VOLUM E 2 DECEMBER.

1970 NUMBER 2

THEMEOF THISISSUE
'' EVANGELISM ''
=-::
1'. II
I' ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

The Church Must Be Mllttant . . . . . .. . . .1

.

The Great Commtssion and Evangelism .. .3 ,'

II
' Makmg The Word Revelant . .. .. . . . . . .. .6 I

A Matter of " AdJUStment" In Evangelism' . .• 7 I

Evangelism Through the Pulp•t • . • . . . 10 I

Evangeltsm Through The Btble School . . . 14

~ 1~:
Day By Day Ev.Jngelism . ~ .. .. . . . 16 I

Evangelism Throu gh Laterature . . 21

Evangeh,inq The College Campuses . . . 2S

Fnh~tmg More Members In Evangelism . 28

Love· The Mo tave For Evangelism . . 33
Why Some Churches Do Not Grow 36

The Example of Paul in Evangelism . • 39

Fertt11re Arttcle lor Otldrter
False Vtewsot Truth !No 21 . . . . .. • 44

The Challenge Before Us .... .. . . . . 48

l;z
'·
SPIRITUAL SWORD
Published quarterly by
the Getwell Church of
Chr i s t, 1511 Getwell
Road, Memphis, Tenn.
38111.
Second Class Postage Paid at
Memphis, Tennessee.
Thomas B. Warren, PhD.
Editor
Rubel Shelly
Associate Editor
RATES FOR
ADDITIONAL COPIES
(All Past Editions In Print)
100 copies. . . . 35.00
50 copies. . . . 20.00
25 copies. . . . 12.00
Less than
25 copies. . . . 60 ea.
Note: A check must
accompany your order.
Mail orders to Spiritual
Sword, c/o Getwell
Church of Christ, 1511
Getwell Road, Memphis,
Tennessee 38111.
Additional copies of pre-
vious issues of the Spiritual
Sword are available through
Getwell Church of Christ.
SPECIAL ON EVANGELISM
The end to be achieved through all the works of the
church—self-edification, benevolence and evangelism—is
the salvation of souls. But evangelism is a direct involve-
ment in the work of winning people to Jesus Christ by the
teaching of the gospel. It involves the actual process of
teaching a person how to receive salvation and encourag-
ing him to obey that truth. This may be done publicly—by
a preacher in a pulpit, on radio or TV—or privately—one
person talking to one other. But it must be done!
In order to truly be the church of Christ we must be
seekers after lost souls. The purpose of this special issue of
the Spiritual Sword is to examine the role of the church
and her individual members in this work.
The first four articles in this issue deal with the script-
ural basis for and challenges to the work of evangelism.
The next six deal with specific methods of evangelism—
Sunday school programs, public preaching, literature, per-
sonal evangelism, work in special areas such as college
campuses, etc. The omission of other topics in this section
(e.g., radio, TV, etc.) is due only to the limitation of space
and is in no way intended to minimize the effectiveness of
such. Finally, the last three articles treat—both negatively
and positively—certain factors of motivation for this great
work of evangelism.
There can be no misunderstanding of the fact that
Christ intended for his disciples to evangelize the world.
That the early church took this responsibility seriously is
evident from the record of their evangelistic zeal in the
book of Acts. We must take the responsibility equally
seriously and be about the work with equal vigor and
determination!
It is our sincere prayer that this issue of the Spiritual
Sword will encourage its every reader to become fully
committed to the task of taking the gospel to every crea-
ture in our generation!
 THE CHURCH MUST BE MILITANT
THOMASB WARREN
The word "militant" is heard quite
often in our land these days. Usually the
word is associated with those who are in-
volved in riots, the burning of buildings,
attacking of police, disrupting the educa-
tional processes of our colleges and uni-
versities, etc.
In saying that the church must be mil-
itant, 1 do not mean that the church must
be associated with any of the matters just
mentioned. I do mean that the church, as
Christ's army (2 Timothy 2:3, Ephesians
6:10-17), is to be aggressive in carrying
out its mission of preaching the gospel to
every creature (Mark 16:15,16). To say
that the church is Christ's army is to say
that it faces a battle—a fight! and that it
is to be aggressively involved in this fight.
In spite of the fact that most of their
contemporaries were largely indifferent
to religion, the Christians of the first cen-
tury exercised a tremendous influence on
the Roman Empire. In fact, the early
church was described as having "turned
the world upside-down" (Acts 17:6) and
as being "everywhere spoken against"
(Acts 28:22). Within a very short while
they carried the gospel to the then known
world (Colossians 1:23).
However, the church of the twentieth
century is not "turning the world upside-
down" as did the church of the first cen-
tury. Largely, the church is unknown,
and many of those who know of it are
indifferent to it—they neither admire it
*Thomas B. Warren, Chairman of Dept. of Bible,
nor hate it. Why is this the case? Is it not
because the church of the twentieth cen-
tury is not doing what the church of the
first century did, or else that it is not
doing what it is doing in the way the
church of the first century did?
It ought to be of significant interest to
Christians to consider why the early
church had such a tremendous impact on
the culture in which it existed. Why did
the early church have such tremendous
influence? If we can ascertain the reasons
for this influence, surely we will be wiser
in accomplishing our task today.
1. The early church had such great in-
fluence upon the world of its day because
of its attitude toward God. Early Christ-
ians were not willing for the one true
eternal God to be recognized as simply
one god among many other equally val-
uable gods of similar nature and power.
They would have none of this for a
moment. Rather, they declared that there
was one, and only one, true, living God!
While they preached this message with
kindness and love, they never compromis-
ed it; they never sounded an uncertain
voice about it. (Acts 17:24-31; Ephe-
sians 4:4-6).
2. The early church made a terrific
impact upon the world of its day because
it refused to stand in silence in the face of
the view that Christ was only another
"savior" among many other saviors of
like power. Christians preached that men
Freed-Hardeman College, Henderson, Tenn.
Page 2
could be saved by Jesus Christ of Naz-
areth and only by Him (Acts 4:12; Acts
3:19-22; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). They
constantly affirmed the truth stated by
Jesus and recorded in John 8:24.
3. The church of the first century
turned its world upside-down because it
rejected the view that the gospel of Christ
was only one religious message among
many other equally valuable messages.
Christians contended that the gospel was
the one and only message by which men
could be saved! They declared, "there
is. . .one faith. . ." (Ephesians 4:4-6). They
militantly rejected the view that "one
faith is as good as another." They con-
tended that acceptable faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God
(Romans 10:17). They held that truth is
absolute and objective—not relative and
subjective.
4. The early church made a tremen-
dous impact upon the world of its day
because it preached that one message—the
gospel—everywhere (Acts 8:4). Christians
went into the very midst of the Jewish
doctors of the Law and there preached
"Christ crucified" as the fulfillment of
the prophecies concerning the Messiah in
the Old Testament scriptures. Then, they
challenged these Jewish doctors to refute
that affirmation! They went into the
midst of the Greek doctors of philosophy
and there preached "Christ—the wisdom
of God" and challenged these "men of
wisdom" to refute that affirmation. While
it is true that they did not do this preach-
ing in the spirit of arrogance or of self-
righteousness, it is also true that, while
being motivated by love for God and
man, they were nevertheless firm in their
conviction and in their preaching.
5. The early church turned the world
upside-down because of its attitude
toward the body of Christ, the church
(Ephesians 1:22,23). Members made it
clear that reconciliation unto God is in
that one body (Ephesians 2:13-16) and in
no other! They made it clear that the
church— that one body of Christ—was
purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts
20:28).
6. The church of the first century
made a tremendous impact upon the
world of its day because the members of
it lived lives of sincere dedication to
Christ. Members truly presented their
bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord.
They knew that the greatest battle going
on in this world is not some political or
military battle, but is the battle between
Christ and Satan—between the church
and every person or group which opposes
the work which Christ has given the
church to do. Many of these members
were willing to die rather than be unfaith-
ful to Christ (Acts 21:13). They realized
that they could not "spare themselves"
but that rather they must "give them-
selves away"—that the only way they
could ever really live was to die—to die to
the world and become alive to Christ (2
Corinthians 5:17-19; Romans 6:3-5)!
They were willing to take up the cross
daily and suffer whatever came their way
because of their faithfulness to Christ
(Luke 9:23,24).
Because it did these (and other things,
no doubt) the church of the first century
"turned the world upside-down." People
everywhere were talking about it—they
either loved or hated the church. No
doubt, it is the case that if we who are
Christians in the twentieth century would
begin to do these same things, we also
would make a tremendous impact with
the truth (on the world in which we live)
with the Gospel of Christ. It is surely the
case that the New Testament lays upon
the church the obligation to preach the
gospel in such fashion as to constitute a
challenge to the world. In a very real
sense, the world must be "staggered" by
the gospel! The world must learn that not

