One of the most demotivating factors in evangelism is to see lack of life-changing results through our preaching of the gospel. Many think that if we continue to preach the gospel and yet do not see people getting transformed, we are failures. We suppose, “I am useless and unproductive in God.”
Some may even dishearteningly think that God has pushed them aside, using only His favorites to win the lost. And when we hear from those who share about how people are coming to Christ through their sharing of the gospel, we may get more disappointed and assume, “I am not gifted or fitted to proclaim the gospel.”
Success in Evangelism
Well, we need to ask ourselves this question, “What is success in evangelism?” Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mk. 16:15). Observe, He didn’t say, “Go into all the world and change the lives of all creation” or “Go into all the world and get everybody into my kingdom.” We are simply commanded to preach the good news. And, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk. 16:16).
Fact—we are responsible to preach the gospel; we are not responsible for the response of the people.
Success in evangelism is preaching the gospel of Christ Jesus, whether people believe in Christ or not. Conversion is God’s business, not ours. Our business is to preach the gospel and God’s business is to change lives.
Fact: Obedience to the proclamation of the gospel is what God requires from us, not saving the souls. Regarding salvation, says God, “Leave that to me.”
It is written, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God” (Jn. 1:13-14). How plain it is—salvation is the glorious work of God out of which a person is born-again, not the work of man! It is, as Jesus said, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (Jn. 3:6). The Holy Spirit is the one who gives spiritual birth.
Here is a word of caution—if we suppose of being failures for not seeing people believing the gospel we preach, then we are most likely to take credit for saving a person when he/she believes in Christ, when actually salvation is the result of God’s work in man through man, not man’s work in man.
Reward in Evangelism
Paul said, “Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:26-27). Paul was free from the innocent blood of all men, not because he saved all of them, but because he proclaimed to them the whole will of God, i.e. God’s full plan of salvation.
Fact—God holds us accountable, not for how many souls we have won into His kingdom, but to how many people we have preached the kingdom of God.
When Paul gave his grand evangelistic sermon in Athens, many didn’t believe in the gospel he preached but just a few men (Acts 17:34). Was Paul a failure in Athens? Not at all! I just heard about a brother who is working in one of the most spiritually dark places in India. He is working for thirteen years and led only four souls to the Lord. Is he a failure? I don't think so.
Fact—God rewards us, not for converting people, but for proclaiming the gospel of Christ to the unconverted.
Therefore, let us not lose heart, even if not a single soul is converted. Let us keep on preaching the gospel of Christ as we have opportunities. Who knows, we may just be sowing the seeds of the gospel but others may reap what we have sown! (Jn. 4:37) Remember, “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Cor. 3:7).
Of course, in our evangelism, we should eagerly expect people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must fervently pray for their salvation. We need to strongly equip ourselves to effectively present the gospel. We should desperately seek the power of the Holy Spirit in witnessing to others. We need to live an exemplary Christian life. We ought not to remain passive or inefficient in evangelism.
However, we should fix this truth in our mind—we cannot change a single soul to take an inch of step towards eternal life. If anyone believes and is saved, it is only because of the convicting and enlightening work of the Holy Spirit, leading one to confess, “Jesus is Lord” (1Cor. 12:3).
Fact: All our methods, efforts and resources are only a means but they are never the source for converting people. God alone is the source of growth and salvation.
I remember reading Charles Spurgeon saying somewhat like this, “To convert a sinner into a saint is like converting a carnivorous lion into a vegetarian.” In other words, saving sinners is humanly an impossible task. But, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).
Yes, preaching the gospel is important, for “how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom. 10:14) But our responsibility, our success and our reward is in just preaching the gospel to people. And salvation is God’s work in the heart of a person and his/her faith in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, faithfully and diligently keep sowing the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of people and leave the results to God to accomplish His sovereign will.
Fact—God takes delight in those who preach the gospel, though people may detest what we preach to them.
Question
Let me leave you with a question to consider—Suppose Mr. A has preached the gospel to five hundred people and witnessed four hundred conversions. But when Mr. B has faithfully preached the gospel to five hundred people, not even four people have turned to the Lord. Who do you think is successful and who is a failure?
