The Ministry of Invitation

 

Note:  Below are notes from my Sunday afternoon message on "the discipline of inviting non-believers into the meetings of God's people."

 

The Ministry of Invitation

Luke 5:18-20; John 4:28-30; 1 Corinthians 14:23-25

CRBC January 26, 2014

We are continuing a short series on personal ministry.  How can a believer be useful in kingdom work?  In what ways can he lawfully serve in ministry?

How can a believer be engaged in evangelism?  One way is through the often neglected ministry of invitation, that is, the spiritual discipline of inviting unbelievers into the meetings of God’s people so that they might (1) be exposed to the witness of God’s people, (2) be under the preaching of the gospel, and (3) through this be placed before Christ himself as he is present in his gathered people and as he speaks through the reading and proclamation and through the singing of his word.  Compare:

Ephesians 4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

 

Hebrews 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee [citing Psalm 22:22].

We need also to note that God has particularly ordained the preaching of the gospel to be the means of convincing and converting sinners:

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

 

To demonstrate the significance of this ministry of invitation I want to look at three NT passages:

1.  The healing of the paralytic in Luke 5:18-20:

Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

Notice:  There was a man who was paralyzed and could not move.  He had friends who had compassion on him in his circumstances, and they sought means to bring him and lay him before Jesus.  They knew that his best chance for healing was to place him “into the midst before Jesus.”

2.  The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:28-30:

John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Notice that this woman did not go as a preacher or teacher.  She went as an inviter.  She had the power of her own personal experience of Jesus.  By her invitation men came to listen to Jesus for themselves.

See the fruit in John 4:39-42.

3. The description of worship in the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 14:23-25:

1 Corinthians 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned [idiotai:  unskilled or untrained], or unbelievers [apistoi], will they not say that ye are mad? 24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: 25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

Granted, the specific purpose of this passage is not to provide a model for how to do invitation evangelism, but it is to advocate for prophesy given in intelligible utterance versus speaking in tongues in unintelligible utterance.  However, we should not overlook what the passage teaches us about how evangelism was done in the early church.  It assumes the following:  (1) the whole church gathered in one place (i.e., this is not the lone preacher going to stand on the street corner); (2) the unlearned and unbelievers were invited into these gathered meetings (i.e., these people came to the church’s gatherings, rather than the church going out to them); and (3) these unbelievers came under conviction of their sin and were converted to become worshippers of God as they heard the gospel intelligibly proclaimed in an explicitly Christian assembly.  From this we might surmise that the normative way for the church to do evangelism is (1) to gather publically to worship, especially on the Lord’s Day; (2) to invite unbelievers into our assembly; and (3) to preach intelligibly in hopes that the unconverted in our midst might come under conviction and be saved.

Practical exhortations:

1.  We are to see the ministry of invitation as one of the ways we might be lawfully and profitably involved in personal ministry.

 

2.  We should bring our children to worship to hear the preaching of the word.  This is one reason we do not need “children’s church.”

3. We should strive to invite and bring our unsaved relatives and acquaintances to hear the preaching of the word.

 

In our CRBC membership covenant we pledge “to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances.”

4.  We can place Bible passages, good Christian books, and audio recording of Christians sermons and teachings in the path of non-believers (physically and electronically through email and social media), but we should not neglect the power of the physical gathering of God’s people.

5.  We should not necessarily expect an immediate result (though God can work miraculously if he so chooses) but we must be patient and understand that for some God in his sovereignty is concealing the truth (cf. Luke 18:34:  “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hidden from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”).  Still we can and should offer, we can invite, and we can pray.

Evangelism Series (Part Nine): Lloyd-Jones on the Office of Evangelist

Here’s a follow up to my recent post in the Evangelism Series on the office of evangelist:

In his exposition of Ephesians 4:11, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reaches a similar conclusion (from Christian Unity:  An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1 to 16 [Baker Books, 1980]):

If any are surprised that I place the evangelist and his office in the same extraordinary and temporary category as the apostles and prophets, the probability is that they are thinking of an evangelist in terms of the modern use of the term.  This is something essentially different from its use in the New Testament, where we are not told much about the evangelists.  Philip, who is mentioned in the eighth chapter of the Book of Acts, was an evangelist.  He is mentioned again in the twenty-first chapter.  It is quite clear also that Timothy and Titus are evangelists.  The Apostle Paul reminds Paul to do the work of an evangelist.  It seems clear from these references that an evangelist was a very special man who was in close association with the apostles….  The evangelist is a man who had been given special ability and power to make known, and to expound, the facts of the Gospel.  Generally, he was a man appointed by the apostles themselves, and can be described as a kind of understudy to the apostles.  He was one sent by the apostles to do a given work.  Sometimes he was sent ahead of the apostles, as Philip was sent to Samaria, but generally, he followed the apostles…..

