, through the power of His Holy Spirit to bring conviction for sin upon those whom He chooses.Beating people down with all the sin I look for in their lives is really NOT my job.
My response:
Somebody needs to confront the person needing salvation with the sin issue, since it IS after all, the central issue that the message of the gospel addresses. I find nowhere in the Bible that says Jesus died to change your temporal life. If you do, let me know. You are free to tell (or NOT tell) people whatever you want, of course. Just don’t claim to be sharing a gospel message that has the ‘power to save’ when you fail to address the issue of sin. (Paul’s definition, after all).
The blog thread wasn’t really about evangelism, not even close, but we all know about ‘rabbit trails’. A ‘familiar atheist’ had once again complained about the ‘cruel God’ that commanded the slaying of groups of people in the OT (not the thread topic either), and the subject of ‘judgment’ had surfaced. To no one in particular I commented that:
Anyone who wakes up in Hell has only himself/herself to blame and everyone who wakes up in Heaven has only God to thank.
Somehow that prompted my friend to make his remarks about not needing to speak of sin and my subsequent response. Lest you think I was somehow unkind, this same man has told me the same thing over the last couple of years, even when I emphasized that I was only emphasizing the central issue the gospel message addresses being the issue of sin. For some reason even talking about sin is ‘looking’ for all the sin in their live and beating them over the head with it.
I’m not sure what causes this particular phenomena to appear, but I see it often. I cannot claim innocence either, for there was a time when I felt the same way as my friend. I like to think I outgrew it with careful Bible study and learning that I had been duped by being told how we all have this marvelous ‘free will’ that by nature has the ability to come to Christ. I
I’ll stand by my conviction that ‘sin’ is the main issue that has to be gotten to (by somebody). At the same time I am convinced that we will meet many in heaven who think that their ‘natural free will’ got them there!
Be blessed!
The Gospel Message
I’ll be the first to admit that there are ‘levels’, of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I tend to place them into two overall categories; the message needed for the salvation of lost sinners, and the ‘larger’ message(s) that encompasses the entirety of the gospel of the Kingdom in terms of all of the blessings promised to God’s people.
Having said that, I believe it is always important, when discussing the gospel, to define our terms. Especially important is the definition of the gospel message that has the power to save; the message the Apostle Paul speaks of in Romans 1:16:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Emphasis mine)
Obvious is that there exists a gospel that in itself has the ‘power to save’. Given that the gospel, the ‘good news’ can include quite a lot, what exactly is the gospel that includes ‘power to save’? Since t is Paul who tells us there is one, does he also define it? What did Paul focus on in his preaching and teaching? What does Paul himself have to say?
”For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” – 1 Cor 1:22-23
“When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” – 1 Cor 2:1-2
We can conclude that the crucified Christ was central to Paul’s preaching, but does he define the gospel with ‘power to save’ more precisely? I believe he does. Speaking to the Corinthian church near the end of one of his letters, in his prelude to the importance of the resurrection to our faith, Paul states:
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” – ! Cor 15:1-4
We can readily see that the death and resurrection of Christ “for ‘our’ sins” was central to Paul’s preaching, and the central issue addressed in the gospel he preached. It is also logical to assume that the gospel we share with those whom God places in our paths for that purpose should be the same as Paul’s message. For many of you it is, but for many others in today’s evangelical climate, sadly it is not.
The gospel Paul preached as having ‘power to save’ has been widely supplanted with a gospel message that focuses on ’abundant living’. It takes several forms, and at times even addresses the issue of sin, but often in a secondary ‘back burner’ manner. What’s wrong with that, if we see sinners ‘accepting’ Christ as Savior? Isn’t abundant living part of the “good news? Yes it is, but is it the primary message we share with those who need a Savior?
Please hear me out.
