The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
November 9th, 2007
(Review by Jesse Johnson)
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (by Mark Dever, Crossway 2007)
Mark Dever says that he does not have the gift of evangelism, and that he often misses opportunities to evangelize. In fact, he even fears that if evangelism was graded, he might get an “F.”
This makes him a strange candidate to write a book on evangelism. However, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism is one of the more helpful and encouraging books on the subject. It goes significantly beyond his material on evangelism in his other books, and I am thankful for his labor here.
To be a good book on evangelism the essential elements of motives, message, and method all must be addressed. Dever covers these in a way that is encouraging and not condemning. It is more difficult to be long and convoluted than concise and clear. While it is easy to be comprehensive, it is often more difficult to be direct. This book is just over 100 pages, and yet it is not lacking. It is clear and compelling.
Dever explains what the Gospel is, who should evangelize, why they should, and why they don’t. He uses appropriate Scripture and yet does not get bogged down in tangential doctrine. His points are illustrated with experiences from his own life, used as examples of both success and failure.
Dever paints a view of evangelism that is Biblical. He sees evangelism as something you live—that is backed by your lifestyle—as well as something that is spoken. He stresses the importance of clearly proclaiming the essentials of the Gospel, and he also stresses the importance of doing this in a conversation. “Don’t tell people something; talk with them. Have a conversation.”
One of the most helpful sections is where Dever discusses the contextualization of the Gospel. This is a word that has been recently hijacked by the emergent church movement, but Dever rescues it. He defines “contextualization” as explaining the Gospel “in such a way as to be understood.” He adds that rightly understood, contextualization should “give the Gospel more bite, not less.”
There is an appendix in the book, a few pages long, that deals with pastors and the particular opportunities and hindrances to evangelism that are unique to their occupation.
All Christians are called to evangelize, even if they are not particularly gifted. Many, if not most, Christians do poorly at this task. This book is an excellent tool to help Christians who recognize their insufficiency to be faithful in our task.
“The call to evangelism is a call to turn our lives outward from focusing on ourselves and our needs to focusing on God and on others made in his image who are still at enmity with him, alienated from him, and in need of salvation from sin and guilt.” This book helps us with our calling.
I want to comment and question a word in your last paragraph. I have always pondered the word “image” where it comes to being created in God’s image. I have heard sermons that stressed that Adam was created in God’s image but fell from that image when he sinned. It states in Genesis that Seth was made in Adam’s image. I’ve understood this to mean that all men (and women, of course) born after Adam were born in Adam’s image, i.e., in sin, rather than in the image of God, i.e., without sin. Is it true that we are always in the image of Adam until we are re-united in Christ through regeneration and conversion? People banter the statement of being born (or created) in the image of God all to much these days when, I believe, we’re not born in God’s image at all. Am I on target here or just being nit-picky?
If we are no longer created in God’s image, how do you understand James 3:9 and 1 Cor. 11:7?
@ Gerald
I think being made in God’s image is (one of the things) what gives all people incredible and equal worth.
Genesis 9:6″Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man. ”
This is a blanket statement regarding all humanity and why it is so heinous to kill people. Everybody is made in the image of God. The real debate is what does the imago dei mean?
Hope that helps brother.
Yet also consider ~
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4:4
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:13-15
Wouldn’t verses be speaking of aspects retained versus what is spiritually lost in Adam and gained in Christ?
thanks for this review.
I haven’t read the book so I can’t comment on it’s content, but I’m hoping that the author isn’t espousing a “see how I live and you’ll want the same thing also” kind of idea.
It would seem to me from my experience in evangelizing both the unsaved and the saved; that the issue is that nobody feels strongly enough about what’s been given them to just open their mouth!
80% of all Christians value the opinion of men rather than the opinion of God…plain and simple.
Sorry for the rant…it just came out….
bob
Your five posts so far on evangelism seem to be the norm for Evangelicalism’s techniques. Not to pass judgment on anybody who follows this pattern, but there are other ways of looking at the subject. I’ve discovered that I’m not an evangelist, and all attempts to force myself into that mold have shown to be failures. I take the opposite approach of letting my lifestyle be my evangelism. Far more fruitful in my life. People see how I live, how I work, how I view my family, how I treat them, and it says volumes more than when I’ve tried to “evangelise.”