only does the gospel differ from the doc-
trines of men, but that that difference
really does make a difference! The world
must learn that the difference between
truth and error is the difference between
eternal life and eternal punishment for
every responsible person in this world.
Perhaps some well-meaning brethren will
object in this fashion, "We must make a
positive approach; we must not build up
prejudice by preaching any negative
matters." To such an objection I would
reply, "Jesus and the apostles were moti-
vated by love both for God and man and
yet they preached the truth plainly, ex-
posing false doctrine and false teachers.
In doing so they turned the world up-
side-down. This is the very job the Lord
gave the church to do. Since He wants it
done, and since He has given us the job of
doing it, He will be with us in the doing
of it (Matthew 28:18-20)."
"Let us go up at once and possess it,
for we are well able to overcome it"
(Numbers 13:30)—with God's help.
We send forth this issue of the Spiri-
tual Sword with the prayer that brethren
everywhere will be motivated to even
greater heights of work for the Lord (I
Corinthians 15:58; Matthew 28:18-20).
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR STUDY
1. What is meant in saying that the church
must be "milita nt"?
2. What impact did the first-century Christian
have on their world?
3. What impact is the church of today having
on her world?
4. Why is this the case?
5. Discuss the attitude of the early Christians
toward God.
6. Discuss the attitude of the early Christians
toward Christ.
7. Discuss the attitude of the early Christians
toward the gospel.
8. Discuss the attitude of the early Christians
toward the church.
*Roy Deaver, Minister of Brown Trail Church of
Page 3
9. Discuss the personal conduct and missionary
zeal of the early disciples.
10. Suggest some specific opportunities for
evangelism which are presently being neglected.
THEGREAT
COMMISSION
AND EVANGELISM
ROYDEAVER
After the Lord had been raised from
the dead, and shortly prior to His
ascension back to the Father, He met
with His disciples upon a mountain of
Galilee—"where Jesus had appointed
them"—andgave to them the solemn
charge based upon which they were to go
forth into all the world, laboring diligent-
ly and constantly to make disciples of all
the nations. Our Lord said: "All author-
ity hath been given unto me in heaven
and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them into the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I
commanded you: and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the world."
(Matthew 28:18-20.)
Thus the Lord virtually set forth the
constitution of the Kingdom. Everything
inherent in New Testament Christianity is
embryonically involved in this commis-
sion. Apostolic teaching is but elabora-
tion upon and development of what is in-
cluded in the Great Commission. Aposto-
lic practice is but the exemplification of
what is included in the Great Commis-
sion.
It is not our purpose to engage in a
detailed consideration of the Great Com-
mission, though such would be tremen-
dously interesting and highly profitable
Rather, it is our purpose to consider
Christ. Hurst, Texas
Page 4
(briefly) the Great Commission in its rela-
tionship to (1) man's need for salvation,
(2) the scriptural basis for evangelism,
and (3) the church and evangelism.
Man's Need for Salvation
The Great Commission relates to
man's salvation. The very fact that the
Lord gave it clearly and forcefully de-
clares that man stands in need of salva-
tion. The Commission sets forth the
glorious plan, the divine process, the
sacred scheme by means of which human
beings may attain unto and rejoice in
actual forgiveness of sins. There was—and
there is—a need for this plan.
Man's need for salvation is clearly set
forth in the first three chapters of
Genesis. In fact, this is the very purpose
of Genesis one, two, and three. They
were written to explain to us why there
was a need for the plan of redemption.
This need is quickly set forth in these
facts: (1) God prepared a place for man's
habitation. (2) He put man (and his com-
panion) in that prepared place. (3) God
gave Adam and Eve wonderful privileges;
He also gave them divine law. (4) Man
transgressed God's law, and by this trans-
gression the devil was successful in inject-
ing sin and death (physical and spiritual)
into the world which God had made for
man. Cf. Romans 5:12. As a consequence
of the tragedy in Eden human beings are
born into a world where sin is, and where
death is. Therefore, God—because of mag-
nificent love—immediately involved Him-
self in working out the sacred plan for
man's salvation.
Sin is transgression of God's law (I
John 3:4). Every human being is born in-
to a world where sin is. Every human
being of normal function of mind, who
lives long enough, reaches a time in life
when he can distinguish between the right
and the wrong. He reaches accountability.
The Bible deals categorically with
accountable persons. Whenever an ac-
countable person—because of human
weakness and/or because of the power of
temptation—yields to temptation and
transgresses God's law, he thereby be-
comes a sinner.
The tragic fact is that every account-
able person does transgress God's law and
does become a sinner. Cf. Romans 3:23; I
John 1:8-10. All men stand in need of
God's plan for man's salvation.
Scriptural Basis for Evangelism
The Great Commission sets forth the
scriptural basis for evangelism. That scrip-
tural basis is the Lord Himself, and the
sacred charge which He gave.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
though they wrote from different view-
points and for different people, all wrote
to convince men that Jesus is the Christ,
the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
What is the significance of this fact? As
such, He is in position to be heir of "all
authority." Hence, upon the un-named
mountain of Galilee the Lord affirmed
that "all authority. . .in heaven and on
earth" had been given to Him. He is the
Son of God. He is the one—the only
one—who has the authority and power to
deal with the problem of human sins. The
Lord said to the disciples: "Go ye there-
fore.. . ." The "therefore" relates to the
authority which He had just affirmed to
be His.
This same thought Paul stresses in
Hebrews, chapters one and two. He
stresses that in times past God had
spoken. He had spoken unto the fathers.
He had spoken by (through) the pro-
phets. He had spoken "in many frag-
ments" and "by various methods." Paul
then stresses that God, "in these last
days," has "spoken unto us by his Son."
What about his Son? He is the appoint-

ed heir of all things. He is the very one by
whom God made the worlds. He is the
very brightness of God's glory. He is the
express image of God's person. He is the
one by whose all-powerful word God
upholds the universe. He is the one who
by Himself purged our sins, and then sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high, he is "better than the angels, as he
hath by inheritance obtained a more
excellent name than they." Through the
next several verses, Paul continues to
emphasize the greatness of the Son: His
authority, His position, His power. Then,
in chapter two (and there were no chap-
ters when Paul wrote it) he stresses:
"therefore, we need to listen to what He
has to say." "Therefore we ought to give
the more earnest heed to the things that
were heard (the things spoken to us by
God, through the Son), lest haply we
drift away from them."
The scriptural basis for making known
the divine message—whether to saint or
sinner—is the Lord Himself: who His is,
and what He is, and the charge which He
gave.
Based upon who He was and what He
was the Lord gave the solemn charge. He
commanded the disciples to go forth—
into all the world—and to make disciples
cf all the nations. He even specified the
means by which disciples were to be
made: by "baptizing them into the name
of the Father and the Son and of the
Holy Spirit"; by "teaching them to ob-
serve all things whatsoever I commanded
you. . ."
That this sacred charge was not to be
limited to the eleven men who heard it
originally or restricted to the apostolic
age is evidenced in the fact that the Lord
said". . .and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the world." God's people of
this day are, therefore, obligated (and
privileged) to labor in the marvelous light
of this grand Commission.
The scriptural basis for evangelism is:
the Lord Himself— who He is and what He
Page 5
is—and the solemn, sacred, sublime charge
which He gave.
The Church and Evangelism
Making disciples of all the nations is
evangelism. The evangelism is to make
known the glad-tidings. The evangelism in
the Great Commission involves the
church of our Lord.
Souls are valuable in the sight of God.
Souls need salvation. God wants men to
be saved. He had developed the sacred
plan and has charged that it be preached
to every creature in all the world. The
gospel of Christ is God's only saving
power, and it is for all men everywhere.
(Romans 1:16). How does the church of
our Lord relate to this gospel? Paul says,
"These things write I unto thee, hoping
to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry
long, that thou mayest know how men
ought to behave themselves in the house
of God, which is the church of the living
God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
(I Timothy 3:14,15.) "The truth," and
"the gospel" are the same. It is the
church which is the "pillar and support of
the truth." It is the church which is to
uphold, teach, preach, proclaim, live in
harmony with, and contend earnestly for
the gospel.
It is the mission of the church to save
the souls of men. The means of accom-
plishing this mission is evangelization. We
evangelize by what we do and by what we
say.
In accomplishing its God-given mission
the church—in evangelizing—performs
various specifics related to three basic
general obligations, God-given. There is
the obligation to carry the gospel; the
obligation to help the needy; and the
obligation to strengthen the church. The
church of our Lord is God's arrangement
for getting the whole gospel to the whole
world. And, it is entirely sufficient for
Page 6
accomplishing the purpose for which it
was established.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY
1. The Great Commission was given where?
2. In what sense should the Great Commission
be regarded as being the "constitution" of the
Kingdom?
3. The purpose of the present study is to con-
sider the Great Commission in its relationship
to what three matters?
4. What is the significance of the first three
chapters of Genesis?
5. Discuss the four basic points referred to, as
set forth in the first three chapters of Genesis.
6. What is sin? What is accountability?
7. The t r a g i c fact is that
accountable person
transgress God law and
become a sinner. Explain.
8. What is the fundamental message of
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?
9. What is the scriptural basis for evangelism?
10. According to I Timothy 3:14,15 what is
the relationship of the church to evangelism?
MAKING THE
WORD RELEVANT
JAMES BURTONCOFFMAN
There is to some degree prevalent an
impression that one of the duties of a
minister of the Gospel is that of "making
the Word of God relevant"; and, if by this
it is meant that sermons should be con-
structed in such a manner as to be per-
suasive and effective, there could be no
ground of disagreement. However, if in
the hope of a so-called "relevancy," the
Word of God itself is withheld, perverted,
compromised, or slanted to accomodate
the prejudices of unregenerated men, or
adjusted to the whims of the partially
*James Burton Coffman, minister, Manhattan Ch urch of Christ, New York, New York 10021
converted, such devices are sinful.
The glory of the great Apostle to the
Gentiles was that he "shunned not to de-
clare the whole counsel of God"; and
nowhere in the sacred Scriptures is there
the slightest hint that the Word of God
needs any human adjustment to enhance
its relevance to human needs. The very
metaphors in which the Word of God is
Biblically presented teach its inherent
relevance and by their imagery suggest
that no human effort is required to make
it so.
"Like a fire and like a hammer that
breaketh the rock into pieces. . ." Thus
Jeremiah (23:29) described the Word of
God. How does one make fire relevant?
Should a water hose be trained upon it?
And a hammer, how could that be made
relevant? Certainly not by trussing it up
with a cushion!
The Word of God is represented as
"bread" (Matthew 4:4), and how can
bread be made relevant, except by eating
it? Another metaphor makes it "the
water of life" (John 7:38; Revelation
22:17); and what could be required to
make water relevant? The prime require-
ment, as far as water is concerned, is to
be sure it's pure and drink it! If there
could be any such thing as a person's not
liking the taste of water, he would still
have to drink it in order to live.
And here is precisely what is observed
regarding the Word of God. There are,
alas, some who do not like it and who
will reject it no matter hew skilfully and
faithfully it may be preached; and any
effort to doctor up the Word of God so it
will appeal to such persons is an exercise
in total futility.
As a young minister, I enthusiastically
embraced the idea that with proper
preaching of God's Word all the world
would be won to Christ. Experience has
cast a shadow over any such view. Proper
preaching was given an adequate test in

