As those disciples were standing on that mountaintop, do you think that they had to be cajoled into going?” David Platt asked this rhetorical question to those in attendance at a Verge conference with the hope of urging Christians to take up their cross in the work of advancing the kingdom of Christ to the ends of the earth. He is referring to the end of the Gospel of Matthew, where our Lord was commissioning His disciples for the task that was quickly to begin with the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost.

The word cajole that Platt used is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance.” A synonym is coax. What exactly is being said here? Did Jesus have to twist the disciples’ arms for them to go out with the gospel?

The answer, of course, is a resounding no. Did the disciples give Him much reluctance? Fear and trembling, even doubting, yes, but reluctance, no. They had experienced life with Christ for three years, and had now laid hands upon the risen Lord of glory. There was no dragging of their feet to the work of evangelism and missions; all they needed was the green light. Not because they had some kind of special abilities, but simply because they knew Christ as their Savior and Lord.

There was no coaxing, no arm twisting, no pleading by our Lord in order to get His message out. And yet, we see far too often that reluctance is more or less the response that is given by too many within the church. I have heard many times a pastor begging for his congregation to serve, to give, to go, and to advance the kingdom.

So what, must we ask, is the missing link here? Why is it that Jesus’s disciples were essentially chomping at the bit to proclaim the gospel, yet two millennia later we often see very little of that same zeal?

Before anyone gets too discouraged with their less-than-perfect zeal for evangelism, let me offer you some comfort. Although the task of evangelism ought to pour out from our own love for the gospel, we need to remember that it is by no means an easy task. Have you ever experienced the prompting of the Holy Spirit for evangelistic witness but realized you’d rather run three consecutive marathons than follow that prompting? You are in good company. As an old friend used to say to me, “It happens to the best of us!”

Take heart, Christian, you’re not the only one with that struggle. Do you remember Moses’s commission to speak to the enslaved people of Israel? Moses doubted that the people would listen to him, so the Lord gave him not one, not two, but three miraculous signs to prove to the people that the Lord had sent him. Still, Moses’s response was, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue” (Exod. 4:10).

How about Jeremiah’s lack of confidence in his ability? The word of the Lord had come to him, and he weakly replied, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth” (Jer. 1:6). If you need even more comfort in the broken vessels the Lord uses, consider how Paul described his own preaching to the Corinthians. “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. 2:3–4). Paul is saying that it’s not your ability; it is the power of the Holy Spirit that strengthens us to share the gospel.

You and I need to rest, and teach our congregations to rest, in the power of the gospel to save. The temptation comes to us in the disguise of our own worldly ability. You may be able to sell ice to an Eskimo, or close a deal faster than the accounting department can write up the paperwork, but that won’t do you any good when it comes to the task of evangelism. Why? Because it is not natural work; this is God’s work to save. As Reformed believers, we often get charged with the faulty accusation that, because of the doctrine of election we hold so dear, we don’t believe in doing evangelism. “If God has His elect, why go out and evangelize?” Have you ever been asked that? But, let’s remember it’s simply because of, and only because of, the doctrine of election that we should desire to do the difficult task of evangelism.

Let us remember that, just like Moses, Jeremiah, and Paul, it’s not because of our strength in sharing, our eloquence of speech, or our manipulative begging people to “pray the prayer” that saves anybody. It is in fact God’s power that He so kindly chooses to display through us in the gospel proclamation that saves sinners. Christian, rest in His strength, not your own.

During a summer of pulpit supply in California, I was preaching through the doctrines of grace. When it came to unconditional election, I went with the typical Calvinist passage of Romans 9. As I was wrestling through the text, I had a brother give me the greatest comfort in the text that I hadn’t noticed before. We remember that Paul poses, and answers, the objections that he is anticipating to this doctrine, the objections that we still face to this day. In Paul’s response, he then quotes from Moses’s dealings with Pharaoh: “For He [God] says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then, it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Rom. 9:15–16). The key that my brother showed me is just that. God will have mercy! God will have compassion! God is going to save! And, what’s better, it’s not up to our human efforts, or that of our hearers. It is God’s work. So much for stifling our evangelism; our Reformed convictions ought to stoke our evangelism. God has His elect out there, and the only thing that they need is to hear the gospel, because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

Now that you are, I hope, comforted in God’s power in evangelism despite our own weakness, let’s get back to David Platt. He goes on to share his concern for the audience, and the Christian church, especially across the West. It’s not that the pastor doesn’t use enough arm twisting, but that too many church members are simply missing what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. He says, “Proclaiming the love of Christ is the overflow of sharing in the life of Christ.…and I’m convinced that many people in our churches are just simply missing the life of Christ.” Ouch. Could it be that you and I are missing the life of Christ? Now, someone will jump up and say that not everyone is called to be a missionary, or a pastor, and to that we would all agree. But what is Platt driving at here?