First of all, remember that our gospel ‘invitation’ is intended for those living lives far away from God and his Son, the Christ. They are ‘by nature’ in rebellion against their Creator, cannot please God and unable to understand Spiritual truth, don’t seek him (See Rom 8:7,1 Cor 2:14, Rom 3:11, Ps 14), and have as their primary interest in this life, self-gratification, or self-actualization (if you want a ‘softer’ term). They behave with those goals foremost in their minds, not only from a biblical perspective, but also if we are to believe what the behavioral sciences have to tell us (Think Maslow).
Given all that accurately describes those who are apart from Christ, what are we doing if the primary focus of our gospel message is ‘abundant life’, which is actually a valid truth claim? (I hope that question is somewhat rhetorical.) We are feeding their ‘nature’; in effect telling them that the principal message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is their personal welfare and happiness, which is exactly what they want, but not abundant life on God’s terms.
Assume they like it, and make a ‘decision’ for Christ. Sooner or later, especially when their abundant doesn’t work out according to their wishes and desires, we have more explaining to do. What do you say?
"I know I said Jesus promised abundant life, but God’s definition in that John 10:10 passage really means a different kind of ‘abundant’ life." (Bait & switch alert!)
Or,
"Jesus did promise the abundant life you want, but maybe you haven’t given up a sinful habit or something."
Now you get to discuss the very real issue of sin you didn’t pay much attention to earlier, and how Jesus died for our sins and that he came to give e abundant life. (Another bait & switch?)
Do you see where I’m coming from? Why not just be lovingly straightforward with Paul’s definition of the gospel? Why not include the issue of sin, as of ‘first importance’?
I can think of several reasons; maybe you’re ashamed of the gospel, afraid someone won’t like you anymore, or maybe you really think offering an ‘attractive’ message is the right way to share the gospel! In that case you would have a lot of company. Most folks think that that we all are naturally seeking God and have the ‘natural’ capability to make the right decision. Well, we already talked about the ‘natural’ man. If you forgot what we said, rewind.
In reality, offering an attractive message denies the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men. If what we said about the ‘natural’ man is true, something has to happen to turn a rebellious heart toward God, and in fact give a spiritually ‘dead’ man life (See Eph 2). The something that happens is God himself. God opens the stony heart and deaf ears to hear the gospel message that at one time was offensive to the listener, and the sinner confronted with the reality of his/her condition runs joyfully and willingly to the Cross!
The apostle expressed that truth quite well when, speaking of his gospel ministry he stated:
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” – 2 Cor 2:14-16
Yes, the promise of abundant life is good news, and part of the overall message of the gospel, but there is only one gospel message that has the ‘ power to save’. Hear Paul one more time:
For I delivered to you as of FIRST importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. . ."
The rest of the ‘good news’, the ‘bigger’ picture of the gospel, begins at the Cross, or it isn’t ‘good’, but merely self-serving.
The ‘Judge Not’ Bomb
The passage that that becomes a bomb:
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” – Matthew 7:1
How many times have you heard that? As Christians, if we have never heard it, we might not have spoken much concerning the issue of sin. The ‘bomb’ is dropped by non-believers, as well as believers, when the topic of sin or some particular sin enters the discussion.
The logic behind the usage of the ‘judge not’ bomb seems to be this:
- The Bible says don’t judge.
- If we talk about sin, we are judging others.
- Therefore, don’t talk about sin
The Problem:
Those who are skilled in dropping this bomb are mostly non-Christians whom we are trying to reach with the message of the gospel, but they are also Christians purporting to spread that same message. I know some of those Christians and I also remember when I was one of them.
Don’t get me wrong here, there is certainly something important in the admonition concerning not judging other people. We all have ‘eyesight’ problems, as the context of our passage in Matthew 7 reminds us:
“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Matt 7:4-5
So now we’re not only judging others when we talk about sin, we are also hypocrites because we have not yet reached a state of sinlessness! That sounds like a bit of a double whammy, doesn’t it? We’d be far better off leading folks to Jesus by telling them all about the abundant life he promises, and all the great things he wants to do for us in terms of solving all of problems we face from day to day, wouldn’t we?