This does not mean that there have not been men since then, and in the Church today, who are given a special call to preach the Gospel in a particular way and manner, but strictly speaking they are not evangelists in the New Testament sense of the word.  It would be better to call them ‘exhorters’, as they were called at the time of the evangelical awakening of the eighteenth century (pp. 191-192).

Evangelism Series (Part Eight): Quotes "Against Lay Preaching"

Note:  I ran across this collection of quotes "Against Lay Preaching" [posted on a PRC website] from various Reformed stalwarts.  The quotes challenge the revivalistic assumption of many contemporary evangelicals who see preaching the gospel (euangelizo) as open to non-ordained ministers and sometimes border on hyper-egalitarianism, arguing that this kind of public ministry is expected of all Christians under the duty of "personal evangelism."  They might be surprised to find that men like A. W. Pink, for example, called such views "ecclesiastical socialism" (see below).  Chapter 26 of The Second London Baptist Confession (see paragraph 11) might be added to the quotes in that it notes that the Pastors are to be instant in preaching while only allowing others to peach the gospel who are "approved and called by the church." Here are the quotes:

John Calvin: "God has repeatedly commended its dignity by the titles which he has bestowed upon it, in order that we might hold it in the highest estimation, as among the most excellent of our blessings. He declares, that in raising up teachers he confers a special benefit on men, when he bids his prophet exclaim, 'How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace' (Isa. 52:7), and when he calls the apostles the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13-14). Nor could the office be more highly eulogised than when he said, 'He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me' (Luke 10:16). But the most striking passage of all is that in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, where Paul treats as it were professedly of this question. He contends that there is nothing in the Church more noble and glorious than the ministry of the Gospel, seeing it is the administration of the Spirit of righteousness and eternal life. These and similar passages should have the effect of preventing that method of governing and maintaining the Church by ministers, a method which the Lord has ratified for ever, from seeming worthless in our eyes, and at length becoming obsolete by contempt ... Now seeing that in the sacred assembly all things ought to be done decently and in order (I Cor. 14:40), there is nothing in which this ought to be more carefully observed than in settling government, irregularity in any respect being nowhere more perilous. Wherefore, lest restless and turbulent men should presumptuously push themselves forward to teach or rule (which might otherwise happen), it was expressly provided that no one should assume a public office in the Church without a call (Heb. 5:4; Jer. 17:16). Therefore, if any one would be deemed a true minister at the Church, he must first be duly called; and, secondly, he must answer to his calling; that is, undertake and execute the office assigned to him. This may often be observed in Paul, who, when he would approve his apostleship, almost always alleges a call, together with his fidelity in discharging the office. If so great a minister of Christ dares not arrogate to himself authority to be heard in the Church, unless as having been appointed to it by the command of his Lord, and faithfully performing what has been entrusted to him, how great the effrontery for any man, devoid of one or both of them, to demand for himself such honour" (Institutes 4.3.3, 10).

Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. & A. 158:
"Q. By whom is the word of God to be preached?
A. The word of God is to be preached only by such as are sufficiently gifted, and also duly approved and called to that office."

George Gillespie: "The act of ordination stands in the mission to the deputation of a man to an ecclesiastical function with power and authority to perform the same; and thus are pastors ordained when they are sent to a people with power to preach the Word, minister the sacraments, and exercise ecclesiastical discipline among them. For 'How shall they preach except they be sent?' ... If it were an intolerable usurpation, in a man's own family, if any man should take on him the steward's place to dispense meat to the household, not being thereunto appointed, how much more were it an intolerable usurpation in the church ... Suppose they be well gifted, yet they may not preach except they be sent ... Thus sending needs be ordination, not the church's election; a people may choose to themselves, but they cannot send to themselves ... There are five necessary means and ways which must be had and used by those who look to be saved: (1) calling on the name of the Lord; (2) believing on him; (3) hearing his Word; (4) a preaching ministry; (5) mission or ordination. If the first four be perpetually necessary to the end of the world, so must the fifth be; for the apostle lays almost as great necessity on this last as on the rest ... There can be no ministerial office without a mission or ordination" (Aaron's Rod Blossoming).

