Evangelism and Missions
Every Christian is called to be a servant. That means that every one has a responsibility to function in the church, providing useful service. Responsibilities vary from one Christian to another because God has uniquely qualified each of us to perform in a way consistent with His plan for our lives.
In the previous chapter we discussed the
role of apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors who are teachers in
“equipping the saints for the work of ministry.”
The apostles and prophets gave us the word of God found in the Bible.
The evangelists and pastors are responsible for teaching that word to the
saints in order that they might fully understand their need to be servants in
the
An important and familiar story that helps understand our need to be servants to others is Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. The story is found in Luke 10:25-37 . The story was told in response to a lawyer’s question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Among those things mentioned was the commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Not entirely satisfied with the answer, the lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?” With that, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, the man who helped a stranger who was in distress because the stranger had been beaten, robbed, stripped and left in the ditch to die.
When he had finished the story, Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” It is important to note the change in the question from, “Who is my neighbor?” to “Who was a neighbor?”
The lawyer sought to restrict his liability by deciding on the basis of race, nationality or perhaps physical proximity who would be defined as a neighbor. Jesus expanded the liability by making the neighbor any person whom you find in need, regardless of other factors that would generally be used to define “neighbor.” A neighbor is someone who needs your help. Nothing else matters in determining “neighbor.”
In helping his neighbor, the Samaritan used the resources that he possessed. He used a bandage, wine and oil in treating the man’s wounds. He used his time to attend to the man. He used his beast to transport the man to the inn. And he used his money to pay for the man’s room and lodging. He promised to pay the innkeeper whatever else might be required in caring for the injured stranger.
Another story from the life of Jesus is helpful in understanding how we ought to serve. This story is recorded in several of the gospels, including Mark 14:3-9. In the house of Simon the leper, a woman came and poured an alabaster vial of very costly perfume on the head of Jesus. The apostles scolded the woman for wasting the perfume. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For the poor you always have with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.”
There are several things to notice in this story. One is the contrast between Jesus’ view of what the woman did and the disciples’ view. They considered it a waste. Jesus considered it a good deed. Another is the comment that she had done it for burial. The disciples did not believe that Jesus was going to die. Apparently the woman did. There is also the consideration that the woman did this deed without any plain instructions that she was to do it. It was her idea and was not prompted by a particular command that she had received.
Imagine the woman sitting in her house and considering what she might do for Jesus. There are all sorts of things that might have occurred to her. Perhaps as she thought about the matter she noticed the alabaster jar. As she continued to consider her options, she came up with the idea of using the perfume to anoint the body of Jesus. When she came and poured it on the head of Jesus, his response was, “She has done what she could.”
Providing service is not a matter of doing something extraordinary, but rather it is a matter of simply doing what you are able to do. Whether it is like the Samaritan who took care of the wounded stranger or the woman anointing the body of Jesus for burial, in each instance they did what they could.
Another of Jesus’ parables was the parable of the talents. The story is found in Matthew 25:14 30 . In this story the “talent” is a sum of money probably equal to about $1,000. Perhaps worth much more in buying power. The master was going on a journey, but before leaving called in three servants and gave them varying amounts of money, to each “according to his own ability.” One received five talents, another two and the last one.
After a long time the master returned and called his servants to give an account of how they had used the money entrusted to their care. The one who had received five talents had gained five more. The one who had received two talents had gained two more. Both were commended by their master for their diligence.
The third servant came with the one talent he had been given. He had buried it in the ground. “I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.” He was sharply rebuked, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. . . Cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The third servant had failed without doing anything. It was his inaction, caused by fear of failure, which caused him to be condemned. He had done nothing wicked with the money. He had simply failed to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves. His master reminded him of one such opportunity. There were probably others as well. He failed through inaction.
In Matthew 25:31-46 , Jesus described a judgment scene. When Jesus sits on his throne, all the nations will be assembled before him. Perhaps Jesus wanted to make it clear that what he was about to say applied to everyone equally. It was not only the Jews who would be judged by this standard, but even the whole world.
The judgment divided people into two groups. The Bible is consistent on this point. There are only two groups, the righteous and the wicked. There are not the righteous, the almost righteous, the slightly wicked and the really wicked. There are only the “sheep” and the “goats.”
The basis for separating them into the two groups was described in a series of things that they had done. There are the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick and those in prison. The ones who received eternal life are the ones who helped. The ones who received eternal punishment are the ones who did not help.
The ones set aside for punishment protested. “When did we see you and not help you?” The answer is that “to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”
They had numerous opportunities to help someone. Those who needed help were apparently not deemed worthy. If the one in need had been Jesus, then they would have helped. Since it was someone else, they did nothing. They were condemned, not for what they did, but for what they did not do! They had limited their liability and they were lost.
In each of these stories there are those who fail and those who succeed. Success is found in using one’s resources for good. The good to be done is not always immediately obvious. It is not necessarily a direct command, but it is good that a concerned individual might easily discern if they are looking for an opportunity to do good. On the other hand, there are in each circumstance excuses that might be offered and reasons set forth why the “good” is not really good and should not be done. Seeing the opportunities to do good that the Lord sets before us is a serious matter. Our eternal destiny is dependent upon our response to such opportunities.
In another parable, found in John 15:1-8 , Jesus talked about the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine and the Father is the vinedresser in the parable. Disciples are branches on the vine. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.”
