Most likely, you are reading this because you are a Christian or at least think about Christ and what He means to you. As of right now, I have been a Christian for a little less than 11 years. Like everyone else, I am still learning. There have been some things that I have seen or heard at church that sometimes makes me ask, “Why are we doing things this way?” It might be the case that you have asked yourself the same question. During the short time I have been serving our Lord, I have had good and bad evangelistic experiences. One of the bad ones I remember, sadly, was during a campaign. I was with a brother who was helping me to reach out to his community, and I remember having a good conversation with a lady and inviting her to the gospel meeting. She gladly told me she would try to go that night. Suddenly, the brother I was with came up behind me and asked about where she worshipped. She said she attended x church, and this brother exclaimed, “Oh, you know you are going to Hell.” How sad I was when she looked at me, gave me back the invitation without saying anything else, and closed the door. When I asked him why did he say that, he simply said, “Well, it is the truth!”
It seems that, to some of us, evangelism is about telling others how good we are, how knowledgeable we are, and how wrong they are. Dear brethren, when we think about evangelism, we must do it right. It is not about making others feel guilty. It is about making them feel welcome. Sometimes, maybe because of lack of knowledge, we act Pharisee-like rather than Christ-like. Please read Luke 19:1-10 in your Bible. This text records the event with that little man known as Zacchaeus. To the crowd, he was a sinner. To Jesus, he was a lost soul in need of salvation. Just a few lines before this text, we find the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee, through his prayer, puffed himself up and denigrated the publican. The publican, through his prayer, only asked God for mercy. The Bible teaches about not being proud, but humble (Luke 18:14; James 4:6,10; Matthew 23:12; Proverbs 16:18-19). Jesus went to Jericho, and even though Zacchaeus was a little man, He saw him. But most importantly, He saw his heart and went to his place. The inspired writer does not tell us more details about that meeting, but he gives us what we need to know. Zacchaeus heard the good news, was converted to Christ, and because of that, salvation came to his house that day. While Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus to his house, the truth is that Jesus welcomed Zacchaeus to His kingdom. Let us not be like the crowd nor like the Pharisee, but like Christ.
The Great Commission is still active and required. We must go “into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Those who hear us and gladly receive the message that our Lord commanded us to preach and teach will be as the good soil, and the seed which “is the word of God” will grow in their hearts and will bring “fruit with patience” (Luke 8:11, 15). When that occurs, they will believe and will ask to be baptized for the remission of their sins and to be saved and added to the Lord’s church (see Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 47). As the inspired Paul wrote, some of us will plant the seed, and others will water it. But it is God who “will give the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). We must do the work, not force the result. There are millions of lost souls out there waiting for us to make them feel welcome, not guilty. We know what the Bible says. They may not. They need to hear that “we all have sinned”, that “the wage of sin is death”, that God wants us all “to come to repentance”, and that “eternal life is a gift from” Him through His Son (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 2 Peter 3:9).
It might be the case that you are reading this and are not a Christian yet. I want you to know that obeying the will of God is the best decision you could take in your life. Life will not be easy, but keep in mind that, as James wrote, it “is a vapour” (James 4:14). We might be walking on this earth for an hour, a day, a month, or 50 years, but we will all die one day (see Hebrews 9:27) unless the judgment day comes first. Our Lord said that “only the Father knows the day and time” when that will occur (Matthew 24:36). We must be prepared, and you, my friend, have a decision to make, just as I did.
Because one person thought right about evangelism that I am a member of the Lord’s church. Another person who thought right about evangelism approached the one who approached me, and so on. Today, I might be the person who thinks right about evangelism and wants you to go to Heaven. So, are we thinking right about evangelism? Let us go out and do our work with a humble and loving attitude, being like our Lord and bringing glory and honor to Him.
May God bless you richly today and always.
