Why Evangelism Is a Spiritual Discipline

The Bible calls every Christian to evangelize. Learn why evangelism is a spiritual discipline and how the Holy Spirit empowers your witness.

Most Christians know they should share the gospel. Few actually do. We sing about the lost, pray for the nations, and sit under faithful preaching, yet when God places an unbeliever directly in our path, we stay silent. The problem is not ignorance. It is a lack of discipline. The Bible teaches that evangelism is not optional for the mature Christian. It is a necessary practice for every believer who wants to grow in godliness.

The topic of evangelism is broad, and I will not attempt to cover it comprehensively in this article. Instead, my purpose is to show biblically that the discipline of evangelism is necessary to our pursuit of godliness. To do this, I will define evangelism and review three biblical truths about it.

What Is Evangelism?

Evangelism is presenting Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to sinful people, in order that they may come to put their trust in God through Him, to receive Him as their Savior, and to serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His church.^[1]

Here is a shorter definition.

Evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.^[2]

Evangelism is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers in hope that they may accept it in saving faith. God has much to say about evangelism in Scripture. To help us understand evangelism as a spiritual discipline, the Bible teaches us three truths.

Why Does God Expect Every Christian to Evangelize?

God expects that Christians serve as His witnesses and evangelize. The four New Testament Gospels conclude with Jesus' command to evangelize (Matthew 28:19–20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46–47; John 20:21). Jesus commands His disciples and followers to be His witnesses throughout the world in Acts 1:8. Other epistles also exhort Christians to proclaim the gospel truth in this darkened world.

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

God does give some a special giftedness in evangelism. These individuals may serve vocationally as evangelists.

"And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ," (Ephesians 4:11–12)

However, this does not negate the responsibility that God gives to all Christians. God calls all Christians to proclaim His gospel message to everyone. God wants all nations to hear the gospel. The apostles and early church did not reach every single nation and people group. This task remains the responsibility of every Christian.

Do You Need Training Before You Can Share the Gospel?

Why are many of us neglecting the practice of evangelism? Some make the excuse that they feel ill-prepared, unequipped, and untrained. But how much training did the blind man receive in John 9? None.

Yet the blind man in John 9 was a faithful witness, testifying to his entire city of the work of Christ. He did not formulate sophisticated arguments. He had no formal rhetoric training. What he did have was a genuine experience of Christ's mercy and grace, and he testified faithfully to his unbelieving world.

If we have enough of the gospel to be converted, we have enough understanding to tell someone else the gospel and how they can be saved.

How Does the Holy Spirit Empower Evangelism?

Three fears frequently hinder my personal evangelism.

1. I fear what others will think and say.
2. I fear initiating a conversation with someone I do not know.
3. I fear the outcome of this serious conversation since heaven and hell are at stake.

Each of us wants the person with whom we share the gospel to come to Christ. We want to see people saved. But should conversion be the measure of success in evangelism? Jesus shared the gospel with many, and most of them did not receive and trust it. Did Jesus fail? Absolutely not.

Sharing the gospel is successful evangelism. Our measure of success is the accurate delivery of the gospel message, not conversion. Whenever we share the gospel, we have succeeded.

The Holy Spirit empowers our evangelism. You may not feel it all the time, but the Holy Spirit gives us the power to witness for Christ. He uses our personality, our relationships, and our opportunities. He empowers our changed life and makes us a fragrant aroma to draw people to Christ.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, (2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV)

Furthermore, the gospel is the power of God, and it is through the gospel that God gives the power to believe.

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 1:16 ESV)

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 ESV)

The power of the gospel is not dependent on our rhetoric, eloquence, and persuasiveness. God is the power of the gospel that leads to conversion. We cannot convert others; only God can.

So take heart. God promises to give us the power to share His gospel. When we biblically and accurately share the gospel, in God's eyes, we have succeeded.

Why Must Christians Discipline Themselves for Evangelism?

Even though evangelism should be a natural outflow of the Christian life, we need to discipline ourselves to evangelize. Unless we make evangelism a spiritual discipline, we will seldom share the gospel. Let me give you three practical steps we need to take.

We need individual contact with non-Christians. Some of us do not have this problem. We may be completely surrounded by non-Christians at our workplace. But some of you may have insulated yourselves into a bubble with few meaningful contacts with unbelievers. Consider the full-time church worker who only engages in sermon preparation, Bible studies, hospital visits, and committee meetings. Or consider the stay-at-home mom who only sees her children and friends from church.

We need to find opportunities to share the gospel. Individual contact with non-Christians is not sufficient. We need to engage in meaningful conversations so spiritual issues can be discussed. Contact with unbelievers lacks meaning when you do not take the opportunity to talk about Christ. We must constantly think about evangelism as we interact with our unbelieving contacts, co-workers, and friends.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5–6 ESV)

Here are a few possible ideas. Schedule and invite unbelieving neighbors to your home. Engage purposefully with visitors to your church and Christian social events. Schedule time for conversation with co-workers outside of work hours. Break your insulated bubble. Listen and enlarge your heart for the unbelievers around you.

We need to pray to maximize our opportunities. Pray for your evangelism opportunities. Pray for the unbelieving people around you. Pray that God will change you and give you a heart of compassion.

Earlier this year without any warning, my boss became ill with a serious, life-threatening illness. Initially, I started to just pray for her physical health for selfish reasons. I wanted her to get better because I liked her; she was a good boss.

Soon, my prayers changed to praying for her spiritual condition. As I prayed for her spiritual condition, I realized that for God to save her, she needed to hear the gospel. So I prayed that God would send someone to share the gospel with her so she could believe in Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

In these last few weeks, God has given me both the desire to prepare and to share the gospel with her. I want to listen and understand where she is at spiritually. I want her to understand that my motivation to share with her is out of my concern for her well-being.

What Happens When Christians Pursue Godliness and Evangelism Together?

"There is a correlation between the pursuit of godliness and a passion for God's message. The more we pursue Christ, the more we want to proclaim Christ. But without discipline, our best evangelistic intentions often go unspoken." (Donald Whitney)^[3]

The more we grow in Christ, the more we want others to know Him. And the more we share Christ with others, the more our own faith is strengthened. Godliness and evangelism are not separate tracks of the Christian life. They feed each other. But neither one happens by accident. Both require the kind of discipline that the Holy Spirit empowers and the Father rewards.

Bibliography

• Mathis, David. Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.
• Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Revised and updated ed. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2014.