Bible Verses About Evangelism
Introduction
Evangelism is the announcement of good news. The word comes from the Greek euangelion, which means gospel or good news, and the evangelist is literally the one who brings the good news. Before the word acquired its contemporary connotations of a particular method or temperament, it described the activity of everyone who carried the message of what God had done in Christ into the world where it had not yet been heard.
The Bible's vision of evangelism is both more comprehensive and more varied than the approaches that tend to dominate contemporary Christian conversation about it. It includes the formal proclamation of Peter at Pentecost and the informal conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well. It includes the systematic argument of Paul in the synagogues and the simple testimony of the man born blind who could only say one was blind and now I see. It includes the deliberate missionary journey and the community whose quality of life together prompts its neighbors to ask questions. The variety of the biblical picture resists the reduction of evangelism to any single method.
What the biblical accounts consistently show is that evangelism is the natural overflow of the life that has been genuinely transformed by the gospel rather than the performance of a religious duty. The disciples in Acts did not need to be convinced to talk about what they had seen and heard. The early church's growth was not the product of strategic communication campaigns. It was the consequence of the encounter with the risen Christ producing in ordinary people an announcement that they could not contain.
These verses speak to anyone who wants to understand the biblical theology of evangelism, anyone whose approach to sharing the gospel needs to be reconnected to the biblical picture, and anyone who feels the gap between the command to go and the difficulty of going.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Evangelism
The Greek word euangelizomai means to announce good news, to bring the gospel. It is used of Isaiah's servant who brings good news to the poor (Luke 4:18), of the angel announcing the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10), of Jesus himself announcing the kingdom (Luke 8:1), and of the disciples announcing the resurrection throughout the book of Acts. The word describes an activity rather than a profession: everyone who announces the good news is doing the work of evangelism.
The Greek word martyreo means to witness or to testify, and describes the bearing of testimony to what one has personally experienced. The witnesses of Acts 1:8 are the people who will testify to what they have seen and heard rather than to a set of arguments they have learned. The word connects evangelism to personal encounter: the testimony is most powerful when it is most personal.
Bible Verses About the Commission to Evangelize
Matthew 28:19-20 — ("Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.")
The Great Commission is the primary statement of the evangelistic task. The go establishes the direction: outward into the world rather than waiting for the world to come. The make disciples of all nations establishes the scope: no people or culture is outside the reach of the commission. The baptizing and teaching are the specific activities of the disciple-making. The I am with you always is the promise that accompanies the commission: the going happens in the presence of the one who sends.
Acts 1:8 — ("But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.")
The witness empowered by the Holy Spirit is the description of the evangelism that the book of Acts records. The power comes on the witnesses before they go rather than being something they generate. The witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth describes the expanding geography of the evangelistic mission. The ends of the earth is the destination: no place is beyond the reach of the witness.
Mark 16:15 — ("He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'")
The go into all the world and the all creation are the comprehensive scope of the evangelistic commission. The preach the gospel is the specific activity: the announcement of the good news rather than the living of a good example alone. The gospel is to be spoken as well as embodied.
Romans 10:14-15 — ("How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'")
The chain of reasoning from sending to preaching to hearing to believing to calling establishes the necessity of the human announcement in the process of salvation. The how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news is the celebration of the evangelist as the one whose going is the beautiful provision for those who have not yet heard. The necessity of the preaching establishes that the witness cannot be replaced by the living of a good life alone.
Bible Verses About the Content of the Gospel
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — ("For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.")
The content of first importance that Paul passed on is the content of the gospel: the death of Christ for sins, the burial, and the resurrection. The as of first importance establishes the priority: these facts are not one element among many but the core around which everything else is organized. The according to the Scriptures establishes the rootedness of the announcement in the larger story of Israel that it fulfills.
Acts 2:22-24 — ("Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.")
Peter's Pentecost sermon is the first recorded evangelistic proclamation after the resurrection. The accrediting by miracles, the crucifixion, and the resurrection are the three acts of the announcement. The God raised him from the dead is the pivot: the cross alone is tragedy. The resurrection is the good news that transforms the tragedy into the gospel. The because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him is the theological ground of the resurrection: death could not contain the one it tried to hold.
Romans 1:16 — ("For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.")
The gospel as the power of God that brings salvation is the description of the content and the effect of the evangelistic announcement. The not ashamed is Paul's deliberate stance toward a message that the world tends to find foolish or offensive. The power of God rather than the power of human persuasion establishes that the effectiveness of the gospel is not dependent on the eloquence of the evangelist.
Bible Verses About the Evangelist's Life and Witness
1 Peter 3:15 — ("But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.")
The giving of an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope is the evangelism that flows from the visible quality of the Christian's life. The hope is visible enough that people ask about it. The preparedness to give an answer establishes that the evangelism requires both the life that prompts the question and the readiness to answer it. The with gentleness and respect is the manner: the answer is given in a way that honors the person who asked.
Matthew 5:14-16 — ("You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.")
The seeing of the good deeds that leads to glorifying the Father is the community's evangelism through the quality of its life. The light on the stand gives light to everyone in the house: the visible difference of the community is the invitation to the inquiry that the gospel answers. The that they may see is the purpose of the visible life: not the display of virtue but the prompting of the question that leads to God.
