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Prepared to Die?
Prepared to Die?
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”4
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Evangelism, Taking Jesus to the Streets (of Denton)! Part 4: Objections to Evangelism
Evangelism
Taking Jesus to the Streets (of Denton)! — Part 4
Objections to Evangelism
Objections are nothing new.
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard (Acts 4: 18-20).
Who is objecting?
The World
Those whose sinful hearts love the sinful system of this world hate God and hate those who represent Him. Jesus warned His disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:17). And John the Apostle said “do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you” (1 John 3:13). So, it is clear that the world will oppose anyone who preaches Christ. The reason many Christians are unaware of the hatred is often that the world sees no difference in the Christian and themselves. But, begin to speak openly about the gospel, and get ready to experience hatred.
Religious folks
We also know that the most religious people of the time such as the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees opposed Jesus Christ and His Apostles. They put Jesus to death and tried to do the same to those who followed Him. Even though these the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees were extremely tedious in the practice religion, they were greatly opposed to God. Just because someone is religious does not mean that they are right with God. The Sanhedrin, the council of 71 of the top religious men of the day are the very ones who put Christ to death and persecuted the Apostles. This was done in the name of God, yet it was a god of their own making, not the One True God. And of course, such hatred of God and God’s gospel did not stop with the hatred received by the Apostles.
Christians opposed to evangelism? That’s right… many Christians disagree with street preaching. I, myself, once rejected it. Then I eventually searched the Scriptures and by the grace of God, the Lord changed my heart. So, I completely understand. I also understand that not all open-air/street preaching is the same. I admit that there are certainly bad examples of street preaching just as there are bad examples of pulpit preaching as well. However, I am saying that virtually every single week, I see biblical preachers who proclaim the gospel in a kind, gentle, and respectful manner in the public forum receive hate from those who profess to be Christians.
What are the objections of some professing Christians?
Well, here are some of the ones that I hear the most:
Q: Is street preaching even effective?
We cannot base “success” on pragmatism (numbers of converts or any other measurable results). Noah “a preacher of righteousness” found favor in God’s sight. And only seven people out of the entire world were spared from God’s wrath through his tireless efforts. The Old Testament Prophets were rejected and despised despite their faithful dedication to proclaiming the word of God. Neither Jesus’s earthly ministry nor Paul’s ministry to the Jews produced stellar numbers in their lifetimes. So, in light of these examples, results based on numbers should not be our focus. Instead, let us be obedient and faithful to Christ knowing that we can trust His promises.
Q: Have your efforts produced any fruit?
Many times, we have seen people respond positively to the open preaching of the word of God. However, even if we do not see any fruit, it does not matter. Although we may not see an outward response, God still may be doing a regenerative work in their hearts. The Word (the gospel) is the seed and we are to be sowers and waterers of that seed. We trust that through our efforts God will bring the increase in His time (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8, 1 Corinthians 3:6).
Q: Are there not better ways to engage the lost?
What matters is that the gospel is preached and people hear the word of Christ. There are numerous examples of this being accomplished through Open-Air preaching, open reading of the Scriptures and street evangelism throughout the Bible (2 Peter 2:5, 1 Kings 8:54-56, Ezra 10:9-14, Nehemiah 8:1-8, Jeremiah 7:1-3, Jonah 3:1-5, Isaiah 5:29; Amos 5:10, Matthew 3:1-2; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, Matthew 5-7, Luke 9:5-7, Acts 3:11-26, Acts 8:6-8, Acts 13:44-52, Acts 18:27-28, Acts 17:22-34).
Q: Won’t people be offended?
Yes, and no. The same message which offends some is the same message that saves others. Why would the message of God’s love, mercy, and grace offend anyone? Why would anyone reject His free gifts of forgiveness and eternal life? It’s clear. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18a that, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing…” Unless God’s Spirit moves in the hearts of unbelievers they will be offended by the gospel, reject the Word of God and consider the message and the messenger to be foolish (1 Corinthians 2:14). They are offended not because the message of the gospel is wrong, but because it is right. So, if it is right why are they offended? Because, “this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19).
If no one ever taught you, let me be the first to warn you that opposition to the proclamation of the gospel is sure to come. And such hostility is to be expected from those who openly reject Christianity and religious zealots alike. However, such hatred did not stop the mouth of Jesus Christ or the Apostles from the public proclamation of the gospel, and neither should the hatred we encounter stop us. The gospel must be believed in for salvation, but how can people believe it unless they hear it, and how can they hear it unless Christians like you and me are willing to tell them.
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Evangelism Taking Jesus to the Streets (of Denton)! Part 3, Street Preaching Examples
Evangelism
Taking Jesus to the Streets (of Denton)! Part 3
Street Preaching Examples
Virtually every Saturday evening you can find me and others on the Denton Square openly proclaiming the gospel. Without fail, every week we have people come up to us who are shocked that we are in the public square speaking about Jesus. Sadly, this astonishment is not just from those professing to be atheists and agnostics, but even Christians. As we engage in conversation with any and all naysayers, it seems that they all have the same argument, “You should be doing this in a church, not out here for the general public to hear.”
Hmm. Are they right? Are we right? Should evangelism be reserved only for buildings with the word “Church” on them? Well, even though “open-air” or “street preaching” has become rare, it is nothing new. In fact, it has been around for thousands of years.
We see many examples of it in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. It has been prevalent throughout church history, and it is through the open-air proclamation of the gospel that great awakenings and revivals have occurred.
Examples from the Old Testament
- Peter calls Noah a “herald of righteousness” referring to his call for people to repent before the flood of Genesis (2 Peter 2:5).
- Solomon “with a loud voice” addressed the entire nation of Israel (1 Kings 8:54-56).
- In the “open square” Ezra called the people of Israel to repentance (Ezra 10:9-14).
- While standing before the people of Israel, Ezra openly read and explained the law of God (Nehemiah 8:1-8).
- Jeremiah stood at the gate of the Lord’s House and “proclaimed” the words of God (Jeremiah 7:1-3).
- Jonah openly preached repentance to the Ninevites (Jonah 3:1-5).
- The Old Testament prophets heralded the word of God at the city gates (Isaiah 5:29; Amos 5:10).
Examples from the New Testament
- John the Baptist was the first street preacher to herald the good news in the open-air (Matt. 3:1-2; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3).
- Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount in the open-air (Matt. 5-7).
- Jesus’s disciples went about preaching on the streets in many villages (Luke 9:5-7).
- Peter preached to all the Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40).
- After healing the lame beggar, Peter preached in the open-air at Solomon’s Portico (Acts 3:11-26).
- Philip openly preached the gospel to large crowds in the city of Samaria (Acts 8:6-8).
- Peter and John preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans on their way back to Jerusalem (Acts 8:25)
- Paul openly preached the gospel to the entire city of Antioch (Acts 13:44-52).
- Paul stood atop Mars Hill and preached to the men of Athens in the open-air (Acts 17:22-34).
- Apollos publicly proclaimed Christ Jesus and boldly refuted the Jews in Achaia (Acts 18:27-28).
Examples in Church history
“It would be very easy to prove that revivals of religion have usually been accompanied, if not caused, by a considerable amount of preaching out of doors, or in unusual places.”
“No sort of defense is needed for preaching out of doors, but it would need very potent arguments to prove that a man had done his duty who has never preached beyond the walls of his meeting-house. A defense is required for services within buildings than for worship outside of them.”
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