There are those who think evangelism is a task to be carried out by those who have been specially gifted for this purpose. To their minds most Christians are simply called upon to live the life and only to be ready to share their faith when called upon to do so (1 Peter 3:15). However, in the book of Acts we are presented with three vignettes which show Christians in general being involved in evangelism.
The first instance was referred to in our January 16 blog on non-apostlic evangelism in Acts, namely the Spirit-filled proclamation of the gospel by the entire 120-strong community of Christians. The second example occurs at the close of Acts 4. After Peter and John having been released by the Sanhedrin we report that they “went back to their own people” - the community of believers viewed as an apostolic community - and reported the threats made against them (verse 23). The response of the believers is to pray, asking:
“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness….” (verse 29).
The Lord hears their prayers:
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (verse 31).
Clearly, it is not merely Peter and John who are filled with the Spirit and enabled to evangelise, but the entire group of Christians who were praying at this meeting-place.
The third occasion in which we see Christians in general engaged in evangelism is presented at Acts 11:19-21:
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
In all of these three contexts we see that it was natural for ordinary Christians to share their faith with others in a pro-active manner and not merely when approached by unbelievers. In the first two contexts, however, we see that the boldness with which they did this was due to their being filled with the Spirit. This may help explain why we don’t have many passages in the New Testament commanding Christians in general to engage directly in communicating the gospel. (the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 is arguably one such passage). Evangelism occurs most naturally when the hearts and minds of Christians are filled with the consciousness of who Jesus is so that they are eager that others should know their wonderful Lord as well and be reconciled to him before it is too late. Such was the commitment of the early Christians to sharing their faith that persecution only served to fan the flame not douse it.
Posted January 21, 2010
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