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Some may even dishearteningly think that God has pushed them aside, using only His favorites to win the lost. And when we hear from those who share about how people are coming to Christ through their sharing of the gospel, we may get more disappointed and assume, “I am not gifted or fitted to proclaim the gospel.”
Success in Evangelism
Well, we need to ask ourselves this question, “What is success in evangelism?” Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mk. 16:15). Observe, He didn’t say, “Go into all the world and change the lives of all creation” or “Go into all the world and get everybody into my kingdom.” We are simply commanded to preach the good news. And, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk. 16:16).
Fact—we are responsible to preach the gospel; we are not responsible for the response of the people.
Success in evangelism is preaching the gospel of Christ Jesus, whether people believe in Christ or not. Conversion is God’s business, not ours. Our business is to preach the gospel and God’s business is to change lives.
Fact: Obedience to the proclamation of the gospel is what God requires from us, not saving the souls. Regarding salvation, says God, “Leave that to me.”
It is written, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God” (Jn. 1:13-14). How plain it is—salvation is the glorious work of God out of which a person is born-again, not the work of man! It is, as Jesus said, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (Jn. 3:6). The Holy Spirit is the one who gives spiritual birth.
Here is a word of caution—if we suppose of being failures for not seeing people believing the gospel we preach, then we are most likely to take credit for saving a person when he/she believes in Christ, when actually salvation is the result of God’s work in man through man, not man’s work in man.
Reward in Evangelism
Paul said, “Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:26-27). Paul was free from the innocent blood of all men, not because he saved all of them, but because he proclaimed to them the whole will of God, i.e. God’s full plan of salvation.
Fact—God holds us accountable, not for how many souls we have won into His kingdom, but to how many people we have preached the kingdom of God.
When Paul gave his grand evangelistic sermon in Athens, many didn’t believe in the gospel he preached but just a few men (Acts 17:34). Was Paul a failure in Athens? Not at all! I just heard about a brother who is working in one of the most spiritually dark places in India. He is working for thirteen years and led only four souls to the Lord. Is he a failure? I don't think so.
Fact—God rewards us, not for converting people, but for proclaiming the gospel of Christ to the unconverted.
Therefore, let us not lose heart, even if not a single soul is converted. Let us keep on preaching the gospel of Christ as we have opportunities. Who knows, we may just be sowing the seeds of the gospel but others may reap what we have sown! (Jn. 4:37) Remember, “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Cor. 3:7).
Of course, in our evangelism, we should eagerly expect people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must fervently pray for their salvation. We need to strongly equip ourselves to effectively present the gospel. We should desperately seek the power of the Holy Spirit in witnessing to others. We need to live an exemplary Christian life. We ought not to remain passive or inefficient in evangelism.
However, we should fix this truth in our mind—we cannot change a single soul to take an inch of step towards eternal life. If anyone believes and is saved, it is only because of the convicting and enlightening work of the Holy Spirit, leading one to confess, “Jesus is Lord” (1Cor. 12:3).
Fact: All our methods, efforts and resources are only a means but they are never the source for converting people. God alone is the source of growth and salvation.
I remember reading Charles Spurgeon saying somewhat like this, “To convert a sinner into a saint is like converting a carnivorous lion into a vegetarian.” In other words, saving sinners is humanly an impossible task. But, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).
Yes, preaching the gospel is important, for “how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom. 10:14) But our responsibility, our success and our reward is in just preaching the gospel to people. And salvation is God’s work in the heart of a person and his/her faith in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, faithfully and diligently keep sowing the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of people and leave the results to God to accomplish His sovereign will.
Fact—God takes delight in those who preach the gospel, though people may detest what we preach to them.
Question
Let me leave you with a question to consider—Suppose Mr. A has preached the gospel to five hundred people and witnessed four hundred conversions. But when Mr. B has faithfully preached the gospel to five hundred people, not even four people have turned to the Lord. Who do you think is successful and who is a failure?
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_______________________________
Enquiries:
cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) stephen@tents-india.org
Reminded of the great missionary Henry Martyn's statement. If I try to proclaim the gospel with false motives, I will lose my soul and the soul whom I am trying to reach.(Paraphrased)
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