Our Motivation for Sharing Grace (Evangelism 101)

Open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2 please. Ephesians chapter 2. We're going to read the first nine verses, some of the most powerful scripture in all the Bible I believe. While you're turning there, let me just say how excited I am that I have three weeks, three Sunday nights in the month of June to talk about evangelism and the fact that we are all called to be evangelists. It's not just our pastor who's been called to do that. Chris talked this morning about Paul instructing Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. Well, yeah, Timothy was a pastor, but we're all called to do that.

And I think over the years we've come to, we've allowed our professional clergy to allow us to sort of cop out. And our evangelistic efforts have been boy have been reduced to inviting people to church. It's okay to invite people to church. Good thing to invite people to church. But I love the way Ray Comfort put it one time when he said, Jesus said, go, we say, come. We got to get back in the habit of going to the highways and hedges. I love that song. Great selection, Jared. Thank you. So tonight we're going to we're going to talk about the motivation, motivation for evangelism. But I want to start in Ephesians chapter two.

Let's read the first nine verses. Paul said, and you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come, he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works so that no one may boast.

Father, help us to grab a hold to the grace that you've poured out upon us and help us to be cognizant of it and recognize that we can't be selfish and hold on to it, that yes, you saved us for our benefit but not just ours or we are to be conduits of grace. So help us tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. I'm tempted to read those verses again because they're just so good. Just profound stuff right there. Folks, if you've been born again, it's because of the astounding grace of God, the amazing grace of God, if you will. Verses 1 to 3 there describe our state prior to being born again. We were dead. We were worldly. We were fleshly.

We were children of wrath. Verse 4 then lands like a nuclear explosion with the first two words, "But God." I highly recommend you look up a sermon by the late Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones. He has a sermon entitled "But God" on Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4 and it's powerful, powerful stuff. So verses 1 to 3 describe our state of deadness and wickedness prior to Christ. And verse 4 tells us what God did and why. Because He is rich in mercy, because He loves us with great love, because of His grace, He saved us. He made us alive with Christ and in Christ. Then in verses 8 and 9 Paul again states the proper cause of our salvation.

Nothing but the grace of our God so that even the faith we exercised in response to the gospel is a gift of His grace. So I think it's more than fair to say that one way to describe questions is to say that we are recipients of grace. We have received grace and we continue to receive grace. We possess the grace of God because He has poured it out on us and into us. So here's a question for you. What are we supposed to do with it now that we have it? Well among other things like standing in grace and walking in grace, we heard our pastor preach through when he was preaching through Ephesians.

We're supposed to share the grace that we've been given. So that's what we're going to talk about tonight and on June 23rd and June 30th, sharing grace. In fact the title of this short series is "Sharing Grace, Evangelism 101." And as I mentioned, I think it was last week, it's a 101 level course because it's going to be basic. Hopefully in the future we can schedule a longer more in-depth evangelism study.

But for now, in response to some in our body who have requested a little bit of training, we're going to hit the basics that should be enough to motivate you and equip you to have more confidence in sharing the gospel with friends and loved ones and even strangers. Tonight we're going to consider our motivation for evangelism. Next time we meet, we will look into the message of our evangelism. Then on the final night, we'll really apply a method for evangelism that relies heavily on both the motivation and the message. Now also previously mentioned that the phrase sharing grace has kind of a double meaning.

Well not kind of, it has a double meaning. It describes the act of sharing the grace we have received as believers. It describes what we are doing when we are sharing the gospel, when we are evangelizing, when we are doing those things, we are sharing grace. But it also describes, I believe, a special sort of grace that the Lord will supply and does supply to those believers willing to step outside of their comfort zone to do the work of an evangelist. And that special sort of grace can be called sharing grace, which is the grace the Lord will give you to help you to be able to share. Does that make sense? Alrighty, let's get started.

Now I'll tell you now, this isn't a normal sermon. I guess it's really kind of hidden in the sermon. It's more like a lecture of sorts. And I'm going to tell you something else too. This is unlike most of my messages, which is a lot of, I do a lot of research and then there's a lot of me. But this is a lot of others that I've pulled in, mostly Ray Comfort and the fine folks over at Desiring God. So I want you to know that straight up. It's a little bit different than normal. It's good stuff. For instance, I found a list of 10 reasons why Christians should share the Gospel, published by my friend Ray Comfort.

Ray is an internationally known evangelist who once gave permission to anyone who loves the Lord to call him my friend Ray Comfort. So my friend Ray Comfort wrote these 10 reasons. I've actually met him through sweet little Kiwi, a little New Zealander, about that tall. He's a dynamo, but just sweet, sweet man. Anyway, so remember, tonight we consider the motivation for evangelism. So here are 10 reasons why you, if you are a Christian, should be sharing the Gospel. Reason number one, we have been commanded to do so. Hello. We've been commanded to preach the Gospel to all creation.

