Proclaiming Christ Crucified

The inevitable phone call had come. John's

elderly mother had unexpectedly been
taken to the hospital that morning, and
none of the doctors were offering much
hope. As John listened to the voice at the
other end of the line — a voice of practiced,
efficient, professional compassion — part of
his mind was already hastily reviewing his
relationship with his mother since his
by Kenneth Maresco conversion, many years earlier.

All of John's Christian life, his mother had resisted his efforts to share the gospel
with her. In those heady early days of his Christianity, John had witnessed to his
mother many times, often in unwise ways. When his repeated efforts seemed
fruitless, even counterproductive, he stopped witnessing to her, but made a
commitment to pray daily for her salvation. As the years passed, even these prayers
had become quite sporadic.

Now his Mom was probably dying, and she definitely wasn't prepared. In a single
moment, John's heart was flooded with a great urgency to share the gospel with her
once again. As he hung up the phone, he cried out to God for wisdom, and began to
seek counsel from his pastor and other close Christian friends. He trusted God, but
felt a strong desire to make the most of this last opportunity, to be fully used in
accordance with the Lord's will. He sensed God's grace for the past, but also a fresh
conviction for the present. Reality had burst in upon John. Eternity was in the
balance, his Mom was going to die, and he, Christ's ambassador, had not presented
the gospel to her in years!

Many of us live today like John did before that phone call came. We may from time
to time sense a steady, low-level guilt over evangelism. We hear the occasional
message about it, and wonder if maybe we should witness more consistently — or
witness at all. But the years come and go, and we tend to grow increasingly dull to
the urgency of the situation. Then one day, out of nowhere, eternity bowls us over
like a great wave. We suddenly find ourselves tumbling head over heels,
overwhelmed by and helpless in a huge, churning, irresistible truth — as long as we
live in this world, the high privilege and profound responsibility of evangelism is
permanently, undeniably, irrevocably ours.

Embracing the Great Commission

Among Christians there is probably no spiritual discipline so universally agreed upon
as evangelism. Most Christians recognize the unqualified imperative of the Great
Commission of Matthew 28. We believe, at least at the intellectual level, that
evangelism should be a priority for the church and for our individual lives. Yet many
Christians often neglect the faithful sharing of the gospel. Donald Whitney writes, "In
my pastoral experience I have observed that the longer a person is a Christian, the
less evangelistic he tends to be. This is obviously not a mark of growth or
Christlikeness, but of spiritual stagnancy."1

Proclaiming Christ Crucified by Kenneth Maresco © 1999 Sovereign Grace Ministries

Why is this so? Why is something that is clearly scriptural so easy to dismiss as a
regular part of our lives? The answer is that we have grown familiar with the
amazing gospel of Jesus Christ: God himself came to this planet to demonstrate his
love and rescue his enemies from eternal wrath. The very ones who have scorned
and denied him, he came to save. He has done this by the most powerful
demonstration of love possible — the Cross. And he has made us his representatives,
bearing the responsibility to publish this good news to a world having no other hope.

The absence of any desire to share the gospel reflects an impoverished

understanding and appreciation of the Cross. But when we contemplate the gospel —
our need for a Savior, the greatness of Christ's sacrifice, the full provision God offers
in his Son, our own unworthiness — we will be motivated to tell those who are still
God's enemies of this glorious God and his incredible love.

I am often amazed at the simple

HOW TO CULTIVATE EVANGELISM IN YOUR LIFE
• Pray Privately:
• That God will open doors for the message (Col
4:3)
• That you will overcome fear of man and be
bold (Eph 6:19)
• That your eyes will be open to the harvest.
Ask for specific people to reach out to (Jn
4:35)
• That you will be obedient to the call (Mt
28:18-20)
• Pray with your family and/or small group. It is
God's intention that we reach out together.
• Develop a brief verbal presentation of your
personal testimony that you can share in casual
conversation. Make sure it includes the gospel.
• Invite non-Christians to events where they can
interact with Christians. Reach out to them,
introduce them to others, and take a genuine
interest in your guests.
• Carry Turning Point tracts or Alpha invitations
with you. Use them.
• Seek ways to perform "servant evangelism." For
example, when you wash your car, mow your
lawn, rake your leaves, or bake brownies, do the
same for a neighbor. If you have children,
involve them in your outreach.
• Make yourself available to the Holy Spirit.
• Step out of your comfort zone.
• Be confident in the power of God. The only
power that brings men and women to repentance
is the power of the gospel.
faith of Christian children who have
been taught the gospel. They will
ask their parents, "Dad, have you
shared the gospel with Uncle Joe?"
They will pray regularly for the
salvation of their grandparents.
They will remind Mom or Dad to
give the person behind the counter
a tract, or an invitation to a church
meeting. Why? Because they
genuinely believe that apart from
responding to the gospel, these
folks are lost. How do we cultivate
this faith-filled, childlike heart for
the lost?
We need to start with a biblical
perspective: God is committed to
reconciling lost sinners to himself
(1Ti 2:4), and he has commanded
us to share the gospel with others
(Mt 28:19). The apostle John
reminds us that the commands of
God are not burdensome (1Jn 5:3).
When we come before God in simple
faith, acknowledging our
inadequacy, we receive the grace to
do our small part in his great
commission, for Jesus himself has
given us a mandate, a mission, and
a message.

God's Mandate
A mandate is an authoritative command. The one with all authority, the resurrected
Christ, has given the church its marching orders — to win and make disciples.

Proclaiming Christ Crucified by Kenneth Maresco © 1999 Sovereign Grace Ministries

 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 the Son and 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 (Mt 28:18-20).