Well, all that sounds good, but it’s only valid if the ‘stuff of life’ was the reason Jesus came and died nailed to on a wooden cross a couple thousand years ago. That’s where we might have a little problem. If we peer into the New Testament we are told that Jesus came to die because of sin (our sins), beginning with the announcement from an angel to Joseph through the last chapter of Revelation.
What’s really going on?
To try and find out, let’s begin with our original logic model:
- The Bible says don’t judge. (major premise)
- If we talk about sin, we are judging others. (minor premise)
- Therefore, don’t talk about sin (conclusion)
If we can break the logic chain, find a fallacy in it, we might be able set the matter straight. I submit that if our major and minor premises are valid, our conclusion might be equally valid. But are they?
Our major premise seems valid, since it a direct quote from a passage of scripture. Even though there is a bit more to it than simply not judging, there is some truth there. Our minor premise certainly sounds valid, but is it really? Well it might be, depending on the circumstances in which the topic of sin is being discussed. Let me explain.
It’s certainly possible that the person who brings up the subject of sin, in general or with a specific sin in mind, does so with a ‘judgmental’ attitude, however it is equally possible that the topic was brought up for other reasons. The sinfulness of a particular activity or behavior might be the topic of discussion, or the issue of sin might have been brought up as the central issue that the message of the gospel addresses. Either way, the ‘don’t judge’ bomb is dropped because someone is being judged, according to our minor premise.
And that’s the fallacy in our logic model – our minor premise – that if we talk about sin at all, we are ‘de facto’ judging others. Let me explain what I think is going on.
When the topic of sin is approached, every single time, either in general terms or with specific sin(s) in mind, someone’s going to feel guilty. Feelings of guilt do come from having been judged, and the easiest target for complaint is against the messenger. On the other hand, when we lovingly make it clear that we are sharing God’s opinion (and can back it up scripturally), it is God who judges, and not the one passing on His opinion.
So where are we at?
Let me break it down.
God has decreed that the preaching of the gospel is the most significant means by which lost sinners are saved. (Rom 10:14)
It’s our duty (and great privilege) to share that gospel.
The gospel message, in order to qualify as ‘good news’ must include the ‘bad news’ concerning sin.
Talking about sin can and will drive away listeners who need the ‘good news’ before you have a chance to tell it. Bummer.
What do we do?
Remember a woman named Lydia:
“And on the Sabbath day we (Paul and company) went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” – Acts 16:13-14
Bear in mind that you will offend some people with the ‘bad news’ and that they will drop the ‘don’t judge’ bomb. Until God opens hearts to really ‘hear’ and realize that they are guilty and it is God who is judging, they just won’t get it. Keep your spiritual Kevlar on.
By that I mean apply liberal amounts of ‘BDA’ prayer (Before, During & After) to your evangelistic endeavors. It goes without saying that such applications will give you great courage and boldness to proclaim the ‘bad news’ with the ‘good news’, add to the harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God, and bring great glory to our Savior.
Delivering the complete gospel message boldly and with utmost love will keep you (or someone else) from having perform another form of ‘BDA’ (Battle Damage Assessment) because you fell for the ‘invalid premise’ and left the critical issue out of the message. It’s a pretty tough job persuading those who think they are saved, that they might be deceived.
The message of the Cross is first and foremost about the problem of sin, and has been since the Fall of man in the Garden. Be like the Apostle Paul:
- “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” – Romans 1:15-15
- “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
May God bless open hearts to ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to ‘pay attention’ to that precious message!
“Hearts are won to Jesus by the silent conviction which irresistibly subdues the conscience to a sense of guilt, and by the love which is displayed in the Redeemer’s becoming the great substitutionary sacrifice for us, that our sins might be removed. . .” – C. H. Spurgeon
The Faithful Sower – C. H. Spurgeon
"And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: a sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."—Luke 8:4-8.
