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Summary

In this engaging talk, Zackary Williams explores the critical role of evangelism in the Christian faith, emphasizing its urgency and necessity. He begins with vivid analogies of life-and-death situations, illustrating how certain jobs hinge on the actions of one individual, paralleling this to the responsibility of Christians to share the gospel. Williams argues that evangelism is often misunderstood, neglected, and wrongly perceived as a task reserved for professionals. He stresses that every Christian is called to be an evangelist, regardless of their background or training, and that the act of sharing the gospel is not only a command but a vital part of the church’s mission.

Williams further dismantles common misconceptions about evangelism, asserting that it is not just for the elite, not always comfortable, not overly complicated, and certainly not optional. He encourages listeners to embrace their role in evangelism, highlighting that the urgency of the task is paramount, as every soul has a deadline. Ultimately, he defines evangelism as the act of delivering the life-saving message of Jesus Christ to those in need, framing it as the heartbeat of the church and a fundamental duty for all believers.

Takeaways

Evangelism is not just for professionals.
Every Christian is called to be an evangelist.
Evangelism is often misunderstood and neglected.
The urgency of evangelism cannot be overstated.
Comfort should not be a priority in evangelism.

Sound bites

“Life and death hangs in the balance.”
“What is evangelism? It’s often misunderstood.”
“Evangelism is not optional.”

Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Evangelism
00:10 Defining Evangelism
04:07 What Evangelism Is Not
15:43 The Comfort Zone of Evangelism
21:00 Simplicity of Evangelism
24:11 Evangelism as a Command
28:32 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

Zackary Williams (00:00)
I do have a wife. She is my favorite wife. She’s my first one and hopefully the last one.

The bomb is ticking away, seconds are left, wires are running everywhere in every configuration and color. There’s no margin at all for error in what is about to happen. Because if the bomb technician gets this one thing wrong, then people will die. Because if he does his job well, lives will be saved. But in that one moment, life and death hangs in the balance.

And what that one man does next will tip the scale. Lightning flashes. The airplane thousands of feet in the air goes dark. The engines die. It begins to fall from the sky. The red lights come on. The sirens sound. The passengers are screaming. And one man holds the outcome in his hands. The pilot. And what the pilot does next

will be the determining factor in whether or not many lives are lost or many lives are saved. Life and death hangs in the balance and what he does next will tip the scale. Tire screech, a loud bang, a fiery crash, and now the burning passenger bus loaded with people is teetering on the edge of the bridge and the metal is groaning and creaking and the passengers are screaming, scared that they’re about to fall to their death.

and the firefighter tactfully and skillfully crawls towards the wreckage, very carefully assembling the equipment needed to protect those people from falling off of the edge, knowing that if he does his job well, lives will be safe, but if he fails his job, lives will be lost, for in that moment, life and death hangs in the balance, and what he does next will tip the scale. What’s the point? There are jobs.

where one man is placed in a position where what he does determines the life or the death, determines who lives and who dies. And this morning I’d like for us to discuss one of those very jobs. Because all around this individual there are hearts that are beating just like a ticking time bomb.

There are souls who are falling just like an airplane and doom faster than falling from the sky. And whether they can see it or not, there are many surrounding this man and his one job who are teetering on the verge of destruction and in desperate need of one to come and to pull them away from certain death. And in that moment, life and death rest in the balance. And what this one person does next will tip the scale. Who is this person? The answer to that may surprise you.

our assignment for this hour, what is evangelism? We know what evangelism is, right? We preach about it all the time. We sing about it. We pray about it. We talk about it. We hold lectureships about it. But what is it? I’ll tell you this, evangelism is often assumed, typically neglected, seldom explained, and frequently avoided. What is evangelism? Evangelism is something that is all too often misunderstood.

What is evangelism? Evangelism is something that is far too frequently neglected. And church, please hear me very carefully. To misunderstand evangelism is to misrepresent the church and to neglect evangelism is to forsake our mission and duty as Christians here on earth. So what is evangelism? Don’t ask me. I’m not in charge here. But I know who he is. And I’ve got his book.

So if you’ll open yours with me to Matthew 5, we’ll begin this morning. Matthew 5, Jesus teaches the truth, but before he does, he clears away the errors. And as you read through his sermon, you’ll hear him say, you have heard that it was said this.

