EVAN 101-C09
November 7, 2011
Methods of Evangelism
Part ONE - Evangelistic Method #1 - The “Intellectual” method of evangelism that I chose to research is the Four Spiritual Laws. In summary this method is one of the simplest to use when you want to present the Gospel to someone. It was originally written as a booklet by Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, who was motivated by the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) in 1952 as a quick and efficient way to teach people how they can be saved. The Four Spiritual Laws use Scripture to convict, convince and convert. They are:
1) God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life (John 3:16).
2) Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life (Romans 3:23; 6:23).
3) Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life (Romans 5:8).
4) We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives (Romans 10:9-10). The advantage of using the Four Spiritual Laws method is that they do represent the basic truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This style of evangelism can be used in casual conversation by simply asking “Have you ever heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?” That in itself opens a conversation in a non-threatening way. The conversation begins with the most well known verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). From the start of the conversation the listener knows that God loves them. It then continues with the fact that we are all sinners and that alone separates us from God. It presents the claims of Christ clearly, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Finally,
References: Earley, D., and Wheeler, D. (2010). Evangelism Is: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence, Nashville, TN: B & H Academic Publishing Group. Hutson, C. (2000). Lifestyle Evangelism Refuted: Sword of the Lord Publishing. The Effectiveness of Door to Door Evangelism, Christian Evangelism, http://www.christianevangelism.net. [ 3 ]. Dave Earley and David Wheeler, Evangelism Is: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence (Nashville: B & H Academic Publishing Group, 2010), 184-185. [ 4 ]. Hutson, C. (2000). Lifestyle Evangelism Refuted. Sword of the Lord Publishing.