The Work Of An Evangelist

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned...' " - Mark 16:15-16 ESV

Sometimes when we go out on Saturday (or other days) for evangelism and someone reacts to us telling them about Jesus I will pose this question, 'Do you know the difference between and preacher and an evangelist?' Then, if they care and don't just want us to go away, they will say, 'No. What is the difference?' then I say something like this, 'A preacher tells people the good news and an evangelist brings people to a place of decision. We are here to present the Gospel clearly so that you will make a decision, either 'Yes' or 'No' but we hope for your sake it will be 'Yes' '.

I would rather someone say, 'No!' than for them to smile and nod just to pacify me. It is better for them to look me in the eye and say, 'No!' because I believe God can use that as their life unfolds. 'No' today may become 'Yes' later.

The Gospel is good news. Sin has been dealt with by Jesus on the cross.

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV

"...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9 ESV

I said 'No! several times. I just didn't trust that what people said about God, or Jesus, was true. People write history for their own reasons and I wasn't sure we could trust any account of history. Jesus, if He existed at all, could have been a good man that people turned into a god but the 'good news' worked on me. Sin paid for? Really? My sins paid for? I came to a point where I knew I needed a Saviour and this historical figure I was unsure of was available to me today through people. I eventually said 'Yes' and I got dunked in truth and stained by it's vivid colors.

"As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." - 2 Timothy 4:5 ESV

Yes. Let's fullfill our ministry. It is something we are sure not to regret later.

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