Lies Concerning Evangelism

Christians are not immune to believing lies regarding many areas of life. Believing these lies can be the result of not knowing what the Bible teaches, trusting man’s word rather than God’s Word, pride, fear, rebellion, and a whole host of misguided thoughts, desires, and motivations.

This Jym Shorts focuses on common lies concerning evangelism. By God’s grace, since coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior in 1996, I have shared the gospel thousands of times in many diverse contexts. I, and countless others, know from repeated experience that every one of these is a lie you should not buy into.

• People will not listen to me. If you try to push the gospel down people’s throats, this is probably true. If you have a prideful, self-righteous attitude, this is probably true. If you go on and on for a long period of time, people will probably not listen to you. However, if you are gentle and respectful, engage people in conversations, and ask permission, most people will listen to you.

• It is too difficult. I will mess it up. It is surely not too difficult to share who Jesus is, his death on the cross for sin, his resurrection from the dead, and our need to give our life to Jesus while at the same time trusting he died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead. If you share the simple message of the person of Christ (truly God and truly man) and the work of Christ (Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection), you will not mess it up. I have witnessed little children share the gospel very well. You will only mess up if you do not share the gospel.

• I am a failure if people do not trust in Jesus. Success in evangelism is sharing the gospel. The results are always in God’s hands. Only God can save people. Our responsibility is to share the gospel. You are not a failure if people do not repent and trust in Jesus. God is glorified every time we share the gospel!

• I must spend much time in a relationship before sharing the gospel. Have you read the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John Chapter 4? Have you read The Gospels and the Book of Acts? We should always be gentle, respectful, and relational, whether we are meeting someone for the first time or have known them for a long time. We are not to treat people as evangelism projects. Yet we do not have to spend a ton of time around people before we share the gospel with them. We should be seeking opportunities to share the gospel with people that God places in our daily lives, whether in the context of meeting a new person or in long-term relationships.

• I am an introvert. Evangelism is not for me. I know people who call themselves “introverts”, and yet they are wonderful at sharing the gospel both with people they have just met and with people they have known for a long time. Do not put labels on yourself and paralyze yourself. “Introverts” can grow in being more outgoing when need be. “Extroverts” can grow in the other direction when need be.  

• I do not have the gift…so I am not responsible. Evangelism is a command given to every Christian. We are all responsible. Every Christian should be directly and regularly involved in worship, discipleship/grow, fellowship/connect, service/serve, and share/evangelism.

Sometimes these lies are even perpetuated through Christian pastors, Christian authors, and other Christian leaders. They do not know the truth because they have never really engaged in much evangelism. Or, they have not been humble enough to get some training and observation in evangelism and then practice what they have been taught and observed. I encourage all of us to follow the example of Jesus, not of those promoting lies.

Contact Pastor Tony for evangelism training and opportunities to observe evangelism. Will you help us develop a strong culture of evangelism at LifePoint for the glory of God and love for people?

Together for the gospel,

Pastor Tony

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