Capernaum. It must be admitted that the
Lord was the greatest and best preacher
who ever lived, and the only perfect one;
and his assistants were the apostles them-
selves! They knew the territory, at least
five of them having been born and
brought up within five miles of Caper-
naum. Moreover, Christ got the attention
of the community. He raised Jairus'
daughter from the dead (and he was the
ruler of the synagogue), healed the noble-
man's son and the centurion's servant (he
was the richest man in town), and Him-
self confessed that the mighty works
done there would have saved Sodom it-
self! (Matthew 11:23).
The magnitude of what Jesus did in
Capernaum can be imagined by a com-
parison with what a similar thing would
be in a place like New York City. If a
preacher of the gospel should raise a
daughter of Cardinal Cooke from the
dead, cure Governor Rockefeller's wife of
cancer, and heal everyone in Bellevue
Hospital, it still could not equal the im-
pact of what Jesus did in Capernaum.
Then, why did Jesus fail in Caper-
naum?1 Why was there no mass rally to
the cause of Christ? Why was not every-
one converted? Simply because God gave
to the citizens of Capernaum the right of
freedom of the will, the right to choose;
and they chose darkness rather than light.
As long as men have this basic freedom
which is their God-given prerogative
many will choose evil instead of right-
eousness.
One is reminded of a big convention of
dog-food salesmen in Los Angeles where
the owner of a particular product made a
fervent presentation in which he de-
clared: "Look, this beautiful can with the
red and gold label contains three thou-
sand calories of pure protein. It is forti-
fied with vitamins A,B,C,D,E, and all the
B-complexes; it will make your dog's coat
silky, his teeth white, his eyes brilliant.
*Robert Camp, widely known lecturer on the theory of organic evolution; Minister of Northeast
Church of Christ, Atlanta, Georgia,
Page 7
and his disposition adorable. And it costs
only 13d. Why can't you go out and sell a
billion cans of it? "Silence fell on the
great assembly; and then from away up in
the balcony, a salesman stood up and
shouted, "The dogs don't like it!"
There are many human beings who do
not like the Word of God and will never
like it; and there is no way to make the
saving Word attractive to them that
choose to reject the counsel of their
Creator.
1. The Divine Purpose did not fail, but the
salvation, of Capernaum failed.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR STUDY
1. What is frequently meant by the expression
"making the Word of God relevant"?
2. What is required of men to make bread
relevant to man's needs? Water? The gospel?
3. Describe the work of Jesus in Capernaum.
4. Why was not everyone converted who heard
him preach?
5. Why do many people refuse to believe and
obey the gospel today?
A MATTER OF
"ADJUSTMENT"
IN EVANGELISM?
ROBERTCAMP
It is my belief that the great issue that
faces the church from within relates to
the matter of adjustment. We are ac-
quainted with the need for adjustment in
many areas and it is not so difficult for us
to be sold on the idea that the church
today needs to adjust itself to meet the
times.
This subject is so general that we can-
not make the simple statement that the
church needs to adjust or that the church
does not need to adjust. There are defi-
nitely areas where the church would
profit by adjusting to opportunities and
needs.
Page 8
However, I would like to mention
some particular points of issue. Some
brethren think that the church must,
should, and can adjust in these matters.
Other brethren, among whom I am, be-
lieve that the church is not required,
should not, and indeed, in any real
sense, CANNOT adjust.
Let's say that John Doe is traveling
across the ocean on a great liner. While
leaning over the rail, unknown to the
others aboard, he falls off into the sea.
The liner sails on leaving him behind. For
awhile John thrashes about, choking as
the water gets into his mouth and lungs,
terrified for his life. We might say that he
adjusted to his environment but we
would be more likely to say that he
drowned, finally.
I have no reason to doubt the sincerity
of many of the brethren in their efforts
to bring the church to an adjustment to
its environment in these matters, but they
are shallow in their thinking and have
failed to appreciate the implications of
the positions.
Some of the issues I have in mind are
the following. In these, it is my con-
viction that not only is the church not
required to adjust to its environment, it
should not and even more, in a real sense,
it cannot. The environment is too hostile
and there is no meeting ground.
1. In an environment of disbelief in
the inspiration and authority of the scrip-
tures, the church cannot adjust. The word
of God bears the same relationship to the
church that a seed does to the plant.
(Matt. 13:38). The church can no more
adjust to existence without God's word
than can a farmer adjust his harvest to a
complete lack of seed. The church is an
expression of that word. It is a result of
preaching the word. A visible institution
may continue to exist without the word
but it will not be the church of Christ.
2. We cannot adjust to a climate of
moral degeneration. Peter praises Lot for
his adamant refusal to adjust to the cor-
ruption of Sodom. (2 Peter 2:7). There
might have been some who would scorn
him and the angels for their "sexual
hang-ups" and for "turning off" the
Sodomites with their attitudes.
It is good that we live in a time when
sex can be discussed more openly under
the proper circumstances. This is a
healthy situation. However, who would
dream that being able to talk openly
about murder should be equated with
being able to commit it freely without
punishment or criticism?
Adjustment by the church to the pre-
sent situation of moral decay would pro-
duce apostasy. The church would cease to
exist in faithfulness.
3. We cannot adjust to the intellectual
fads of our times. There are many
fashions that are unrelated to the right-
eousness of a person, the width of lapels,
the color of ties, the shape of shoes, and
yes, even the style of hair itself. Let it be
understood that the fads and fashions
that I am speaking about are not these
trivialities, but involve the very heart of
faith itself. However, even in these
matters, we must question when someone
deliberately chooses to wear the uniforms
of anarchists! But the fashions themselves
are not the thing that we are discussing.
Many people would tell us that it is
the "in thing" to propound the doctrine
of evolutionary origin of man. This doc-
trine is destructive to faith in God's
word. One may think he can hold both
beliefs, but sooner or later he will look
closely and discover that he cannot. Then
he may abandon the Bible instead of
evolution.
There are other beliefs that are fash-
ionable among the supposed intellectuals
of our time. They are equally unfounded
but are worn to project an image as one
might wear the latest fashion. We cannot

adjust to these things. Since they are un-
founded, we certainly are not required to
by any reasoning, and further we should
not.
4. We cannot adjust to all forms of
language. Language is a system of
symbols of ideas. If it is not that, it is
nothing at all. This writer heard of a
young minister (not in the church of
Christ) who preached to college students
about his relationship with "this Jesus
cat." This is offensive. I cannot believe
that such language will ever provoke the
dedicated service to the Lord of heaven
which He requires of us. I'm sure that Lot
would have really "turned on" the men
of Sodom if he had engaged with them in
Sodomy. But can thinking people believe
that we win men to God with vileness just
because it is so attractive to some?
5. We cannot adjust to many different
basic kinds of evangelism. I recognize that
each area of work presents its own type
of challenges but the mission of the
church is the same wherever it is. There is
not one kind of evangelism known as
campus evangelism and another kind
known as urban evangelism and still
another known as sub-urban evangelism.
There are certainly these three types of
challenges in these three situations but we
need not modify the mission of the
church nor the message we take to fit
these three situations.
The college student who has not
obeyed the gospel is a sinner in danger of
being lost eternally in Hell as is the urban-
ite and the suburbanite. This is the most
pressing problem facing all of these
people. The solution is the same. The
specific technique for doing the work
may differ, but the basic work must be
the same.
I preach for a church which assembles
in the heart of the City of Atlanta. We
have made a sort of adjustment in recog-
nition of the fact that this is a harder
Page 9
work than usual. We have a work which
at present involves the use of four gospel
preachers. We hope in time to come to
have at least ten who are virtually full-
time evangelists to evangelize this area.
We are located four blocks from Georgia
Tech campus and we have a great work in
progress to evangelize this area, but we
preach the same gospel in basically the
same way to everyone.
It is a challenge and something to
which the church has become somewhat
unaccustomed, this idea of real evange-
lism, but there are some 200,000 souls in
our area, 8,000 of which are college stu-
dents, and they are all in urgent need of
the same thing, the saving power of the
blood of Christ and the power of the
Bible to bring them to it.
We are beginning to recognize that ef-
forts to "adjust" evangelism on campus
have led to abandonment of real evange-
lism in some cases. We need to recognize
that this "special case" concept can be
felt in other areas. We at the Northeast
Church of Christ must remind ourselves
that although we are an urban congrega-
tion, we must not change our mission to
become one simply of social work. This is
not to minimize benevolence. We need no
excuse for benevolence. It is involved in
the mission of the church; it is certainly
an expression of the FACT of Christ-
ianity, and we realize the need for a
powerful program of benevolence.
However, we think most shallowly if we
feel that real evangelism in urban areas is
not possible, practical and necessary. It is
a tragic mistake to "adjust" to the urban
situation in the sense I am talking about.
What Was Christ's Attitude Toward
Adjustment to the World?
1. He spent a great deal of time pre-
paring the disciples for the persecution
they would receive from the refusal to
Page 10
adjust to the demands from people
around them. Matt. 10:22. "And ye shall
be hated of all men for my name's sake:
but he that endureth to the end shall be
saved." Matt. 10:28.
2. He taught His disciples that they
were to be as leaven. Matt. 13:33. It is
the nature of leaven that it adjusts what-
ever contacts it to become like itself until
the whole lump is leaven and no part of it
is made weaker. Leaven that becomes like
the dough is worthless.
3. He taught His disciples that they
were to be like salt. Matt. 5:13. He stated
that when they lost their ability to carry
their influence to the world they had
failed. When salt ceases to make meat
salty and we might say that the salt be-
comes meaty instead, it has lost its savor
and good for nothing but to be cast out.
When the church leaves its great work of
adjusting the world to the gospel which
gives it life and succumbs to the influence
of the world, it is not dynamic, it is not
viable, it is not fresh and new, it is not
clever with special insight, it is a worth-
less lump of saltless salt. It is nothing at
all.
4. He told us through James, chapter
4, verse 4 that friendship with the world is
enmity with God.
Summation
I submit that we should not attempt
to adjust to the world because of Christ's
condemnation of such. I submit that by
no means do circumstances compel us to
do so to survive since survival rather de-
pends on the opposite and finally that
since such adjustment as we have men-
tioned results in destruction that it is no
real adjustment at all and that the church
of Christ today can no more make a
meaningful adjustment to the hostile en-
vironment in which it is than could that
man in the middle of the ocean adjust to
*AIan E. Highers, minister of the gospel, practic ing attorney in Memphis, Term.
his surroundings.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY
1. Why can the church not "adjust to meet the
times" with regard to our attitude toward the
inspiration and authority of the Bible?
2. With regard to moral standards?
3. With regard to intellectual fads of our day?
4. With regard to all forms of language?
5. With regard to many kinds of evangelism?
6. What was Christ's attitude toward adjust-
ment to the world?
EVANGELISM
THROUGH
THE PULPIT
ALAN E. HIGHERS
The importance of preaching could
scarcely be overemphasized. Its impor-
tance is not diminished by the fact that
preaching has, in some quarters, fallen in-
to disrepute. Its detractors today state
that preaching has lost its effectiveness
and that it no longer relates to man's
needs. This criticism of preaching, how-
ever, is not far removed from the criti-
cism of preaching in the first century.
The apostle Paul discussed in the first
two chapters of I Corinthians the worldly
wisdom which men valued so highly. In
distinction to the wisdom of the world,
he stated: "For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified." (I Cor. 2:2). With
reference to his message regarding Jesus
Christ, Paul affirmed, "And my speech
and my preaching were not in persuasive
words of wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power: that your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of
men, but in the power of God." (I Cor.
2:4-5). Paul's preaching did not corres-
pond with the norm of worldly wisdom—

