I was blessed during my time at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary (SWBTS) to sit under one of the preeminent Professors of Evangelism
any seminary could hope to offer, Dr. Roy Fish (1930-2012). Years prior to coming to Seminary I sat under
Dr. Fish as he served as Interim Pastor at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, the
very church I was baptized in and joined as a young believer in Christ.
This godly man made an immeasurable impact into
the ministries of countless Pastors, Missionaries and Churches. There is no doubt his evangelistic efforts
and influence placed him among some of the greatest Evangelists such as Billy
Graham and Manley Beasley. My own
ministry is forever changed because of the few years I sat under his Pastorate
and the months I was able to glean under his teaching at Seminary.
Below I have shared a few simple notes
I had taken while sitting under Dr. Fish.
Many of my fellow Alum from SWBTS would easily testify to the great
teaching they too received. I hope and
pray these notes will help you to better understand the role every Christian is
to take to accomplish the Great Commission.
Defining Evangelism
What Evangelism is NOT
A) Evangelism is NOT telling people they are
already saved
“Love God and He will love you” or
“God already loves you and forgives you”
The Bible
teaches the present condition of people
is
determined by their response to Jesus Christ
B) Evangelism is NOT your presence with lost
people
A believer walking amongst lost
people does not save them
C) Evangelism is NOT everything the church does
Not everything the church does is
evangelism
Everything the church does should be related to
evangelism
Evangelism
is NOT an umbrella word for what the church does in the world,
perhaps
ministry, and evangelism fall under ministry
D) Evangelism is NOT a believer living a
godly life
“I witness by my life”
The
New Testament never refers to lifestyle or quality of life as evangelism
New
Testament:
See it
Know it
Accept it
Tell it
Witnessing is
verbalizing what we know to be true
It is not one or the
other; you need the lifestyle, but you must tell why you live that lifestyle
Never let lifestyle be
your only witness
E) Evangelism is NOT Social Reconstruction
“We need political, economic, racial
restructuring for change to take place in people’s lives”
“Redeem from without then those in
it will be redeemed”
“We just want the world to be a
better place”
Social
Reconstruction rejects the biblical view of the sinfulness of humanity
Adam
and Eve were sinless and still fell
Social
Reconstruction rejects the biblical stance on personal response to the gospel
(Rev 3:20)
Society will change only by God transforming
the individual from the inside out
New Testament Words for
Evangelism
Pre-Christian:
Evangel
(Latin) used by the Romans to describe victory in war; good news of victory in
war
Christian-Church Era
The New Testament authors adopted
the Latin word and altered the intent of the good news in Greek
1) Euangellion (Noun) meaning good news, good message
Eu- Good (feeling)
Angellion- Message
The New Testament authors
transformed the word into a verb
2) Euangelidzo (Verb) meaning to tell good news
The New Testament authors used the
word to describe the one who tells good news
3) Euangelistes (Noun) meaning
Evangelist
Acts 21:8
8 On the next day
we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the
house of Philip the evangelist,
who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. (See Acts 6:1-6)
Eph 4:11-12
11 And He gave some as
apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for
the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the
body of Christ;
2 Tim 4:1-5
1 I solemnly charge
you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the
living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach
the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort,
with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their
ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to
their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from
the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be
sober in all things, endure hardship, do
the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
What Evangelism Is
“Evangelism is the
compassionate sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit with lost people for the purpose of leading them to Christ as Savior and
Lord that they in turn would share Him with others.”
Dr. Roy Fish
1)
The Spirit of
Evangelism--compassionate
sharing
2)
The Content of Evangelism (message)--Good News
of Jesus Christ
3)
The Power of Evangelism-- in the power of the
Holy Spirit
4)
The Recipients of
Evangelism--
lost people
5)
The Objective of
Evangelism--
leading them to Christ as Savior and Lord
6)
The Perpetuation of
Evangelism--
that they in turn would share Him with others
The Great Commission
Matt 28:19-20
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even
to the end of the age."
God Bless and Get Busy,
Pastor Eric