Evangelism, Part 3
The Joy of Sharing the Good News
As mentioned last week, in J.I. Packer’s superb little book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, he says the gospel is a message about God, sin, Christ, and repentance and faith. Having already examined the first two, this week we consider Christ and his call to repentance and faith. Again, what follows is not necessarily a recommended way to communicate the gospel to an unbeliever. This will be covered in future installments. This is about getting the gospel straight first in our own minds.
Third, the gospel is a message about Christ. We must not present his person apart from his saving work which includes his incarnation (John 1:1,14; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 2:9), his sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, Romans 5:19), his substitutionary death (Romans 5:8; I Peter 3:18), his resurrection (Romans 4:25; I Corinthians 15:4) and his ascension (Acts 2:33-36, Philippians 2:9-11).
We must make clear that Jesus is the God-man, who lived the life we failed to live and died the death we deserve. In the cross, God reveals both his justice and mercy, his holiness and love (Romans 3:24,25; 5:8). In our witness, we must not leave Jesus on the cross. We proclaim a risen Savior. His ascension to the right hand of God is also vital to our understanding of his saving work. John Stott notes: “The ‘right hand of God’ at which Christ ‘sits’ is then symbolic of his universal authority because of which he is able both to bestow blessing and to require submission…To be in his kingdom or under his rule brings both total blessing and total demand.”
Just as we must not present Jesus’s person apart from work, neither can we present his work apart from his person. Saving faith is not consent to a proposition but commitment to a person. We trust in Jesus Christ alone as Savior and Lord.
Fourth, the gospel is a summons to repentance and faith. While there are passages that emphasize faith in conversion (John 1:12, Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16,17, Ephesians 2:8,9), there are others that emphasize repentance (Acts 17:30; 26:20; I Thessalonians 1:9). We cannot expect one verse to say everything there is to say about conversion. The totality of Scripture must be taken in consideration.
However, there are verses where both are mentioned together. One significant passage is the one recorded at the commencement of Jesus’s public ministry when he said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. Repentance is a turning from and a turning to, while faith looks away from itself to God in Christ. While good works are not involved in conversion whatsoever, true saving faith cannot help but produce good works (James 2:14, 26). As Calvin said, “It is faith alone that justifies, but the faith that justifies is not alone.” Conversion results in transformation by the Spirit, be it ever so gradually.
If we are to be faithful in evangelism, we must be clear about its meaning. Unfortunately, I still find confusion in the church at large over what constitutes evangelism. Next week we will consider what it is and what it is not.