A Passion for Evangelism - Life of Paul Part 72

You know, I went to seminary back in the early seventies. We studied Greek, we studied Hebrew, we studied systematic theology, and it was a capital seminary, and the president of the entire school, Washington Bible College, Dr. George Miles, would come in once a year into seminary chapel and talk to the whole seminary student body. Now he had never studied Greek, he had never studied Hebrew, he didn't have a seminary degree. He had been an engineer whom God had called out of secular work into starting Washington Bible College. But he came over every year and he always preached on the exact same verse every year. And that was Mark chapter one that you see on the screen, this verse. And he always had the exact same message from the same verse every single year.

I taught its capital five years after I graduated, so for nine years in a row I heard this message. And here's what he would come over and say to us every year. He would say, gentlemen and ladies, it doesn't matter how much Greek you know, it doesn't matter how much Hebrew you know, it doesn't matter how much systematic theology you know, if all of that doesn't issue out in a love for people, and a concern for people's eternal destiny, and in an outspokenness for Jesus Christ in this world, then it is all worthless.

And you know, 25 years later, I'm more convinced than ever, Dr. George Miles had it exactly right. Now he's with the Lord today, but he had it exactly right. That friends, we can study the Bible, we can memorize the Bible, we can meditate on the Bible, we can pray and fast all day. But if all of that doesn't issue out in a passion for sharing Jesus Christ with other people, then we have missed the whole point.

Now that's what we want to talk about today. And it grows out of a passage in the life of the Apostle Paul, so we're going to look at the passage first, then we'll come back and say, well, what difference does that make to us? A little bit of background, remember here in Acts 20, the Apostle Paul is in Miletus, let's show you a map.

It's a little port town not far from the city of Ephesus. And from this little town, he asked the leaders of the church of Ephesus to come join him while he was passing through, knowing that this was the last time he was ever going to see them on this earth. He gives them a little speech, which is what we're studying. And in this speech, the Apostle Paul shares with them the basic principles that shaped his life and drove his ministry and made him the man of God that he was. And I've told you a number of weeks now in a row that if you want to be a real man of God, a real woman of God, you really want to be a great servant of God. This is the most valuable speech anywhere in the Bible for you and me, because in this speech, Paul bears his heart. In this speech, God, he gives us a glimpse of what really made him the man that he was.

And if we can emulate those things in our life, then we can see God use us in the very same way. Now, we've already covered two of the five principles he gives in this speech. Principle number one is the principle of obedience. Principle number two, as we saw last week, is the principle of absolute surrender. And the third principle that we're going to talk about today is a passion for evangelism, a passion for sharing Jesus Christ.

So let's look. Verse 25. Paul says, Now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom, will ever see my face here on earth again. Remember Paul spent three years preaching the kingdom in Ephesus. He started off in the Jewish synagogue there. He spent three months in the synagogue. Eventually, his enemies in the synagogue succeeded in running him out. Acts 19 says, So when the Jewish people refused to believe and began to publicly malign the faith, Paul left them. And he taught the word of God daily in the school of Tyrannus for the next two years. Now, it's interesting that when this same thing happened in Corinth, that is, when the Jewish people in Corinth ran him out of the synagogue there, he had something to say to them in Corinth that I am convinced he said the exact same thing to the people in Ephesus.

And here's what he said. He said, Acts 18, 6, Paul says, Hey, if you Jewish people, if you miss eternal life now, after everything I've done to reach you, it's now your own doing. It's your own responsibility.

It's your own liability. I'm clear. And friends, this explains why Paul says what he says next. Look at verse 26. In speaking to the Ephesian elders, he says, Now, the whole purpose of God, we know from what Paul has said earlier in verse 20, is simply the gospel message. It's simply the message that heaven and eternal life are a free gift, that it's a free gift that God gives to everyone who embraces Jesus as their personal Savior, who trusts the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to be their payment for sin in the sight of God. And the message concludes by saying that whether you're Jewish or whether you're Gentile or anything else, this is the only way to get to heaven and get eternal life. That is the gospel message. And notice that Paul says, I am innocent in verse 26 of the blood of all men, not just you guys in Ephesus. I'm innocent of the blood of all men because every person that I have ever met in every place that I have ever visited, I have told them the gospel message so that now if any of them miss eternal life, anybody who's ever come across my path, it's their responsibility. I discharge my duty. I told them what they needed to hear. Now, folks, that's an amazing statement.