John Owen: "... for a public, formal, ministerial teaching, two things are required in the teacher: — first, gifts from God; secondly, authority from the church (I speak now of ordinary cases). He that wants either is no true pastor. For the first, God sends none upon an employment but whom he fits with gifts for it, 1. Not one command in the Scripture made to teachers; 2. Not one rule for their direction; 3. Not one promise to their endeavours; 4. Not any end of their employment; 5. Not one encouragement to their duty; 6. Not one reproof for their negligence; 7. Not the least intimation of their reward, — but cuts off ungifted, idle pastors from any true interest in the calling. And for the others, that want authority from the church, neither ought they to undertake any formal act properly belonging to the ministry, such as is solemn teaching of the word; for, — 1. They are none of Christ’s officers, Ephesians 4:11. 2. They are expressly forbidden it, Jeremiah 23:21; Hebrews 5:4. 3. The blessing on the word is promised only to sent teachers, Romans 10:14-15. 4. If to be gifted be to be called, then, — (1) Every one might undertake so much in sacred duties as he fancies himself to be able to perform; (2) Children (as they report of Athanasius) might baptize; (3) Every common Christian might administer the communion. But endless are the arguments that might be multiplied against this fancy. In a word, if our Saviour Christ be the God of order, he hath left his church to no such confusion" (Works, vol. 13, p. 43).

John Owen: "... God distinguisheth persons with respect unto office. He ... puts them into the ministry. This of old Korah repined against ... But the office is honourable; and so are they by whom it is discharged in a due manner. And it is the prerogative of God to call whom he pleaseth thereunto. And there is no greater usurpation therein than the constitution of ministers by the laws, rules, and authority of men. For any to set up such in office as he hath not gifted for it, nor called unto it, is to sit in the temple of God, and to show themselves to be God" (Hebrews, vol. 5, p. 362).

Thomas Manton: "Christ himself had his call to authorise him: ‘Thou hast sent me into the world;’ therefore much more should you have a call to authorise you. If the work doth not lie within the compass of your office, you do not glorify God, and cannot please him; and it will be ill for your account; you cannot, when you die, say as Christ, ‘I have glorified thee upon the earth, I have finished the work which thou hast given me to do’ (John 14:7). You do not glorify God with anything but that which He hath given you to do. It is notable that Christ would not intermeddle out of his calling. When one came to entreat him to ‘speak to his brother to divide the inheritance with him,’ He said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?’ (Luke 12:4). Who was fitter to judge than Christ? Yet this was not the work He came about" (Exposition of John 17, pp. 328-329).

Francis Turretin: "… no one, unless sent by God, ought to usurp the office of teaching in the church, whether a new doctrine is proposed or an old one, because it is always evident that no one ought to assume the part of a … minister unless he is sent by the Lord. And as many as teach in the church without being called or sent are said ‘to teach in their own name’ and not in the name of Christ (John 5:43) (i.e., not sent by God), by themselves and their own authority and thrust in by themselves, who on that account deserve the name of thieves and robbers and not of true shepherds (John 10:8)" (Institutes of Elenctic Theology, vol. 3, p. 212).

Wilhelmus a Brakel: "Question: Is a divine commission necessary for the office of minister? Answer: Socinians and others answer negatively; however, we answer affirmatively. The need for a divine commission is first of all evident from several clear texts ... Ephesians 4:11, 'And he gave some, apostles ... and some, pastors and teachers.' As you can observe, Christ has given pastors and teachers as well as apostles 'for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ' (Eph. 4:11-12) ... Consider also Romans 10:15, 'And how shall they preach, except they be sent?' It is as much as being stated that no one can or may preach without being sent. One cannot evade the issue here ..." (The Christian's Reasonable Service, vol. 2, p. 118).

John Gill: "[Preachers] must have a call both from God and men to this work; 'No man takes this honour to himself, but he that is called of God;' which is the inward call, and is known by the kind of gifts bestowed upon a man, fitting for such service; and by the providence of God, inclining and directing the church to separate him to the work to which he has called him; and the outward call is by the church itself, upon trial of his gifts ... They must be sent forth, they must have a mission from Christ, and that by the church (Rom. 10:15), the apostles of Christ were sent forth by him, as he was by his Father (John 20:21), there were some in [Jeremiah’s] time who ran, and were not sent; prophesied, though not spoken to; but these were not true prophets and ministers of God" (Doctrinal and Practical Divinity, vol. 2, p. 666).