he did not preach "in persuasive words of
wisdom," i.e., in the wisdom of men. The
power of his preaching was not "in words
which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
the Spirit teacheth." (I Cor. 2:13). He de-
clared, "For seeing that in the wisdom of
God the world through its wisdom knew
not God, it was God's good pleasure
through the foolishness of the preaching
(footnote: thing preached) to save them
that believe." (I Cor. 1:21). Paul preach-
ed the revelation of God, and preaching
itself is part of the wisdom of God al-
though to the worldly wise it may appear
as foolishness. Someone has wisely point-
ed out that we are saved by the foolish-
ness of preaching and not by the preach-
ing of foolishness.
Basis of Preaching
The preacher must begin with a funda-
mental faith in the word of God. To de-
clare the wisdom of God, one must recog-
nize the scriptures as the infallible, iner-
rant, and verbally-inspired word of God,
and Jesus Christ as the heaven-sent,
virgin-born Son of God. It is certainly
correct to say that not all preaching to-
day proceeds from these fundamental
premises, but it is just as correct to affirm
that these premises constitute the divine
standard for preaching.
More preachers are needed like the
prophet Micaiah. He was called before
king Ahab to testify to the king whether
God would bless him in battle against the
king of Syria. The king had already heard
from about four hundred prophets who
had sanctioned his plans with one voice.
The messenger who fetched Micaiah
warned him, as follows: "Behold now,
the words of the prophets declare good
and unto the king with one mouth: let
thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of
one of them, and speak thou good." Hear
Micaiah's reply: "As Jehovah liveth, what
Page 11
Jehovah saith unto me, that will I speak."
(I Kings 22:13-14). The prophet Jonah
was instructed by God to preach "the
preaching that I bid thee." (Jonah 3:2).
Paul charged Timothy, "Preach the
word." (II Tim. 4:2).
Purpose of Preaching
The central design of all preaching
should be to save souls—both of speaker
and hearers. Paul told Timothy, "Take
heed to thyself and to thy teaching.
Continue in these things; for in doing this
thou shalt save both thyself and them
that hear thee." (I Tim. 4:16). To
accomplish this purpose, however,
preaching should be directed to at least
two goals: to teach and to motivate.
Some preaching may motivate without
teaching anything, but such motivation
lacks proper direction. Motivation should
be based on teaching. Other sermons may
teach in a factual, pedantic way, yet fail
to motivate. Ideally, the sermon will
instruct in the word of God and, on the
basis of that instruction, motivate one to
live and act accordingly.
Kind of Preaching Needed
1. Bible-centered preaching. Jesus not
only commanded preaching, he told what
to preach. "Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to the whole creation."
(Mark 16:15). "Preach the word." (II
Tim. 4:2). Men have not always sought
the kind of preaching which they needed.
The rebellious people in Isaiah's day said,
"Prophesy not unto us right things, speak
unto us smooth things, prophesy
deceits." (Isa. 30:10). The prophet said,
"To the law and to the testimony! If they
speak not according to this word, surely
there is no morning for them." (Isa.
8:20). It is disturbing that even among
brethren there is a need to emphasize a
Page 12
Bible-centered message, but some preach-
ing does but little feeding. It would be
good for all who preach to ask: Am I
increasing the knowledge of people in the
word of God?
2. Doctrinal preaching. In a sense, all
teaching is doctrinal. But to preach doc-
trine has to do primarily with proclaiming
the fundamental tenets of the faith.
"Whosoever goeth onward and abideth
not in the teaching of Christ, hath not
God: he that abideth in the teaching, the
same hath both the Father and the Son."
(II John 9). There is a crying need to in-
struct people in doctrine about God,
Christ the Holy Spirit, the word, heaven,
hell, the resurrection, the judgment, the
church, and many kindred matters.
3. Personal preaching. Preaching needs
to be directed to individual needs. John
the Baptist was a "personal preacher." To
Herod he said, "It is not lawful for thee
to have thy brother's wife." (Mark 6:18).
To the publicans he said, "Exhort no
more than that which is appointed you."
(Luke 3:13). To the soldiers he said, "Ex-
tort from no man by violence, neither
accuse any one wrongfully; and be con-
tent with your wages." (Luke 3:14). To
the self-righteous he said, "Ye offspring
of vipers, who warned you to flee from
the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore
fruit worthy of repentance." (Matt.
3:7-8).
4. Exhortative preaching. The fourth
chapter of Hebrews has been called the
"let us" chapter of the Bible. "Let us fear
therefore, lest haply, a promise being left
of entering into his rest, any one of you
should seem to have come short of it."
(Heb. 4:1) "Let us therefore give dili-
gence to enter into that rest, that no man
fall after the same example of disobed-
ience." (Heb. 4:11). "Having then a great
high priest, who hath passed through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our confession." (Heb. 4:14). "Let us
therefore draw near with boldness unto
the throne of grace, that we may receive
mercy, and may find grace to help us in
time of need." (Heb. 4:16). Such exhor-
tation is calculated to inspire to higher
duty.
5. Reproving and rebuking. Paul said,
"Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-
suffering and teaching." (II Tim. 4:2).
Further: "Them that sin reprove in the
sight of all, that the rest may also be in
fear." (I Tim. 5:20).
6. Encouraging preaching. We may
teach, exhort, reprove, and rebuke, but
we cannot fail to encourage and to for-
tify. A good example is found in the
Hebrew epistle after the writer had de-
livered a scathing rebuke to them because
of their lack of growth. In tender affec-
tion he declared, "But, beloved, we are
persuaded better things of you." (Heb.
6:9). Further, he reminded them of their
past faithful service and said, "God is not
unrighteous to forget your work and the
love which ye showed toward his name."
(Heb. 6:10). One is reminded of the state-
ment of Brother Keeble: "I cut deep,
then I rub in the salve."
7. Urgent preaching. This is one of the
most important areas of preaching. So
much preaching lacks a sense of urgency—
and life-and-death vitality—which conveys
to the hearer the significance of the mes-
sage. Paul manifested that sense of ur-
gency when he said, "If we have only
hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all
men most pitiable." (I Cor. 15:19).
Jeremiah demonstrated that sense of
urgency when he stated, "And if I say, I
will not make mention of him, nor speak
any more in his name, then there is in my
heart as it were a burning fire shut up in
my bones, and I am weary with for-
bearing, and I cannot contain." (Jer.
20:9). May more preachers have fire in
their bones so that they "cannot con-
tain."

Preaching To The Local Church
First, there is a need of evangelistic
proclamation to the local church. Mem-
bers of the church need to be continually
reminded and grounded in the fervor of
evangelism and in the truth of the gospel.
Young people and new converts need to
be indoctrinated. And, of course, the
church must have an evangelistic outreach
to others. Without evangelistic preaching
the church may become introspective,
preaching only to itself.
Second, preaching should be to the
needs of the local church. In order to ac-
complish this, the preacher will need to
know the work of the congregation well
and to be acquainted with its problems as
well as its power. I have never been able
to understand how preachers can plan
their sermons a year in advance, or even
three months in advance. Does such
preaching truly contemplate the local
needs of the church? Do specific needs
not arise sometimes almost from week to
week? It has been my impression that
congregations where there has been sub-
stantial growth are churches where the
preacher has endeavored to meet local
needs in his preaching.
Third, balance is needed. Preachers, of
course, have their own personalities, with
their own interests and aptitudes. One
may tend to preach sermons which are
entirely devotional in their character to
the exclusion of reproving and rebuking.
Or, one may act exactly in reverse of
that. An effort should be made to present
a well-rounded spiritual diet that will aid
people to grow in the grace and know-
ledge of Jesus Christ without becoming
lopsided or deformed.
Gospel Meetings and
Cooperative Campaigns
The work of the preacher in meetings
differs somewhat from the work of the
Page 13
local preacher because he cannot be
aware of local conditions and needs.
Furthermore, his work has a special
purpose. In preaching in gospel meetings
or cooperative efforts, it seems the
following purposes fall in logical order:
1. Convict. There was a time when we
did not think of preaching on sin and its
consequences in a meeting, until we
realized that many people simply did not
realize they are lost. One purpose of
preaching in a meeting should be to con-
vict the sinner and to cause him to realize
that he is in need of salvation.
2. Convince. Once one is convicted
that he is in sin, he must be convinced of
what to do. Sermons of this type are de-
signed to show the way of salvation and
to prove it from the scriptures.
3. Convert. After one has been con-
victed and convinced, he must be con-
verted— changed. Lessons to provoke
thought and to motivate one to obed-
ience, fall into this category.
Conclusion
Preachers need to have the perser-
verance of Isaiah. When Isaiah asked God
how long he was to preach to a rebellious
people, God replied: "Until cities be
waste without inhabitant, and houses
without man, and the land become
utterly waste, and Jehovah have removed
men far away, and the forsaken places be
many in the midst of the land." (Isa.
6:11-12).
"How beautiful are the feet of them
that bring glad tidings of good things!"
(Rom. 10:15).
QUESTIONS
1. Contrast the preaching of Paul with the wis-
dom of the world.
2. On what fundamental premises should all
preaching be based? Why?
3. What is the twofold goal of preaching? Dis-
Page 14
cuss how one might accomplish one purpose,
but lack the other in preaching.
4. Discuss the kind of preaching needed today.
See if you can recognize these various char-
acteristics in sermons you have heard.
5. Question for class discussion: Is my know-
ledge of God's word materially increased by the
preaching I hear?
6. Why should the church hear evangelistic
preaching?
7. How does preaching to the local church
differ from preaching in a gospel meeting?
8. Discuss the threefold purpose to be accom-
plished in preaching in a gospel meeting.
EVANGELISM
THROUGH
THE BIBLE SCHOOL
BRAD BRUMLEY
The soul-winning program of a church
should be comprehensive enough to per-
mit and encourage every member of the
church to participate. It should be so
wide in its scope, so comprehensive in its
plans, so constant in its effort, and so
dead in earnest in its endeavor that
people everywhere will be impressed with
the fact that the church's chief business is
to win the lost to a saving knowledge and
relationship with Jesus Christ.l
If the above is to be realized, it is
obvious that, above all other phases of
the church's activities, the Bible school
will be the undergirding strength — the
foundational force in such a program.
Evangelism is not a plus added to the
regular program of the Bible school.
Rather, it is the main and ultimate goal of
not only the Bible school, but also the
goal for all energies expended by the con-
stituency of the church.
*Brad Brumley, minister of the Church of Christ in Columbus, Miss, conducts many teacher-train-
ing workshops across the U. S.
The church of the Lord has a world-
wide mission or responsibility. Therefore a
comprehensive program of Christian
education will not only provide for the
local church membership and their
families: it will look beyond the walls of
the local group in an effort to acquaint a
lost world with Christ.2
A soul-winning Bible school will not
come into being nor continue to exist
apart from aggressive leadership.
1. Leadership in purpose. Bible school
leaders must imbue the people involved in
the teaching program with the purpose
and spirit of the soul-winner.
2. Leadership in prayer. Surely, no
one would challenge the observation that,
by and large, the local church program —
evangelism or whatever — is most gener-
ally undertaken by "might and power"
and little sincere dependence is placed in
prayer.
3. Leadership in plans. An effective
soul-winning program must have intelli-
gent prayerful, painstaking planning back
of it. Nothing may be left to chance.
4. Leadership in performance. All too
often the leaders in the Bible school are
most willing and ready to "assist" in sett-
ing goals but never seem to get around to
provide the help necessary to the realiza-
tion of those goals.
James DeForest Murch3 contends
that the "Most critical problem that faces
the Christian (sic) Church today at the
local level is its program of Christian
education." This being true, there is a
second observation that is closely akin
and just as valid: "The most critical
problem facing the educational program
of the church is that of making the Bible
school evangelistic in its total thrust."
REASONS FOR EVANGELISM IN THE
BIBLE SCHOOL:
1. Because Christianity is essentially
missionary. Somehow, the first century