Think about that. What a statement that I have never met a person who I didn't give the message of Jesus to so that I can say I am innocent of the blood of every person that has come across my path. What an unbelievable statement. And what this shows us is the passion that the apostle Paul had for sharing his faith. It was the passion that just bubbled up from his deepest being. And it didn't matter where he was or who he was with or what the consequences were going to be. Paul was going to tell you about Jesus Christ. It's just that simple. He was like John Wesley, who said, It is my bound duty, John Wesley said, to declare to all who are willing to hear the glad tidings of salvation.

So let's summarize. This, then, is the third great principle that the apostle Paul shares with these Ephesian leaders. He says to them and friends, he says to us, Hey, if you want to be mighty servants of Christ like I am, hey, if you want to see God use your life the way God's used in my life, then here's what you got to do. There are some non-negotiables. Number one is obedience. Non-negotiable number two is absolute surrender of your life.

And non-negotiable number three is that you've got to have a passion for telling people about Jesus Christ. Now, that's as far as we want to go in our passage because it's time to ask our significant question. And, you know, this is going to be the last time we're going to do this before the beginning of next year. So, I mean, this is it. Make it worthwhile. All right.

It's got to last you a couple of weeks now. So everybody ready? Here we go.

One, two, three. So what? Ah, yeah. Say, Lon, so what? Say, you know, tell me how this makes any difference for my life.

Well, I want to do that. You know, this passion for evangelism that Paul's talking about. Friends, what he's telling us is we need one of them in our lives if we're going to see God use us like he used Paul.

So it's worth asking the question why. Why did Paul have this kind of passion for evangelism, for sharing Christ? Because if we can figure out why Paul had it, then maybe we can emulate that and it'll help us have it, right? So why did Paul have such a passion?

Well, I think there are two reasons. Reason number one is I think Paul genuinely cared about other people. I think he really cared about whether people went to heaven. I think he really cared about whether people got eternal life. I think he really cared whether people missed eternal life in the afterlife. I think that really mattered to Paul.

He cared about people. But I think there was a second reason that was even more compelling than reason number one, and that's this, that Paul also knew that he carried a spiritual responsibility for every person that he met. A responsibility to tell them that Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven. A responsibility to tell them that the only thing that will work, the only payment for wrongdoing God will accept, is not good works, not religious activity, not human effort, but the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to pay for our sin. And he also knew this, that once he had told somebody that, he had discharged his duty, he had done his responsibility, and as verse 26 says, he was now innocent of their blood. If they missed eternal life, that was no longer his problem. Now I want to expand for a moment on this second reason, if you'll let me, and that is this idea that we have a spiritual responsibility to share Jesus Christ with the people that we meet.

One of the most compelling passages in the Bible for me is the book of Ezekiel chapter 33, let me read you this. It says, if a watchman on the wall sees danger coming and he blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet and does nothing and loses his life, his blood will be on his own head. It's that person's own responsibility. However, if the watchman sees danger coming but does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, and if the people perish, I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood. Now I don't know how many of you saw the movie Meet Joe Black, but if you saw the movie, you remember that Brad Pitt is this young handsome guy in this movie, and he meets this beautiful girl in the coffee shop and they have a cup of coffee together, and he's so enamored with this young lady that as they go walking out, he turns one way, she turns the other way, and he starts to cross the street and he can't take his eyes off this young lady, and he keeps looking back at her and he steps out into the street, and all of a sudden this car that he never even saw comes from his blind side, hits him, throws him up in the air and kills him.

Now it has a happy ending, so, you know, it's all right. But my point is, if you were standing there on the street corner watching this tape case, watching him step out into the traffic, looking back at this beautiful lady, seeing a car headed for him and knowing he doesn't see it and this car is going to hit him, friends, if you stand there and do nothing, if you would stand there and don't say a word to warn him, don't scream at him, don't grab him, don't do something, and he gets hit and killed, wouldn't every one of us on the human level say, well, you know, I mean, you're partly to blame for this. I mean, you saw what was about to happen and you did nothing. This is partly your fault. I'd certainly feel that way. Well, that's all God's saying.

