Are You Ready with Your Reason?
Are You Ready with Your Reason?
The call to go, preach, teach, and make disciples
“Evangelism is not a gift given to some, it’s a command given to every believer.”
A quick Google search of “the spiritual gift of evangelism” led me to numerous variations of that statement from multiple sources across the internet. Nothing about that surprised me, as I’ve heard paraphrases of it preached at me over the years — ironically, always by Christians who have the spiritual gift of an evangelist.
You know the kind of Christians I’m talking about. You can’t take them anywhere without them sussing out a stranger who is desperately longing (or at least needing) to hear about the love of Jesus right at that moment.
Or while all of us are hopefully concerned about the lost, they’re the Christians who hear about an opportunity to take the gospel to an unreached part of the world and jump on a plane.
But my problem with the assertion that every Christian is supposed to live like an evangelist is twofold:
(1) The Bible makes it clear that God has given unique spiritual giftings to the individual members of His Church, so that, empowered by His Spirit, we can collectively accomplish His ministry here on earth by each playing our part.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” - Ephesians 4:3-8, NIV
In that same chapter, the Apostle Paul went on to list a number of spiritual gifts, one of which is the gift of the evangelist.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. - Ephesians 4:11-12, NIV
Nobody reads that passage and concludes that every believer is given the giftings of an apostle and of a prophet and of a pastor and of a teacher. Yet for some reason, there are those who can read that passage and conclude that every single one of us is given the gifting of an evangelist.
This is probably because of what Jesus said to His closest followers right before He ascended back to His Father’s side, which brings us to my second problem with the assertion that every believer is “commanded” to take on the role of an evangelist, no spiritual gifting involved.
(2) There are some commands that Jesus gave to all, and there are some commands (or instructions) that He gave to specific people for a specific time and purpose.
For example, what Jesus taught in His “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7) was for anyone who would follow Him, both then and now.
On the other hand, I think there is a strong argument to be made that “The Great Commission” (as it is commonly known among Christians today) was not actually a command given to every believer. Rather, it was simply the last conversation that Jesus had with His closest followers, the remaining 11 of His original 12 apostles, before He ascended into heaven. And I believe that the command Jesus gave to His 11 apostles in that conversation was explicitly for them.
Let’s look at that passage, and consider the context.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:16-20, NIV
Among those 11 present to receive that “commission” was the Apostle Simon, the man to whom Jesus had previously proclaimed, “I call you Peter (which means rock), and on this rock, I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18) — a prophecy which was later fulfilled when Peter, filled with the Spirit and equipped with the gift of an evangelist (by which he was able to fulfill the commission that Jesus had given him) stood up and proclaimed the good news which was received by about 3,000 people in his hearing; and thus, the Church was born (Acts 2).
From that point, we know (both from accounts given in the Bible, as well as other historical accounts) that the 11 apostle dispersed and went on to spread the gospel throughout the world, making disciples as they went — some of whom would also receive the gift of an evangelist and be “commissioned.”
This cycle would continue, and is continuing even today. Thus, by God’s good design, the gospel message would spread throughout the entire world!
Evangelism is an immensely important part of the work that God is still doing here on this earth. It is not the only important work (or even the most important work) that God is doing, though, and I think Christians can sometimes forget that this is true.
It is equally important that Christians are growing up in their faith, that we are being made more and more like Jesus every day, and that we are loving one another and the people around us as Jesus has loved us.
Each of the unique spiritual gifts that are given to believers have their distinct roles in implementing every aspect of God’s earthly ministry — His reconciliation, His sanctification, and His redemption of the world.
I wholeheartedly believe that, even today, there are some who are commissioned (just like the eleven apostles) and equipped to be evangelists. These Christians are passionately driven to proclaim the gospel everywhere they go, and sometimes, even led to specific regions and people groups to fulfill the work that God preordained for them to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10).
But there are other Christians (myself included) who absolutely care about the lost, and who desire for everyone to hear and receive the gospel message…
And yet they don’t feel compelled to share the good news with every stranger they engage with each time they step foot outside of their home, nor to sell their belongings and move to another continent so that they can help spread the gospel in countries where sharing the good news about Jesus might mean risking their freedom or even their life.
This doesn’t necessarily mean these Christians are less concerned about the unsaved, nor less willing to sacrifice. It may simply mean that they haven’t been given the spiritual gift of an evangelist.
That being said, if you’re reading this and thinking, “Yes, this is me! I’m that Christian! You’re talking about me,” this doesn’t mean that you and I are completely off the hook when it comes to sharing the hope-filled gospel of Jesus with a hopeless world…
The call to Always be ready with an answer
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. - 1 Peter 3:15-16, NIV
This passage, and really, the entire letter that we know today as “1 Peter,” was addressed to Christians who were “exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” in the early years of the Church (1 Peter 1:1).
These Christians were facing arrest and persecution for their faith, being wrongfully accused of causing trouble — most notably, by being blamed for starting the fire that destroyed most of Rome in 64 AD.
Understanding that this was the context of the charge given to these believers, to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have,” gives a little more insight into why someone might have been provoked to ask such a strange question. Because I’ve got to be honest with you: no one has ever walked up to me and asked me, “Why are you so hopeful?”
