Rev. Morrie Lawing
ONA Executive Director
In your personal evangelism do you think to yourself, “I need to share my faith story: my
experiences, my struggles, the ways Jesus has helped me.” Sharing is relational, authentic, and
often disarming. You know, we wouldn’t want to offend anyone, now, would we? I wonder,
however, if sharing falls short of the biblical idea of evangelism.
The Bible really doesn’t present evangelism as sharing a personal experience but rather
a proclamation of an objective truth. Proclaiming is the act of emphatically announcing or
praising something, often with authority or conviction (from Merriam Webster). Proclamation of the Good News is at the core of evangelism.
“But proclaiming is harsh,” you may object, “whereas, sharing shows kindness.” Instead, you
should be thinking, “Whose story am I to tell?” Instead of sharing: “This is what Christ has done
for me?” we should be proclaiming: “This is what God has done in Christ for the world.”
Jesus didn’t really share his reflections about his life. What he said was “The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Jesus also said to his followers, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole
creation” (Mark 16:15). Here the idea of “proclaim” is like a herald announcing a royal decree. A
herald doesn’t really talk about himself or give his opinions. What he does is delivers the king’s
message faithfully and clearly. So as followers of Jesus, we’re not just telling personal stories,
we are ambassadors for the Lord.
These days proclamation feels kind of scary and dangerous. None of us wants to be considered
intolerant or arrogant. Sharing seems more acceptable because we can speak without making
universal claims even though all everywhere will one day give an account at the Final Judgment.
Therefore, we proclaim historical realities with eternal consequences.
Sharing in evangelism can make Christianity something like a preference. When we say only, “This worked for me,” we imply that the gospel is one option among many. But Scripture tells us that Jesus is the only Savior and Judge.
Some might think that proclamation is not loving. However, when we think about it the loving
thing to do is to declare the truth. If a cure for a deadly disease existed, it would not be loving to merely share how it improved your life. The loving thing to do would require you to announce that a cure is available and urge others to take it. In the same way, if Christ alone reconciles sinners to God, then proclamation is an act of loving compassion.
Just to be clear, proclamation is to be done with gentleness. Christians are to give the truth with a great deal of humility and respect (1 Peter 3:15). We need to remember that humility doesn’t mean being silent, and respect means without judging. We can proclaim without pride because we speak as forgiven sinners, not as those who are moral superiors. The power of the message is in Christ, not in us.
Wondering, is your evangelism just safe sharing? When was the last time you clearly declared
that Jesus is Lord and called someone to respond? Maybe we are more concerned with being
uncomfortable than with telling the truth?
The early Christians prayed for boldness, not safety. They understood that the gospel is news to be announced. Christ is reigning today and everyone needs to be reconciled to him. The Church still has the task to proclaim this truth.
A question to leave with you: will you just be a sharer of experiences, or will you be a herald for
the King?