John Brown: "... none, without being regularly called to it, however well qualified, ought to exercise any part of the ministerial office. (1) The Scripture plainly distinguishes between gifts for, and a mission to that office (John 20:21, 23; Isa. 6:6-7, 9). (2) It most expressly declares a call absolutely necessary to render one a public teacher (Rom. 10:15; Heb. 5:4, 6; Jer. 23:21, 32). (3) The characteristics of preachers, heralds, ambassadors, stewards, watchmen, angels, messengers, etc. necessarily import a divine call (I Cor. 9:17; II Cor. 5:20; I Cor. 4:1-2; Heb. 13:17; Rev. 1:20). (4) Rules prescribed for the qualifications, election, and ordination of gospel ministers, are declared binding until the second coming of Christ (I Tim. 3:1-8; 5:21-22; 6:13). (5) God severely punished Korah, Saul, Uzza, Uzziah and the sons of Sceva, for their intermeddling with the work of the sacred office (Num. 16:3-11, 32-38, 40; I Sam. 13:8-14; I Chron. 13:9-10; II Chron. 26:16-18; Acts 19:13-16). (6) To rush into the ministerial office without a proper call is inconsistent with a proper impression of the awful nature of the work of it (II Cor. 3:5-6; 2:16; Eze. 3:17-21; 33:1-20; Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:15-16; John 3:27-28; Heb. 13:17; 5:4-5) and introduces wild disorder and error (Gal. 2:5). (7) Christ's manifold connection with this office—in his being the author of it (Eph. 4:11-12), his suspending much of the order and edification of his church on it (Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:1-3), his including such power and authority in it (Mat. 16:19; 18:18), his committing such an important trust to ministers (Col. 4:17; I Tim. 6:20), his enjoining his people to honour and obey them (I Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7, 17), and his promising present assistance in, and future gracious rewards to, their faithful discharge of their work—manifests the necessity of a divine and regular call to it (Matt. 28:20; I Peter 5:4)" (Systematic Theology, p. 566).

R. L. Dabney: "[Christ] has taught [his] church that her public organic functions are all to be performed through these officers, whose names and places he has himself assigned … It was thus the highest evangelists were appointed (Acts 16:1-3; I Tim. 4:14; II Tim. 1:6). Thus the ordinary ministers of the church are to be perpetuated (II Tim. 2:2). We thus see that Christ has not left anything to human invention, as to the instrumentality for preaching his gospel; that matter is distinctly settled. It should be enough for the humble Christian that thus Christ has ordained. Hence, we are as sure that Christ’s plan is the wisest, as any human experience can make us; we do not need the lessons of church history, so often repeated, where the betterments which man’s officious zeal has insisted on making upon Christ’s plan have borne their regular fruits of mischief and confusion, to make us content with the ordained method. Amidst all the plausibilities and excitements of the human inventions, we remain quiet in the conviction that Christ knows best ... If, for instance, such laymen as the late Mr. Brownlow North and Mr. Moody have the qualifications and the seal of the divine blessing which their friends claim for them, this is, to our mind, a demonstration that God calls them into the regular ministry, and they should seek a regular ordination like other ministers, each in that branch of the church which has his conscientious preference ... Let all Presbyterians, then, bear in mind, as one 'fixed fact,' that the recognition of laypreaching means broad-churchism" (Discussions: Evangelical and Theological, vol. 2, pp. 78-79).

A. W. Pink: "It is true, blessedly true, and God forbid that we should say a word to weaken it, that all believers enjoy equal nearness to God, that every one of them belongs to that 'holy priesthood' who are to 'offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ' (I Peter 2:5). Nevertheless, all believers are not called by God to occupy the same position of ministerial honour, all are not called to be preachers of His Gospel or teachers of His Word (James 3:1). God calls and equips whom He pleases to engage in His public service, and bids the rank and file of His people 'obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves' (Heb. 13:17). Yet, sad to say, in some circles the sin of Korah is repeated. They demand an ecclesiastical socialism, where any and all are allowed to speak. They 'heap to themselves teachers' (II Tim. 4:3). This ought not to be" (Exposition of Hebrews, p. 374).

Gordon Clark: "Exercising the office without ordination is a sin ... Ordination confers authority to preach, administer the sacraments, and exercise discipline ... The dunamis or ability of gifts is one thing; the exousia or authority to it is another thing ... Ordination ... is not simply an apostolic function to cease with the first century. Preaching is ordinary and regular. Therefore, mission or sending is too. The Great Commission of Matthew 18:19-20 shows that mission is perpetual, and thus sending likewise. To the same effect Luke 12:42. Since the illustration describes the work of a steward, its lesson is not applicable to all Christians. The immediate application is to the disciples or apostles themselves. The extended application is to future stewards. The steward of the parable and the minister of a church have therefore been appointed with authority. The connection between a steward and a bishop is made in Titus 1:7 ... Hebrews 6:1-2 list some elementary teachings, such as might be required of catechumens before baptism or even before a church was organized. One of these elementary points is ordination, clearly necessary to the organization of a church. Thus in addition to repentance and faith, ordination ranks as an elementary doctrine ... I Timothy 4:14 shows that ordination is an act of presbytery. I Timothy 5:22 warns against laying hands suddenly on some attractive neophite. And Titus 1:5, by the words 'in every city,' shows that ordination is regular and ordinary ... Ministers of the Gospel are called shepherds, entering by the door and not breaking in; they are called angels, ambassadors, and rulers. But men do not give themselves the position of ambassador or even of shepherd. They must be appointed and sent ... Paul calls himself a steward in I Corinthians 4:1, and calls all bishops so in Titus 1:7. Ministers are therefore servants; they invite guests to the wedding feast. But clearly no one can properly invite guests to a lord's wedding feast, unless the lord has previously appointed him. Paul was so appointed: 'Wherefore I am ordained a preacher and an apostle' (I Timothy 2:7), in which phrase we note that Paul was ordained a preacher as well as an apostle. He repeats this in II Timothy 1:11. Preachers, therefore, are to be given authority to preach by ordination" ("The Presbyterian Doctrine of Ordination," in The Church Effeminate, pp. 192-201).