And then he goes on to make it really personal. He says, Ezekiel, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel. When I say to unbelievers that they will perish and you don't warn them, I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn them and they choose not to change, they will still perish. But you will have exonerated yourself. You will be clear of responsibility. Now, this doesn't mean that if I fail to share Jesus Christ with somebody I meet that I've condemned them to missing heaven. No, friends, God is powerful enough.

He can and He will send somebody else to tell them. But it does mean that when I stand before Jesus, when I get to heaven, He'll say to me, you know, Lon, I covered for you with that person. I gave you the opportunity. It was your responsibility.

You dropped the ball. I had to cover for you there. Now, I don't know about you folks, but that's not a position I want to be in when I face the Lord Jesus.

I want to be in the position that Paul was in where I can say, Lord, I am innocent of the blood of anybody that ever came across my path who would let me talk to them about Christ. I told them. Now, I wish I could tell you today that I could say that honestly. I can't. There have been some people I've dropped the ball on in the years that have gone by.

But I've made it my sworn goal. I'm never going to drop the ball again because I want to minimize the number of people that God has to say to me, Lon, I covered for you. I covered for you. That was your responsibility. Now, every time I share this, I get cards and letters. And maybe you're going to write me a card or a letter.

And maybe you're going to say to me, Lon, you know what? This really bothers me. How dare you motivate people to share their faith with guilt and with obligation and with duty. I think that's totally wrong. Well, wrong or right, I'm just trying to interpret the scripture, friends. And if we were under no spiritual responsibility to share Jesus Christ, if we had no liability, if there was no onus on us, then why would God say what he said to Ezekiel? You say, well, I got an easy answer to that. That was the Old Testament.

All right. Well, then let's move into the New Testament and ask, why did the Apostle Paul say to those unbelieving Jews in Corinth and in Ephesus, I am clear of my responsibility now. What responsibility is he talking about? If not the responsibility he had to have told them about Jesus, to have told them what was going to happen to them if they rejected Christ. And why did Paul say in Acts chapter 20, I have declared to both Jews and Gentiles that they must turn to God in repentance and show faith in the Lord Jesus. Therefore, I am innocent of the blood of all men. Why would he say that if there wasn't a spiritual responsibility that he felt on him that is also on us to share our faith?

You say, all right, all right, all right, all right. Maybe you're right. But if you are right, then answer this, Lon. How come I don't see more people out there sharing their faith? How come I don't see more followers of Christ passionate like Paul was about sharing their faith? Well, you know, that's a great question.

And I don't think there's a single answer. But I'll tell you what I believe is one of the big reasons. One of the big reasons, very simply, is doubt. Sitting in this church auditorium this morning and sitting in church auditoriums everywhere in America this morning are people who doubt that what the Bible says about people outside of Christ is really true, that it's really going to happen. And, folks, if we're going to have a passion that we need to have for sharing Jesus Christ, we must be absolutely convinced that every person we meet is headed for disaster in eternity and that those people's only hope, their only hope is Jesus Christ. If we are not absolutely convinced with that, it will undermine our passion for Christ, it will weaken our passion for sharing Christ, and eventually it will dissipate any passion we have for sharing Jesus Christ. Because if people can get to heaven some other way than the data about Jesus Christ, why in the world should we put ourselves in some kind of harm's way in terms of relationships, in terms of ridicule, why should we do that if there's other ways for people to get to heaven?

The only way we're going to have a passion to share Christ is if we believe there is no other way to get to heaven and we have the data people need and without that data they can't close the deal. And there are people who doubt that in every church auditorium in America today. There are some of you who doubt that, that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. So let's see, what does the Bible say about this?

Well, let's show you a few verses. John 3, 36, whoever believes in the Son, Jesus Christ, as Jesus said this, has present tense eternal life. But whoever rejects the Son will not see eternal life, for God's wrath, God's judgment remains on that person. Jesus said, John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one, notice that, no one comes to the Father, gets eternal life, gets into heaven, except through me. Jesus said that. 1 John 5, and this is the record, that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son, the Lord Jesus. He who has the Son, look at this, has eternal life. And he who does not have the Son of God does not have eternal life. How can you say it any simpler than that, any clearer than that?