church didn't have to be told this! They
apparently felt it, literally felt it. Once
they experienced the blessings found in
Christ Jesus they seemingly could hardly
wait to tell their neighbor. Is it incredible
to assume that, in their "meeting from
house to house" much attention was
given to a discussion of carrying the good
news to others. There is something in-
herent in Christianity that, when it is
genuine and real, causes its adherents to
find contentment only when they are
reaching others for Christ.
2. Because Christianity is a world-
wide force. The design of Christianity is
such that its full realization can be
reached only when the entire world has
experienced its force and blessings. "True
Christianity refuses to know any bounds
of geography."4
3. Because we, as Christians, can make
no better contribution to mankind than
that of an introduction to Christ. When
the Bible school talks of world needs the
one that stands out front is the need for a
risen and saving Lord. When Bible school
pupils sing about Jesus' love for "all the
children of the world," it is high time
that they be impressed with the church's
responsibility to let the world know of
Christ!
EVANGELISM AND CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION
Actually, the above heading is a mis-
nomer inasmuch that for education to be
Christian it would of necessity be evange-
listic. However, it is agreed that Christian
education does concern itself with a
scope that would go beyond evangelism
as it is generally understood.
In a more specific sense, "education
which is evangelistic seeks to. . .secure de-
finite decisions for Christ. It also works,
quietly and powerfully, to conserve the
results thus achieved, by deepening those
decisions into stabilized convictions, and
Page 15
producing Christ-controlled lives."5
It may be well for Bible school leaders
to draw a line of demarcation between
WISE evangelism and WILD revivalism.
The sagacious and far-seeing Bible school
leader attempts to program in such a way
as to make the Bible school so vital
and awakening in its character that it
shall lead, in a natural way, the entire
Bible school constituency to become
"evangelistically conscious." In other
words, for the church's evangelistic thrust
to reach its very fullest potential, the en-
tire membership must think "soul-
winning." And there is no better place to
begin an effort toward such a mentality
than in the teaching program.
WHERE DO WE START?
Once Bible school leaders decide that
theirs is to become a soul-winning Bible
school, the first move should be that of
making a sincere effort to enlist every
"church family" into a Bible class. Active
church members mean active evangelism;
and it's most unusual to find an active
member who is not enrolled in the Bible
school.
And too, when parents aren't actively
engaged in the Bible school, it becomes
most difficult to save their children.
Hence, the Bible school's first evangelistic
challenge is that of the local church's own
families who are not presently attending
Bible school.
A second step in making the Bible
school evangelistic lies in the area of cur-
riculum planning. Make sure that every
cycle (department) has at least one unit
of study included that points up the
church's mission as being that of reaching
the world for Christ. For a congregation
to have an evangelistic mentality, evange-
lism must be talked and taught! It's
hardly conceivable that Christians should
be conscious of soul-winning when the
idea is only mentioned occasionally, and
Page 16
even then in a somewhat casual manner.
Make sure that those who teach in the
Bible school are soul-winning conscious.
It's an undeniable fact that unless the
ones who teach are interested in evange-
lism the Bible school will never con-
tribute much to the prime mission of the
church. Unless Bible school teachers love,
there will be little love permeating the
church. Unless Bible school teachers give,
chances are that the budget will stay in
the red pretty much of the time. And the
same is true of evangelism. Unless the
teachers are really and truly concerned
about the lost of the world, the task of
building an evangelistically-minded mem-
bership is going to be an almost, if not
altogether, impossible one.
A final word might well be: Let evan-
gelism in the Bible school begin in the
Cradle Roll and continue, without inter-
ruption, throughout the program into the
senior adults.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Flake, Arthur, THE TRUE FUNCTIONS OF
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL, Nashville, Conven-
tion, 1955, p.80.
2. Byrne, H. W., CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH, Grand Rapids,
Zondervan, 1963, p.291.
3. Murch, James DeForest, TEACH OR
PERISH, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1961, p.1.
4. Lo b ingie r , John L., THE BETTER
CHURCH SCHOOL, Boston, Pilgrim, 1952. p.
58.
5. deBlois, A. K. & Gorham, Donald R.,
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE, New York,
Revell, 1930, p. 181.
OTHER RECOMMENDED READING
1. CHRISTIAN BIBLE TEACHER, September,
1970, Vol. 14, No. 9. (Special issue on
missions.)
2. KEY TO CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, Fall,
1969. (Special issue on missions.)
*Clayton Pepper, editor of PERSONAL EVANGELI
3. TEACH, Spring, 1965, (Special issue
on evangelism)
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Just how comprehensive should the soul-
winning program of the local church be?
2. How does the Bible school fit into such a
program?
3. In what four vital areas is aggressive leader-
ship needed, if the local Bible school is to be
evangelistic?
4. Discuss ways and means of dealing with the
task of making the Bible school evangelistic in
its total thrust.
5. Take up each of the three suggested rea-
sons for evangelism in the Bible school and
discuss them in the light of your own local
mentality.
6. In what sense is the expression, "making
Christian education evangelistic," a misnomer?
7. Specifically speaking, what is sought in
education that is evangelistic?
8. Discuss the difference between "wise
evangelism" and "wild revivalism?"
9. In reference to the Bible school, what is its
first real field of mission effort.
10. What is the relationship between the
evangelistic goals of the Bible school and the
teachers' mentality?
DAY BY DAY
EVANGELISM
CLAYTON PEPPER
Because means of travel in the 1800s
was slow it took President Andrew Jack-
son an average of 30 days to travel from
Nashville to Washington, D. C. Today, it
takes only one hour and twenty-one
minutes to go non-stop by jet plane.
Modern man has certainly learned how to
make extra time available for his use, and
thus, increase his productivity. Have the
SM MAGAZINE, P.O. Box 159, Madison, Term.

children of God made progress in learning
how to accelerate the spread of the gospel
with the passing of years, or have we
actually slowed the pace followed by
early Christians? There is said to have
been 150,000 Christians in a world of
200 million people before the end of the
first century, and in 1963, 2,125,000
New Testament Christians in a world of
three billion souls.1 There was a larger
percentage of Christians by the end of the
first century than there is today.
Wyatt Sawyer, a gospel preacher,
wrote in 1964, "Perhaps what we are not
so well acquainted with is the fact that
this world is rapidly turning pagan. In
1946, one out of every three people on
earth claimed to belong to the 'Christian
community.' In 1964, that figure has
broadened to one of every four who
claim to know and follow Christ in any
way. Two decades (1984) and the figure
will be one out of five. Christianity, with
all it's so-called kinds and degrees, is in a
rapid world decline. It is high time some
watchmen on the walls cry out to the
people that we have problems."2 Christ-
ianity is a shrinking religion in an expand-
ing world. We, as members of the Lord's
Church, should be as lights to those in
darkness, and guides for the blind. But
unfortunately the lights have been largely
kept under a bushel and too many of the
guides too unconcerned for the blind.
Therefore, we need to go back to the
Bible and restore a religion that has the
power to develop dedication and determi-
nation to serve that will ".. . .turn the
world upside down for Christ" as well as
restore doctrine.
Evangelism First With The Jerusalem
Church
The example of the Savior, His parting
and urgent words to His disciples to
preach the gospel to every creature,
placed the weight of responsibility on
Page 17
their shoulders and the gospel story on
their lips until every creature had heard
(Col. 1:23), and their lives were over
upon the earth. A deep sense of urgency
characterized the Jerusalem church. Luke
writes of them, "And daily in the temple,
and in every house, they ceased not to
teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts
5:42). If they had done less it would have
been against God's plan to redeem man,
against Christ who came to seek and to
save the lost and against lost men. It
would have amounted to giving consent
for men to be lost. Notice carefully the
words "daily" and "ceased not." The task
of reaching the lost demanded immediate
attention, thus evangelism was a first con-
cern to the Jerusalem church.
This spirit of urgency that caused
them to evangelize daily developed from
the conviction that men without Christ
were lost (therefore, their message was,
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out. . ."
[Acts 3:19]). Israel's high court ordered
them ". . .not to speak at all nor teach in
the name of Jesus." Yet Peter and John
said, "For we cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard." (Acts
4:13-20)
Daily Teaching Brings Daily Results
A strong compelling urgency to bring
men to the ". . .lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)
was sufficient to accomplish the task.
Shortly after the church began with
3,000 converts Luke wrote,". . . and the
Lord added to the church daily. . ." (Acts
2:47)
As men were converted the number of
workers were increased. As more Christ-
ians taught more sinners, more people
were converted. The following passages
tell the story of the rapid growth of the
early church, ".. . .the number of the men
 Page 18
was about five thousand." (Acts 4:4)
"Then. . .the churches. . .throughout all
Judea and Galilee and Samaria. . .were
edified: and walking in the fear of the
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy
Ghost, were multiplied." (Acts 9:31)
"And so were the churches established in
the faith, and increased in number daily."
(Acts 16:5) The rapid growth of the early
church was not something that could
only occur in the first century. Any con-
gregation can multiply the number of
people being led to Christ by leading
more Christians to teach more lost souls
more often.
Steps To A Day By Day Program
Of Evangelism
1. The church today must develop a
greater passion for souls in order to have
the spiritual power to evangelize day by
day. John 3:16 has been called the golden
text of the Bible. (It reads. . ."God so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son. . ." Why? That it. . ."should
not perish but have everlasing life.") This
verse glows with the flame of divine love
for a world of lost men. It was this kind
of concern that made evangelism first in
the Jerusalem church, in spite of warnings
and persecutions. Paul's life and much of
his writings also express this kind of com-
pulsion. (After being warned of danger he
says. "What mean ye to weep and to
break mine heart? For I am ready not to
be bound only, but also to die at Jerusa-
lem for the name of the Lord Jesus [ Acts
21:13]) Paul described the weight of his
concern for lost Jews by saying, ". . .I have
great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my breth-
ren, my kinsmen according to the
flesh. . ." (Rom. 9:1-3). Someone has well
said that every footprint in the book of
Acts is stained with blood. Therefore, we
must conclude that devotion to the will
of Christ and a passion for souls is pre-
requisite to day by day evangelism. It has
been observed that the test of love is al-
ways the length to which it will go, and
that sacrifice apart from love is a bitter
pill. The church must beware of substi-
tute missions. We have heard of the de-
valued pound in England and the de-
valued frank in France. Our day is one of
the devalued soul. There is more joy on
earth over one new church building than
99 souls that repent. A preacher that
must have a pulpit, a crowd and a dollar
to turn him on is void of a passion for
souls.
2. The church today must develop the
EVERY CREATURE concept of teaching
(Mk. 16:15; Acts 5:42; 8:4) if it is to see
the need of day by day evangelism. Luke
writes of the Jerusalem church "There-
fore they that were scattered abroad went
every where preaching the word" (Acts
8:4).
What effort is being made to practice
the "every creature" concept of teaching
in your community? Have we substituted
"come" for "go"? Have we hired us a
"clergyman" to assume our responsibility
to teach the lost? Today men and women
within a stone's throw of our church
buildings are dying without the know-
ledge of the truth because over 95% of us
never personally win a soul to Christ in
our lifetime! If truth was as great as we
preach, if truth is the only thing that
makes men free, why have we so withheld
it from lost men? Are we enemies of the
cause we claim to represent? Unfortun-
ately most Christian's committment to
Christ is so limited, it is exhausted at the
church building.
3. The church today must have a
house to house teaching concept, if it is
to practice day by day evangelism. The
Jerusalem church taught in homes. Paul
told the Ephesian elders, ". . .I kept back
nothing that was profitable unto

