NOTE: Originally posted here on January 31, 2008.
This afternoon I read the following comments in a fine little book called The Gospel & Personal Evangelism:
One of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism—the conversion of unbelievers—for evangelism itself, which is the simple telling of the gospel message…. Evangelism must not be confused with its fruit.
According to the Bible, converting people is not in our power. And evangelism may not be defined in terms of results but only in terms of faithfulness to the message preached. John Stott has said, “To ‘evangelize’ . . . does not mean to win converts . . . but simply to announce the good news, irrespective of the results.”
Paul wrote, “We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Cor. 2:15-16). Note that the same ministry has two different effects. As with the parable of the soils, it’s not that certain evangelistic techniques always lead to conversions. The same seed was planted in various places. The response varied not according to how the seed was planted but according to the nature of the soil [italics added]. (From Mark Dever, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, 78-79.)
This means that my greatest task as a missionary is to fully understand the gospel and to proclaim it clearly.
So how should you pray for missionaries? Let me suggest the following:
- Pray that they would clearly see the difference between evangelism and its results. Their job is to proclaim the gospel; God’s job is to convert.
- Pray that they would be liberated from pressure to succumb to evangelism techniques that emphasize superficial results, thereby undermining the sufficiency and power of the gospel (1 Cor 1:17).
- Pray that they will learn to rest in the sufficiency and power of the gospel (1 Cor 1:18), thereby being freed from the temptation to trust in their own personal eloquence rather than “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:1-2)
- Pray that their own Bible study, sermon preparation and personal experience of the gospel’s power and sufficiency in sanctification would lead them to an increasingly profound understanding of the gospel so that they can effectively proclaim its message.
- Pray that God would powerfully and sovereignly bless their evangelism (a) by opening a door for their message (Col 4:3), (b) by giving them words to proclaim the gospel clearly and boldly (Eph 6:19), (c) by convicting sinners of their need for the Gospel (Jn 16:8-11), and (d) by opening hearts to respond to the Gospel (Acts 16:14).
