Penetrating questions are raised by New Testament evangelism: “How do you experience salvation?” How do you bring your friend, your neighbor, or your family member to know, to experiencing the Lord? How does the evangelism of believers reach everyone in the world?

The world of evangelism has become a myriad of methods and techniques. It has tried one-on-one high pressure selling of Christ. It has attempted to subject by force entire armies and nations. Well meaning people have tried just about everything in their attempt to evangelize the world.

In the recent years, however, modern evangelistic methods have a mortality rate of 76-92 per cent. Out of 100 people converted to Christ, 76 of those conversions (92 in some cases) will lose their spiritual identity before they become an integrated part of a Christian community. Although these methods appear to be successful, the back door of the visible church is as wide open as the front door. The modern evangelistic approach does not seem to be working. New Testament evangelism for many needs to be redefined.

New Testament evangelism of Jesus.

How did Jesus share the life of the Father? How did He bring salvation? How did he share eternal life?

In his priestly prayer to the Father, he prayed “. . . I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). Days before Jesus died on the cross, he said that he had finished his work. Amazingly, he is stating that his desire, his purpose in life was finished before he went to the cross.

In that same prayer, he prayed, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word” (John 17:6). Four times in this one verse, he mentioned the object of his work: men, they, them, and they. It seems Jesus left the glory world and came to this world just to enter into the lives of a very few people. He came to share the Father with basically twelve-twenty people.

New Testament evangelism is unique.

Jesus is the distinctive answer for every man’s need.  However, how one comes to find that answer must be also distinctive as well. The sharing of eternal life requires the sharing to be different. Every believer should look up and notice the people that God has already brought into their lives. The family, the neighbour, the grocery clerk, the mailman, and the countless other people God brings together to experience his life.  If you will listen closely, you will hear their cries for help. Jesus did say, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:34-38)

Just as Jesus entered into the lives of a few people (“. . . as many as [the Father] hast given him” [John 17:2]), God seeks every believer to enter into the lives of those He brings to them.  The Father is not asking every believer to win the world for Jesus.  He simply seeks people to encounter his love with other people.  He only asks that his love may flow through the believer to care, to share, and, possibly, just to wipe the tears from someone’s eyes.  It is New Testament evangelism.

New Testament evangelism is the real joy of life.

The meat of every Christian should be “to do the will of him that [sends the Christian], and to finish his work.”  God’s will and God’s work is for each believer to allow Jesus to manifest his love through the believer unto those that God has brought into his life (John 17:2-6).  Many do not understand and religion will actually deny it, but just the simple experiencing of Jesus Christ, the Life, in the connections of life is the mandate of sharing eternal life.  The oneness of Jesus, others, and you is the real “joy” of life.

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