Evangelism / Romans 10:13-15 / Acts 1:8
If you’re a guest among us, I want to welcome you again. My name is Shaye Sumlin, one of the pastors here at The Well. If you have a Bible with you, go ahead and turn to Romans chapter 10. We’re going to anchor out of Romans 10 for a bit of our time here this morning.
While you’re turning there, if you are with us for the first time, you’ve caught us about halfway through a series on the church that we’ve called Paradigm Shift. It is centered around the foundational tenets of Jesus’ redeemed people—looking at what they looked like in the followers of Christ pre-Pentecost (before Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit comes) and post-Pentecost (after the Holy Spirit comes). We’ve been tracing the massive shift in the paradigms of these early disciples.
We started by looking at the Holy Spirit. Before Pentecost, the disciples were dependent upon self and their own flesh. Then the Holy Spirit comes and turns them upside down, making them absolutely dependent upon the power and sufficiency the Spirit brings to energize and empower the church on mission. Next, we looked at prayer: how a prayerless group of followers, previously relying on their own strength, were fueled post-indwelling to drop to their knees and confess they could do nothing apart from the Holy Spirit. Last week, we looked at the centrality of the Word, and how the church was reshaped when their orientation moved from man’s opinion to God’s authoritative Word.
The Pre- and Post-Pentecost Shift
This week, we want to look at another facet central to the church: evangelism. Quite simply, evangelism is the pronouncing and proclaiming of the message of Jesus Christ to an unbelieving world.
Pre-Pentecost, the disciples were often fair-weather in their followership of Jesus. When Jesus was popular, drawing crowds, and people were awed by Him, the disciples were right there saying, “Yeah, that’s my boy. We’re with Him.” But as soon as persecution entered the picture, they scattered. They wanted nothing to do with Him.
You see this in Peter’s denials during Jesus’ trials. When asked, “Aren’t you one of his followers?” Peter panicked: “No! I don’t know him. I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He was absolutely terrified. You see it at Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane; those closest to Him took off in fear and went into hiding. Mark’s gospel even records that the first women at the tomb initially fled in trembling and fear, telling no one at first.
Then, all of a sudden, something changed. After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, we arrive at Acts chapter 2. They are in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit comes and indwells these believers. Radically, instantly, everything shifts. Minutes after the Holy Spirit comes, Peter raises his voice, takes his stand, and preaches Jesus. Three thousand people come to faith in a single day.
In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John are in the temple preaching Jesus to unbelieving Jews, and 5,000 more get saved. They are immediately thrown into prison by the religious officials. Brought before the Sanhedrin—men who had the power to execute him just as they had executed Jesus—Peter stands up boldly and proclaims that there is salvation in no one else.
Acts 4:12 (NASB)
‘And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.’
When those same officials threaten them and command them never to speak or teach in the name of Jesus again, Peter utters those courageous words: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. Even if it costs us our lives, we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Why this change? Why this bold Peter post-Pentecost versus the fearful Peter before? The answer is that genuine biblical evangelism is the proclamation of Jesus Christ and His gospel, fueled by a life yielded to the power, presence, and purpose of the Holy Spirit. It is proclaiming from our lips that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
What Is Biblical Evangelism?
What is evangelism? The root word evangel in Greek simply means “good news.” It’s where we get the word gospel, meaning glad tidings. In verb form, evangelism means to announce or preach the good news of Jesus Christ. It is conveying a message about Jesus to the world around us.
In order for this message to be good news, it assumes there was bad news that preceded it. The biblical worldview makes our condition clear: every human being born into this world is alienated from God. We are separated from Him because of our trespasses and sins, deserving judgment and an eternity apart from Him. That is terrible news.
But the gospel invades that bad news with the incredible grace and mercy of God. God offered His Son, Jesus Christ, in our place and on our behalf. On the cross, Jesus bore the penalty of our sin, which was death, and He rose from the grave to give us new life. Anyone who transfers their trust away from their own self-righteousness and places their faith in Jesus receives a righteousness they did not earn. God gives them a regenerate heart—going from dead to God to alive in God—transforming them into a new creation and sealing them for all eternity. Proclaiming that message of salvation to a broken world is biblical evangelism.
Why does evangelism exist? Quite simply, evangelism exists because worship does not. Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church; worship is. Missions exists because there are people in Fresno and all across this globe who do not worship the true and living God. Evangelism is the necessary means to bring people into a reconciled relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, so that they may become true worshipers of Him.
The Four Essentials of Evangelism
What needs to be in place for biblical evangelism to happen? I would argue there are four key components.
1. An Explicit Gospel Message
There must be an explicit message about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. Just hanging out with your friends all day and never mentioning Jesus is not evangelism. Engaging in social justice or cleaning up a neighbor’s yard—as wonderful and necessary as those acts are as byproducts of the gospel—is not the gospel. There must be an articulated message.
In Romans 10, the Apostle Paul quotes the prophet Joel to establish this truth.
Romans 10:13 (NASB)
for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’
Paul follows this promise with a series of logical questions.
Romans 10:14-15 (NASB)
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!’
Paul’s logic is straightforward: people cannot call on someone they don’t believe in, they cannot believe in someone they haven’t heard about, they cannot hear without someone preaching, and no one preaches unless they are sent. God could have chosen to air-drop tracts from the sky, but He chose people to carry the message of hope to people.
And who are the sent ones? Look around—it is us. Paul wrote this letter not just to pastors or professional clergy, but to the entire church in Rome. We get the privilege of being the messengers. As Isaiah wrote, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
2. A Transformed Life
As sent ones carrying this message, our lives must match the gospel we preach. If our message is to have credibility and integrity, there must be a visible representation of its transforming power in us. We cannot give away what we do not possess.