As grape vines are designed by God to produce fruit appropriate to a grape vine, people are designed by God to produce fruit appropriate to the purpose for which God has designed them. Producing fruit is not optional. God works in one’s life to increase the fruit production, but the parable illustrates the point that God is not satisfied with no production. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Some have stated that the “fruit” of a Christian is another Christian and therefore every Christian must be a soul-winner. That is probably a matter of reading into the passage something that is not necessarily there although soul-winning is an important task in which every Christian ought to be involved in some way. Others have stated that the “fruit” is the fruit of the Spirit that Paul speaks about in Galatians 5:22-23 . Again, the fruit in that passage is important for Christians, it would probably be wrong to limit the fruit of the parable to that passage alone.
There are several passages that mention the gifts that God, through the Spirit, gives. These passages are found in Romans 12:3-8 , 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 , Ephesians 4:11-16 and 1 Peter 4:7-11 . There is no uniformity among these lists. Each list is unique. Since no list is complete it would probably be correct to say that we do not have a complete listing of all the gifts that the Spirit gives. The lists are simply representative of the types of gifts that people have through the Spirit of God. Some of the gifts involve miraculous powers, others do not.
There are two characteristics that all of
these gift share. One is that they
are given “to each one individually just as He wills.”
That is, it is the Spirit who determines what gift a person is to
possess. It is not the Christian who
decides, but rather, the Spirit of God who decides.
A second characteristic of these gifts is that they are given for the
good of others. They are not
intended as something to be used by the possessor for his own good, but they are
given to disciples to be used for the building up of others, for the building up
of Christ’s church. (See 1 Cor
12:7
, Eph
Paul’s discussion concerning the gifts in 1 Corinthians has generated a great deal of controversy among those who claim to follow Jesus. We want to offer some observations that might be helpful to those who want to understand what Paul is striving to accomplish by his remarks.
First of all, we can learn something about
the nature of the disciples in
They seemed to possess gifts in abundance.
The gifts had not made them spiritual.
The point we made earlier is that gifts are not intended for personal
use. Therefore, it is not surprising
that the gifts had not made them spiritual.
That was not the purpose of the gifts.
The gifts were given to help others.
In
As Paul begins his discussion of the gifts in chapter 12 , he begins by saying, “Now concerning (the) spiritual, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware (“ignorant”, in the KJV). The translators added the word “gifts.” That word is not in the original of Paul’s letters. It is the spiritual that Paul’ instructions are aimed at, not gifts. The gifts had not made them spiritual and Paul intended to correct that misunderstanding so that they could be the kind of people that God wanted them to be.
At the end of chapter 12, Paul asks a serious of questions, beginning with “All are not apostles, are they?” These are rhetorical questions. The answer in each case is a resounding, “No.” He concludes the chapter by stating, “And I show you a still more excellent way.” A way to what? Simply put, he wants to show them a way to be spiritual. He did not want them to be unaware concerning the spiritual. After making the point that gifts were not the way since all of them did not possess the gifts, there was a way that God intended that they take in order to be spiritual people.
The way is the way through love.
That is the subject of chapter 13
. One does not become spiritual by
possessing some gift. One becomes
spiritual as one learns to love in the way that Paul defines love.
Love is a prerequisite for the use of any gift that God has given.
Without love no gift is useful in service to God.
Chapter 14 opens with an exhortation to pursue love. This is coupled with an encouragement to desire the spiritual (again the word, “gifts,” has been added by the translators). Paul then speaks of the need for those who can prophesy.
It is through prophecy that the word of God comes. Prophecy is the making known of God’s will to men. All scripture has come through prophecy. Through prophecy one can discern what it means to be spiritual and one can learn how to use properly the gifts of God in serving others.
Concerning speaking in tongues, in chapter 14, Paul gives several rules that must be observed when using this gift in an assembly of Christians. First of all, the tongue must be a real language (verses 6-12). Second, if there is no one present who understands the tongue (language) then the person must remain silent (verse 28). Third, there can be no more than two or, at the most, three who speak in tongues during an assembly (verse 27). Fourth, the women are to be silent. They are not permitted to speak in tongues (or prophesy) in the assembly (verses 34-36). Fifth, if anyone disagrees with these instructions, Paul says, “Let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.” (Verse 37)
The lists found in Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Peter are helpful in illustrating the kinds of things that God is interested in having us do. Some of the gifts are very broad in their application (serving, for example) and others are quite specific (speaking in tongues, for example). Whatever your gift, you are responsible before God for its use in serving Him.
The gifts listed in Romans 12 include: prophecy, service, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading and showing mercy. The gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 include: the word of wisdom, faith, gifts of healing, effecting of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, various kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues. The gifts listed in Ephesians 4 include: apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors/teachers. The gifts listed in 1 Peter 4 include: speaking and serving.
Elders and preachers have a specific
responsibility to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph
There is always a built in problem when others are suggesting what you might do to serve God. Their suggestions are always going to be influenced by what they, personally, like and enjoy doing and by what they have a gift for doing. While well-intentioned, their suggestions may not be practical for someone else.
In the end, it is the responsibility of each Christian to determine what ways he will serve in the kingdom. Through trial and error one must determine what gifts he has been given. Some gifts may be easily determined while for others there may be many failures before it becomes apparent that one truly has a gift for what is being attempted.
Many have tried to find shortcuts to determining what one’s gift might be. Shortcuts seldom work in real life. It is through patience, persistence and faithfulness that one can work through the issues and determine the best ways to serve. No one else can serve for you. No one else is responsible for making you the servant you ought to be. Through prayer and diligence it will become obvious what it is that God wants you to be doing. And what He wants you to do today may be different than what He wants you to do tomorrow. One must always be open to the new ways in which one is being led by God to serve.
