2013 Acts #12: an exposition of Acts 6:8-7:60. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 4, 2013.
Intro:
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel,” is our Lord’s command. Even on the Mount of Olives just before his ascension he said, “You will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth.” The preaching of the Gospel is foundational to the work of the church. We are to be evangelist. We are to share the evangel, the good news, of the reconciling love of God in the person of Jesus Christ. We know that. We talk a lot about doing that. We, as Southern Baptist, are good at beating people up about it. We’ve got plans, programs and methods on how to do it. There’s Evangelism Explosion, Continued Witness Training, WIN School, Share Jesus Without Fear, there’s Got Life? There’s How To Have Peace With God. There are the Four Spiritual Laws. There’s the Roman Road. There is FAITH Sunday School and Evangelism Strategy. We had the I Found It Campaign in the 70s. Bold Mission Thrust in the 80s and 90s. Here’s Hope in the 80s. In addition to that we have mass crusade evangelism. We have evangelistic block parties. We have Judgment House at Halloween. We have the Power Team. We have Special Event Evangelism. We have Prayer Walking. One wonders what we did before we came up with all this stuff!
I recognize that the older I get the more cynical I become. I know that and so I’m trying to keep my perspective but there is a growing trend that concerns me. Our programs are becoming more and more “professional.” Our “pitch” is becoming fine-tuned. Evangelism in the church today is increasingly taking on the look of a well-run ad campaign. We talk of target group, demographics, presentation and mass appeal. Churches talk of their niche. “These are the folks we are after.” “This well-defined group of people is who we are after.” The Gospel is then neatly package and sold to that group in a form that will appeal to them. The customer is always right so we package the Gospel to meet their needs. I believe the intent is good but the approach is fundamentally flawed.
I am convinced that:
Thesis: In a world obsessed with flash and professionalism the church of the Lord Jesus must seek to practice biblical evangelism.
Evangelism is not an option.
It is not something we can choose to do or not do.
We must preach the Gospel.
I also believe we should do it well.
I believe we should train but I’m convinced that we must be biblical in our approach.
I think we would do well to take a serious look at evangelism in the early church.
Our text this morning is found in Acts chapters 6 and 7.
Text: Acts 6:8-7:60
From Acts 6:8-9:31 Luke introduces us to three pivotal figures in his story.
In 6-7 it is Stephen and his martyrdom.
In 8 it is Philip and his ministry.
In 9 it is Saul and his conversion.
Using the story of Stephen’s martyrdom I want us to see a portrait of biblical evangelism. When I say biblical evangelism I’m not talking about technique. I’m not talking about a certain outline for sharing our faith. I’m talking about something more fundamental. I’m talking about the foundation that sustains the effort.
There are three things I want us to note.
- Biblical evangelism relies exclusively on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. (6:8-7:1)
- Biblical evangelism dares to preach the whole Gospel. (7:1-53)
- Biblical evangelism seeks the glory of Christ above all else. (7:54-60)