FoF Lesson 11

Evangelism and the Believer

Audio message: Fishing for Men
Listen | Read | Download High | Download Low

[Lesson 11: Session 16] [Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Notes on Session 16, Sunday, February 28th:

  1. First Session on Lesson 11
  2. Welcome to new members of the class
  3. Personal highlights from MacArthur’s message?
  4. Challenges in filling in Answers in Lesson 11?
  5. Questions to be addressed?
  6. Objectives for Lesson 11:
    1. To motivate us to have a heart for the lost.
    2. To help us overcome the barriers that keep us from evangelizing.
    3. To help us understand our responsibility and equip us for the task.
  7. References

Common Questions for Lesson 11:

  • How can I overcome the fear of evangelizing?
  • What are the essentials of the gospel message?
  • Why evangelize if God is sovereign and has decided who will be saved?

Class Plan for Lesson 11:

  1. Overcoming the fear of witnessing.
  2. Review the call to evangelism.
  3. Discuss hindrances to evangelism and how to overcome them.
  4. Teach the essentials of the gospel message.
  5. Discuss key things to remember when witnessing.
  6. Application.

1. Overcoming the Fear of Witnessing

Why do we fear to witness?
  • Fear of people
  • Fear of rejection and persecution
  • More concern about our priorities rather than helping others
  • Do we have a heart for the lost?
  • The two gates, Matt. 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
What about our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers?
  • What path are they on?
  • Have we shared the gospel with them?
  • Christ had a heart for the lost, Luke 19:10, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
  • Christ wept over a a city that rejected Him, Luke 19:41-42, And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
  • Paul had a heart for the lost, 2 Cor. 12:15, I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

2. The Call to Evangelism (Sections I and II)

The call to witness is a command
  • The command is repeated at the end of all 4 gospels, e.g. Matt. 28:19-20, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
  • Jesus’ last words on earth, Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
The gospel is a sacred trust
  • Entrusted to Paul, 1 Th. 2:4, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Question: What does it mean to have the gospel entrusted to you?

Hindrances to witnessing
  • Evangelism is our God-given task
  • Why do we hesitate?
    • Intimidation; fear of failing
    • Peer pressure  afraid of not being accepted, being called religious
    • Ignorance of the gospel message
  • The gospel entrusted to us is powerful
    • The gospel is powerful, Rom. 1:16, 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.
    • Paul was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God
    • Pray for boldness to speak with confidence, Acts 4:29, And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
    • It is the Spirit who gives the gospel its power
    • We do not need to be intimidated
    • God converts men’s souls
    • We are but messengers
    • The Holy Spirit convinces the person of the gospel
    • We need to know the message, 1 Pet. 3:15, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Question: If we are under divine orders to share the gospel, why do we hesitate?

3. The Good News of Evangelism: The Gospel (Section II)

Question: What are the essentials of the gospel message?

  • “Minimum” requirements to be saved
    • See themselves as sinful before a holy God
    • Understand they are in need of a Savior, to save them from their sins
    • Understand that God is the only means of salvation, through the sacrifice of Christ
  • The good news that Paul preached, 1 Cor. 15:3-4, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
    • Substitutionary atonement (Jesus paid for our sins)
    • Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, Rom. 1:16, 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.

4. The Essentials of Evangelism (Section III)

  • The basics of the gospel:
    • The gospel is exclusive, John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
    • Jesus is the only way, Acts 4:12, And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
    • Review Section III, B
  • We must understand:
    • Man cannot save himself, Mark 10:26-27, And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
    • God is holy and righteous, and He hates sin, Ps. 5:4-5, For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
    • Jesus Christ is God, Col. 2:9, For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
    • Christ’s death was for our sins, 1 Pet. 3:18, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
    • Christ offers heaven as a free gift of God, Rom. 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5. Strategy For Evangelism (Section IV)

  • Witness by our life:
    • Our lives must match our message, Matt. 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
    • Be blameless and above reproach, Phil. 2:14-15, Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
    • Do we reflect godliness, bring glory to God?
    • If people knew you were a Christian, would you dishonor Christ?
  • Pray:
    • For opportunities to share, Col. 4:3-4, At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
    • That God will open the hearts of those to whom you are witnessing, Eph. 1:18, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
  • Use the Word of God:
    • Able to pierce the soul
    • Able to judge man’s thoughts
    • Used by the Holy Spirit to to convict a person of his sin and need for a Savior
  • Review Section IV:
    • Always be ready to speak of Christ, 1 Pet. 3:15, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
    • Know the essentials of the gospel
    • Have confidence in God and His Word

Questions:

  • Why is the witness of our lives so important?
  • Why is it important to use the Scripture when presenting the gospel?

6. Application (Section V)

  • Do I have a heart for the lost?
  • Make a list of those you want to reach for Christ
  • Pray for each other as God gives them opportunities to witness
  • Pray for opportunities to witness
Video Clips:

New City Catechism (NCC) and The Gospel Coalition (TGC):

[Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Comments are closed.