Paul expressed this reality in his letter to the Galatians.
Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
’I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Paul isn’t demanding sinless perfection before you share, but you must be yielding your life to the gospel so that it actively shapes who you are. This is why Jesus commanded us to let our light shine before others, so they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 (NASB)
’Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
3. A Godly, Compassionate Love
When it comes to sharing the good news of God’s love, we have to actually love people. It’s easy for our hearts to grow hard toward difficult individuals, but you cannot extend love, mercy, and grace horizontally if you haven’t received it vertically.
People who struggle to extend grace are often people who have forgotten how far off they were when Christ redeemed them. When you realize that God saved you by His mercy while you were still a broken sinner, that vertical experience empowers you to extend compassionate love to a lost and hurting world.
4. A Radical Dependence on the Holy Spirit Through Prayer
Salvation is a work that only God can do. We have gifted business people in this room who know how to close deals, and articulate thinkers who know how to win arguments. But not a single one of us has the power to resurrect a spiritually dead soul. Only the Holy Spirit can convert a human heart. Therefore, we must be on our faces in prayer, asking the Spirit to do what only He can do.
When a church stops depending on the Holy Spirit through prayer, it inevitably resorts to human manipulation, turning the church into an entertainment venue or a pragmatic corporation. The type of bait you use determines the type of fish you catch. If we manipulate people with entertainment to get them in the door, we haven’t brought them to repentance. We are simply broken beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. We must depend fully on the Spirit to bring genuine conversion.
Overcoming Our Greatest Hindrances
If evangelism is clearly defined and commanded, why do so many of us struggle to do it? There are two primary barriers: fear and apathy.
Overcoming Fear
Fear is a two-sided coin. On the front end, there is the fear of articulation: What if I don’t know what to say? What if I say something wrong and embarrass Jesus? On the back end, there is the fear of rejection: What if they mock me? What if this ends our friendship?
Both fears stem from a fear of man rather than the fear of God.
When God saved me in high school, it turned my world upside down. Growing up in a non-Christian home, the reality of my sin and the overwhelming weight of God’s grace hit me like a ton of bricks. It was intoxicating. I immediately wanted to tell everyone. My senior class in Dallas was about 67% Jewish, and I walked into fourth-period history right after being baptized and announced, “I got baptized last night! Who’s next?”
My methods were aggressive and lacked polish. I wore shirts with graphic crucifixion imagery that said, “If I’m okay and you’re okay, explain this.” I went into my stepfather’s garage and welded a giant wooden-and-metal cross necklace that would put Flavor Flav to shame. I walked up to my mom in the backyard and asked, “Do you know you’re going to hell?” I had zeal without wisdom, but I was completely unashamed.
Over time, though, that zeal began to fade. I got into conversations where I felt out of my depth. Friends walked away from me because of my faith. Fear set in, and I shut my mouth. Like Peter looking at the waves, I sank into spiritual dormancy.
Years later in college, the Lord used Scripture to rekindle my heart.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NASB)
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
God reminded me that salvation wasn’t riding on my eloquence—it was riding on His power. When I transferred to the University of North Texas, I pledged a fraternity that turned out to be pure hedonism. I felt the pull of compromise until the Lord convicted me: either be salt and light, or get out.
A staff member from Campus Crusade called me and wanted to start a Greek Bible study. I reluctantly agreed. The first week, zero guys showed up. I prayed, “Lord, I feel so alone. Please give me just one co-laborer.” The next week, one guy showed up because his fraternity big brother forced him to go. We shared the gospel with him, and he surrendered his life to Christ that night. That guy was Mike Sladen, who now serves on staff here at The Well and runs the ministry Off the Front.
By the end of that semester, 40 guys were coming to the study and getting saved. By the following year, we had 150 college students gathering weekly, coming to faith in Jesus. It wasn’t because of my eloquence; it was the Holy Spirit moving through yielded, imperfect vessels.
Overcoming Apathy
The second major hindrance is apathy. Honestly, sometimes we just don’t care. Our hearts wander, and lesser things consume our attention.
The truth is, every person in this room is an evangelist. The question is simply: what are you evangelizing?
When Chipotle opened on Nees Avenue years ago, you would have thought the Messiah had arrived. People took to social media proclaiming the good news of chicken bowls. In 2011, when the first In-N-Out opened in Frisco, Texas, the drive-through line was three miles long. Helicopters covered it on the news. We unashamedly evangelize restaurants, new iPhones, and sports teams. Companies like Apple even have official job titles called “evangelists” because they know people naturally promote what they value.
Matthew 6:21 (NASB)
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Whatever holds our treasure captures our affections, and whatever captures our affections comes out of our mouths. We need a paradigm shift. There is no greater treasure than Jesus Christ, and nothing in this world should eclipse our zeal for His gospel.
Moving Forward in Prayer
What would happen if the Holy Spirit re-centered our hearts today, giving us a fresh vision of Jesus and filling us with boldness?
Romans 1:16 (NASB)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
I want us to spend our remaining time doing what the church is called to do: praying together. I invite you to gather in groups of two or three right now, and let’s bring two specific requests before the Lord:
First, ask the Holy Spirit to destroy whatever barrier is keeping you from boldly sharing the gospel—whether that is fear of man, feelings of inadequacy, or apathy. Ask Him to give you a heart that is unashamed.
Second, pray by name for your friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors who do not yet know Jesus. Pray that God would soften their hearts, draw them to salvation, and give you the courage to be the one who carries the good news to them.
Let’s circle up and pray.