I don’t focus much on evangelism.
It’s a term often misused and exploited, so there’s always plenty of it to go around. I choose rather to concentrate on providing something that’s in short supply—that is, encouragement for other men to persevere as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
[μαθητής (mâ-thā-tās) a disciple, pupil, learner]
But I also find myself around folks I know and love who are seeking to make some kind of sense out of their lives. They have, for the most part, no problem accepting the idea of a Power greater than themselves, yet they’re unable to perceive that Power from a Biblical perspective.
Consequently, they’re not able to distinguish the essence of a Perfect Creator with that their own.
I once overheard someone say that she’s looking for a religion that “accepts gays.” That seems like an ambiguous statement. If she were to seek a group of people willing to worship and have fellowship with another who’s willing to repent from homosexual conduct, then a congregation of faithful, Biblically literate disciples of Christ would seem to be the ticket. Their love, patience and encouragement to overcome perversion through the indwelling power of God’s Spirit would help provide the means to do that.
On the other hand, if she’s looking for a religion that merely accepts homosexuality as valid behavior, then the odds are against her, because even the most salable of the world’s false religions reject sexual depravity.
The latter typifies a mind that cannot credibly discern the intrinsic nature of the Living God. If I’m not able to understand what it actually means for Him to exist in perfection, I’ll never be able to accept Him in that unique capacity. Perfection would merely be what I consider it to be.
John’s gospel account records Jesus’ words to the Jews and later to His disciples:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.” [John 6:44-45, repeated also in vs. 65]
This passage confirms God’s sovereign ability to reveal Himself at will. But it’s also evidence that an imperfect heart is capable of being convinced that there is indeed a flawless Designer—One who is forever seeking to draw the lives of those He personally devised back to Himself.
If I can’t recognize the true character of God, then I’m like a dog that habitually chases its tail, perhaps thinking intuitively that something useful will come out of it.
“For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” [Heb. 2:10]