A few points of advice. When inviting unbelievers to Christmas programs, it’s usually good to let them know in advance that they will be preached to. Bait and switch doesn’t fare well and is a bad gospel companion. I’ve also found that loving my neighbor as myself shouldn’t include trying to “steer the conversation toward spiritual things” in every conversation with them. Unbelievers pick up on this and quite often take it more as promoting a religious agenda than as loving them. I don’t disagree with them here. Many of my unbelieving friends have long laundry lists of pet peeves of goofy evangelicals. Listen to unbelievers and engage in real conversations, offer practical help in even the most trivial matters. Enjoy your time with them. It might take a few years, even a decade or so, but they’ll realize that you’re a genuine Christian, have respect for that, and maybe even convert.
Steve,
Can I make a comment on your post without offending you but to get you to “rethink” your stance?
Do you have any unsaved friends? I can see from your post that you do…do you wish for them to see Heaven or Hell? I’d be that you’d say Heaven.
Think about something if you will; your neighbors won’t like the gospel if you explain it truthfully…trust me on this. The bible is clear about that nice neighbor of yours…he/she are God hating rebels more concerned with worshiping their idols than the God of this universe. No neighbor of yours is seeking Him.
You are NOT DOING THEM A FAVOR by keeping this from them. I’m not saying stand on their lawn and yell at them “your going to hell!” but you can be truthful, and loving at the same time.
And keep at the front of your mind…you DON’T HAVE YEARS TO WAIT. God could require their life tonight…not years away while you’re earning the right to talk to them…150,000 people step off into eternity every single day…that neighbor you are biding your time waiting to speak up to could be next.
GOD IS GLORIFIED when His word is preached…end of story. We preach because He commands us to do so…not even to convert anyone…that’s His business…we just preach….
The apostles, and throughout history, men have boldly proclaimed the gospel…and the reception of that message hasn’t been very warm but they were willing to go to their death for it…we can endure some “uncomfortable looks” from our friends and neighbors for the sake of the gospel can’t we?
Please; get equipped, and get out there and tell those you know and love what God is commanding them to do…repent.
Some good resources to learn to witness biblically and effectively can be found at:
http://www.goshareyourfaith.com
Steve,
You said, “Unbelievers pick up on this and quite often take it more as promoting a religious agenda than as loving them.” Wouldn’t you say that Christ promoted a religious agenda?
As Robert mentioned, where in the Bible does it say that the gospel is attractive? In fact, the Bible tells us that it is repulsive to the natural man.
You also said, “I’ve also found that loving my neighbor as myself shouldn’t include trying to “steer the conversation toward spiritual things” in every conversation with them.” Was this Christ’s example?
Steve,
I strongly suggest you read the book I reviewed here. It is written for those who know they don’t have the gift of evangelism, and it addresses how to mix your lifestyle (which you need) with your words (which you will also need). If you are lacking either one of those, you are not evangelizing.
I know this was not your main point, but inviting a non-believer to a Christmas concert at a church can not really be called a bait-and-switch when they hear a five minute gospel presentation. That’s like being invited to a grocery store and then being offended that they are selling food. Only when a person, or a church, gives the impression that they can exist without actually proclaiming the Gospel would someone think that they are being tricky by opening their mouth. In reality, the decision to keep it closed is usually more costly.
If you have read my posts on evangelism, hopefully you have seen that I am the anti-berate-your-neighbors and strangers with the Gospel guy. But I hope you also see that I am the pro-evangelism guy, and if you feel that you are not gifted in this area, this book reviewed here is ideal of you.
Thanks,
Jesse
Gerald,
The normal position on the image of God is that it was marred in the fall, but not destroyed. If the phrase “image of God” means that man has the ability to reflect the attributes of God with his life, then I think that we still have it, but it is tainted or marred with sin. This image is restored in some sense at salvation (because then the believer is glorifying God willingly, and delights in it), and it will be restored perfectly in heaven. But at no point is removed completely, even from the unsaved. In fact, even VanTil (and you won’t find a more conservative, reformed, biblical evangelist than him) says that the image of God is our starting point in evangelism. It is our common ground with non-believers. That is why we are able to speak the Gospel to them–we are both in the image of God.
Thanks,
Jesse
Robert, Daniel, Jesse,
Thanks for the input. Let me clarify. First, I’m not saying I never “evangelize” or talk gospel with people. What I am saying is that the techniques, the formulas, the methods, the suggestions given to me over and over by evangelicals (often with guilt tripping upon my failure to follow their formulas) from preaching, teaching, sunday school, books, classes, etc., don’t fit my personal gifts, personality, etc. When I’m told, “make it a point to invite at least one person to chruch event X this week,” well, it just ain’t my cup o’ tea. A lot of these things tend to be reductionistic, and many Christians take these things as “the” way to “evangelize.” Unbelievers can pick up on techniques (i.e. the religious agenda I mentioned) as annoying and never experience a Christian who invests life in them. I’ve simply found different ways to effectively live the gospel before others.
