“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.” (1Th 1:5, NKJV)
In the Bible, Paul shared that I didn’t come at you with words only but I came at you with power and authority. Paul was speaking about real evangelism. The Bible defines evangelism with transforming power. Powerful evangelism comes with true authentic love. The love of Jesus is what transforms lives in evangelism.
3 Symptoms of Powerless Evangelism
We can find if we are operating in evangelism that isn’t biblical. By studying Jesus we can see what evangelism is truly meant to be. We also can see what powerless evangelism looks like. The following are symptoms of ineffective evangelism.
No Real Repentance
When there’s no real repentance and one sign of fake evangelism. If people don’t have any real repentance they have shallow lifestyles with Jesus. There is no hungering and thirsting for the Word. People don’t have any devotion. They don’t worship. They don’t obey Jesus Christ and His commands. Ultimately, there is no real discipleship that comes afterward.
No Transforming Power
People have a renewed lifestyle and identity in God is transformation. This begins at evangelism. When it isn’t there, something is wrong. Where there is no transformation there is no authentic commitment made to Jesus. The problem can be in what we share or what it means to follow Jesus.
No Obedience
…teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Mat 28:20)
When there is no obedience, we are not presenting the Gospel that Jesus presented. Jesus said to go make disciples of all nations and then teach them to obey. If there’s no obedience, then there is no real transformation. Evangelistic responses aren’t based on emotions. Although that is a part of it. Obedience is the foundation. Without obedience, there is no long-term impact.
3 Signs of Powerful Evangelism
Jesus modeled various principles of powerful evangelism. Learning what He did is important because that’s what we want to multiply. We want to invest our time in what Jesus did. Jesus’ choice of actions is the best place to see an eternal impact.
Preaching an Exchanged Life
Whenever we evangelize, we want to communicate the cost of a fully exchanged life. A common language of evangelism is “bring Jesus into my heart” or “add Him to your life.” Meaning, I’ll keep living my life like I want to, and I’ll follow Jesus at my convenience. The real biblical connotation discipleship is to give 100% of everything to Jesus.
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” (Luk 9:23-24, NKJV)
Luke 9:23 states the cost of discipleship. We give everything to Jesus. Not 10% that belongs to God in our money. Not 50% belongs to God’s plan in our travel plans. Following Jesus isn’t saying “after I achieve this goal, then I’ll do what you want.” Faith means everything that I do I’m 100% in for Jesus. Communicating an “exchanged life” is important in preaching the gospel.
Call to Obedience
When we preach the gospel There’s a call to obedience. You can often see who’s following Jesus by who is acting upon it. A decision costs nothing but an actual action will cost them time. Actions cost money and relationships. In action, we see who the true followers of Jesus are.
Jesus called people to leave the hardest thing for them to give up. For Zacchaeus, it was his money. In other examples, it was their family. Jesus called people to give up things they hold on the most. He pointed out the point of salvation was someone that can give up anything No matter how hard.
Multiplying More Evangelist
The last one is the multiplication of an evangelist. Natural evangelism entails relationships. When you have relationships, you have people that are role models. Multiplying role models is the fruit of good discipleship.
“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” (1Co 4:15-17, NKJV)
Paul said that you have many teachers, but you don’t have any fathers, so imitate me. He then gave the example of sending Timothy as his spiritual son. Paul was Timothy’s role model. Through being a role model, Paul multiplied his lifestyle through Timothy. The Corinthian Church were people that Paul evangelized. Now he is calling them to a place of multiplying discipleship by imitating him.
Children imitate their father. In real evangelism, we preach and also live out the message. People should be able to see us model this message daily. When they see us model it, they will multiply it.
The fruit of real evangelism is also genuine relationships.
Personal Evangelism Scoring
Here’s are questions you can answer to see where you stand in evangelism. With these questions, you can measure how close you are towards each one.
- First, look through each of these signs and symptoms.
- Then measure yourself from a scale of one to 10 on each principle. you want a total score of (24) and above for Signs of Powerful Evangelism. For Symptoms of Powerless Evangelism, you want a total score of (9) or below. If you don’t score high enough you want to study and pray more for God’s heart for evangelism. You want to make a plan of growth in specific categories to help you with your ministry.
- Adjust to Powerless Evangelism into Powerful Evangelism. Ask yourself what books am I going to read? Who am I going to learn from about this topic? What will I change about my ministry? What scriptures will I meditate on? We need to have a full understanding of evangelism from the Bible’s perspective.
Conclusion of Real Evangelism
Biblical evangelism has power, not just words. It has authority, not just theory. For us to do real evangelism, we have to understand the real Jesus and His Gospel. We must meditate on His Word and become confident in who He is and what He preaches. From this place of Scripture, we can have a powerful experience when we evangelize.