We all like sheep have gone astray, fallen in Adam, and we rebelled against our Creator, who jealously yearns for our affection and praise. God’s justice demands our condemnation; He gave us the path to walk, and we went our own way, defying the God of heaven and earth, thus bringing about His righteous anger. Yet, God, in His goodness, has provided a means of forgiveness in His Son. The life of obedience that we all have so grievously failed to obtain was obtained in Christ. The acts of rebellion that we have stacked up against us have been laid upon Him and forgiven in full. As believers, we have experienced the life-giving, soul-saving gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. We are no longer under God’s wrath!

Colossians 1:13–14 tells us “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves. In Him, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” That is good news worth singing about. That news is so good, it’s worth sharing.

But what about all those to whom this passage does not apply? What about those who have not transferred kingdoms? The sad reality is that they are still in the kingdom of darkness: they don’t have redemption; they don’t have the forgiveness of their sins. They still abide under the wrath of God and have only a fearful expectation of judgment.

Preaching the gospel to ourselves, and the blessedness that comes from our union with Christ, ought to stir up within us thankfulness to God, which results in love for Him, love for our neighbor, and a desire to live our lives for His glory. This blessed truth of eternal life, however, also ought to stir us up with a desire to see more come to experience this grace. In fact, pointing our neighbors to Jesus is the greatest act of love that we can do for them. King Jesus is worthy of all praise, and honor, and glory. Sadly, however, He isn’t getting the praise that He deserves because so many are still in rebellion to Him. Apart from Christ, they will stand condemned under the righteous wrath of God on the last day, and it will be too late.

But today, there is hope for the ungodly! No matter how wicked and rebellious, no matter how many sins someone has committed, there is hope in Christ. But, they have to hear the message first. This message of redemption, the gospel, is the power of God unto salvation, and this message must go out.

Are you sharing in the life of Christ? Are you living your life in the joy of the gospel? Are you filled up with God’s love to you while you were still a sinner? Pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would cultivate within your soul a deep desire to see more come to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness. Pray that the Lord would cause you to rest not in your own weak efforts and sluggish speech, but rest on His promise of salvation. Now rest assured that, although the Lord can do all things without our feeble efforts, as a loving Father He chooses to involve His children in His work of saving souls. Will you join Him in the advancement of this wonderful message?

Evangelism Resources

Books

There are innumerable books on evangelism. Many are good. Some, not so good. Below is a partial list of books on evangelism that I value, whose authors might be from a different cultural perspective than you.

• Evangelism in a Skeptical World by Sam Chan

• Honest Evangelism by Rico Tice

• Our Witness to the World by Tony Evans

Tracts

I’m convinced that if you carry gospel tracts with you, then you will have more evangelistic conversations. And only God knows what the fruit will be. Like books, there are innumerable gospel tracts written. A good exercise for a family, or even better for a church, is to write one or more gospel tracts that include the gospel and the church contact information. Making this a size you can easily carry around with you—like a business card size—both forces you to be economical with your words and gives you a tool you always have with you.

Blogs

The three blogs I go to most often for evangelism encouragement and instruction (search for evangelism or gospel to get started) are

• GentleReformation.com (many RP writers)

• Challies.com (Tim Challies)

• HeadHeartHand.org/blog

Material for Investigative Bible Studies

Spending 4–6 weeks with someone working through the heart of the gospel in a systematic way can be a very fruitful experience in evangelism. Here are some materials I have found helpful.

• This simple four-week investigative Bible study through John 1:3–5 (https://s.rpts.edu/johnibsjo) was developed and used by Pastor and former RPTS President Jerry O’Neill.

• Christianity Explained (evangelistic course materials at christianityexplained.com) is a six-week evangelistic course designed especially for people with little or no Bible background.

• The Whole Bible in Six Sessions (https://s.rpts.edu/biblein6sessions), by RP pastor Tim McCracken, is built on his formerly published book, God’s Message to You.

• Christianity Explored (https://christianityexplored.us/) has seven sessions. It is a way of sharing the best news ever heard, and gives people space and time to think about the big questions of life.

Evangelism Class at RPTS

Each spring quarter (typically beginning the last week in February or the first week in March) the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary offers a class in evangelism. This class may be taken for audit or for credit, and may be taken in person or online. For more information, conact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

—Rev. Ed Blackwood, director of admissions and student services, Reformed Theological Presbyterian Seminary