Evangelism: Our witness
to His love
Sharing the
Good News
"And Jesus came
and spoke
to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. '
Go
'therefore and 'make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
'teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew
28:18-20
"As the Father
has sent Me,
I also send you.”
John 20:21
"I now send you,
to open
their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and
an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'"
Acts 26:17-18
"...you shall
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be witnesses to Me
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end
of the earth.” Acts 1:7
"And this gospel
of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a
witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:14
"But before all these things, they will lay their hands
on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the
synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before
kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But it will
turn out for you as an occasion for testimony."
Luke
21:12-14
"[John the
Baptist] came for a witness, to bear witness of the
Light, that all through Him might believe. He was not
that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light." John 1:6-8
"...they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in
the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His
grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their
hands. But the multitude of the city was divided...."
Acts 14:3-5
"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, cgoodness, dfaithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no
law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let
us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25
The
offense of the gospel
"Because you
despise this word, and trust in oppression and
perversity, and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall
be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high
wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant."
Isaiah 30:12-13
"Woe to the
rebellious children,” says the Lord, 'Who take counsel,
but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My
Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who walk to go
down to Egypt, [representing the pagan world
system] and have not asked My advice, to strengthen
themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the
shadow of Egypt!"
Isaiah 30:1-2
"I am in
derision daily; everyone mocks me. For when I spoke,
I cried out; I shouted, 'Violence and plunder!'
Because the word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and a
derision daily. Then I said, 'I will not make mention of
Him, nor speak anymore in His name.' But His word was in
my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones;I was weary
of holding it back, and I could not."
Jeremiah
20:7
"Because they
have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and
despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore
the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has
stretched out His hand against them and stricken them."
Isaiah 5:24-25
"But He turned
and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense
to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God,
but the things of men.'"
Matthew 16:23
"Behold, I send
you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise
as serpents and harmless as doves... [W]hen they deliver you
up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it
will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for
it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who
speaks in you." Matthew 10:16,
19-20
"Therefore, to
you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are
disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has
become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense.'"
1 Peter 2:7-10
Preach
repentance and remission of sins
"Then He said to them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead
the third day, and that
repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in His name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these
things."
Luke
24:46
"He commanded us to
preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of
the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness
that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will
receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:42
"...if anyone preaches any
other gospel
to you than what you have
received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I
still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."
Galatians
1:9-10
"For if he who comes
preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive
a different spirit which you have not received, or a
different
gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!"
2 Corinthians 11:4
Preach the
whole truth - whether or
not they
listen
"I
have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church
of God which He purchased with His own blood. " Acts 20:28
"He
said to me: 'Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel,
to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their
fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are
impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you
shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them,
whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a
rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among
them."
Ezekiel 2:3-5
"...the
Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do
not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you,
and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this
city.' And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word
of God among them."
Acts 18:9
"And he went
into the synagogue and spoke boldly
for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the
kingdom of God. But when some were
hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before
the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples,
reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two
years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus,
both Jews and Greeks."
Acts 19:8
"...many who
had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of
those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned
them in the sight of all.... So the word of the Lord grew mightily and
prevailed."
Acts
19:18
"You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they
refuse..." Ezekiel 2:7
"Then He said to me: 'Son of man, go to the house of Israel
and speak with My words to them. For you are not sent to a people of
unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel,
not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language.... But
the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not
listen to Me.... Moreover He said to me: 'Son of man, receive
into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your
ears. And go... and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the
Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse."
Ezekiel 3:7-11
"Therefore prepare
yourself and arise, and
speak to them all that I command you.
Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them....
They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,' says the Lord, 'to deliver you.'"
Jeremiah 1:17-19
"‘Hear this now, O
foolish people, without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not, and who
have ears and hear not:
Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence?" Jeremiah 5:21-22
"I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and
hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
and seeing you
will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown
dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have
closed...."
Matthew 13:13-15
Don't
confuse man's teaching with God's Word
"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips, but
their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men."
Mark
7:6-8
"I marvel that you are turning
away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different
gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to
pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let
him be accursed." Galatians 1:6-8
"Study
to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain
babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness."
2 Timothy 2:15
Don't
peddle or misuse God's Word
"...we have
renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in
craftiness nor
handling the word of God deceitfully, but by
manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every
man’s conscience in the sight of God."
2 Corinthians
4:2
"....we are not,
as so many,
peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as
from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ."
2 Corinthians 2:17
Teach
from the Word using certain Scriptures to explain others
"Then the
brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.
When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These
were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness, and searched the
Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Therefore many of them believed." Acts
17:10-12
"Now while
Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him
when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile
worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to
be there. "
Acts
17:16