Evangelism

Should expositional sermons be evangelistic?

9Marks

Absolutely! Why?

Can you give several examples of bad evangelistic practices that result from a bad understanding of conversion?

9Marks
Altar calls, decision cards. Altar calls and decision cards result from an overemphasis on the human’s role in conversion, as if conversion results whenever someone is persuaded to walk an aisle. (Never mind the movement of God’s Spirit!) Also, signing a card isn’t the same thing as repenting and believing. The Bible calls us to repent and believe.  

What content is necessary in order to share the gospel?

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In order to share the gospel you must tell someone the truth about

Should church services primarily be for evangelizing non-Christians or building up Christians?

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First Corinthians 14 provides us with some of the most detailed instruction about the corporate gatherings of Christians in all of the New Testament. In this chapter, Paul explains that church services should primarily be for building up Christians.

What are some weaknesses in current missional thinking?

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Historical revisionism. Many missional authors make a far bigger deal out of our culture’s move to postmodernity than a sober biblical assessment warrants. 

What are some strengths in current missional thinking?

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Corporate witness. Some missional authors rightly emphasize that the church’s corporate witness hugely impacts its faithfulness and success in carrying out the mission God has given it. Missional living. Missional writers rightly urge evangelical Christians to adopt a missional posture, gearing all of their lives around fulfilling the Great Commission.

What is the local church’s mission according to the Bible?

9Marks

According to Scripture, the local church’s mission is to proclaim, preserve, and display the gospel.

What is the missional church?

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The basic premise of the missional church is that mission is the very essence of the church. This is a larger claim than saying that every individual member of the church is a missionary: it is a claim that the church itself is a sign, a foretaste, an instrument, and an agent of God’s kingdom reign on earth.

Why are so many church leaders today talking about contextualization?

9Marks
A lot of people today are talking about contextualization because it’s a fancy way to justify targeting the subset of the population they like best. Some people argue that we have to “contextualize” the gospel and the church into punk rock culture, or elite urban culture, or artsy hipster culture, or rich suburban culture in order to reach such groups of people.

Must evangelism always be accompanied by social action?

9Marks

No. But…

How can a pastor develop a church’s corporate evangelistic witness?

9Marks
Preach expositionally. As your people hear God’s word every week they will increasingly reflect his glory to the world. Week by week their lives will become a more focused picture of their savior, Jesus Christ. Preach the gospel every week. As your people hear the gospel every week they will grow in their appreciation for it, their understanding of it, and their ability to share it with others.

What is the connection between an individual’s evangelism and his or her church’s corporate witness?

9Marks

A church’s corporate witness will either enhance or undermine an individual’s evangelism.

Why should we evangelize?

9Marks
Desire to be obedient. Jesus commands his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). Peter says to all Christians, “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). Peter says this to explain how we are to “set apart Christ as Lord,” that is, how we are to obey him. We should evangelize because God commands it.

What should we do after we evangelize?

9Marks

That depends mainly on your hearer’s response. Here are some responses you might encounter.

How can you tell the difference between legitimate contextualization and unbiblical compromise?

9Marks

The best rule of thumb in determining what’s biblical contextualization and what’s unbiblical compromise is the question: Does this make the offense of the gospel clearer? If so, it’s biblical contextualization. If not, it’s unbiblical compromise.

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