you, but have showed you, and have
taught you publicly, and from house to
house". (Acts 20:20) For a church today
to practice day by day evangelism it must
have Acts 20:20 vision. Philip, a deacon
in the Jerusalem church taught the
eunuch, Ananias, ;imply a disciple, taught
Paul, Peter taught Cornelius and his
household.
Paul and Silas taught the jailor and his
family. Brother Gatewood suggests in his
book You Can Do Personal Work that, so
far as we know, Jesus only spoke 16
times publicly. It should be noted that
most occasions of public teaching men-
tioned in Acts were to audiences of lost
men. Only about two percent of adults in
attendance at our services, on the average,
are not baptized believers. A Gallup poll,
concerning church attendance in
America found a decline from a high of
49% in 1958 to a low of 42% in 1969.
(The head of the Bible department in one
of our well known Christian colleges says
that America is usually about 50 years
behind England. Today two percent of
the people in London attend church ser-
vices and seven percent in England as a
whole.) If the church in America expects
to meet its challenge and obey its
Master, it will teach from house to house.
The story is told of an instance that
happened during World War II. France's
security rested in the famous Maginot
line, supposedly an impregnable fortress.
Her troops were stationed in this strong
bastion, and she thought she was safe. The
only trouble was that the enemy aban-
doned the sector before this position and
skirted around the Maginot line. France
was defeated because her troops, safe in
their barracks, never engaged the enemy.
Wedded to fixed positions, enjoying the
luxury of a false security, she was not
flexible enough to maneuver. Every Sun-
day we attempt to evangelize our com-
munity by evangelizing the church build-
Page 19
ing. We are losing the battle for the souls
of men because we are not out where the
battle is taking place.
4. The church today must develop the
EVERY MEMBER EVANGELISM con-
cept if it is to accomplish it's mission.
The growth of the early church could not
have been achieved by a select group of
professional workers. The fact that these
Jerusalem Christians went everywhere
preaching the word when persecution
came upon the church suggest that they
also taught the word before leaving. Paul
wrote to Timothy saying, "And the
things that thou hast heard of me among
many witnesses, the same commit thou to
faithful men, who shall be able to teach
others also." (II Tim. 2:2)
This passage makes it clear who is to
teach others. Many today are under a
false illusion. They try to avoid this re-
sponsibility by convincing themselves that
they will simply be doing enough to in-
fluence others by being faithful. But to
the one who shows by his life that he has
been with Jesus is assigned the responsi-
bility to teach others, and if he does not
want to do so, he needs to examine his
life and see whether or not he is faithful,
(cf Acts 4:13) The Hebrew writer said to
those who failed to grow spiritually, "For
when for the time ye ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one teach you
again which be the first principles of the
oracles of God; and are become such as
have need of milk, and not of strong
meat." (5:12) Many Christians today
ought to be ashamed of themselves for
failure to grow and become productive
for Christ. Many who perform only
menial tasks can grow to win souls. There
is no possible way to use the talent of the
church apart from every member evange-
lism. Eighty to ninety percent is either
unemployed or underemployed spirit-
ually. Government leaders become con-
cerned when unemployment in the nation
Page 20
reaches six percent. Imagine how con-
cerned God must be with so many people
lost. A recent study in communications
research finds that the most effective way
to communicate a message is on a one to
one basis and that the effectiveness is
further increased when the hearer knows
and has confidence in the speaker or
teacher. You just cannot improve on the
Lord's way!
5. The church today must have a pro-
gram of edification that will result in
multiplication if it is to practice day by
day evangelism. When the early church
was edified, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31) I
am certain this does not mean that they
were merely baptizing the member's child-
ren. The church has moved through the
age of the brush arbor days when large
numbers of lost people came to mass
meetings where the gospel was preached.
We all know that that time has passed. It
is even difficult to get the members out
to a gospel meeting. The modern Sunday
school movement began at a time in his-
tory that was more conducive to it than
now. It began apart from the organized
church. There is little doubt but what it
was made up of mostly unchurched
people. The church must be alert to the
changing times and attitudes of people if
it is to meet its responsibility to evange-
lize. I am reminded of the story of a
young man in the cave days that was very
concerned because the family barely had
enough food from day to day. He sat by
the fireside at night and thought and
pondered a solution. Finally he came
upon the idea to get all the men who
knew most about fish grabbing, horse
clubbing and keeping the saber tooth
tiger away, together and start a school for
all the boys to attend as they grew up.
This was done and became a very pro-
minent part of every boy's training.
Finally a glacier came in from the north.
The streams became muddy, the horses
left the moist climate and the saber tooth
tiger died out. Then the antelope and
bear come in. One young man learned
how to make a seine of vines and was
catching more fish in one day than his
family could use in several days. Another
learned how to make a snare to catch the
antelope and another learned how to dig
a hole and put camouflage over it so the
bear would fall in and they could kill it.
These men began to advocate that the
school, should be changed since condi-
tions had changed. But the older pro-
fessionals called them radicals and re-
stated that if a boy was not trained in the
art of fish grabbing, horse clubbing and
keeping the saber tooth tiger away from
his cave he just was not properly trained.
I am sure that you can see my point. I am
saying that we are studying a curriculum
that might be given to the lost, but it is
not giving Christians the skills or working
knowledge and motivation to go teach
the lost who are not at our services. The
same can be said of our preacher training
for the most part. It prepares men almost
exclusively for public preaching, as
though we could reach the world in this
way. We are still following the saber
tooth tiger curriculum, but the times have
changed. Every Christian must be taught
and given opportunity to grow to the full-
est extent of his ability, both in teaching
publicly and from house to house.
Ask yourself, "How many soul win-
ners is our present curriculum producing?
Why is it that our Bible schools hardly
produce enough teachers to perpetuate
themselves. . .? Why do such a few want to
preach the gospel?"
The adult Bible class program must be-
come a school of evangelism, a place to
prepare the church for accomplishment
of her mission. The day when the method
of getting the lost to the building and
keeping them in a Bible class long enough
for them to finally obey the gospel has

passed except for a few rare cases. If you
doubt this, simply count the adults that
are not members who come to Bible
school, and try to imagine all those who
do not come.
CONCLUSION
The early church had more Christians
teaching more sinners more often, and
more people were converted. We have less
Christians teaching less sinners less often,
and we have less people being converted.
There are 8,760 hours per year. If
10,000 Christians in my county gave two
hours per week to soul winning, it would
amount to 1,040,000 per year or nearly
119 years. Or increase the number of
workers to 20,000 and you would have
about 238 years. If one soul was won for
every 30 man hours of work, and I be-
lieve this is possible, it would amount to
69,333 converts per year.
If 80% of the approximately 45,000
Christians in my home county would do
this it would amount to 427 years of time
per year, or 124,800 souls won to Christ.
This much time is lost because we are not
doing it. The writer saw eight men in
eight months practicing New Testament
evangelism convert more to Christ than a
congregation of 500 members and twice
as many as a congregation of 400 mem-
bers who were not practicing day by day
and house to house evangelism. What is
the logical conclusion about those who
will not practice it?
FOOTNOTES:
1. Herald of Truth publicity film.
2. Gospel Advocate,Dec. 24, 1964.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Why has 20th Century Christianity with its
modern means of travel and communication
not been as effective in spreading the gospel as
the early church was?
2. If it was necessary for the Jerusalem
* James D. Bales, professor of Christian Doctrine at Harding College, Searcy, Ark. Author of many
books and Tracts
Page 21
church to teach daily and from house to house,
is it not even more essential today?
3. How can any congregation increase the
number of souls being won to Christ?
4. Discuss several reasons why the church to-
day has not been as concerned about souls as
the early church. Can a church depart from
God in other ways than doctrinal matters?
5. What was the compelling force that caused
God to send Christ into the world, Christ to
die, and early Christians to give even their lives
to the spread of the gospel?
6. Discuss how well your congregation is pro-
ducing the "every creature" concept of teach-
ing. Has it changed the "GO" to "COME?"
7. When a church individually and collectively
wants only to teach the lost that come to the
church building, do they have the spirit of
Christ? What caused early Christians to go from
house to house? Can the church today win the
battle for the souls of men with a church house
religion?
8. What work should the normal process of
Christian growth lead to? Describe how that
each Christian has a personal world of his own
in which to work?
9. How many soul winners has your program
of edification produced in the past year, two
years, three year? Are we largely what we are
taught to be?
10. Is a church unconcerned and therefore un-
evangelistic really of Christ?
EVANGELISM
THROUGH
LITERATURE
JAMES D. BALES
There are timid and inactive Christians
who say that they would enlarge the bor-
ders of the kingdom if they were able.
They recognize that there is work to do,
that Christ wants it done, that human
beings are expected to do it, and that if
they were able they would be obligated
to teach others. Their inactivity is due to
Page 22
their inability. We ask those who are in-
active: Would you do something if you
could? If they would not, their plea of
inability is conscience salve which they
hypocritically use. On the other hand,
they may be unaware of what even they
can do. There are many things one can
do, and one thing all can do is to preach
through the printed page. The product of
many minds is at our beck and call in the
form of literature. However, when some
people are told to try teaching through
tracts they may come up with all sorts of
excuses. They may think it is beneath
their dignity, that no one reads, that it is
such a little thing, that they want some-
thing more dramatic. However, these are
excuses. If we are to find something that
everyone can do, it must be something
simple. Unless you are willing to share
truth through the printed page, never lie
to yourself and say that your reason for
not spreading the gospel is because you
are unable to do so. You may have failed
to do it because you had never thought of
it, but once it is called to your attention,
you cannot speak truthfully and say you
would be willing to work if you knew
something you could do.
The power of the printed page can be
utilized by all of us. The parable of the
talents proves that we are not excused
from what we can do just because we feel
that we do not have much with which to
work. (Matt. 25:14-30) It is just as im-
portant that the one talent man be faith-
ful in what he has as that the five talent
man be faithful. It is just as important for
your salvation and growth that you
utilize your ability and talents as it is for
others to faithfully discharge their
responsibilities. Furthermore, if one is
not willing to do what he can do — such
as sharing tracts — why should the Lord
waste even greater opportunities on him?
And who knows but that you may be the
Andrew who brings another Simon Peter
to the Lord?
Values of the Printed Page
What are some of the values of the
printed page? First, when truth is
properly presented on the printed page it
never changes. It will not fall from grace,
lose its temper, become discouraged, be
fearful, become feeble with age, or die
with its author.
As D. M. Panton pointed out: "The
printed page never flinches, never shows
cowardice; it is never tempted to com-
promise; it never tires, never grows dis-
heartened; it travels cheaply, and requires
no hired hall; it works while we sleep; it
never loses its temper; and it works long
after we are dead. The printed page is a
visitor which gets inside the home, and
stays there; it always catches a man in the
right mood, for it speaks to him only
when he is reading it; it always sticks to
what it has said, and never answers back;
and it is bait left permanently in the
pool."
Second, it can go where the author
cannot. It may be read in homes which
would not invite a teacher, it can go to
distant countries or into the same city for
a few cents, and it can survive in places
where the author could not.
Third, it can wait for an opportune
time. Although you may not be there
when the person is willing to listen, the
printed page may be waiting in his home;
ready when he is ready.
Fourth, the author can be in one place
at a time, but the product of his pen can
go to thousands of places in one mailing.
Fifth, the printed page continues to
speak after the author's voice is silent.
McGarvey speaks directly to our genera-
tion because McGarvey wrote. Each of us
has been influenced by individuals whose
pen death stopped before we were born.
Sixth, the printed word has a per-
manency which the spoken word lacks.
As long as one copy of a leaflet, tract,