In Mark 16, 15, Jesus said, "Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." That's pretty black and white. And then in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, the Great Commission, Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." I guess we could stop. We've been commanded to share the Gospel. What other reasons do we need?

We really don't, but even though we shouldn't need any other reasons, we do have other strong reasons. Like reason number two, hell exists. Hell exists. In Luke 12, 5, Jesus said, "But I'll show you whom you ought to fear." Oh, it didn't say ought to. "Sure should fear. Fear him who, after he is killed, has power to cast into hell." Yes, I say to you, fear him. If hell didn't exist, we would have a legitimate excuse for passivity maybe. But we have God's word and the faculty reason to tell us what awaits guilty sinners. So how cold-hearted would we be to not warn of its reality? So reason number two, hell exists.

Reason number three, we strive to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Think of this. A firefighter rescuing people from a burning building may be fearful. He may prefer to be home with his family, but he ignores his fears and denies himself to save those who are perishing. So like him, our thoughts are not on ourselves, but on the fate of the perishing. In Jude 22 and 23, the Bible says, "And on some have compassion, making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." Reason number four, obedience is evidence of salvation.

The Bible says that Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to those who obey him. You can find that in Hebrews 5.9. Now, that's not saying that we're saved by our obedience. That's not it at all. But we are obedient because we are saved. Jesus said, "But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?" That's in Luke 6.46. So if we're commanded to share the gospel and we don't, Christ might say to us, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things that I say?" Reason number five, to remain in silence is sin. Think of this, as soon as the Holy Spirit was given, the apostles took off sharing the gospel.

God had granted everlasting life to dying humanity. They couldn't stay in the upper room because God's love provoked them to reach out to the lost. And James says in James 4.17, "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." Reason number six, evangelism deepens our walk with God. Nothing teaches a fisherman like fishing. Interacting with the lost results in greater confidence and faith in God. Reason number seven, it causes us to search the Scriptures. Wanting to know how to answer every man will send us to God's Word.

Paul told Timothy to be diligent, to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. And then in 1 Peter 3.15, Peter says, "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." Listen, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear. So it causes us to search the Scripture, to be ready to answer questions. Reason number eight, it deepens our gratitude for the cross. As we continually preach the cross, it will deepen our understanding of what God did for us in Christ.

We will find ourselves practicing what we preach, so we will be frequently thinking about the cross. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2.2, "I determine not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." It will bring you to that place. Reason number nine, it deepens your prayer life. We reveal our love for the lost by pondering their fate, and as a result we cannot help but cry out to God for them.

Paul said in Romans 10.1, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." Furthermore, our fears and sense of inadequacy will also drive us to our knees, which by the way is the safest place a Christian can be. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12.10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Reason number ten, we've been commanded to imitate Paul. Paul showed his love for God and for sinners by his obedience to the Great Commission.

And in 1 Corinthians he said, "Emitate me just as I also imitate Christ." So those are raised ten reasons, and I'm going to add one more. One more reason why Christians should share the gospel, that's reason number eleven, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1.16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." So think about this, if you had a bona fide cure for cancer, would you not run through the streets like a madman sharing it with everyone you met along the way? Of course you would.

You wouldn't be concerned at all about how poorly you might be able to explain it. You wouldn't care what people might think of you. You have the cure, and the power is in the cure, not you. Well, if you're a Christian, you have the cure for sin and death, and the power is in the cure, not you. So get after it. So there you have eleven compelling reasons why every single Christian should be sharing the gospel regularly. And remember, all we really should need is reason number one, right? We've been commanded to do so. Period. Well, we know that we should, so then why don't we? Why don't Christians share the gospel more consistently?

Why don't some of us share the gospel at all? What are some of the common obstacles to sharing the gospel consistently? I found a terrific article from John Piper's ministry, "Desiring God," that describes some common obstacles and provides some great encouragement regarding how to overcome them. They list four common obstacles to evangelism. Obstacle number one, lack of gospel knowledge. How many times have you heard the gospel in a sermon or a book or conversation? If you've been a Christian, even for a short time, you've likely heard the gospel hundreds of times.

Yet, many of us still struggle to articulate the truths of the gospel in a simple, coherent, and intelligible way. Question, could you share the essential message of the gospel in 60 seconds right now? If not, you have some homework. And there are folks here that can help you get to the point where you can do that. Reach out. Let us help you. Obstacle number two, apathy. Frankly, some of us just don't care that much about lost people. We would never say that out loud, but our priorities in our lives reveal it. We make no time in our busy schedules to interact and engage with those who don't know Christ.