Evangelism Series (Part Seven): The Office of Evangelist

When most of us hear the word “evangelist” we probably think of a stem-winding preacher on the sawdust trail or of Billy Graham holding a stadium event.  I recall from my SBC days that the convention had a fellowship of full time evangelists (itinerate ministers who “specialize” in evangelism, primarily through evangelistic preaching in revivals, conferences, etc.).

Increasingly, the term “evangelist” is also being applied to any and all Christians in emphasis upon the call for each Christian to be engaged in “personal evangelism.”  Not only is it “every member a minister” but now also, “every member an evangelist.”  This view is presented, for example, in Mark Dever’s The Gospel & Personal Evangelism (Crossway, 2007) [Note:  I hope to offer a detailed review of this book at some point in the future, as, in my opinion, it promotes many of the popular evangelical notions on evangelism that we have argued in this series have little actual Biblical support].  Dever, for example, refers to “the gift of evangelism,” citing as prooftexts for this gift two verses:  Ephesians 4:11 and Acts 21:8 (see Personal Evangelism, p. 46).  When one examines the verses cited, however, one finds they do not refer to evangelism as a personal “spiritual gift” given to various and sundry believers, but to a specific church office.  Compare:

Ephesians 4:11:  “And he gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and  some, evangelists [euangelistas]; and some, pastors and teachers.”

Acts 21:8:  “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caeasarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist [tou euangelistou], which was one of the seven; and abode with him.”

Indeed, the office of evangelist was an extra-ordinary office like that of apostle and prophet which was used of God to establish the church, but which has ceased in the post-apostolic era.  The evangelists were apostolic associates.  In the cases of Mark and Luke they were evangelists in the sense that they wrote inspired Evangels (Gospels).  Timothy was among these evangelists, and this is why Paul can write to encourage him to “do the work of an evangelist” (1 Tim 4:5; Note:  Acts 21:8, Eph 4:11, and 1 Tim 4:5 provide the only three uses of the noun “evangelist [euangelistes] in the NT ).  An example of their typical work is likely seen in Paul’s instructions to Titus (also an evangelist) that he “shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee” (Titus 1:5).

This interpretation is generally shared by the “old path” men.  John Calvin, for example, explained the office of Evangelist in the Institutes (see this post) as follows:

By Evangelists, I mean those who, while inferior in rank to the apostles,  were next them in office, and even acted as their substitutes. Such were    Luke, Timothy, Titus, and the like; perhaps, also, the seventy disciples whom our Saviour appointed in the second place to the apostles (Luke 10:1).

Of the threefold extra-ordinary offices (apostles, prophets, and evangelists), Calvin concludes:

According to this interpretation, which appears to me consonant both to  the words and the meaning of Paul, those three functions were not instituted in the Church to be perpetual, but only to endure so long as     churches were to be formed where none previously existed, or at least   where churches were to be transferred from Moses to Christ; although I deny not, that afterward God occasionally raised up Apostles, or at least  Evangelists, in their stead, as has been done in our time. For such were needed to bring back the Church from the revolt of Antichrist. The office I  nevertheless call extraordinary, because it has no place in churches duly constituted.

The conclusion we reach is that the Biblical term “evangelist” refers to an extra-ordinary office which has now ceased (though note that Calvin believed it had been revived in the Reformation era!).  Thus, it is inappropriate to refer to contemporary men as evangelists (consider how it would sound if there a "Conference of Southern Baptist Apostles and Prophets") or to imply that passages like Ephesians 4:11 and Acts 21:8 refer to a “spiritual gift” of evangelism that is given to believers in general today to act as men like Mark, Luke, Timothy, and Titus did in the apostolic era.

JTR 

Evangelism Series (Part Six): Personal Work

It’s been on the blog shelf for a while, but I thought I’d add another installment to the ongoing “Evangelism Series" (for past posts in this series click the label below).  So far, we have seen that the Biblical terms for evangelism (euangelizo and kerusso euangelion) relate specifically to the public proclamation of the gospel (see parts two, three, and four).  Furthermore, Jesus was engaged in the task of preaching the gospel (evangelizing), and he gave this responsibility to the apostles as extraordinary officers, then to ordinary officers, such as elders, pastors, and teachers.

