Rob Ventura's Equipped to Evangelize, Pt. 2

“A concise work on evangelism that is chock-full of biblical truth. It encompasses all that the Christian and the church need to know to go forth and preach the gospel. It is both instructional and motivational. It can be read and studied alone by a believer or taught in a classroom setting in a church or institute. In the realm of evangelistic literature, this work is in the sweet spot—not too much, not too little.”

 —Paul Washer, Founder and Director of HeartCry Missionary Society

“I’m thrilled to see such a thoughtful book on evangelism so well anchored in Scripture. For decades, Western Christianity has approached evangelism based on purely pragmatic principles—sometimes even scorning doctrinal precision or dismissing “too much Scripture” as a hindrance to soul-winning. But the gospel, as Scripture explains, is the power of God for salvation. We cannot abbreviate, soften, alter, or add to the message and think we are doing proper evangelism. Rob Ventura understands this, and he knows what a priority evangelism should be in the heart of every Christian. This excellent book will both motivate and encourage you with a truly biblical strategy for winning people to Christ. I highly recommend it.”

—Phil Johnson, Executive Director, Grace to You Ministries, Sun Valley, California

Editor’s Note: Christian Focus has graciously supplied us with a chapter from Rob Ventura's forthcoming book Equipped to Evangelize: A Biblical Foundation. Ref21 will publish portions of chapter one along with endorsements over the next several months in anticipation of its September release date. Enjoy!  See the first part of the chapter here.

In the Bible, its (evangelism) meaning is more narrowly focused on “telling or sharing the good news or the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.”[1] That’s it! Biblical evangelism is that straightforward. When we are evangelizing, we are “gospeling,”[2] which is to say we are spreading the message about Jesus, the Savior.

Such a definition as this should help recalibrate how we see the practice of evangelism since evangelism happens even if people aren’t saved. It is no longer about whether we can force or manipulate someone into believing what we share with them. Instead, we joyfully leave the results to God, knowing that “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jon. 2:9). Success in evangelism is not about numbers but faithfulness to share the gospel message. It is about telling, delivering, and announcing—not converting. J. I. Packer agrees, saying that “if we regard our job, not simply to present Christ, but actually to produce converts…our approach to evangelism would become pragmatic and calculating. Techniques would become ends in themselves.”[3] For Packer, evangelism is not about conversions, but about “whether you are faithfully making known the gospel message.”[4] In fact, in answering the question of how evangelism should be defined, Packer says “The New Testament answer is very simple. According to the New Testament, evangelism is just preaching the gospel, the evangel. It is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouthpieces for God’s message of mercy to sinners.”[5]

This, of course, is not to say that we aren’t eager to see souls saved. Heaven rejoices at the salvation of one repentant sinner, and we do as well (Luke 15:10). It also doesn’t mean we do not earnestly entreat people to repent and believe when we evangelize. Like Paul, our aim when evangelizing should be to plead with others to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20). We must fervently pray and weep for souls. But it is up to God to give spiritual life. We can beseech and weep, but unless God moves on the person who hears the gospel and opens their heart (Acts 16:14), nothing will happen. Faithfulness in sharing the gospel is our job, not producing numbers.

Popular writer Donald Whitney agrees. In writing about our topic, he asked,

What is success in evangelism? Is it when the person you witness to comes to Christ? Certainly that’s what we want to happen. But if this is success, are we failures whenever we share the gospel and people refuse to believe? Was Jesus an “evangelistic failure” when people like the rich young ruler turned away from Him and His message? Obviously not. Then neither are we when we present Christ and His message and they turn away in unbelief. We need to learn that sharing the gospel is successful evangelism. We ought to have an obsession for souls, and tearful pleading with God to see more people converted, but conversions are the fruit that God alone can give.[6]

Doesn’t such a view of evangelism free up the reader to want to share the gospel? Doesn’t it motivate you to be involved in this most sacred task? Isn’t it liberating to know that the only failure in evangelism is not doing it? If you have faithfully shared the gospel according to God’s Word, then you were successful. You were faithful to the call to evangelize your neighbor, who, biblically speaking, is anyone near you. Hence, the reason why our Biblical definition is so crucial.