Evangelism

Colossians 1:28-29

As Paul concludes his introduction to his letter (I consider chapter 1 his prologue, leading into the “meat” of his letter), he leads by example in how he works towards fulfilling the Great Commission.  The danger in how we read this, however, is that it is very tempting to admire Paul for his hard work and consider ourselves not the same.  It is easy for us to dismiss evangelism as a gifting reserved only for those who are called or in full-time ministry and not a calling for every one of us.  We read letters and examples in the Scriptures of “giants in the faith,” and consider ourselves not even worthy of such a high calling.  This is partially true: of our own accord, none of us are worthy.  However, Christ makes us worthy and calls us all to share and implement the Gospel.  Let us take a look at Matthew 28 as a reminder.  It is often quoted and one of the most memorized passages of Scripture, yet for some reason, many of us often fall short of obeying it:

18 And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.”

As a career missionary, this passage of course, has become very near to my heart.  However, I believe this is not just for those called into ministry, but all of us who have been saved by Jesus Christ and have begun the journey of learning how to follow Him closely.  Unfortunately, we have gotten comfortable as a global church.  The idea behind Jesus’ final command before ascending into heaven has become, “work on yourselves and tell people about Jesus occasionally, supporting efforts by tithing and donating towards mission projects, and you can say you have completed this mission.”  I know this might sound a little crass or even jaded, but it is certainly what I have witnessed.  The other side to this is that we think “missions” is about feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, and caring for the sick.  All of these are good things!  In fact, Jesus said that for as much as we do these things for the least cared for of people, we have also done for Him! (Matthew 25:31-46).  BUT, this is NOT the Great Commission!  He says to make disciples.  He says to learn from Him and teach the same to others.  Part of this teaching is to lead to baptism: a complete surrendering of one’s life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Paul in his letter to the church at Colossae is saying, “this is my chief end and I am working towards that goal as much as I can.”  He even mentions that it is according to God’s power, which resides within him as the Holy Spirit.  That same Holy Spirit lives within you as well.  This takes away the excuse, “well, I am not gifted in that way.”  The problem is that we think it requires some sort of special, intense, or even expensive training.  The Holy Spirit is free!  No training required!  All that is required is submission to His leading.  Teach others what you have already learned; even if you just received Jesus last week, you have already learned something.

As an instructor, mentor, and leader in a discipleship course called Perspectives, I want to encourage you to check it out.  While it is touted as a missions mobilization movement, don’t let that terminology scare you.  It is meant to teach all of us what it means to be a Christian in this world.  Whether you move to a different hemisphere to teach others about the Gospel or you simply walk to the end of your own street, it encourages us to live out what God saved us to do: glorify Him with our entire lives.  We have no good reason not to share Jesus and make disciples.  The King of Kings told us to do it, so what is stopping you from obeying Him?