I don't know how you could be more explicit. This is why Peter said, Acts chapter 4, salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we can be delivered. And just in case there's any doubt, listen to what Paul said, 2 Thessalonians 1, he said, God will punish those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and will be shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power. Wow. And that's only a smattering of what the Bible says. You say, well, Lon, you know what, I got some serious issues with this position.

Well, okay, what are they? And my first issue is why in the world would God be so unfair, so cruel and so mean as to do this? Well, friends, just to simply ask that question shows that you've got the emphasis on the wrong syllable. You understand what I'm saying?

Let me tell you what I mean. I mean, you're looking at this all wrong. Romans chapter 5 says, therefore, sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, so death passed on all men when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden. They brought on the entire human race a flaw called the sin nature. Every human being is born with it. It's like a defective gene that we all get. And Ephesians chapter 2 says because of this, every one of us is born spiritually dead, alienated from God, separated from God, under God's judgment.

That is the natural state of every human being alive. Now, God in His mercy stepped in and made a way out. God in His mercy stepped in and created an escape plan for you and for me and every human being on the face of the earth. But, folks, if a person rejects the escape plan and ends up experiencing the consequences that God's warning them are out there, how does that make God cruel and mean? I don't think it does. They just simply didn't listen to what God was telling them about how to escape the consequences that were coming.

That doesn't make God unfair. As many of you know, I lead trips to Israel, and I had a lady a few years ago who called me up two days before we were leaving, before departure, and she said, you know, I've changed my mind. I've gotten a little sick, and I don't want to go. Could you please send me all my money back? And I said, well, ma'am, I don't run the tour company, but I can tell you the answer is no. I mean, they've already bought your airline ticket, paid for your hotels, you know. No, and look in your contract. Two days before departure, you lose 100% of your money.

You knew that. I said, I wrote you over and over and over and told you take out travel insurance. I sent you four letters in big capital letters on the letter. I said, take out travel insurance. Why didn't you do that? She said, I don't know, I didn't want to spend the money. I said, well, I'm sorry. She said, I don't understand. Why would the tour company be so unfair to me that they won't give me my money back? I said, ma'am, listen, if we write you four times and tell you to take the escape plan and tell you that you'll have it in case you need it and you choose not to, and then you suffer the consequences that we warned you might happen, how does that make us unfair?

Now, we eventually worked it out and she was happy and we were able to make some arrangements for her. But you see, the point is a lot of people take that same attitude towards God. God writes us over and over and over again in the Bible and says, take the escape plan.

I'm warning you, there's some bad stuff out there. If you don't, take the escape plan. And if we don't, does that make God unfair? Friends, it's not that God is unfair. It's that sometimes people are stupid, but that doesn't make God unfair. Let me just say, if you're here today and you've never trusted Christ in a real and personal way, you need to hear this. God is begging you, take the escape plan.

And friends, you need to be wise enough to do that. These consequences are out there. They are real.

They are going to happen to people who don't know Jesus. I'm telling you that. And the escape plan doesn't cost you a thing.

God paid for all of it. Take it. Be smart. You say, well, Lon, I got one more objection.

And that is this. What if a person is a really sincere but in another religion? What if they're a sincere Buddhist or sincere Muslim or sincere Jehovah's Witness or Mormon or Jewish person? What if they're a sincere secular American who recycles and, you know, and does all that? I mean, won't that be okay? You know, isn't that enough that they're sincere in whatever religion they're following?

Friends, the answer is no, no, a thousand times no. What did Jesus say? He said, no one gets to the Father unless they come through me. You say, yeah, but, but if they're really sincere in this other religion, can't God, won't God sort of credit the blood of Jesus to them even though maybe they don't know about it? No, friends, God won't.

He says in the Bible, that's not how it works. Listen, Romans chapter 10 says, if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, not if we confess that Buddha is nice, not if we confess that Muhammad is a prophet, not if we confess that Joseph Smith saw an angel or Rabbi Schneerson thought he was the Messiah, or I'm trying to keep the Ten Commandments, if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord, and if we believe in our heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, it's then that God credits us with eternal life and we'll be saved. Romans 10, 17, so then saving faith comes by hearing the data, the facts about Jesus Christ, and that data comes from the Word of God. The Bible is clear, the most sincere Muslim, Jewish person, Buddhist, secular American, doesn't matter in the world until they hear the cognitive facts about Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His deity, His sinless life, His death on the cross to pay for our wrongdoings, His resurrection from the dead, His offer of salvation. Until they hear that data and until they believe that data, they are lost and they are headed for an eternity in hell. The Bible is clear, God doesn't credit anybody with the blood of Jesus, you got to hear the facts and believe the facts, and that's what the Bible says.