We have long stopped praying for the lost people in our neighborhoods and our workplaces. We have no non-Christian friends and barely any ties to non-Christian. Lost people are a low priority. For instance, when was the last time you invited someone into your home who did not know Christ? Obstacle number three, fear. What will others think of me? What if they don't like me or my family? Some are paralyzed by the thought of being disliked or marginalized or laughed at or openly mocked. We're afraid we'll lose business or get passed up for that promotion. We're afraid of what people who hang out at the feed store might say about us.

What if our friends stop inviting my kids to the birthday parties? What if talking about Christ makes seeing my friends awkward? Proverbs 29 and 25 says, "Trimbling before man brings a snare, and he who trusts in Yahweh will be set securely on high." And obstacle number four, lack of compassion. Simply put, we lack compassion for the lost. We've long forgotten what it was like to live without hope, lost and apart from Christ. We rarely consider that those who do not obey Christ "will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord." That's 2 Thessalonians 1.9. We just don't care that much.

We might say we care, but we rarely cry out to God for the salvation of our lost neighbors, co-workers and classmates. Paul's compassion in Romans 9.3 is utterly foreign to us where he said, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Spurgeon said it like this, "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. You can be sure of that." I'm going to read that one more time and let it say it. Spurgeon said, "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself.

You can be sure of that." So those are four obstacles that we face, but here's some good news. Those obstacles can be overcome. We can overcome these obstacles and we must do so together, not alone. If making disciples is our mission, and we get that from the Great Commission in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, how can followers of Christ overcome these obstacles to be conduits of grace to the lost? One of the primary ways we can overcome our lack of gospel knowledge, our apathy, our fear, and our lack of compassion is by gathering together with fellow believers in the local church to remember and cultivate our core calling and convictions.

We are people who have died to ourselves and lived for Christ according to Galatians 2.20. We have the profound privilege of spurring on fellow believers to love and good works that God has set before us. See Hebrews 10.24 and Ephesians 2.10. Some of those good works will be giving verbal testimony to the grace of God in our lives and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to the lost. In other words, sharing the gospel, sharing grace are some of that good work. And within the context of Christian community here in our local church body, another believer can speak and remind us of the very truths we need to hear.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Chris and I were talking about him earlier, there are some things he got wrong, but the things he got right he nailed. And here's one of the things he got right. We speak to one another on the basis of the help we both need. We admonish one another to go the way that Christ bids us to go. We warn one another against the disobedience that is our common destruction. We are gentle and we are severe with one another, for we know both God's kindness and God's severity. All Christians need fellow believers to help them grow in their understanding of the gospel.

We all need others in our lives who spur us on to greater compassion and zeal to love the lost by sharing the good news of Jesus with them willingly, winsomely and boldly. Here are four ways that this can work itself out in our local church. Four steps to becoming Christians who share grace more. Step number one, pray together for the lost. As we are gathered together in small groups or congregationally, we ought to make it a priority to pray for the lost in addition to our normal prayer concerns and for boldness.

In Acts 4, 23 to 31, after Peter and John are released from prison, the disciples gathered to pray for God to give them boldness to speak His word, boldness to share grace, boldness to share the gospel. Now folks, if the early church needed to pray for greater evangelistic zeal and boldness, how much more do we need to pray similarly in our own gatherings? One simple way to consistently do this in a Bible study or small group setting is to conclude our studies. Y'all help me remember this. To conclude our studies with this question, what truths did we learn about God and who can we share this with in our spheres of influence?

This can naturally transition into praying for those who need to know Christ in our lives. As we pray for God to work in the lives of our lost friends and lost family and lost coworkers and associates, apathy is transformed into an eagerness and readiness to engage others for the sake of Christ. Step number two, recall the gospel together. In 2 Timothy 2, 8 to 13, Paul reminds Timothy of the truth of the gospel to encourage him to press on and be faithful to the message that has been entrusted to him.

Now again, if Timothy, a direct student of Paul, a faithful servant, a pastor, preacher and teacher, if he needed to be reminded of the truth of the gospel to keep going, how much more do you and I need to be reminded of the eternal truths of the gospel? Who do we think we are that we don't need to be reminded? Now much of this reminding happens in the context of gathering together with fellow believers.

As God's people recall his truths week to week, whether in homes or gathered together in worship or in small group meetings, we combat gospel amnesia by reminding one another that God's mission is to save sinners through the work of his son, Jesus Christ. As we sort of repreach the gospel to ourselves and to one another, we'll be more prepared to speak it afresh to those without Christ. Now this also includes reminding ourselves of the incredible amount of mercy we have received in salvation and even both before and since salvation.