But I say unto you this, and he says that time and time again, and that teaching style of taking away the wrong answers, of removing all of the false teachings before giving the right one, is one that Jesus practiced often. And that same teaching method he used in Matthew 5 is what we’re going to use today. What is evangelism? We’ll answer that question soon enough, but first, we need to stop and take a moment to consider some things that evangelism is not.

Number one, evangelism is not for professionals only. I invite you to turn with me to John chapter four, because John 428 contains one of the clearest rebukes to this idea that evangelism is only for those who are the trained and elite and hired professionals to do that job. In John chapter four, we read about Jesus meeting a woman of Samaria at the well.

And before we read anything else, you need to know this, she is not a professional. She’s not commended in the scriptures for her academic achievement and excellence. She’s not respected by her peers, obviously. Look at when she’s getting water. She’s not an example of good morality even. She’s not a person with a title. She’s not a person with a following. She’s not a rabbi. She’s not a teacher. She’s not a preacher. She’s not a prophet. She’s not a Jew. She’s not even a man.

And she’s not any of those things that we would consider essential to be a professional evangelist. But look at what she became. John 4.28 says, the woman then left her water pot and went away into the city and saith to the men, Come and see a man which told me all the things I ever did. Is this not the Christ?

And then look at the result of that in John 4 39. Many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified. And friends, this is where we need to pause and we need to correct this dangerous assumption before it goes any further. You know, we live in a society and a culture and time where we delegate the important jobs to professionals. It’s everywhere we look, right?

If your house has a leak, what you do? You call a professional plumber. If your vehicle breaks down, what do you do? You call a professional mechanic. If your body has an ailment, where do you go? You go to a professional doctor. We delegate all of the things that are important to us. Our homes, our cars, our bodies. We delegate those important things to professionals. And it’s because those things are important

We get this perception that all important jobs belong to the professionals and the professionals only. And in so many places this cultural mindset of only letting professionals do the work when it comes to important things, that’s why we find churches that have turned their preachers into idols and the people into spectators. yes friends, evangelism is so important. And so what happens? We say we’re going to hire a professional to do it for us.

We’re going to find a man with the best training, with the best credentials, with all the letters behind his name. One that has skills and talent and abilities. A man with polish that can stand up and shine. We want a preacher that can attract the people and bring them in by the masses and draw us in with his cutting words and make us laugh with his silly jokes and make us cry with his emotional illustrations and keep our attention with dramatic stories and laugh and cry and smile and shout amen. We need a professional preacher that’s perfect and pristine and

If we get that here, then we can just cross evangelism off the list. We got a professional, that’s his job and we’re done. Friends, is that what the Bible teaches? The lighthouse keeper was determined that he would be the best there ever was. And so his first day at the lighthouse, he spent the whole day decorating.

He prepared well ahead of time and he polished all the chrome. He got out his ladder and he repainted the stripes around the lighthouse. He swept every single step. Then he turned to himself and he ironed his uniform and starched it crispy hard. And then he brushed his teeth and he shaved and he cut his own hair. He was the best looking lighthouse and he was in the most pristine looking polished lighthouse there ever was. He was the best looking lighthouse keeper.

But in all of his effort to be so professional, he forgot to check the light. And when the night time came, he discovered far too late that the lamp had gone out. It was too late to fix it. And ships were lost. Friends, that silly analogy is exactly what’s happening in pulpits all across the land today, isn’t it? Men who look the part, but lives are lost. You can find preaching in so-called churches where the outline is perfect.

where the alliteration is awesomely astounding with application and audible appeal. And the illustrations, they’re clever and they’re tight and they’re captivating and the transitions are smooth and the stories are emotional. His jokes are always funny, his words are eloquent, the delivery is absolutely flawless, but the Word of God is nowhere to be found. He may have preached the most pleasing sermon mankind has ever heard, but like the lighthouse keeper, he forgot to turn on the light and souls were lost.

Because it’s not about the man, it’s all about the light. That’s why Paul said in Romans 1-16, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation. Friends, and here’s the beautiful part, here’s the point. If God’s Word saves souls, which it does, amen, and if God’s Word is the power, which it is, and if God’s Word is the light, which it is, then guess what? It does not matter who stands up and does the preaching, does it?