In our country, when a sower goes forth to his work, he generally enters into an enclosed field, and scatters the seed from his basket along every ridge and furrow; but in the East, the corn-growing country, hard by a small town, is usually an open area. It is divided into different properties, but there are no visible divisions, except the ancient landmarks, or perhaps ridges of stones. Through these open lands there are footpaths, the most frequented being called the highways. You must not imagine these highways to be like our macadamized roads; they are merely paths, trodden tolerably hard. Here and there you notice bye-ways, along which travelers who wish to avoid the public road may journey with a little more safety when the main road is infested with robbers: hasty travelers also strike out short cuts for themselves, and so open fresh tracks for others. When the sower goes forth to sow he finds a plot of round scratched over with the primitive Eastern plough; he aims at scattering his seed there most plentifully; but a path runs through the centre of his field, and unless he is willing to leave a broad headland, he must throw a handful upon it. Yonder, a rock crops out in the midst of the ploughed land, and the seed falls on its shallow soil. Here is a corner full of the roots of nettles and thistles, and he flings a little here; the corn and the nettles come up together, and the thorns being the stronger soon choke the seed, so that it brings forth no fruit unto perfection. The recollection that the Bible was written in the East, and that its metaphors and allusions must be explained to us by Eastern travelers, will often help us to understand a passage far better than if we think of English customs. 
The preacher of the gospel is like the sower. He does not make his seed; it is given him by his divine Master. No man could create the smallest grain that ever grew upon the earth, much less the celestial seed of eternal life. The minister goes to his Master in secret, and asks him to teach him his gospel, and thus he fills his basket with the good seed of the kingdom. He then goes forth in his Master’s name and scatters precious truth. If he knew where the best soil was to be found, perhaps he might limit himself to that which had been prepared by the plough of conviction; but not knowing men’s hearts, it is his business to preach the gospel to every creature—to throw a handful on the hardened heart, and another on the mind which is overgrown with the cares and pleasures of the world. He has to leave the seed in the care of the Lord who gave it to him, for he is not responsible for the harvest, he is only accountable for the care and industry with which he does his work. If no single ear should ever make glad the reaper, the sower will be rewarded by His Master if he had planted the right seed with careful hand. If it were not for this fact with what despairing agony should we utter the cry of Esaias, "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"
Our duty is not measured by the character of our hearers, but by the command of our God. We are bound to preach the gospel, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. It is ours to sow beside all waters. Let men’s hearts be what they may, the minister must preach the gospel to them; he must sow the seed on the rock as well as in the furrow, on the highway as well as in the ploughed field.
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The above was excerpted from a longer sermon, The Parable of the Sower found online here, in which Spurgeon expounds upon not only the faithful sower, but also the ground upon which the seed of the gospel falls.
Eisegesis Unplugged – Acts 26:28
The Passage
And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28 ESV)
This passage is sometimes used to support the duty and ability of believers to ‘persuade’ non-believers to become Christians by using their personal testimonies as evangelistic tools. If Paul tried to persuade Agrippa to become a Christian with his testimony, shouldn’t we also try and persuade others? If that’s what Paul was trying to do, certainly! But is that what was really going on in that encounter? Let’s look at the text and context, shall we?
Our story begins back in Chapter 25, with Festus, procurator of Judea presenting Paul to King Agrippa, in Cesarea where Paul was being held. Festus had tried to convince Paulo to be tried in Jerusalem, but Paul appealed to Rome, as was his right being a Roman citizen. Festus speaks:
“And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write.” – Acts 25:24-26
The drama continues:
So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.” Acts 26:1-3
Paul then proceeded with his personal testimony, however with the principle objective to defend himself against the accusations of the Jews. That eloquent discourse covered Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, the call to repent and turn to God, and the proclamation that the death and resurrection of Christ pertained to both Jews and Gentiles. In addition to being a ‘defense’ that would make Perry Mason envious, it was indeed a clear presentation of the gospel message.