This mandate — to "go," "make disciples," "baptize," and "teach" — encompasses

everything the church must do in the earth until Christ's return. Indeed, it is
primarily in the context of the local church that all the manifold aspects of the Great
Commission are to be accomplished. In the church, new believers become disciples,
receive training in the foundations of faith, and learn first-hand what it means to
participate in the mission of the church.

But the indispensable first step the church must take in obeying God's mandate is to
share the gospel with the lost. The church is built as the gospel is proclaimed.

I'm sure some of the disciples hearing the command of the Great Commission found
it difficult to believe. How was a church, probably about 500 in number at that time,
going to reach the world with the gospel? Yet within three centuries the mighty
Roman Empire had been conquered by this message of grace.

God's Mission
In obedience to the Great Commission, the evangelistic component of the church's
mission is to bring in a harvest. While we cannot measure our faithfulness in
evangelism by numbers alone, we must not settle for less than our Lord has
promised. Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you not say, ‘Four months and then the
harvest?' I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest"
(Jn 4:35).

Sometimes we don't have a heart for evangelism because we close our eyes to the
ripening harvest all around us, or we don't really believe there is a harvest there at
all. But Jesus has said, "the fields are ripe for harvest." Do you believe the fields are
ripe for harvest in your community, in your network of relationships? The daily news
is filled with stories of lost teenagers, disintegrating marriages, fatherless children,
and empty, meaningless lives. The harvest is all around us — in our stores, malls,
schools, offices, and playgrounds. But we are often so busy running from task to task
that we fail to "open our eyes"!

One man I know regularly prays for others while driving or walking around his
neighborhood. He asks God to give him a heart for the lost and opportunities to
share the gospel. When he does this, a day rarely goes by when he doesn't have
such an opportunity. Can you imagine what would happen if each member of your
local church began praying for his or her eyes to be opened to the harvest close at
hand? Will you do this?

Often we do not witness because we forget that the omnipotent, infallible God has
promised us a harvest. To forget this is to assume that success in evangelism
depends on us, rather than on God working through us and despite us. At those
times we will fear "failure," and we will define failure as the inability to offer
convincing, compelling responses to any one of the innumerable questions and
objections that unbelievers might raise. Yes, we need to be biblically informed, but

Proclaiming Christ Crucified by Kenneth Maresco © 1999 Sovereign Grace Ministries

part of being biblically informed is to remember that God, who gave us this mission,
promises to make our witnessing effective.

God's Message
God's mandate and mission are accomplished through a message. In the gospel, God
has given us a message that contains power for the salvation of souls.

J.I. Packer defines evangelism as,

just preaching the gospel. It is a work of communication in which

Christians make themselves mouthpieces of God's message of mercy
to sinners. Anyone who faithfully delivers that message, under
whatever circumstances, is evangelizing.2

Evangelism involves helping people see how the issues of

their lives relate to the character of God. For people to
receive the hope of the gospel — that we can be saved
from our sin — we must point them to the implications of
their sin in light of who God is. We must help them
understand that their sin, as an offense primarily against
God, has eternal consequences. The unsaved must hear
that sin is so serious that Jesus had to die on the cross to
reconcile them to God. This supreme act of love is the
message and the hope of the gospel (Jn 3:16).

We do not, however, merely hurl theological truths at our

hurting neighbors. Scripture instructs us to share our faith
with gentleness and respect (1Pe 3:15). We must seek to
show compassion to those who are suffering as a result of
their sin or the sin of others.

Nevertheless, we must share God's message. We represent

him. His message is good news. It tells of his incredible love. Although the message
will offend some, it carries God's power to save those whom he calls into his
kingdom. We are simply his messengers, called to declare by our words and our lives
the reality of this life-changing truth.

An individual, a marriage, a family, or a church living in the good of the gospel

makes for a powerful witness to the truth of the gospel. How many husbands have
been wooed to the Savior by the humble faith of a wife? How many parents have
been drawn to the grace of God by the respectful honor of their children? How many
have tasted the salt of the gospel through the servanthood of a Christian neighbor?

Such individual demonstrations of grace are multiplied when gathered together in the
local church. As a collection of redeemed sinners growing together in spiritual
maturity, the church is the ideal place in which non-Christians can hear the message
of the gospel declared, and see the power of the gospel demonstrated.

Servanthood in the context of a local church generates a trust that allows us to

witness to some whom we might otherwise never touch. I believe this is one reason
the Alpha evangelism program has been effective in so many churches. In Alpha,

Proclaiming Christ Crucified by Kenneth Maresco © 1999 Sovereign Grace Ministries

people are welcomed, blessed, served, and shown respect, and then the gospel is
shared.

Similarly, members of our church extend hospitality to internationals in our

community. They wash cars and rake leaves for free. They continually look for ways
to serve those around them. Such demonstrations of gracious servanthood can be a
breath of fresh air to those living in a selfish, greedy world. Although works of
kindness in themselves are not evangelism, they open doors to hearts that might
otherwise be cynical or skeptical.

In the end, only God can regenerate a dead heart. He will help us preach his gospel,
and by his power a harvest will be reaped. He is for us in this task. Whether we are
speaking to a dying parent or a lost neighbor, let us submit to his mandate, open our
eyes to the harvest, and faithfully declare and demonstrate his message. What a
privilege it is to share in this joyful task together. It really is a great commission.

Notes:

1. Donald S. Whitney, "10 Questions to Ask to Make Sure You're Still Growing,"
Discipleship Journal, Issue Ninety-Seven, January/February 1997, p. 27.
2. J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1961) p. 41.

Kenneth Maresco serves as a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Proclaiming Christ Crucified by Kenneth Maresco © 1999 Sovereign Grace Ministries