A friend asked me to listen to a podcast that was discussing Jesus’ evangelistic approach. The following statement grabbed my attention: “Jesus isn’t the best example on how to evangelize.”
Is that right?
If Jesus isn’t the best example, then who is the Bible’s best example of how to evangelize?
The answer to the first question is “No.” That isn’t right. Jesus is the best example of how to evangelize. He was telling people what they needed to do to have everlasting life. Who better than the Christ, the Son of God, to tell us how to evangelize?
Since Jesus is the best example, the answer to the second question is that no one else is a better example of how to evangelize. You see, Paul and Peter and the other apostles got their evangelistic message from Jesus. They did not create a new message. John made this clear. He was writing to unbelievers during the church age so that they might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they would have life in His name (John 20:30-31). John’s Gospel does not report on the evangelistic message of Peter or Paul or the other apostles. It reports on Jesus’ evangelistic message. (It does once mention John the Baptist’s evangelistic message, and it was, unsurprisingly, the same message that the Lord Jesus taught. Compare John 3:36 with John 3:14-18.)
Some people have decided that they can come up with a better way to evangelize. So they piece together various verses and ideas into a message that looks nothing like John 3:16 or even any single passage in the Bible.
I remember bracelets people wore that read WWJD?. That stood for “What Would Jesus Do?” That reminded people that they needed to view life the way the Lord Jesus did. That is, they needed “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16).
No believer will be rebuked by Christ at His Judgment Seat if he evangelized using the words the Lord Jesus used when He evangelized. (We must take care, however, not to select Jesus’ words on discipleship found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke and wrongly suggest that those are evangelistic words.). But many believers will be rebuked by Christ if they shared a message other than the evangelistic message that the Lord Jesus taught.
James 3:1 is an important verse for me and for all believers: “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” James was speaking about the Judgment Seat of Christ. He shared the same evangelistic message that his brother, the Lord Jesus, shared. Compare Jas 1:18 and John 3:16.
Yes, the Lord Jesus is the best example of how to evangelize.
Keep grace in focus and you will never depart from the gospel according to Jesus.
