“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he Joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin! In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Character Check What is my natural approach to evangelism?
In Business Terms What is my natural approach to evangelism?Christians can be hindered by traditional ideas of what evangelism looks like. The average Christian thinks, It means getting out and knocking on doors. I don’t know if I can do that. We would like to reach lost people, but doing so doesn’t feel like us.
In the New Testament, Peter was confrontational, while Paul took an intellectual approach. The blind man in John 9 took a testimonial approach, and the woman at the well, an invitational approach. So let’s free ourselves up. Let’s not lay guilt trips on people by acting as though if they really loved Jesus, they would do it just like us. Let’s find approaches that fit the personalities God gave each of us.
Evangelism naturally tends to slip more than any other biblical value. It is what I call the law of evangelistic entropy I’ve been negatively surprised by how rapidly this value slips, even in people who are fired up to share their faith. A year passes, and they’ve slipped into comfortable Christianity.
Denominations that started with evangelism as a priority can quickly become institutionalized. Evangelism is too often relegated to a statement on the front of a bulletin instead of a value by which we live.
—Mark Mittelberg
Something to Think About The gospel must be preached afresh and told in new ways to every generation, since every generation has its own unique questions. The gospel must constantly be forwarded to a new address, because the recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence. – Helmut Thielicke