pamphlet, or book exists it is possible for
it to be reproduced in innumerable
copies.
A lot of people do not have to read a
tract or book in order to be influenced by
it. One person who reads it may then con-
vert hundreds.
The Power of the Printed Page
Falsehood in print can have tremen-
dous consequences. A woman gave Lee
Harvey Oswald, when he was around
fifteen, pro-Communist literature. He
later read in Marx, became a Communist,
went to Russia, came back to the U. S.,
and later assassinated President Kennedy.
A Chinese student in the U. S. mailed
a book against socialism to Sun Yat-Sen
who was under the influence of Marx.
The book changed him, and he decided
that democracy was the way for China.
This postponed the coming of com-
munisn to China by over twenty years.
No one knows the great contribution
which this may have made in keeping
Japan, the Philippines and India from
being enslaved by communism.
A tract given out in Armenia in 1832
by a travelling missionary resulted in a
church of more than forty members.
Eight or nine tracts were left in a gar-
ment which someone gave the resident of
a village in India. It led to a change in the
entire village.
One recipient threw away a tract
which the wind carried to a hayfield
where some workmen read it, and four of
them were converted to a Protestant
faith.
A Canadian was convinced by a tract
which he fished out of a river.
In India a man was won by a tract, and
his son won fifteen hundred people.
A prisoner in Peru was changed by
reading a tract, and he influenced over
thirty prisoners.
Page 23
A tract read by a wounded soldier con-
vinced him, was read by a nun who was a
nurse, but who surrendered it to the
Abbess who was converted by it to Pro-
testantism.
A Presbyterian missionary loaned a
Japanese a copy of Dr. Machen's Christ-
ianity and Liberalism. As a result he left
the United Church in Japan and later
entered Westminster Theological Semi-
nary.
Our mission work in Belgium after
World War II opened up as a result of
tracts sent by a soldier to a family in
Belgium with whom he had been billeted.
Within a few months in 1960 nine
people were baptized into Christ as a re-
sult of one ad published in a French
magazine.
The work in Nigeria was opened up
largely as a result of a Correspondence
Bible Course of the Lawrence Avenue
church in Nashville.
A Christian lady gave a tract to a bus
driver, he attended one church service,
was taught in his home, and was baptized.
A serviceman used my "You Are a
Christian Now" to convert another ser-
viceman in Japan.
A 17-year-old Christian, trying to con-
vert his Mormon girl friend, recently
wrote the author after having read a
pamphlet on Joseph Smith, Jr. which the
author wrote around twenty-five years
ago.
How Books May Be Used
Each Christian should try to build at
least a small library. Books which may
have taken years to write can instruct him
in a few hours. He can use them to in-
struct others. Why not have extra copies
of certain books for the purpose of loan-
ing? You do not have to be a master
logician in order to loan a well-reasoned
book, nor a master persuader in order to
Page 24
pass on to another a persuasive book.
Congregational libraries can be the
means of instructing the membership and
those whom they contact.
Individuals and congregations can send
books to missionaries, or give to other in-
dividuals who do not have money for
books but who would use them to God's
glory.
Individuals and congregations can give
religious books to local libraries.
Many congregations have correspon-
dence courses. These not only help teach
others but provide profitable work for
the Christians who look after the courses.
Tracts can be carried in one's purse,
pocket, and car. They can be distributed
from racks in meeting houses and some
public places. They can be handed out on
the street and given to those who come to
our doors either to sell us something or to
visit. The mailman is waiting to take them
to almost any place in the world.
Why not give books for Christmas
gifts?
Ads can be placed in magazines and
newspapers.
Direct mail evangelism can serve the
church. For example, The Star has gone
into millions of homes, and has saturated
many communities with the message in
print.
In some cases newspapers publish the
word in the following ways. First, some
have carried a religious column written by
a local minister. Second, some carry
write-ups of sermons being preached in a
series of meeting. Third, letters to the
editor. Letters to the Editor columns are
one of the most widely read portions of a
paper.
Christians can be encouraged to sub-
scribe for religious journals.
We teach through the printed page
when we circulate Bibles and portions of
Scripture.
Producing the Printed Page
It takes time and money to produce,
to publish, and to circulate the printed
page. How can we encourage evangelism
and instruction through the printed page?
First, we can buy more literature that
brethren write. None of us is financially
endowed, and none can continue to print
unless someone purchases. Brethren who
would not think about doing without the
daily paper or secular books may not be
thoughtful enough to purchase religious
materials. By this failure they are keeping
a lot of good material from being written
and published. A lot of people are not
reading the gospel through the printed
page but would be doing so if brethren
themselves read more. If brethren read
more, they will be more interested in
teaching others, they will be better able
to do so, they will have material to loan
to others, and they will thus make pos-
sible the publication of more good
material.
Second, if the church is going to get as
much good material as is needed, indivi-
duals and congregations need to support
writers in order to produce specific
works. This support should not only in-
clude the author's salary but also money
for research materials and secretarial help.
If the book makes a profit, the profits
could go to the author to enable him to
write more. A good book can furnish
thousands of preachers, teachers, and
other Christian workers with material to
help reach others for Christ.
Third, although books are becoming
very high priced it is possible to produce
paperbacks in quantity for mass distribu-
tion at very reasonable prices. In
quantities of 50,000 they can be printed
at very reasonable costs per unit. We need
series of paperbacks on the church,
Christian evidences, and kindred subjects
to be circulated, among other places, on

high-school, college, and university
campuses. Young people are reading, and
we have an obligation to give them the
opportunity to read that which is profit-
able for the life which now is and the life
which is to come.
The author recognizes that buildings
are useful tools for the church, but the
meeting houses cannot take the place of
the message. Any money which is wasted
on a building is that much money which
could have gone into proclaiming and
publishing the message. If more money is
not put into publishing the truth, if there
are not more good books to help instruct
ministers as well as others, the time can
come where false doctrine instead of
truth is proclaimed within the walls of
the building. Of what value is a building if
we do not do what we can, through every
avenue of teaching and preaching, to fill
the minds of the people with the word of
God?
Daniel Webster well said: "If truth is
not diffused, error will be. If God and His
Word are not known and received, the
devil and his works will gain ascendancy.
If Evangelical Literature does not reach
every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and
licentious literature will."
If you are a timid soul, and think that
you are without any talents, remind your-
self that you are not so timid or talentless
that you cannot preach through the print-
ed page. For a starter, try tracts.
"He that winneth souls is wise." (Prov.
11:30) The power of the printed page
awaits you and can help you to be wise
by winning souls.
QUESTIONS
1. What scriptures show that every Christian
has a responsibility to teach God's will to
others?
2. Do some people feel they are excused from
doing anything just because they cannot do
very much? What parable throws light on this?
*Virgil R. Trout, Minister, Mayfair Church of Christ. Oklahoma City; Executive Director, Inter-
national Foundation; Representative chaplain for the churches of Christ, Federal Reformatory, El
Reno.
Page 25
(Matt. 25:14-30)
3. What are some of the reasons some have
not used the printed page more in teaching?
4. What are some of the values of printed
material as a means of teaching?
5. What were some of the illustrations which
show the power of print? What illustrations can
you give? How have you been influenced by the
printed page?
6. How can an individual or a congregation
use books?
7. What are some of the ways individuals and
congregations can encourage the production
and circulation of books, tracts, and journals?
8. If it is right to support someone while he
preaches the gospel by word of mouth, can it
be. wrong to support him while he writes the
message so it can be preached in print?
9. If we do not produce and circulate good
literature, will the devil refuse to encourage the
production and spread of bad literature?
10. Why is a person wise who wins souls? Does
winning souls mean that we try to get people to
surrender their spirit, heart, and body to God?
(Rom. 6:12, 13, 17-18; 12: 1-2; I Cor. 6:
19-20)
EVANGELIZING THE
COLLEGE CAMPUS
VIRGIL R. TROUT
Unconquerably thrilling are the words
of Jesus, "All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, to the close of the age."
(Matthew 28: 18-20 RSV) To evangelize
the college campus, the commission of
Jesus must be always foremost in our
Page 26
minds. The late great scientist, Oppen-
heimer, said, "It takes an unusual mind to
be aware of the obvious." Sometimes in
working with a campus, we have been so
caught up with a sense of excitement
(that a campus can generate so easily)
that we have forgotten our obvious task:
leading people to Jesus Christ rather than
conducting a philosophical quest of
religious abstractions.
Evaluation of the Campus Atmosphere
In one sense Jesus regarded all people
alike. All were created by God, all had
sinned, and all were invited by the
Father. In another sense Jesus regarded
no two people alike. He recognized the
individual's specific needs. He called
people by name and not by number. He
was sensitive to the individual's present
situation as instructions were given for
establishing a new relationship with God.
As we approach the campus, there are
two extremes to be avoided: (1) a failure
to appreciate the nature of the pressures
of a campus community and (2) to be
"over-awed" at the academic atmosphere
so that Christianity is compromised to
whatever happens to be in vogue at the
time.
Students are largely regimented. Time
schedules are rigid. So many activities
compete for their attention. They are
living in a new world. They are impressed
by the authority of documentation. They
are told that they are supposed "to
think" even though this freedom, in a
practical sense, is often denied them.
They are often lonely and in many
instances, turn to just about anything
that offers a sense of belonging. They are
almost intoxicated by an amazing array
of "facts." They are frequently dis-
enchanted by the superficiality of
society. They wonder about the future.
They do not want to be "double- talked"
or misled. They are concerned. They are
willing to listen even though they may
not appear to be doing so. They need
God. The Christian task is to make it
possible for them to know of Him.
Shallow programs of mere activity and
entertainment will not suffice. Kinder-
garten level Bible Studies will not produce
the desired results. "Playing church" with
worship that is lifeless will not inspire
them. They will respect and generally
respond to genuine friendship. They will
study. They will accept responsibilities of
Christian service. They will worship.
This is the age of specialization. Since
the Bible appeals to all men of every age
and background, it is inevitable that the
campus, which breeds specialization, will
appear skeptical at times. The Christian
faith does not fetter learning. God placed
man upon the earth to use it. God
intended for man to be vocational, (see
the footnote of Titus 3:8). Christianity
can face the challenges of philosophy, his-
tory, politics, ethics, and science. In fact,
Christianity can be enhanced by active
confrontation with the various disciplines
of human endeavor. If the Christian
teacher is prepared, he has nothing to fear
from the awesome vocabulary of special-
ization. Humility and intellectual integ-
rity are imperative for the Christian
proclaimer. (I Peter 3:15; Acts 17:22-31)
Public Relations and Troubled Campuses
It is obvious that being a college
administrator is a traumatic experience
today. Yet the Christian can use the
chaos of the contemporary campus to a
distinct advantage. College congregations,
campus ministers, and Bible chair
directors can prove their interest in
students by providing excellent instruc-
tion, careful counsel, and warm fellow-
ship. If we are willing to remain true to
the commission and to the example of
our Lord, we can demonstrate to campus
officials that our work is not for selfish