Personal Work

Again, in the vast majority of cases, the work of evangelism (i.e., preaching the gospel) is done publically and corporately.  There are also, however, Biblical examples of evangelizing that is done privately and personally.  The old path men used to refer to this as the minister’s “personal work.”  For a more recent description of this task, see Fred Malone’s chapter, “Do Personal Work” in Tom Ascol, Ed. Dear Timothy:  Letters on Pastoral Ministry (Founders, 2004):   pp. 169-181.  Though personal work might refer to private teaching, instruction, admonition, counseling, prayer, or discipleship with a particular individual or small group of individuals (like a family), when the ministers engages in personal work with nonbelievers his primary objective is to evangelize them.

The model for personal work is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.  Examples abound in the canonical Gospels.  To name but a few, Jesus engages in personal work in his conversations with Nicodemus (John 3), the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), and the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-29; Mark 10:17-30; Luke 18: 18-23).  The latter of these examples is a reminder that not everyone who hears the gospel, even from Jesus himself, will be converted.

Examples from Acts

This model is then followed by the apostles.  In Acts, in particular, not only do the apostles publically preach the gospel, but they also engage in personal conversations, dialogues, and reasoning sessions in which the gospel is proclaimed.

Here are three examples of personal work in Acts:

1.      Philip the Evangelist and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8):

The Spirit directs Philip to approach the Ethiopian as he rides along in his chariot, reading from the book of Isaiah.  Philip asks, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” (v. 30).  The man responds, “How can I except some man should guide (hodegeo:  to lead, guide) me?”  He then invites Philip to come up and sit with him and to be his guide in interpreting the Scriptures.  When the Eunuch asks, in particular, about the identity of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, Luke records, “Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (v. 35).  This is the only explicit NT example of preaching (euangelizo) in a private setting.  Given the important governmental role of the Ethiopian Eunuch (see v. 27 which says he “had the charge of all her treasure”), however, it is likely that he was accompanied by an entourage of some sort who also would have heard Philip’s preaching.  In other words, this may not necessarily have been an isolated one-on-one conversation.

This encounter also provides a prototypical example of examination and confession of those who might present themselves for baptism in v. 37 (appearing in the traditional text but omitted in the modern critical text).  When the Eunuch requests baptism, Philip responds, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”  To which, the Eunuch responds, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”  Here is a model confession.

2.      Paul the Apostle and Silas, his apostolic associate (also indentified as a prophet in Acts 15:32), and the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16):

Paul and Silas have been praying and singing praises to God in the hearing of their fellow prisoners and, no doubt, the jailer, as well (v. 25).  When an earthquake miraculously opens the prison door and loosens the bonds of the inmates, the jailer is ready to take his own life until Paul intervenes, saying, “Do thyself no harm:  for we are all here” (v. 28).

With trembling, the jailer brings a light and falls down before Paul and Silas (v. 29), asking them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30).  They respond, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (v. 31).

3.      Paul the Apostle before Agrippa and Bernice (Acts 25—26):

Though technically this passage might better be called an example of witness bearing when under trial, it also offers a compelling description of evangelistic personal work.  Paul is brought by the Roman governor Festus to be examined by King Herod Agrippa and Bernice (cf. 25:13-14, 22-23).  Paul addresses the court audience, recounting the circumstances of his conversion to Christ, his calling to become an apostle, and his arrest in Jerusalem (see 26:1-21).  Near the close of his speech, Paul offers a Christian interpretation of the Scriptures “that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles” (26:23).  Festus dismisses him by saying, “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad” (v. 24).  Paul, however, ignores Festus and makes a direct appeal to the conscience of Festus.  He declares that he is not mad but that he speaks “words of truth and soberness” (v. 25).  Most striking is his direct appeal to Agrippa, as Paul calls him (out) by name:  “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets?  I know that thou believest” (v. 27).  To which Agrippa responds:  “Almost thou persuades me to be a Christian” (v. 28).

Evangelism scripts

When reflecting on these examples, one begins to get the sense that Luke has recorded these, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to provide something like model scripts to be followed, as well as adjusted and adapted to shifting circumstances, in evangelistic conversations.

As the minister engages in a private Bible study with a willing inquirer he can follow the model of Philip by asking, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  He can then preach the Jesus of the Bible to the inquirer, proclaiming him as the fulfillment of OT scriptural prophecy.

