Who should evangelize?

While some might want to leave evangelism to the preachers, apologetic experts, or maybe just to the extroverts generally, the New Testament asserts that all Christians should evangelize:

  • Example: We see this in the example of the earliest Christians: “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4, NIV). And Acts 11:19-21 tells us that all the disciples evangelized as they spread out from Jerusalem.
  • Instruction: Peter instructs all of us to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet. 3:15, NIV).
  • For the sake of love: If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31, Jas. 2:8), is there any more important way to love someone than to share the gospel with him or her?

(This material has been adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever, 45-53)

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