Devotional Messages

Our Evangelism

Paul's denunciation of the Corinthians in today's reading, for splitting and following different Church leaders, introduces a few good points to consider in our own personal evangelism.

God has assigned us all work which He desires us to do (v.5), and He uses us in this work to glorify His name. Living as the Bible tells us to live is one thing which all Christians are called to do in order that we can please God and "witness" for Christ - we become examples of His love for others to see so that they may come to know Him through us.

In the analogy that Paul gives (he 'planted a seed', 'Apollos watered it' but 'God made it grow' in v.6) we see how God uses us as His tools to do work, but He is the one that actually makes things happen. Obviously, this example refers to Paul preaching the gospel to the Corinthians, Apollos encouraging and nurturing them, but God actually working in them to understand what is preached and respond to it; for as we learned over the last two days, the gospel is foolishness to those who do not have the Spirit to aid in their understanding (1 Cor. 1-2).

Now all Christians are called to be ready to evangelise when God provides the opportunity (1 Pet. 3:15), so being able to tell the gospel faithfully and lead others to Christ is an integral ability for every Christian to possess. But Paul here points out explicitly that it is the power of the gospel itself that saves, not the way we present it.

It is often tempting to 'water down' the gospel, or to steer clear of extreme words such as 'sin' and 'hell' and sometimes even 'love'. But in doing so, it becomes easy to start talking of a salvation that is not as desperately needed as it is, or that is not centered on the love of God shown in Christ Jesus on the cross.

This type of evangelism is simply not right, for in treating God's truth this way, we are showing that we trust more in our ability to convince others, than in God's ability to work in them. We must preach Christ crucified; that is, Christ dying for our sins, to avert God's wrath; "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" (v.11).

Not all Christians are called to be Evangelists as Paul and the other Apostles were, but all are called to witness in their daily lives for Christ. It remains that we must all posses the right attitude towrds this witnessing so that it may 'bear fruit'. That is, we must be ready to faithfully and truthfully tell of Jesus' saving work - not skipping integral parts (and not focussing on them either) - at the same time praying to God that He would work in those to whom we come in contact, so that they may understand what we, as servants of God, have shown and told them.

Praise God that He has worked in you, that you may know Him and respond to His gospel; and pray that you would take the opportunities that He presents to glorify His name; and pray for those to whom you come in contact, that God would work in them to see and respond to His glory.