Because our God does not need entertainers, He needs messengers. God does not need performers, He needs preachers. He does not need men who can impress a crowd and win their applause. He needs faithful servants who can pluck the souls from the fires of hell by pricking their hearts with the gospel. Friends, if the woman at the will teaches us anything, it’s this. Our God

calls ordinary and faithful men and women like those found in this room, like those found in congregations of His church all across this world to faithfully proclaim His Word that souls might be saved. And church, that’s evangelism. May I add this? Evangelism is not just for the professionals. Yes, the preacher’s job is evangelism, that’s true, but hear me loud and clear.

We do need, still need more preachers that faithfully proclaim his word, do we not? I was a nurse before I was privileged to preach full time and in nursing school they told us frequently that medicine is two things, it is both a science and an art.

Yes, you have to understand the science behind medicine, the anatomy and the biology and the pharmacology. You have to understand the textbooks. You have to know the facts. You have to know how it works, but you also need to understand the art to do your job well. You also need to understand that practicing medicine involves dealing with people. And people have emotions and people have families and then there’s timing and there’s variables that go far beyond the simple facts of the textbook. If you get the science wrong pertaining to medicine, you hurt somebody, but if you get the art wrong,

you’ll lose somebody. You must use good judgment to balance the two and practice medicine well. Friends, do you see the parallel? Preaching is both a science and an art. You have to understand the science. You have to know the facts of the matter. You must know the truth of God’s Word. You must know the doctrine. You have to know the textbook and its rules must be followed.

But you also need to understand and balance the art of preaching. Yes, it’s a science. Yes, we preach His Word. But there’s also aspects that go with that. The clarity and the urgency and the boldness and the passion and emotion, the tone, the conviction, the very subtle and subjective aspects of delivery, of grabbing attention and holding that attention and knowing when to build your sermon up.

and to take that preaching and to take that point of God’s Word and ⁓ to do your best to pull the listeners up to the edge of their seat that they may hear the Word of God and drive that point home.

and knowing when to bring it back.

Because when you can hear a pin drop, you know that everyone is listening. That’s the art of preaching. Preachers be evangelists. We need more preachers. And hear this so carefully. Preachers are necessary and we need more men to faithfully proclaim the Word of God, but evangelism is not exclusive to preachers. Look at 2 Timothy 4-5 and you find that Timothy was a preacher. We know that. And Paul told Timothy, the preacher, what? Do the work of an evangelist.

Make no mistake, the title evangelist is not a title at all. It’s not an office reserved for those special professional people, for a hired person to do that job. That’s not an evangelist. That’s not it. You look at Acts 21 verse 8 and scripture identifies Philip as Philip the evangelist. If you look at Ephesians 4 verse 11, you find that evangelists are listed among Christ’s gifts to the church ministry.

And the fact alone that Paul tells Timothy to do the work of an evangelist tells us what? Evangelism is a work that Christians must do. And so from these scriptures we must therefore conclude that evangelist is not a title that’s just reserved for the professional trained few hired men but rather all Christians, all Christians who share the gospel with the intent to save souls, those are evangelists.

Acts 8 verse says, that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Do you think that every Christian that was scattered abroad by persecution was a trained professional Christian? I don’t think there were any Christian schools of preaching at the time. No, there. They were not trained. They were not credentialed. They were not hired. They were scattered. And they were evangelists. And if they could all do it under persecution,

with all odds stacked against them. And if the woman at the well could do it as a Samaritan woman with all odds stacked against her, then when we look at all of the blessings and the freedom and the wealth and the technology and the opportunity that God has given us today, friends, what excuse do we possibly have? That’s the preacher’s job. Yes.

Yes, it sure is the preacher’s job, but if you’re a Christian, it’s your job too. And if we accept the fact that the work of the evangelist belongs to every one of us, that we are all evangelists, then there’s another false idea that we must shoot down. Because the moment evangelism becomes our shared responsibility, the moment the job becomes personal, we’re then faced with this reality. Number two, evangelism is not always comfortable.

Acts chapter 9 is where we need to turn to see this truth. In Acts chapter 9, 13, we read about Ananias.