“GOD IS GLORIFIED when His word is preached…end of story.” I would add quite a bit to this, actually. Subduing the earth and ruling over it glorifies God. So does making disciples of all nations. So does loving my wife and children. I don’t see preaching the gospel to everybody I cross paths with as mandated by the bible. When Jesus started his ministry at 30, the people who knew him asked if this wasn’t the carpenter’s son because they’d never heard anything like that before; yet they knew him. Jesus did quite a few things without preaching to those he encountered. He even taught in parables so as to CONCEAL the message. I don’t do too much of THAT with Christ as my example.
But doing good deeds so that they will give glory, and being ready to give account for the hope in us don’t necessarily START with gospel preaching.
Steve,
I guess you missed my point when I said that “God is glorified when His word is preached…end of story”…
What I meant was that we can forget the reaction that our neighbors have over the gospel message…we are to preach this message to the world; when we do that…God is glorified.
We CANNOT base our decision to preach or not preach this message on the reaction or perceived acceptance of it…
That was my point…
It’s a trap to keep our mouth shut because we don’t want to “cram it down our neighbor’s throats” or because we don’t want to “steer every conversation to Jesus”
I would say again…let’s open our mouths and tell people…let the chips fall where they may and let God save whom He chooses.
Have any of the Grace staff examined Way of the Master and have any comments regarding the program?
Pastor Tom
I don’t understand those who practice so-called ‘lifestyle’ evangelism. How you ‘live, work, view your family, morals, etc.’ is what every Christian ought to strive to do. But, it should never be confused with evangelism.
Evangelism is spreading the gospel, period. Anything other than proclaiming the gospel with your mouth (Romans 10:14) is not evangelism. Non-believers can be good family people, never cheat on their taxes, never cut in line, never cuss, and be outstanding fine citizens of the community who donate blood and give to charities twice as much as any Christian on the block. But, unless someone takes the time to open their mouth and tell the gospel to them, they will go to hell just the same as the heathen who spits and curses at anyone who crosses their path and rejects openly the gospel.
Lifestyle ‘evangelism’ has never saved anyone.
Steve:
What would you think of a fireman who sat in the fire truck and watched people die? Wouldn’t you expect the fireman to get out of the truck and run to help rescue those people?
If you don’t come out and warn the unsaved of their oncoming judgment, aren’t you just as guilty as that fireman I just mentioned?
How long do your friends have to live? Please tell me what day and at what time they will die. How much time do you have to tell them the truth before it is too late for them?
You don’t want to offend them? How offended will they be when they stand before a Holy God and realize you said nothing to them to warn them?
We preach the gospel because it glorifies God. We plant seeds. The results are left to the individual.
Law to the proud, grace to the humble. That’s how Jesus did it. But if you don’t tell them, Paul would say their blood is on your hands.
I’d beg you to think about this.
Tim
Tom,
“The Way of the Master” is endorsed by John McArthur. It is a fantastic evangelism training tool as to how to engage people and share the “bad news” with them.
I have been using this approach for several years and I must say I have had more and better opportunities to share the Gospel. That is my part - the results are up to the Lord.
Thanks Vince.
Tom
Tim said: “Steve: What would you think of a fireman who sat in the fire truck and watched people die? Wouldn’t you expect the fireman to get out of the truck and run to help rescue those people?”
Well, let’s say there were a wildfire that was burning thousands of houses at the same time and the fireman chose one house in which to rescue. Would he be guilty of the other thousands that burned down and the people who died there? What if there were also thousands of other firemen? Or even only a few hundred?
But again, I’ve never said I don’t discuss/preach the gospel or repentance with anybody. The majority of the time it’s because people witness the Christian life of love in my life (and even the love of other Christians toward me! They will know we are Christians by the love we show for one another) and ask questions. It’s simply that the techniques that many evangelicals have shortlisted as “evangelism” don’t fit the way God works in my life.
Tom,
I would stop short of saying John MacArthur “endorses” the Way of the Master approach. It is helpful, as are many other approaches to evangelism. There are concerns with it, as there are with any other approach to evangelism. If you want more detail on that, fell free to email me at outreach@gracechurch.org
Thanks,
Not that John’s endorsement is necessary or that it means anything, but this is what he has said…
“Thanks to Kirk and Ray for seeking to motivate believers to fulfill the Great Commission, and for staying true to the biblical message of repentance from sin and forgiveness in Christ.”
–John MacArthur
Let’s say the fireman is all-knowing, all-powerfull, all-present, all-loving, all-all, and refuses to save all. What is one to think of that fireman?
