It is very important for every Christian to know the definition and purpose of evangelism because our aim and goal should be making the Good News of Jesus Christ, Whom we are following available to all and sundry.
To me, every Christian is an evangelist because Jesus gave us all the task of proclaiming His Good News to people of every tribe and race and bring them to the knowledge of the only One and Almighty creator, our God.
In this sermon therefore, I am going to help you know the definition as well as understand the purpose of evangelism.
And without much ado, let’s get started.
Definition of evangelism.
Evangelism is simply the act of preaching the gospel or spreading the Good News about the kingdom of God as taught by Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ Himself was a great Evangelist, and when He began His ministry on earth His first declaration or message was for people to repent because the kingdom of God is at hand. (Mathew 4:17).
Immediately after saying so, He went to a shore in Galilee where He met two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen catching fish and said to them “follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. (Mathew 4:18-19).
The fishers of men Jesus was referring to here was Evangelists. So in essence He was telling them to follow Him and He will teach them how to become Evangelist and convert human beings to His ministry.
Of course the brothers did not hesitate to follow Jesus and later on we would see how Peter converted three thousand men in a single day. (Acts 2:41).
There is this biblical passage that really sheds light into what evangelism really means and its Romans 10:12-17.
In that passage the scripture narrates that whoever believes in God will not be disappointed because God is the same Lord who blesses everyone notwithstanding their race or tribe.
Now it goes on to say that those who wants to be saved needs to call upon God but points out that people cannot call upon God for help if they do not believe in Him; and that they can only believe after they have heard the gospel that is being preached to them.
In verse 15 it specifically observes that unless there are evangelists sent out to preach the gospel, there is no way people will hear it and believe in God.
This goes to say that the gospel is all about how mankind can save themselves from every predicaments of life and in the end save their souls from the impending condemnation and damnation that awaits those who rebel against God.
The purpose of evangelism.
The purpose of evangelism is to preach the gospel or proclaim the Good News about the salvation of mankind that God has revealed through His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
From the biblical record or account, God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden where he was supposed to eat and enjoy everything that God had already made available, but then he forbade them to eat the fruit in the middle of the garden.
But when mankind was unable to obey this single command, God drove them out of the garden after placing several curses on them.
To the woman He said “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16).
And to the man He said “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17).
But then, after so many years that we cannot count, God sent Jesus to tell mankind that if they are able to turn from the sinful ways of their first father and mother and obey all His commands, which were now more than on, He will make life on earth smooth for them and after they experience the destruction of the flesh, He will make them live forever in His kingdom.
He even gave proof of this by allowing Jesus to suffer under human beings, died and buried and on the third day brought Him back to life again.
According to the scriptures, Jesus spent 40 days on earth after His resurrection before He ascended into heaven to take His place at the right hand of the Father. (Acts 1:3).
But before He left He made a promise: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2-3).
Therefore, the main purpose of evangelism should be the proclamation of Christ death, resurrection and ascension as well as the hope of the eternal life He is capable of giving human beings.
Conclusion.
I came across an article that says that the primary purpose of evangelism is to glorify God and not save souls but I think God cannot be glorified unless a soul is saved.
Our Lord Jesus gave a parable of the lost sheep as recorded in Mathew 18:10-14, and shows how a shepherd abandons ninety nine sheep’s to go searching for the one that was lost. And when we reason why the shepherd would take such risks, we get the answer from where Jesus concluded that the ninety nine would not go astray.
Now this means that it was just this one sheep that was not faithful to the shepherd, that was why it wondered away.
With this we can gain the understanding that God is more concerned with the salvation of mankind because it is only then that He can bring glory to His name.