Acts 9 verse 13, we read about Ananias, you recall him, he’s a man who was told to do something that’s very far out of his comfort zone. His job is to evangelize to one single man, but that man is dangerous isn’t he? That man is violent, that man is a persecutor, that man is a religious terrorist, he’s feared, he hunts down Christians, he throws them in prison and he advocates for their execution. That man’s name is what?

Saul of Tarsus and God says, Ananias, you go straight to him. Acts 9 13, his reply is this, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, many people of this man have told me how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. In verse 15, God says, go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me. And Ananias obeys God and Ananias goes to do the work and Ananias becomes an evangelist. And he doesn’t notice even though it’s not comfortable for him to do.

You look at all of the great men and women of the New Testament who were powerful and effective evangelists and do you know what you find in common with every single example? Evangelism is most often uncomfortable. Friends, if comfort were the priority, then Stephen certainly never would have opened his mouth to preach in Acts 7 and accused them of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised, leading to his own death. He wouldn’t have done that.

If evangelism was not a priority but comfort was the priority then I don’t think Philip would have ever wasted any energy trying to run up to the chariot of some stranger and an Ethiopian man at that. I don’t think Paul would have ever challenged the intellectuals in Athens in Acts 17. I don’t think anyone would have spoken up about what they believed like Andrew did in John 141.

If comfort was a priority, I don’t think the Samaritan woman would have gone back to town and risked being thought of as a fool for publicly saying, I just saw the prophesied Messiah. Do you think that was comfortable? Friends, every single example demonstrates the discomfort that can come with effective evangelism. And we see fear, and we see reject, and we see awkwardness, and risk, and uncertainty, and hostility, even real true persecution. But here’s what we must remember.

Since when has comfort ever been the measure of true Christian faithfulness? Friends, Jesus never, not once ever called us to be comfortable. He called us to be faithful. He did not say, take up your cross and be comfortable, He? Matthew 25 does not end with, well done, thou good and comfortable servant. What does it say?

Well done, thou good and faithful servant. And we know the reason discomfort is necessary is because time is running out. Friends, we don’t have time to wait until a more comfortable season. don’t have time to wait until tomorrow. We don’t have time to hold off until we have the perfect moment and all of the stars align and you can see a hole straight through the block of Swiss cheese because that’s never going to happen.

Jesus said in John 9,4, I must work the works of Him that sent me while it’s day because the night comes when no man can work. The reality of evangelism is that every soul has a deadline, doesn’t it? We all have an appointment that we have to keep. You can skip an appointment with your doctor and your dentist and your barber, but no man skips his appointment with God. It’s appointed under man, what? Wants to die. And after it, what? Judgment. Every soul has a deadline. And every opportunity to reach that soul has an expiration date, doesn’t it?

That’s why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6, 2, behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation. evangelism that is comfortable is evangelism that will wait until it’s too late. Every day we wake up, every person with whom we interact, every individual, every soul we encounter is an opportunity and once that opportunity is gone, it may never repeat itself again. And some motivated.

By urgency and love, friends, let us turn some day into today. Because it is love. It is the love of Christ, the love of Christians who have the love of Christ that lights the fire in our bones to go and to speak because love for lost souls feels both the ticking clock of mortality and the beating heart of God yearning for his lost children to come home. Evangelism is not reserved for the professional few, no.

and evangelism is not always comfortable. That’s not true either. Now let’s keep going. Number three. What about this one? Evangelism is not over complicated, is it? Once we accept that it is our job and once we accept that it may not always be comfortable, then the next excuse behind which so many Christians hide, intentional or not, is that evangelism is just too complicated.

Brothers and sisters, we love to make evangelism complicated. We don’t say it out loud, but we do that with our actions. We talk about it, and we never do it. We make plans about it, and we never work it. We get all fired up, we let the preaching pull us in, and we’re ready to go and preach the gospel and reach the lost, and we sing, ready at thy bidding, here am I, send me, and then we go home and kick up our feet in the recliner and turn on the…

Let me say this plainly. What is evangelism? Not planning to do evangelism is not evangelism. Talking about evangelism is not evangelism. Studying about evangelism is not evangelism. Hosting lectureships about evangelism is not evangelism. Although those things are very good and important, they? But we must recognize they’re not the end goal. Talk is cheap.