As the minister examines a new convert who desires baptism, he can say with Philip, “If you believe with all your heart you may.”  And he can listen for a confession that lines up with that of the Ethiopian:  “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

As the minister counsels the despondent seeker who asks despairingly, “What must I do to be saved?” he might respond as did Paul and Silas to the jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As the minister meets with one willing to hear a witness for Christ, though with skepticism and perhaps even hostility, he may probe that person’s conscience, by saying, as Paul did to Agrippa, “I know that you believe the Bible is an inspired book?  Will you not believe what the Bible says to you about Jesus?”

The book of Acts, indeed, provides the most profitable training manual for the personal work of the minister in evangelism.

Personal Work or Personal Evangelism?

There is yet another question to be asked here:  Who is depicted in the NT (Acts, in particular) as engaged in these private evangelistic encounters?  As with public proclamation, the model practitioners of personal work are church offers (i.e., Philip the Evangelist, Paul the Apostle, Silas the apostolic associate and Prophet).  This seems to be a factor that is overlooked in much of the modern revivalistic-influenced construal of “personal evangelism” which universalizes and democratizes the duties and responsibilities of the Christian life.

Even some who would agree that public preaching of the gospel should only be undertaken by designated church officers (God called and church approved) insist that a somewhat looser standard is in place with regard to informal or private communication (i.e., “preaching”) of the gospel.  An obvious logical challenge to this approach, however, would be simply to ask whether the size of the audience (whether a congregation of a 1000 people, a gathering of 100 people, a home Bible study of 25 people, a private family counseling session with 5 people, or an evangelistic conversation with 1 person) makes any difference in the standards for who is Biblically sanctioned to preach the gospel (evangelize).  One might also ask where such a distinction is taught or modeled in Scripture?  When James wrote, “My brethren, be not many masters (didaskaloi:  teachers), knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 4:1), was he referring only to a prohibition against all Christians being “formal” public teachers or is his warning also germane to those who would undertake “informal” private teaching who are not church officers?         

My inclination would be to conclude that the examples cited above from Acts are most applicable to the personal work of church officers as opposed to generic models of what is today called “personal evangelism.”  This takes us back to one of our original lines of questioning (now expanded):  If evangelism is primarily presented in the Bible as done through preaching and the personal work of ministers, what then is the general duty of all believers in evangelism?  In fact, I do believe that evangelism is the duty of the whole church (and not just the ministers alone).  Hopefully, we will eventually come to expand and explain this point in this series.

Evangelism Series (Part Five): Thomas Boston: Ten Ways Ministers Are Like Fishers

 

Note:  This is another post in an ongoing series on Biblical evangelism.  For an archive of past posts, click the "Evangelism Series" label below.
 

In 1773 when Thomas Boston was only 22 years old he wrote a classic little book on evangelism titled The Art of Man Fishing.  It is a meditation on Matthew 4:19 wherein Jesus says to Peter and Andrew, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  I used some quotes from Boston in last Sunday’s sermon on the Lukan parallel passage (Luke 5:1-11).

Boston wrote in a time of declension in the churches of Scotland when the gospel ministry had been neglected by many.  His book presents what we might call an “old school” approach to evangelism (as yet untainted by revivalistic notions).  He sees Biblical evangelism as primarily accomplished through the ministry of the Lord’s servants as they preach the gospel “in the public assemblies of the Lord’s people” and in “private conference.”

In a chapter titled “Ministers are Fishers by Office” Boston presents ten ways in which ministers are like “fishers.”  Here is an abbreviated summary:

They are catchers of the souls of men, set “to open the eyes of the blind, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.”  Preachers of the gospel are fishers, and their work and that of fishers agree in several things.

The design and work of fishers is to catch fish.  This is the work that preachers of the gospel have taken in hand, even to endeavor to bring souls to Christ…..

Their work is a hard work; they are exposed to much cold in the water.  So is the minister’s work.

A storm that will afright others, they will venture on, that they may not lose their fish.  So should preachers of the gospel do.

Fishers catch fish with a net.  So preachers have a net to catch souls with.  This is the everlasting gospel, the word of peace and reconciliation wherewith sinners are caught.

It is compared to a net wherewith fishers catch fish, first, because it is spread out, ready to catch all that will come into it, Isa. 40:1:  “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money, and without price.”  God excludes none from the benefits of the gospel that will not exclude themselves; it is free to all.

Second, because fish are taken unexpectedly by the net, so sinners by the gospel….

Third, as fish sometime come near and touch the net, and yet draw back; so many souls are somewhat affected by the hearing of the gospel yet remain in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity….

Fourth, some fish that have been taken fast hold enough by the net, struggle, and get out again.  So some souls have convictions, and may seem to get caught; but yet alas! they stifle all their convictions, stay in the place of the breaking forth…..

