Once upon a time in a land far away, I heard a speaker at a conference insisting that evangelism ought to engage with the cultures around us. The task seemed so complicated. Mapping conceptual worlds. Integrating lofty ideas into unseen mental frameworks. And all of this was to be done well before you open your mouth about Jesus. Everyone I spoke with at morning tea had been thoroughly convinced of one thing: they could never do the kind of thing the speaker was calling for. And most of them were ministers who had gone through a full theological education! What hope would the unlettered and ordinary amongst us have (as the apostles were called, Acts 4:13)?
In contrast, the view of evangelism in the book of Acts is refreshing for its simplicity. It shows evangelism by everyday people, through everyday words, in every day places. And as some of its opponents recognized, this kind of evangelism turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
Perhaps learning four simple lessons from Acts can help this happen in our day too.
1. Evangelism is the simple purpose of these last days
On that extraordinary day when Jesus rose from the dead, evangelism became the ordinary activity of his people for the rest of time. When he was crucified, his friends thought everything had come crashing to an end (Luke 24:19 -21). In fact, everything was just beginning.
As he walked along the road with Cleopas and friend on resurrection afternoon, and as he appeared to the rest of his disciples on resurrection evening, he gave them all a Bible study. The Scriptures foretold that the Christ must suffer and then enter his glory through rising from the dead. Once these two great events in God’s plan had come about, there was a third and final thing that would take place: repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations (Luke 24:25 -27; 45 -47).
Evangelism is this proclamation of the gospel of forgiveness to the nations. Evangelism is necessary because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead (Acts 3:15, 17 -19, 26). Evangelism is necessary because Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead (Acts 3:20 -21; 17:30 -31). Evangelism is necessary because it is the last step in God’s three-step plan, as promised in the Scriptures and as demonstrated in Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
We human beings can only know about ultimate reality if God tells us about ultimate reality. God reveals ultimate reality to the world by raising Jesus from the dead. We human beings crucified Jesus of Nazareth, but God raised him from the dead (Acts 2:23 -24; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30 -32), showing that he is Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). As the one who has been raised from the dead, he is the one who will judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:39 -42; 17:30 -31). All people everywhere need to take this reality seriously, and live in the light of the Judgment Day, whose date is already circled on God’s fridge calendar. And that means repentance: turning towards God, and living for Christ in the expectation of his promised kingdom.
Reality—as revealed by Jesus resurrection—therefore leads to a simple purpose for these last days. It is the time for the gospel of forgiveness to be taken to the nations.
2. Evangelism proclaims a simple message for these last days
The message to be proclaimed is so simple a child can grasp it. Because Jesus died, we can be forgiven. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be saved and receive the Spirit of God to transform all of life (Acts 2:38 -39).
But, of course, this is not an ordinary thing to talk about. A man has risen from the dead?? Although simple to say, its uniqueness makes it strange. And its strangeness makes us fearful to speak it, and so we can be tempted to modify the message. Rather than speaking about Jesus resurrection from the dead that guarantees our own future resurrection from the dead (Acts 4:2; 26:22 -23), we can be tempted to make the Christian message all about this world. If we waltz down this track, the Christian movement becomes just another voice attempting to make this world a better place. Worse still, once Christianity wrongly gets the label religion it starts to look like any other human attempt to find a god or propagate an odd way of life. Like those many other very human activities, it quickly takes on a form of godliness but denies its power (2 Tim 3:5).
But in the first instance, evangelism is not about this world at all. It is about the world to come. What we do in this world then falls into line with the next. A man has risen from the dead. There is a resurrection day for all. Everyone needs to reckon with this future day of giving account (Acts 17:30 -31; 24:25). Once the risen Christ brings the refreshing hope of life in the world to come, he then transforms life in this present evil age . The message of resurrection is always current, and never needs updating. It is suitable for all occasions.
At a much later date, Swiss Theologian Karl Barth opened his Letter to Great Britain from Switzerland with a simple statement of this fact of immense significance even in the midst of the carnage of the Second World War: The world in which we live is the place where Jesus Christ rose from the dead .[1] In making this bold statement of a strange event in the far-distant past — an event which many would deem ridiculous, contentious, or irrelevant to the current needs of humanity— Barth followed the boldness of the apostle Paul.
This was Paul’s simple message to whom he spoke, whether they were Jewish Pharisees who expected a resurrection day, or Jewish Sadducees who denied it (Acts 23:6 -8). He spoke of Jesus and the resurrection (Acts 17:18) to Gentile philosophers, who would consider resurrection either impossible or distasteful (Acts 17:30 -31). To the pragmatic ears of Rome’s military and political rulers, his message of resurrection appeared weird and time-wasting, and yet that’s what Paul still gave them (Acts 18:14 -16; 24:1, 21, 24 -26; 25:13 -14, 18 -20; 26:22 -26).
But, if you think about it, why wouldn t he keep on speaking like this? A man had risen from the dead!
This is the simple message that turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6) before starting to rebuild human beings according to God’s designs. If we fail to speak this message, we lose its power.
3. Evangelism points to simple proof in these last days
With such a message —simple, but strange— hearers will ask for proof. God has given the proof we need. The resurrection of Jesus is the demonstration that there is a Judgement Day fixed in God’s calendar, and that Jesus, the Saviour, will be our Judge (Acts 17:30 -31).
So that the world might know the certainty of his resurrection, Jesus appointed a special group who would provide the necessary eyewitness testimony for all people down through time. You are witnesses of these things , he said (Luke 24:48). They knew him before he died, so they could recognize him after he rose (Acts 1:21 -22). After he rose from the dead, he ate and drank with this group to demonstrate he was alive again from the dead (Luke 24:36 -44; Acts 10:39 -42). They heard him, saw him, touched him, and even ate with him. So many senses pressing upon them the reality of this most remarkable event!
Not only was this extraordinary event demonstrated in thoroughly ordinary human ways, it was then communicated in thoroughly ordinary ways. Those that heard, touched, and saw him alive from the dead, then spoke about it to every person they could find — just as you would expect! And just so all people everywhere for all time might have the opportunity to hear, their eyewitness testimony was not only proclaimed, it was also written down. Thank God! Even those who live way beyond the lifetime of the witnesses can now read their evidence for themselves.
In God’s kindness, he provides one simple proof (Jesus resurrection), reported in exactly the same simple way that we learn about anything else in life (eyewitness testimony).
4. Evangelism is a very simple activity in these last days
For the rest of us, evangelism is not complex at all. The eyewitnesses have done the heavy lifting already. We simply repeat their word. As we read Acts we hear their message. As we believe, we speak (2 Cor 4:13). The gospel message in Acts works to change our hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). Out of the overflow of our heart, our mouth speaks (Matt 12:34). We simply say what they said. We simply say what the original eyewitnesses said they heard and saw. Forgiveness of sins can be ours, because a crucified man has risen from the dead. The world has been turned upside down forever.
And Evangelism simply, does that all over again.
Peter Bolt lectures in New Testament and is Head of Moore College’s Department of New Testament and Greek.
[1] K. Barth, A Letter to Great Britain from Switzerland (London: Sheldon, 1941), 10.
