THE early disciples took literally the commandment of Jesus to go to all nations, making disciples (Matt. 28:18- 20), and they accomplished their work so thoroughly and swiftly that the whole earth heard the gospel within the first century.
At different times in our history the church lapsed into evangelistic lethargy. Competing programs have at times robbed the church of her evangelistic fervor. A favorite tool of the enemy was and is to divert the church from her evangelistic mission by inducing her to often settle for lesser priorities. Not a few churchmen have believed that the church should settle for being a shining example of the character of Christ, divested of all aggressive proselytizing.
Had the church heeded this static philosophy, its growth through the centuries would have been far more severely retarded. However, the church by its very nature is an aggressive society of saints. As a motivating force it has not only the commandment of its Founder but the power of indwelling love and the naming passion of living faith.
When the church was established in the earth, it was not immediately evident that it would survive. It is true that our Lord had said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). But the spirit beings behind those "gates" were apparently unaware of the truthfulness of these words since their warfare against the church from its inception has been unremittent.
The greatest crisis of confidence surrounded the church's greatest triumph, and the focal point of this crisis was the cross. For when Christ died, disappointment and disillusionment characterized the early members of the church. The original preachers forsook Him and fled, and for days crouched in terror behind locked doors fearful that what happened to their Lord might happen to them. They saw Jesus taken in Gethsemane. A few of them ventured to His trial. In amazement they followed hesitatingly as He made His way up Golgotha. Only one of them remained for the final hours of His passion.
When Christ died on the cross the disciples felt that His work had come to an end. It is incredible that they misunderstood His many predictions of His death. It is strange indeed that they could live with Him for nearly three years and understand so little of His mission. They still clung to the belief that He would establish a temporal kingdom, put the Roman conqueror in his place, and exalt the throne of David as the source of wisdom, might, and authority for the whole world. A few of them had been given intimate glimpses of our Lord's true nature, as on the Mount of Transfiguration, but in the press of all the crucifixion tensions, these scenes of glory were driven from their memory and they fled in terror from all association with the Son of the living God.
But this was not for long, for there occurred an event that was to make the total ministry of our Lord while on this planet extremely significant. He who had power to lay down His life, took it up again. Christ arose from the dead and is alive forevermore. The transcendent significance of this event, occurring within the gray of dawn that far-off Sunday morning, was to illumine the past, the present, and the future. It literally resurrected the dying church, and when the awareness of what had happened dawned upon the disciples they were ready then to preach the gospel. They were prepared to come out of hiding and declare again their allegiance to the Galilean. No longer were they ashamed of Him and of His teachings. They would become the proud bearers of the glad tidings of great joy to all people! They literally had to be restrained. The knowledge of the resurrection transformed them, but Jesus had said, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).
You see, the work of the church would go beyond that of setting an example in Christian character. It would be an aggressive warfare against the battlements of hell. It would be laying siege to the kingdom of evil. It would be tearing down the altars of Baal. It would be an assault against the citadel of iniquity. It would be a restoration of the kingdom of God on earth. It would entail blood, sweat, and tears, and for some, martyrdom, but the influence of the good news must be ever extending until the gospel be preached to every creature.
For this aggressive task they were promised: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). It would be through the mysterious union of the divine with the human that this super human task would be accomplished. Here is envisioned no "evangelism by example" program but rather an invasion of virgin territory with the gospel of Christ, coupled with "example living."
This would require first, committed persons. The commission of Matthew 28:19 was given to human beings. There is a tendency to depend on plans and programs and organizational units. Now these things are good by their very nature. However, the gospel commission was given to people, and people must respond with hearts and lives. The Lord is waiting to hear from the lips of every believer the precious promise, "I do." The words of Isaiah must become the universal language of the church, "Here am I; send me."
While angels are capable of spreading the gospel, and, indeed, the first proclamation of good news came from the lips of an angel when our Lord was born in Bethlehem, it is equally true that be cause men share a common humanity, the progress of the gospel is best served by divinity working through humanity.
Second, the gospel commission requires committed resources. In the complex times to which we have come, economics has become a major factor in the spreading of the gospel of Christ. It is difficult, if not impossible, to travel long distances without material resources. Therefore the saints of God must commit not only their lives but their re sources to the promulgation of the gospel.
Third, it involves visionary leader ship. Yes, the leadership of the church must be able to grasp the untried and the untested. While it is necessary to apply business principles to the economics in the spread of the gospel, this is certainly no time for the business man's point of view as it relates to the extension of the evangelistic cords. "Binding rules and cautious methods" must not limit the faith concept of church leadership. If this is allowed to happen, the spread of the gospel will assume the pace of the proverbial racing snail, as, indeed, it has."
Every Convert a Convert Maker"
To fulfill her commission, the church must divest itself of the concept adopted during the Middle Ages of the spread of the gospel by the vested clergy alone. The original gospel commission had "every convert a convert maker," and it was the solemn duty of every practitioner of the Christian faith to become a purveyor of the same. This evangelistic fervor receded as the church entered the second century, and finally reached a point during the Middle Ages where the Bibles were chained to the podium and only the clergy were regarded as qualified teachers of the faith.
In the initial stages of reformation it seemed that the church would once again become a society of witnessing saints, as little children, inspired by the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the words of life. But with the passage of time, lay involvement became a historical antique and Protestantism assumed the hierarchical form as less and less were the claims of evangelism pressed home to the individual church member's con science. The work of the church has been greatly impeded by this empirical concept. The enrichment of the human spirit, of the joy of the Lord, and power in the life, have largely deserted the hearts of the saints because their experiences have become static and they are not "faith sharers." The church today seems to be "stalled." If we are to get going again we must begin with all haste to reorient its membership to the soulwinning concept.
Finally, the spirit of evangelism is residual in the degree of personal appreciation one has for the gospel of Christ. If, indeed, his soul has been thoroughly captured by the love of God and if he has experienced freedom from guilt and strength to live the Christ life that the gospel offers, the Christian will not be lacking in inspiration as it relates to faith sharing. He will need only education in the witnessing method.
The miracle of divine grace accomplishes transformation of life and alteration of life-style in the new believer. Selfishness is replaced by selflessness, and concern for others dilutes the Christian's concern for himself. A consecrated restlessness characterizes the true believer. He is not content to merely "keep the faith," he becomes a part of the gospel contagion, and he recognizes that "spreading the spiritual infection" is his business.
It is a mystery to this writer how any man can possess the pearl of great price, understanding its benefits to the receiver, and yet fail to share it, for the gospel is the only true source of happiness in this miserable world, and the love of God that it advertises constitutes the only source of mental and emotional stability. Ultimately, it will solve all of man's problems. Christ is indeed the answer whatever the question.
Holy Spirit at Work
During more than thirty-three years of Christian ministry, I have witnessed the Holy Spirit at work in human lives. I have seen alcoholics become sober, drug addicts delivered, broken homes mended, and the healing of juvenile and other forms of adult delinquency.
But the benefits of the gospel extend beyond the here, for the blessed hope extends beyond the grave. The Christian has hope of life in the hereafter. There is a heaven to gain! And the joys pictured in the Scriptures that await the saints are enough to fire the imagination and rekindle hope in human hearts. There are many who have abandoned the here after for the here. To all such I would quote the apostle Paul, "If in this life only you have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Cor. 15:19). Fired by the Spirit of God and filled with the grace of God, what else can the true believer do but tell it?