Fifth, all that are taken in the net do make some struggling to get free….

Sixth, yet this struggling will not do with those which the net hold fast enough…..  Indeed God does not convert men to himself against their will, he does not force the soul to receive Christ; but he conquers the will, and it becomes obedient.  He that was unwilling before, is then willing.  O the power of grace!

Seventh, in a net there are many meshes in which the fish are caught.  Such are the invitations made to sinners in the gospel, the sweet promises made to them that will come to Christ…..

Eighth, lest the net be lifted up with the water, and so not fit for taking fish, and the fish slight it and pass under it; there are some pieces of lead put to it to hold it in the water….  So….there must be used some legal terrors and law-threatenings to drive the fish into the net.

Ninth, the meshes must not be over-wide, lest the fish run through it.  So neither must doctrine be general, without particular application, lest thou be no fisher of men…..

Tenth, neither must they be too neat and fine, curiously wrought, lest they hold out the fish….

Fishers observe in what places they should cast their nets, and where they may expect fish….  There are two pools wherein the net should be set:  in the public assemblies of the Lord’s people….  The second place the net is to be set is in private conference…..

Evangelism Series (Part Four): kerusso euangelion

Note:  This is the fourth in a series of posts on Biblical evangelism.  For this and past posts click the "Evangelism Series" label below.

We are continuing to examine the Biblical language that is used to describe how evangelism is done in the NT.  We have already looked at the verb euangelizo, “to evangelize” or “to preach the gospel.”  Now, we will look at the expression kerusso euangelion with the verb “to preach [kerusso]” and the noun object “gospel [euangelion].”

The expression kerusso euangelion appears eleven times in the NT [eight times in the Gospels and three times in Paul], according to The Exhaustive Concordance of the New Testament [NB:  this resource is based on the modern critical text].    

Survey of uses:

1.      In Matthew 4:23 it says that Jesus “went about all Galilee teaching [didasko] in their synagogues and preaching the gospel [kerusso euangelion] of the kingdom and healing [therapeuo] all manner of sickness….”

 

2.      In Matthew 9:35 (like Matt 4:23) Jesus is described as “teaching [didasko],” “preaching the gospel [kerusso euangelion],” and “healing [therapeuo].”

 

3.     In Matthew 24:14 the verb is used in a passive construction, as Jesus states, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached….”

 

4.     In Matthew 26:13 (like Matt 24:14) the verb is used in a passive construction, as Jesus states, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world.”

 

5.     In Mark 1:14 Jesus comes into Galilee “preaching the gospel of the kingdom.”

 

6.     In Mark 13:10 Jesus uses the verb in a passive construction:  “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.”

 

7.     In Mark 14:9 (like Mark 13:10), Jesus uses the verb in a passive construction, stating, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world.”

 

8.     In Mark 16:15 Jesus commissions the eleven to “preach the gospel to every creature.”

 

9.     In Galatians 2:2 Paul explains how he went to Jerusalem to communicate “the gospel which I preached among the Gentiles.”

 

10.   In Colossians 1:23 Paul urges his readers not to be moved from “the hope of the gospel [euangelion], which ye have heard, and which was preached [kerusso]to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister [diakonos].”

 

11.  In 1 Thessalonians 1:9 Paul urges the Thessalonians to remember how “we preached unto you the gospel of God.”

 

Observations:

The expression “to preach the gospel [kerusso euangelion]” is used to describe how the gospel is proclaimed in Biblical evangelism.  In the Gospels it is primarily used in reference to the public preaching of Jesus.  In Mark 16:15 (the only place in the Gospels where the intended preacher is anyone other than Jesus) Jesus commissions the eleven disciples to “preach the gospel” (cf. the commission “to teach [matheteuo] all nations” in Matthew 28:19).  The apostle Paul uses the expression to describe his own ministry (Gal 2:2; 1 Thess 1:9) for which he had a special appointment as a servant or minister (see Col 1:23 where diakonos is not used in reference to the office of “deacon” [cf. 1 Tim 3:8, 12; Phil 1:1] but to the office of “minister”).

Though the references are limited, all the usages of the expression appear to refer to public proclamation or preaching of the gospel (see the usages in the Gospels as typical).  Those described as “preaching the gospel” are Jesus, the eleven apostles, and Paul.   There are no references to “preaching the gospel” by non-officers or any commands of “preaching the gospel” as a general duty of all believers.  There are also no references to “preaching the gospel” as informal or private communication.  This should help illuminate Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 1:21 that “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

It is noteworthy that in modern evangelical life it has become common to use language that is not explicitly Biblical (like “sharing the gospel” or “telling the gospel”) which implies more informal communication rather than explicitly Biblical language (like “preaching the gospel”) to describe evangelism.