But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), Ephesians 2:4-5 

The first step in making disciples is evangelism, however we need to learn a Biblical approach to evangelism.  Pop-culture within the Christian church today is infected by the Four Spiritual Laws formula which has reduced saving faith to the equivalent of making a wish.  While the Four Spiritual Laws are all true, they represent a very small fraction of the disciple making process.  So, in this process of evangelism, there are five (5) items of critical importance that believers must know as we seek to win souls for Christ.

⁶ For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  Roman 8:6 – 8

It is important that we are mindful not to drift into conventional wisdom when approaching unbelievers.  If we are to enter into these opportunities without God, without dependence on God, without having prayed, and without preparing our own hearts and minds, then it is likely that we are doing more damage than good.  So, with that, I offer these 5 pillars to help us stay on course with biblical truth.

1) This is a Spiritual battle, not merely an intellectual one.

Well it is true that we need to provide the correct information, our goal is to bring about transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit through the finished work of Christ.  We need to first pray on behalf of the unbelievers that God would open their minds to the truth of the gospel, to pray that God reveal Himself to them.

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  ⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  – 2 Corinthians 4:3 – 7

This is a work of God working in and through us who believe, so that those who are spiritually blind would see Christ by His power.  Scripture also speaks of all people as dead, But God, being rich in mercy, brought us to life, born-again (John 3:3), by the power of the gospel.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  Ephesians 2:1 – 10 

In our prayers, we ask that God would open the eyes of their hearts (Ephesians 1:18), and that God would show His kindness in drawing them to repentance (Romans 2:4).

 

2) Salvation is always a work of God, so we start with prayer

As you look at church history, especially modern history, you will see that this is thought to be a controversial topic.  However, when you look at the Bible, there really is no debate, God calls and the salvation of any person is a complete work of God from start to finish.  In our human thinking, we may try and argue someone into the kingdom, but reason alone can only convey information and not transformation.  We have already noted Ephesians 2:1-10 above, but some other important verses to know include the following:

• • John 6:44 – No one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him
  • Romans 2:4 – It is the kindness of God leads us to repentance
  • Romans 8:28-30 – God has predestined, called and justified those who believe
  • Romans 9:11-18 – It’s God’s choice, not ours
  • Psalm 139:16 – All our days were planned in eternity past, before one of them ever occurred

There are literally several hundred other verses that make up the doctrine of election, but the point here is that we cry out to God on behalf of those we desire for Him to save.  We ask that He would open the eyes of their hearts (Ephesians 1:18) and convict them of their sins (John 16:8) so they would be born-again (John 3:3).  That is our prayer!

 

3) Constantly seek Humility by reminding ourselves of the grace we received 

In his book, Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges speaks of the ways in which many Christians take pride in their salvation.  He makes the case of how spiritual pride sets into make Christians more judgmental and condescending towards those who sin differently than we do.  Much like the pharisee in the temple with the publican, Christians can get to a place of doing more damage to people and pushing people away from God rather than being a light in the darkness.  It is as if they believe that there was something inherently valuable about them that God had to have, yet the Bible says that God saves for His glory and His purpose and we are dependent on His faithfulness and goodness.

We can let our own sensibilities to what offends move us to withhold love and care from someone in dire need, even withholding the gospel from someone without hope.  The church today in America is very judgmental, plagued by gossip and hypocrisy, often creating holy huddles for the cool kids, while leaving the seeker to depart.  Bonhoeffer wrote that when we see that the sins of another offend us, it is a clear indication that we have not understood our own sin.  That is not only true, but I would also add that it exposes a high probability that the church goer who judges is likely not understood the gospel.  Some scriptures to help us stay the course follow:

• • 1 Corinthians 6:11: Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
  • Philippians 2:3 – 5: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves;⁴ do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

 

4) The Holy Spirit is responsible for convicting a person of their sin

In order to understand the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in the conviction of sin, it is important to understand that the conviction that presses down on us at conversion is the condition of our soul, spiritually dead, separated from God, unable to do anything at all to redeem ourselves.  People tend to think of sin in terms of morality, a list of do’s and don’t’s, but that misses the mark.  The reason that our sin separates us from God is because God is holy and we are not.  Someone might argue that people have convictions all the time about things they should not do, however the actions merely point to the condition of the sin state of the person.  True conviction of sin is a recognition of our need for God and the finished work of Jesus on the cross.  A person may go to a bar, meet someone, take them home and have sex, then have conviction that they should not have done that, but the conviction of man, without the Holy Spirit, is always the result of self assessment, self-worth or self-loathing, never because of sin against our Holy Creator.  When the Holy Spirit convicts us, our eyes are open to our condition of spiritual bankruptcy (Matthew 5:3) and complete dependence of the finished work of Christ.  It is not a call to do better, but rather a call to surrender because we can never do better apart from Christ.  We need to remember the spiritual condition of the unbelievers in our lives so that we can pray for a work of the Spirit and have discernment to enter into their faith journey according to where God has them. 

• • John 16:8 – The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment

 

5) We are stepping into their Faith Journey, so be careful of Sloppy Agape

When having a gospel conversation, it is very easy to get anxious for someone to make a declaration of faith.  This is good in the sense that it means we care and that in our love for God, we want to see others come to know Him.  Where we do believe in hell and do not want anyone to spend eternity there, there is a sense in which our focus is more about meeting our God and enjoying a life of saving faith rather than escaping His wrath.  When our communion with God is strong and consistent, we foster a growing desire to see others enter into that place of joy and peace, to abide in the Shadow of the Almighty.  We are not abandoning the doctrine of hell by any means, but we are inviting people into a relationship with their Creator, to know their true identity in Christ and to also know God in a way that they have not known before. 

This is the time when we need to have great discernment so as not to practice “sloppy agape.”  We need to avoid pressuring someone to declare Jesus as their savior when they may not be ready, lest we push them further away from God.  There is a reason that the Bible describes the gospel as a seed to be planted and speaks of believers at trees that need to grow deep roots to grow strong and produce sweet fruit.  Faith is a very organic process and a work of God that we are privileged to share in, but we are merely instruments, vessels of mercy to deliver the good news.

• • 1 Corinthians 3:6 – 9: I planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase
  • John 4:37 – 38: “For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
  • 1 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slow as some count slowness, but delays His coming because it is not His will that any should perish
  • Luke 8:4 – 15 (Matthew 13) – Parable of the Sower, pray for good soil; 4 may pray a prayer, but only one has genuine saving faith. (This is why Discipleship is so important. Genuine faith must be cultivated).

When we come along side someone on their faith journey, we are never quite sure what God has planned, so be discerning of the needs and content with your role.  It is quite conceivable that you are there to merely place a pebble in proverbial shoe that will poke them for 10 years before they come to faith in Christ.  Perhaps you share a verse with someone on a flight or offer to pray for a person at Starbucks, then you never see those folks again.  Whatever the call, we do our part and trust God as we move onto the next.  There may also be others who we will walk with for years to come and we are called to invest in them.  Whatever our role, we must know that we cannot force a harvest, nor can we argue someone into the Kingdom.  However, we can do the work of a farmer, cultivate the soil of their hearts, removes thorns and rocks and poison roots that could be barriers to faith, then plant the seed of the gospel, water it with prayer and stand back while God gives the increase.