And here’s where we need to realize if we want to be truly self-aware and we want to examine ourselves, we need to know that talk makes us feel busy without being busy and talking about the work is not doing the work but it still makes us feel good about ourselves. Evangelism is not complicated. Look at Acts 8 verse 30. Look at that beautiful example of Philip and the eunuch.

Philip the Evangelist, he runs up to that chair and he says, man, do you understand that stuff? And the eunuch says what? I don’t really know what I’m reading. And so what does do? He gets in and he tells him about Jesus and he says, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, through whose blood you can be washed and have your sins washed away. And the eunuch says what? Well, looky there, there’s some water. They get in the water, end of story. Was that complicated? Notice what Philip didn’t do. Philip didn’t stop and form a committee to plan it, he?

Philip didn’t come up to the chariot and then sit down and debate about the best method by which he could reach this eunuch. Philip did not run up and say, do you understand what you’re reading? And the eunuch said, how can I accept? should guide me. And then him go back and say, let me formulate the perfect plan and I’ll come back with you later. That’s not what he did. He just ran up and said, hey man, do you understand that? And then God opened the door. That’s the problem with the overcomplicated thinking.

We think it’s about us and our methods and our talents and our abilities and that’s not the case at all. When we do our job, when we water, who provides? God provides the increase. So here’s the truth we sometimes avoid. Sometimes we over complicate evangelism because complication gives us cover. Because we know the reality is that the task is so simple.

But if we can over complicate the mission, then we can disguise our real unwillingness to obey. And friends, once we remove that not my job attitude, and once we take away that too comfortable excuse, and once we throw out the over complicated cop out, that leaves us with our final point. This is number four. Evangelism is not optional.

Notice this, are commanded to teach everywhere, Acts 8 verse 4, to everyone, Romans 1, 16, in every nation, Matthew 28, 19, every day, Acts 5, 41, in every house, Acts 5, 42, yes or no, evangelism is a commandment from God. And do know what? Failing to obey God’s commands has a name, doesn’t it? 1 John 3, 4 tells us it’s called sin.

Ezekiel 3, 18, God makes this principle very clear to the prophet, doesn’t He? When He says to the prophet, I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life. He says the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand. Why? Because I told you to warn him and you did not. Brethren, hear me this, here is the hard truth to preach, but it’s the truth.

We can either warn the lost about hell or we can spend eternity there with them. There is no alternative. Evangelism is not optional. Evangelism is a command from God that carries the same authority and the same weight as repent and be baptized. What is evangelism? I’ll tell you what it’s not. It’s not optional.

And so with all of these excuses now out of the way, we can answer the question. We can answer the question, I can tell you about that special job that determines life or death.

when there are souls who linger on the brink of woe all around us a world that’s teetering on the verge of life and death and not just a separation of soul and body not just a physical death we’re talking about eternal death in a place called hell where there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth and the smoke of their tormentor sends up forever and ever where there’s no hope of escape there is one thing that can save them from that and it is this person’s job to deliver it to them

You know what this is, right? It’s a fire extinguisher. It’s a life-saving device. These cost 20 bucks. You need to go home and buy three of them and put one in your vehicle and one on your nightstand and one in your kitchen. Because you may never need this, and if you don’t, fantastic. But if you do…

This could be the very thing that saves yourself or others from a terrible horrible death, wouldn’t it? This is a life-saving device.

church tell me this.

What is that? This is a life saving device. And unlike that one, the reality is that all men, whether they realize it or not, they will need this one to save their life. Because all of sin and the wages of sin is death and this book contains the only thing that can save man from an eternity of torment. What is evangelism?

Evangelism is just that. It is the taking of the life-saving Word of God to the souls that are dying without it. That’s what evangelism is. But it goes further and deeper than that, doesn’t it?

What is evangelism? It is the heartbeat of the church. It is the continuation of the Savior’s mission to seek and to save that which was lost, Luke 19.10. It is every Christian in every place using every means to share the saving message of Jesus Christ. It is done in pulpits. It is done in living rooms, in letters, and online to crowds and to individuals.

It is sown in tears, is reaped in joy, it is urgent and important, is challenging and rewarding. Evangelism is an act of faith that we obey because we believe in the gospel, the power of God unto salvation, and we keep going because we believe the words of our Lord who said, lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already unto the harvest. John 4.35. What is evangelism? Friends,

Evangelism is our job.

Now let’s go to work.