It is important to note that Paul did not offer his ‘changed life’ as the message of the gospel, and that God would change Agrippa’s life for the better also. That would have been ridiculous! Paul was standing there bound in the chains of a prisoner bound for Rome.
Paul’s testimony and presentation of the call to repentance and belief resulted in Festus calling him ‘out of his mind’, as well as the question from King Agrippa:
“In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” – Acts 26:28
Apparently, Paul’s testimony, presented primarily as a legal defense, caused Agrippa to think Paul was intentionally trying to persuade him to become a Christian. It would not be surprising that Paul was using the occasion to present the gospel to Agrippa, however other scripture from Paul tells us clearly that he did not consider himself the ‘persuader’.
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” – 1 Cor 3:6-7
Paul did express his desire that Agrippa would become a Christian, but he didn’t offer him a better life. After all Agrippa’s life was getting along very nicely, thank you! We could learn something from that, I think. A ‘gospel’ based on a changed life, or that offers ‘your best life now’ is lost on those who already have a great life! We would add that there is not a single instance of that approach in all of scripture.
Finally, after agreeing among themselves that Paul had done nothing deserving of imprisonment, Paul was sent to Rome, as protocol required, where he lived under house arrest until his execution.
So what are we to take from this account?
First, that even the direst of circumstances in our lives present opportunities to deliver the precious message of the gospel of Christ’s death for our sins.
Second, that presenting the gospel message will get us accused of trying to persuade others to become Christians. And yes, Paul did say “we persuade men’, but to what end? He tells us.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” – 2 Cor 5:10-11
We present the gospel message as if lives depend upon it – and they do – eternal lives.
Third, while we deliver the gospel message with persuasive speech, we need to be mindful that our efforts are merely planting ‘seed’ that needs watering and nourishing,but it is God who is the ‘great persuader’. Of course we should be enthusiastic in presenting the gospel, but in the end it is God alone who saves. Ours is the great privilege of being used to provide the message to hearts He has opened to hear and respond. It is God who both ordains the end (salvation) and the means (preaching the gospel).
And last, this Paul’s encounter with Agrippa does not imply that we, as believers, have the ability to personally persuade non-believers to hear and receive the gospel message. That attitude, when adopted, usually results in us omitting the ‘offense’ of the gospel (man’s sin), and our trying to ‘attract’ people to Jesus. Paul’s discourse before Agrippa did present his personal testimony, but it also addressed the need to repent of sin and return to God.
If we use personal testimony in our witnessing, we should be speaking of having faced our sin in all its ugliness, repented of it and turned to God, trusting in Christ for our salvation.
Our duty is to present the truth in love, call sinners to repentance and belief in Christ, and leave the ‘persuading ’to God.
Know Your Audience and Trust God
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Cor 4:3-6
There are a couple of important ‘keys’ to effective evangelism in those passages.
The first one has to do with ‘knowing your audience’. For anyone accustomed to teaching/speaking this is an essential ingredient for being effective. In these passages we are told by the Apostle that our ‘audience’ contains unbelievers with ‘blind’ minds, and can’t see!
Why in the world would we want to deliver a message to a blind audience? That makes no sense!
What did Paul do? If we have read our Bibles, we find that everywhere Paul travelled, he preached a simple gospel that Christ died for sins, knowing that he was speaking to a blind audience, that would find his message offensive! At the same time, Paul knew that there would be those who would repent and believe the gospel he preached. How did he know that?
That’s the other key to effective evangelism in the above verses. For Paul knew that God would open blind eyes as he preached the gospel and souls would be saved.
The summary of evangelism is this:
We faithfully preach Christ;
God opens blind eyes;
God-opened blind eyes, deaf ears, and softened hearts respond;
. . .and the Church of Christ is built..
The Battle Cry 