We preach, “sow” the Word of God in various ways, share our testimonies, and “water” these activities with prayer in the great hope that precious souls will come to faith in Christ. But very often it does not happen. At the same time, even if our efforts don’t lead to the salvation of souls, many good things happen as we evangelize. One blessing is that we unite in a common goal. My disagreement with brother so-and-so suddenly seems insignificant as our focus becomes working together to reach the lost. As we evangelize, we also have the privilege of uniting with the Lord Himself, becoming “God’s fellow workers” (1Co 3:9). The status of our labor could not be elevated more.
Another wonderful blessing of evangelism is that we sow what God might use later. Christ spoke of the seed of the Word falling upon four different types of ground. Although much of the seed might settle upon soil that is hard, rocky or thorny, some will surely fall upon good ground, and it may just take time for God’s Word to have its effect and for fruit to be manifested. Therefore, we sow, encouraged by the promise that the Lord will bless His Word in His own time (Isa 55:11).
As we evangelize, we deepen our understanding of Scripture. This is true, not simply because we must study the Word to prepare a message for a public gospel meeting. As we personally witness, we are often confronted with questions about the Bible, driving us to Scripture so that we might be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1Pe 3:15).1 Our grasp of the Word is substantially sharpened as we seek to reach others for Christ.
Very often, our faith is strengthened when we labor to win souls. We ask God to allow circumstances in a person’s life that will be favorable to the gospel and then He answers our prayer. We cry to the Lord to give an opportunity to speak to a particular person about our Savior and He grants our request. We pray that God will open the door for a specific gospel outreach and He comes through again. Little by little, He increases our faith as we engage in gospel activity.
We can also find great encouragement in the fact that, as we obey the Great Commission, we are obeying the Word of God. And in so doing, we receive the blessings of obedience, for, as our Savior said, “blessed … are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luk 11:28; cf. Psa 128:1).
So, do you want to be blessed? Keep on witnessing. Keep on evangelizing. Keep on preaching. Keep on sowing. And we hope you keep on reading this issue, which is devoted to the weighty and wonderful subject of evangelism.
1Bible quotations in this article are from the ESV.