Acts 4:29 — ("Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.")
The prayer for great boldness in the face of threats is the early church's model of how the courage for evangelism is sought. The enable your servants establishes that the boldness is a gift to be received rather than a resolve to be worked up. The speaking your word with great boldness is the specific form of the evangelism that the prayer seeks: the speaking of the word clearly and without the fear of consequences.
Colossians 4:5-6 — ("Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.")
The make the most of every opportunity and the conversation full of grace and seasoned with salt are the description of the informal evangelism of the everyday life. The wisdom in the way you act toward outsiders is the attentiveness to the people outside the community and the manner of the engagement. The full of grace and seasoned with salt describe the quality of the conversation: nourishing and interesting rather than either bland or harsh.
Bible Verses About the Results of Evangelism
Acts 2:41 — ("Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.")
The three thousand added on the day of Pentecost is the first recorded result of the post-resurrection evangelism. The accepted his message and were baptized describes the response that the proclamation produced. The added to their number establishes that the result of evangelism is not only personal conversion but incorporation into the community of those who belong to Christ.
Isaiah 55:11 — ("So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.")
The word that will not return empty but will accomplish God's desire is the promise of the effectiveness of the gospel announcement. The evangelist does not control the response. But the word that is faithfully spoken will accomplish God's purpose. The confidence in the effectiveness of the word rather than the effectiveness of the method is the ground of the evangelistic confidence.
John 4:28-30 — ("Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?' They came out of the town and made their way toward him.")
The woman at the well who leaves her water jar and goes to the town to announce her encounter with Jesus is one of the simplest and most effective models of personal evangelism in the Gospels. The come, see a man is the invitation to the personal encounter that is the form of the announcement. The could this be the Messiah is the question rather than the declaration, which draws the people toward Jesus to find out for themselves.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
Evangelism is most honestly prayed about from the recognition that the power is the Spirit's rather than ours and that the fruitfulness of the word is God's work rather than the evangelist's achievement. These verses can become prayers for both the boldness and the opportunity.
Acts 1:8 — ("You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.") Response: "I need the power before I need the strategy. Give me what you gave the first witnesses: the Spirit who makes the testimony more than what I could produce on my own."
Romans 10:15 — ("How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!") Response: "Make my feet beautiful. Give me the going that this verse celebrates. Show me who is waiting to hear what I have already received."
1 Peter 3:15 — ("Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.") Response: "Let the hope be visible enough that people ask. And let me be ready when they do: with the gentleness and respect that honor the person in front of me."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about evangelism? The Bible presents evangelism as the natural overflow of the life that has been transformed by the gospel and the obedient response to the commission that Jesus gave before his ascension. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 gives the task. Acts 1:8 gives the empowerment. Romans 10:14-15 establishes the necessity of the human announcement in the process of salvation. First Peter 3:15 describes the personal readiness to give the reason for the hope. The biblical picture includes formal proclamation, informal conversation, personal testimony, and the visible quality of community life that prompts the questions the gospel answers.
What is the gospel that evangelism announces? First Corinthians 15:3-4 gives the most compact statement: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. The death is the address of the problem of sin. The burial is the confirmation that the death was real. The resurrection is the announcement that death has been defeated and that the new creation has begun. The good news is the announcement of these specific events and their specific significance for everyone who hears and believes.
Does evangelism require a specific method? The variety of the biblical examples resists the reduction of evangelism to any single method. Peter at Pentecost preaches to a large crowd. Jesus speaks privately with the Samaritan woman at the well. The man born blind offers only his personal testimony. Paul reasons in the synagogues and in the Areopagus. Colossians 4:5-6 describes the informal evangelism of everyday conversation full of grace and seasoned with salt. The consistent elements across the variety of methods are the content, which is always the gospel, the manner, which is always characterized by the Spirit's power, and the goal, which is always the making of disciples rather than only the production of decisions.
How do you share the gospel with someone who is not interested? First Peter 3:15 suggests that the evangelism that flows from the visible quality of a life grounded in hope is the form of evangelism that prompts the questions the gospel answers. The life that is different enough to prompt the question gives the opportunity that the readiness of verse 15 is prepared for. The gentleness and respect with which the answer is given honors the person's freedom to respond as they choose. Romans 1:16's power of God that brings salvation establishes that the effectiveness of the gospel is not ultimately dependent on the persuasiveness of the presentation or the receptivity of the audience. The faithful speaking of the word that will not return empty (Isaiah 55:11) is the evangelist's responsibility. The response is God's work in the person who hears.
Is sharing the faith the responsibility of every Christian or only certain people? The Great Commission is addressed to all the disciples rather than to a designated group of evangelists. Acts 8:4 records that those who had been scattered by the persecution went everywhere preaching the word: the scattered believers, not only the apostles, were the evangelists who carried the gospel to new places. The spiritual gift of the evangelist (Ephesians 4:11) describes a particular calling within the body, but the witness of Acts describes ordinary believers who could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20). The responsibility to be a witness belongs to everyone. The particular gift of the evangelist is a specific intensification of that general responsibility.