Listen, when a man remembers how much he's been forgiven, his heart is softened towards those who've yet to experience such forgiveness. We can help each other remember the kindness and mercy that the Lord has shown us. But none of that can happen if we aren't gathered together regularly. Are you hearing me? If gathering together with your local church family here at Grace Life Church Brookhaven isn't a priority for you, you need to fix that and understand this. If you can miss church at the drop of a hat for just about any reason, then it's not a priority for you.

Make it a priority if it isn't already so we can recall the gospel together and encourage one another to remember the mercy we've received. Step number three, step number two, we recall the gospel. Step number three, apply the gospel together. What does that mean? Well, in Galatians 2, 11 to 14, Paul opposes Peter because Peter's conduct and behavior were not in accord with the gospel. Similarly, we need fellow Christians who will tell us that it's not okay to not care about the loss. Such attitudes are not in accord with the gospel. When fear and apathy are exposed, it is a fresh opportunity to apply the gospel to our own lives.

If we are fearful of what others may think, we are reminded that our identity is in Christ and our lives belong to Him. If we lack compassion, we are rebuked as we consider God's deep compassion for sheep without a shepherd. Think about this. Evangelism is one measure, and it's only one, but it is one. Evangelism is one measure of our spiritual maturity. For many, theological knowledge does not translate into fruits of the Spirit. It doesn't translate into love for fellow believers, or serving others, or sacrificial giving, or evangelism.

Together in community, we help one another become more like Christ by being faithful, disciple-making disciples. Step number four, we prove the power of the gospel together. If we do not believe the sufficiency of the gospel, we will never share it boldly and simply. Yet, if we truly do believe that God's Word does the work of conversion through the power of His Holy Spirit, then we can and will unabashedly share the simple and unadorned truth of the gospel. A shortcut and inadequate gospel will be abandoned and never shared.

But a gospel that brings the knowledge of sin and pricks a man's conscience so that he cries out for mercy, a gospel that can save by grace through faith, apart from works, as a free gift, is believed, treasured, and declared boldly. So with fellow believers, we must remind each other of the sufficiency of God's Word to do His work for His purposes. If we are confident in the ability of the gospel to transform lives, we can boldly and indiscriminately proclaim this good news with sacrificial love to the lost in the hope that some will be saved. Remember Romans 1.16? It's the gospel that's the power to salvation.

Knowing that provides great freedom because it means it's not all on my shoulders. The salvation of others does not rely on how smart I am or how clever or persuasive or engaging I can be. Nope. The salvation of others is in God's hands completely. It's the gospel that matters, and all the Lord asks me to do is to be faithful. That's our concern, to be found faithful with that with which He has entrusted us. He will not say on that day, "Well done, good and successful servant." Will He? It's not what it says, right? What do we want to hear Him say?

"Well done, good and faithful servant." So we need to pray that He would enable us to be faithful. We need to repent for not being faithful already. And I'll leave you with this highly convicting quote from Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon says this, listen to this, "If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for." A couple of closing comments and then we're going to do a little something.

So tonight we looked at motivation for evangelism, like I said, and when we meet next time we will examine what the principles of biblical evangelism look like, which is the message of evangelism. And then in the third and final meeting on the 30th we will learn to apply those principles, which will be, we'll call that the method of evangelism. And I want to make a recommendation for you if you would, if anybody spends any time on YouTube, if you'll go and subscribe to a YouTube channel called Ray Comfort Just Witnessing. Ray Comfort Just Witnessing.

And I would highly recommend that every day this month in the month of June that you watch a couple of his videos. They're not really long. His Living Waters has its own YouTube channel, but they got a lot of stuff on there. It's all good, but Ray a couple of years ago did this new channel where it's nothing but his witnessing encounters. And I not only want you to pay attention to what he says, but I want you to pay attention to how he says it. He's such a sweet-hearted little man.

He said years ago, Catherine Booth, her and her husband William, the Salvation Army, Catherine Booth was quoted as saying, "Let them, if they can't see tears, if you can't let them see tears in your eyes, let them hear tears in your voice." And so anyway, you'll be blessed. I really highly recommend you watch a couple of those videos a day every day this month. It'll help you too in this training because that's kind of where we're going. Now, finally, here's what I want to do. Remember step one, pray for the lost together. So I want us to spend a little time in prayer.

And this is time where you can ask God to help us as a congregation to become more evangelistic, to let compassion swallow our fears. That's one of Ray Comfort's little sayings I love. Pray for that, to let compassion swallow your fear. Or you can pray for specific lost people, whatever you feel comfortable doing. And here's what we're going to do. Jared, would you mind when I say go if you would open? And then whoever follows Jared, that's fine. We're in no rush here. And then the pastor, whenever Chris kind of senses that it's time, he'll close and that'll be our closing. We okay with that? Everybody understand the game plan? Jared?