Vince,
Let’s also say that this fireman created all the people and homes and, before he created them, chose to save some and not others. Let’s also say that only the fireman has the water and equipment to put out this fire, and that all the people are in a coma. This would be Paul’s view described in Romans 9:10-24.
Dan,
You like to beat the same misinterpreted drum. From other posting it is obvious that rightly dividing the truth is not a concept you practice since you seem to practice selective reading. As do most Calvinists.
Yes, the fireman could do everything you mentioned. But regarding God the issue is simple - Scriptures don’t say He didn’t choose to save them. Again, look at Rom. 9:22 - “what if.” What Scripture says is that God made provision for all; however, only those who repent and believe will be saved.
Calvinisn and Calvinist like to preach God’s sovereignty; however, they think that their God must be very small since His soverignty could be threated by the human will.
Vince,
The “what if” in Romans 9:22 is not saying that this is not what happened, but is in fact the opposite of that; it is asking a question, for the purpose of answering those who argue with this view.
You said, “What Scripture says is that God made provision for all…” If Christ’s death paid the penalty for the sins of every person who ever lived, then there is no penalty left for anyone to pay, so all people will go to heaven, without exception. I know you do not believe this.
The only folks who go to heaven are those who repent and trust the Gospel. Period. Jesus’ first words in the Gospel of Mark was ‘Repent and believe the Gospel.’
Daniel - you said, “If Christ’s death paid the penalty for the sins of every person who ever lived, then there is no penalty left for anyone to pay, so all people will go to heaven, without exception. I know you do not believe this.”
What does this mean? Specifically “…then there is no penalty left for anyone to pay…”
If someone dies in their sins without repenting and trusting Jesus to save them, they go to hell and pay their own penalty.
The opposite is true for the one who repents and trusts Jesus to save them. Jesus pays/paid the penalty.
Wayne,
I believe that Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the elect rather than for the sins of everyone. If Christ’s death paid the penalty for everyone, then everyone will be saved because there is no more penalty for anyone’s sins. But since not everyone will be saved, this shows us that Christ’s atonement did not pay the penalty for everyone.
However, the topic of this discussion is evangelism. There are other more appropriate places for the Calvinist/Arminiam debate so perhaps we should take it to one of them.
That’s fine…..we just disagree on the meaning of ‘elect’ then. I read the Scriptures to say that the elect are those who are saved. One gets saved by repenting and trusting.
Last thing….as far as you saying that Christ did not die for all; well, you have to take that up with other Scripture that say’s otherwise……
1 Timothy 2:4
2 Peter 3:9
John 3:16
Romans 5:18,19
Mark 16:15,16
Acts 2:38,39
10:13,14,17
Revelation 22:17
God ‘desires’ that all men be saved and that He wants ‘none’ to perish. Does this mean you believe in universalism? Well, it’s the logical conclusion to how you intrepret election.
Of course we know that all men will not be saved (Matt 7:13,14 & 22:14)
Whoever calls on the Lord will be saved, but to call one must believe, and to believe one must hear the gospel. The gospel is to be preached to all, and of those who hear it, whoever calls on the Lord will be saved.
The Scriptures clearly teach that salvation is conditional, and that every person is able to meet those conditions. If salvation is not conditional, why did God state conditions? If not everyone can meet the conditions, why did God insist that they be preached to everyone?
Ok, I’m done.
Wayne,
My response to your comment is posted under “A Warning & An Open Invitation”
Wayne,
That discussion is under “Theology Proper”
Questions
Where in the Bible does it tell Christians in general to warn people about hell?
Should we pattern our preaching after the sermons in the book of ACTS?
Why is their no mention of hell in the book of ACTS?
When Paul preached the Gospel in the book of ACTS why did he not mention hell?
Is that an incomplete presentation of the Gospel?
Why does Paul never mention hell in the epistles?
Why does the Gospel of John not mention hell?
Where does the Bible say hell is in the after life?
Why did not God warn Adam and Eve about hell?
Did the ancient Hebrews have a concept of a burning hell?
Why do you call Abraham’s Bosom “Paradise”?
Why did Lazarus go to Abraham’s Bossom?
Do you believe the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus is a parable?
Spurgeon said, “all infants are elect of God and are therefore saved”
Why don’t we kill our children in infancy to assure their salvation?
Why are we pro-life?
Spurgeon goes on to say,” we do sometimes hope that thus the multitude of the saved shall be made to exceed the multitude of the lost”.
But does this not contracdict that “Few there be that find the road that leads to life?
Not ALL infants are elect of God because to say this would be to say that they can lose their salvation. If they are elect of God, then they WILL be saved. But not all of them will be saved so they are not all elect.