What that means is everybody you see on the metro, everybody you see in the mall, everybody in your neighborhood, everybody that works in your office, everybody that goes to your school and every family member you have, every one of them is headed for disaster in eternity, and you have the data they need to change it, if you know Christ. You know, years ago I knew a man, he actually worked here on our staff, who had been in the Korean War. And in the Korean War he told me a story, a true story that happened, this was before he was a believer. He was in a foxhole, he was a frog man during the Korean War, and a foxhole hunkered down and they were taking artillery fire coming in, and an artillery shell hit in the foxhole, direct hit, a few yards from him, and there was a soldier in there and he crawled over on his belly and rolled into the foxhole and rolled this wounded soldier over and held him in his arms. And the soldier looked up at him and said to this guy that I knew, he said, do you know anything about Jesus Christ? And this man, of course, because he wasn't a believer, he looked back at him and said, no, I don't.

And the soldier lying in his arms said to him, I sure wish I did, and died in the man's arms a few minutes later. And you say, yeah, but Lon, listen, if somebody had told that wounded soldier about Jesus Christ a month before when he was drinking in the bar, he wouldn't have paid any attention. Well, maybe not, but friends, he would have had the data later on lying in that foxhole that he needed to do business with God. And you know, when you and I go out and we share Jesus Christ with people, not everybody is going to respond and give their life to Christ right away. Everybody Paul shared Jesus with didn't respond and give their life to Christ right away.

But the point is, later on, when people need the data and they want the data, they have the data. And even more importantly, we have discharged our duty, we've done our job, our responsibility. And so this is what I'm trying to drive at today, is to get every one of us to feel that same sense of spiritual responsibility about every person we pass that the Apostle Paul felt. That's part of what made him the man of God that he was. He lived every day with an acute awareness of that spiritual responsibility, and that's how God wants you and me to live. Remember friends, my goal is not to build McLean Bible Church into an evangelistic church. Hear this carefully. My goal is to build every one of you into an evangelistic person. You understand the difference? We will be an evangelistic church and make an impact on this city if every one of us becomes an evangelistic person.

That's our goal. You say, well, Lon, I only have one real problem remaining, and that is I don't know how to do it. I mean, I don't know how to share my faith.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that, but I really don't know how to do it. So when God gives me the opportunity, I don't know how to ever take it because I don't know what to say or do. Ooh, can we help you?

Oh, we can. You know, friends, sharing your faith is a learned skill. Nobody comes out the womb knowing how to share their faith. This is a learned skill. Everybody who's ever learned how to share their faith learned it in some class somewhere, and so we've got a wonderful class for you called Christianity 301.

You can sign up right out in the lobby. We start in mid-January, and in six weeks, we'll teach you how to give a compelling verbal witness, how to explain to people how to come to Christ, how to share your own personal story in two minutes or less. We'll explain all that.

We'll teach you how to do all that if you'll just give us the chance. But you know what? To stand before Jesus and say, well, you know, I didn't really share my faith, Lord, and the reason was I didn't know how.

Friends, that's not going to work. He's going to say, wait a minute. Solomon stood there in December of 03 and told you about Christianity 301. You knew you could go to Christianity 301. Why didn't you go? Um, I don't know, Lord. You don't want to be in that position. Friends, if you don't know how to share your faith, we'll teach you.

Go out there and sign up in the lobby. But let's go out every day with an awareness that we have this responsibility, and let's discharge it here in Washington, D.C. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to talk a little bit today about sharing our faith.

And thanks for reminding us that this is not an issue of choice. This is an issue of duty. And I pray that you would motivate us here to discharge that duty with all of our heart and all of our soul and to have a passion like the Apostle Paul did because we understand people's eternal destiny, and we know we have a spiritual responsibility. So, God, speak to our hearts today. Make us into evangelistic people here in Washington. And use us to change this city, to change thousands of people's eternal destiny in this city for Jesus Christ. And we pray this in your name. Amen.