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Not long ago in evangelicalism, the terminology “lifestyle evangelism” arose.  Early in this series, I wrote that the lifestyle is part of the message, but cannot replace the gospel itself.  “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

In my encounter with lifestyle evangelism, I found it to mean living a life a Christian should live around an unbeliever.  From the unbeliever’s experience with that life, he wants to know what caused it, and asks.  Then a Christian can explain in a non-pressure kind of way.  I believe the words “lifestyle evangelism” originated in the 1976 book by C. Bill Hogue, titled:  Love Leaves No Choice:  Lifestyle Evangelism.  Many characterize this lifestyle as “nice.”  Be nice to people.  They want you to be nice to them.  Then when they ask what’s different, you connect it to the gospel.

Instead of “Lifestyle Evangelism”

In a technical sense, I do not see lifestyle evangelism in the Bible.  The life surely should accompany the gospel.  It should not contradict the gospel.  Salvation comes through the gospel, which means preaching it.  That is what I see in the Bible.  Many do not think you are “nice” when you preach the gospel to them.

You want to preach the gospel, because it is the power of God unto salvation.  Salvation will not occur without the gospel and it comes through preaching.  That does not mean that you keep preaching the gospel to those who refuse to hear it.

Based on Romans 1:16, getting the gospel out to people is getting the power of God unto salvation out to people.  What the lost need for their salvation stays away from them, sometimes with the reasoning of lifestyle evangelism.  They think they do not want the gospel.  Usually they cannot know what they need and that they need the gospel, because they do not have the gospel.  The gospel gives the power that begins working toward a desire for salvation.

The Effect of the Knowledge of Romans 1:16

When I get up in the morning, I begin thinking about preaching the gospel.  Do I mean going door-to-door?  I could mean that.  I could ring a doorbell, wait for someone to open the door, and start to try to preach the gospel to someone.  What if I do not go door-to-door, does that remove the possibility of preaching it?

I think it is easier to get into the preaching of the gospel by going door-to-door.  It ensures I will do that. However, in very cold weather areas or during very cold weather times, not everyone will open the door to listen to you preach.  I am not attempting to discourage you from preaching in the Winter in cold weather areas.  What if people do not open the door because it is so cold or during a certain time of the year, you will not ring door bells or knock on the door because of the cold?

You have to look for and pray for opportunities to preach the gospel.  I call this being aggressive.  If I do not go door to door and I want to preach it to someone else, I cannot stay in my house.  I have to leave the house to see that happen.  I still must go to where people are, and then I give attention to possible opportunities.  If it is even possible, I must take that opportunity.

Taking the Opportunity with the Gospel

My wife and I right now are living in a small studio apartment.  We have no car, so we walk for what we need.  We have a very small refrigerator, so we have to go there more often.  As I get old (yes, I’m getting old), I have to stop more often.  Sit.  Rest.  That might mean getting a hot beverage somewhere.

It has been very rainy, cloudy, and dark where my wife and I are.  It was sunny yesterday for the first time in I don’t know how long.  We both got a coffee and we sat outside of the coffee place in the Winter across from a man, who sat outside.  I began talking to him and that turned into a gospel conversation with an explanation of the gospel.  Opportunities are there for the one looking for them and taking them.  I grabbed it, like reaching for something that I want and taking it off the shelf.  I just did it.

When I preached the gospel, it was not forced.  It is normal for me to bring the gospel into a conversation.  I wasn’t going through the motions, like someone who must just get this done.  No, I want to give the gospel, that is, to take opportunities.  I do, because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).  I assumed that man across from me was lost and nothing was more important to him than salvation, and so, the gospel.

Know How To Start the Gospel

If you are going to preach the gospel to people, you will need to know how to start.  At first, you need to plan that.  You prepare for it.  You think about that first sentence you will say and the direction you will take.  The goal is to get from starting a conversation to preaching the gospel.  All of this relates to the gospel being the power of God unto salvation.

Before you ever get to how you start a conversation that leads to the gospel, you must think about how you will encounter people.  You will not preach to anyone if you do not see anyone.  You have to leave the house to do that.  Before you plan on how you begin a gospel conversation, you plan on where you will go to see people.

You may see people all the time.  People have many different realms in which they meet people.  How do they bring Jesus into those contacts?  Very often it starts with the trouble for everyone without the gospel.  People know they’re in trouble, which is how Paul begins the gospel in the book of Romans.

The gospel conversation could start earlier than the trouble of the lost person.  It could begin with the true nature of mankind.  He is not an accident.  God made him for a purpose.

I like to say to someone, “When Darwin looked at a cell, he saw a blob.”  Today when we look at a cell, we see irreducible complexity.  Even on a cellular level, life did not arise from an accident.

More to Come