When these early Christians were being asked to give a reason for their hope, it was likely in an attempt to break them, with an expectation that they would have lost all hope and admit defeat. Imagine, then, how persuasive it must have been when the very Christians they were persecuting began to gently and respectfully respond with a hope-filled presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You might have noticed that this command to be prepared to proclaim the good news of what Jesus had accomplished for these exiled Christians wasn’t only given to those of them who had received the gift of an evangelist. The Apostle Peter gave this charge to anyone who found themselves in that situation.
But while an argument can be made that this is another passage where a command was given in a particular context to a particular group of people, this charge was also given elsewhere by the Apostle Paul, in a much broader context that was and still is applicable to all Christians — including you and me.
In Ephesians 6, Paul exhorted all believers to “take up the whole armor of God,” and when he got to arming our feet, this is what he wrote:
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. - Ephesians 6:15, ESV
There are two ideas behind this:
(1) If all of our weight is balanced on the good news of Jesus, our faith will be sure-footed, no matter what comes.
But also, (2) notice that word “ready” is used here again (just like Peter told the exiled believers to “always be ready”), but this time, it’s used with regard to our feet… why? Because if we have received the gospel of Jesus for ourselves, you and I take that good news with us wherever we go. The question is, are we prepared to share it, if the opportunity presents itself? Because good news is meant to be heard!
The great opportunity that lies before us
There are some periods in history that seem more hopeless than others. I don’t know if this is true in every country right now, but in the United States of America (where I live), I’m not sure we’ve experienced a more hopeless time since the Great Depression.
Everybody’s searching for a reason to be hopeful.
People place their hope in friendships, in romantic relationships, in parties and policies, in accomplishments, in financial gain and possessions, in anything that holds promise for a better future — even if that promise is extremely fragile or empty.
And there are lots of people in this world today who are striving to remind themselves and others that there are still reasons for us to hold on to hope. There are t-shirts and memes and blog posts about these things, but more often than not, they’re abstract ideas that never attach themselves to a concrete source. They allude to this elusive thing called “hope,” and leave us hoping against hope that it’s real.
Still with every hope deferred, hope that there ever really was a reason to be hopeful dies a bit more (Proverbs 13:12).
Everybody’s searching for a reason to be hopeful.
As Christians, you and I have a reason — the greatest reason — the only unshakable foundation upon which we can build and live our lives, come what may, ever-hopeful, because our hope is built upon something that can never be lost!
You and I are counted among the most hope-filled people on the planet!
But not only that: you and I should be ready and willing to share the hope we have with the people around us, with gentleness and respect — whether or not we have been given the spiritual gift of an evangelist.
Even as I’m writing this, I’m acknowledging that this is hard.
There’s a part of me that’s bucking against this idea, because starting a conversation about why I believe in Jesus, and why that faith gives me hope, isn’t something that usually comes up on its own while I’m checking out at the grocery store…
But what if it did?
And what if I didn’t have to be the one to bring it up?
What if someone else who was searching for hope simply found me?
And what if simply finding me was an invitation to ask me the reason I have to be hopeful in such a hopeless time?
That’s where the idea for these t-shirts came from…
Because while I might not be an evangelist, I live in a community full of people who are desperately searching for a hope that I’ve already found.
I bet that’s true about you as well.
We live in a hopeless age. There may never be a better time than now to share the good news of Jesus — there may never be a riper harvest in this country than there is today.
Each and every day, when we step out into the world, we encounter other people who are searching for a reason to hope…
What if we let them in on a little secret? What if we advertised the fact that we’ve already found that reason to hope? And what if you and I gave them a simple invitation to ask us to share that reason with them?
Are you ready with your reason?
Most of us wouldn’t leave the house to go to work or school or the grocery store without putting on a pair of shoes first. It’s second nature.
How about the gospel of Jesus? Or the story of how Jesus has changed our life?
What if, every time we’re getting ready to go out somewhere, and we’re ironing our shirt or fixing our hair or makeup, we also were to take a moment to prepare an answer to the question, “Why do you have a reason to be hopeful?”
It’s not hard to figure why Paul likened being ready with the gospel message to putting on a pair of shoes. It’s what people do before they step foot outside of their homes.
We don’t need to be great orators to offer a reason for the hope that is within us. Lord knows, I’m nothing of the sort! You and I just need to be ready with our answer, and to trust that the Holy Spirit — the One who convicts (or convinces) — will do the work that needs to be done in someone else’s heart and mind.
So, here’s the challenge:
If you haven’t already, or even if you just haven’t in a while (like me, truth be told), take some time this next week to think about what you would say, if someone were to ask you to give a reason for the hope that is within you.
Get your answer ready. You could even make practicing your response a part of your daily routine while getting ready to leave the house.
(One really neat tool that can be helpful in navigating gospel conversations is the Life on Mission app, which provides you with resources on your phone for sharing the good news of Jesus clearly. You can download that app for free here.)
And if you would like to be a part of spreading real hope in your community, and you like the idea of inviting someone who’s searching for hope to start the conversation by asking you the question, A Hopeful Conversation t-shirts are available for purchase right now in 3 different fits and 15 different colors.
Maybe you can start by choosing one day a week when you know you’ll have opportunities to engage with other people in your community to wear your t-shirt and to simply be ready with your answer for anybody God might send your way.
Everybody’s searching for a reason to be hopeful. You and I have found that reason. So why not share what we’ve found with the people around us?
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” - Isaiah 52:7, NIV
Want to read more articles like this one? Subscribe today for free, and you’ll get blog posts and updates sent straight to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a thing!