purposes but rather that it is a quiet,
sincere interest in the student and in his
future.
We must be alert to opportunities of
"good campus citizenship." There are
projects that need volunteer workers just
as there are community and public school
tasks in which the Christian can partici-
pate without any compromise of
conscience.
The Spirit of Teamwork
So much can be accomplished if we
aren't overly concerned about who gets
the credit. For a missionary effort to
succeed, there must be a powerful fellow-
ship of prayer and cooperation. The
campus is a great mission field. Elders,
local preachers, Bible chair directors, and
campus ministers must be brethren!
There is no place for petty competition,
suspicion, or intellectual snobbery if we
are to accomplish the Master's com-
mission.
There is a need for all concerned with
campus work to meet for seasons of dis-
cussion and prayer. Much misunder-
standing and doubt involving each other
could be removed so easily.
The Perplexing Root Questions
Jesus did not allow the opposition to
obscure the fundamental issues with their
"pseudo-sophisticated tangents." He
steadily kept the basic requirements for
abundant living before His audiences.
This does not imply that He was "out of
touch," "irrelevant" or "stereotyped"
but r a t h e r that He was the Great
P h ys icia n diagnosing i n s t e a d of
speculating and curing instead of tran-
quilizing.
Even so we must face the perplexing
root questions which have produced the
weeds of our present dilemma:
1. What do you mean when you use
the term, "God?"
2. Why do you believe in God?
3. Is there historical evidence for
Page 27
Jesus?
4. Is Christianity simply the result of
a t r a d i t io n a l evolution of religious
thought?
5. What are the standards of biblical
morality? Are they adequate for a
technical society?
6. What about Christianity and
science?
7. Are the biblical writings historically
reliable?
8. How does Christianity define man?
9. Is there any purpose to life?
10. Why Christianity of all the
religions of the world?
11. If God is love, why do people
suffer?
Some Specifics
The longest journey begins with a
single step. . .a most obvious proverb.
Regardless of how stupendous is the task
of effective evangelization of a campus,
God will supply the strength if we are
willing to allow Him to use us. Here are
suggestions that have come from those
who have worked on campus:
1. Special classes and short courses.
Throughout the academic year, short
courses involving four or five lectures and
discussion periods on major Bible themes
can be offered. Perhaps the attendance
will not be large. However, the constant
teaching will bring results. (Depending on
the campus situation, a lecture hall or
classroom might be rented, or the church
building or student center could be used.)
2. A monthly guest lecture program.
To give additional stress to the name of
Jesus, plan a special program each month
making full use of the campus newspaper
and radio. In most cases, guest lecturers
could be supplied at no cost through
interested Christian businessmen. Do not
be hesitant to ask for aid!
3. Provide counseling aid. Students
are seeking. There are mature Christians
in the college congregations who would
Page 28
give some hours each week to assist
students with their questions and prob-
lems. These Christians need to be utilized.
Such a program carefully supervised
could result in both conversions and in
edification. Also this type of work points
out to the administration the nature of
our concern for the campus.
4. Regular fellowship. The church was
designed by God as a family. Young
people away from home ought to be
"adopted" by members of a college con-
gregation. Such a procedure would also
open doors of evangelism to the friends of
the "adopted students."
Some Conclusions
It is not so much that we fail when we
try as it is that we fail to try. Certainly
there is no shortage of either opportuni-
ties or of ideas since each campus is
unique. However, there is one more
"obvious" that must be magnified: We
cannot quit! Disappointments are going
to be. If we will work year after year as
seed sowers, God will give the increase.
Jesus said to him, "No one who puts
his hand to the plow and looks back is fit
for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What is the real purpose of campus evange-
lism? What are some of the dangers of losing
sight of this purpose?
2. How did Jesus evaluate the people of
his ministry?
3. What are some of the peculiar problems that
the student faces?
4. What is the Christian attitude towards one's
vocation?
5. What are some of the ways of proving "good
citizenship" on the campus of your concern?
6. How can a better spirit of cooperation be
produced by elders and preachers in relation to
campus work?
7. What are some projects that might be tried
on your campus during the coming year?
*James Meadows, minister of East Chester Church of Christ, Jackson, Tennessee
ENLISTING
MORE MEMBERS
IN EVANGELISM
JAMESMEADOWS
Throughout the entire New Testa-
ment, we feel the never-ending emphasis
upon evangelism. In almost every chapter,
on almost every page of the written
scriptures, we find a strong, recurring
emphasis on the importance of telling
mankind about Christ and salvation.
WHATISEVANGELISM?
In too many cases "evangelism" has
been limited to gospel meetings or the
work done by a traveling evangelist. With
such a limited view one is not surprised
that evangelism is limited to a very few
indeed, and the "result is that the great
host of Christians conscientiously excuse
themselves from a task which Jesus quite
apparently meant should be shared by the
whole body of his followers." l
The New International Dictionary
defines evangelize as "to instruct in the
gospel; to preach the gospel; to convert to
Christianity." One who brings the "gospel
or system of Christianity" is an evangelist
and evangelism is defined as "the
preaching or promulgation of the gospel."
Evangelism may be congregational or
united effort. Congregational evangelism
would mean every member beginning
now, where he is, with what he has, to
lead every soul to Christ he can. "It is the
work of every Christian to do what he
can in the spread of the gospel of Christ
and in the saving of souls."2 Not every-
one can be a public teacher, but everyone
can do something in this special work.
Everyone cannot do the same thing (Mt.
25: 14-30; Rom. 12:3-8) and "no one
should feel that he is neglecting his

responsibilities because he cannot do
everything. . .but everyone can do some-
thing."3
Personal evangelism is an individual
effort to evangelize in contrast to congre-
gational or united evangelism. "In pro-
mulgating the gospel there are many
phases, such as finding the unconverted,
reaching and interesting the unreached
and uninterested, bringing them to an
interest in and a hearing of the gospel,
and a final yielding to the claims of the
gospel. While only a limited number may
be able to preach publicly, all these other
phases of the task are open to one and all
Christians, young and old. These phases
of the work, together with teaching the
way to others, constitute what may be
termed personal evangelism."4
Every child of God should plead for
the restoration of New Testament Christ-
ianity according to the divine pattern.
But a careful and thoughtful investigation
will reveal that the part most often left
undone is that of the private personal
presentation of the gospel. Melvin J. Wise
said, "I believe brethren fail more miser-
ably in personal evangelism than in any
other phase of our plea. We have restored
the New Testament name, organization,
plan of salvation, and worship, but we
have yet to restore the original fervor of
the early church in personal evangelism."
A Burning Passion For Evangelism
Needed
Any church without burning evange-
lism is an abomination to God. Cold,
powerless, formal churches, with no re-
pentance for sins, no weeping over lost
sinners, "no burning of compassion for
the souls for whom Christ died — are
essentially little better than atheism."
(Buttram) When churches are satisfied
with just offering "the gospel of Christ
and offering the invitation from the sur-
Page 29
roundings of the church building each
week, they are falling far short of either
the command or example of propagating
the gospel of Christ."5
Jesus Christ was on fire for the souls
of men. On one occasion, his disciples
"remembered that it was written, The
zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."
(John 2:17) His passion for souls was so
overwhelming that he could forget his own
physical hunger (John 4:34). The great
lesson on the new birth was taught to one
soul, Nicodemus, in the evening (John 3:
1-5). He left the multitude to bring salva-
tion to the house of Zachaeus. (Luke 19:
2-9)
Christ passed this spirit of enthusiasm
for lost souls on to his early followers. As
he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he said
to Simon and Andrew "Come ye after
me, and I will make you to become
fishers of men." (Mk. 1:17). Later,
Andrew being convinced Jesus was the
Messiah, " fi r s t findeth his brother
Simon" and brings him. (John 1:40,41).
Jesus findeth Philip and said unto him,
"Follow me." (John 1:43). Philip im-
mediately findeth Nathanael and leads
him to Christ. (John 1:45).
After the day of Pentecost the apostles
"daily in the temple, and in every
house. . .ceased not to teach and preach
Jesus Christ." (Acts 5:42) It was the daily
combination of public and private teach-
ing that brought daily additions to the
church (Acts 2:47) and multitudes being
added to the Lord (Acts 4:4; 6:7). Per-
sonal evangelism was very much a part of
the life of the apostle Paul as he taught
"publicly, and from house to house."
(Acts 20:20) "Someone has called Acts
20:20 the 20-20 vision of the church"6
and truly it is, because no church has
clear spiritual vision until it sees the need
of "house to house" evangelism.
The early Christians were filled with
the same passion for souls as the Lord
 Page 30
and the apostles. When persecution arose
against the church at Jerusalem, "they
that were scattered abroad went every-
where preaching the word." (Acts 8:4)
They recognized that leading others to
Christ is what Christianity really means.
(John 15: 1-11; Rom. 7: 4)
Involving More Members In Evangelism
"The size of the task before us em-
phasizes the necessity of every member
evangelizing every day. . .No matter how
many names are on the roll of the congre-
gation, if they are not working, the fire-
power of the church is limited. An army
with the millions of men, but with only a
few of them equipped, and fewer fight-
ing, does not have much firepower."7
There are several things that must happen
before more members are involved in
evangelism.
First, every Christian must be con-
vinced and really believe that every
accountable being upon the face of the
earth is lost without Christ and his gospel.
(Rom. 3:23) The late H. A. Dixon has
said many times "The real reasons we
have not evangelized the world are (1) we
have never convinced ourselves the world
is lost without the gospel and (2) we have
never been convinced ourselves that we
are lost if we don't take it to the world."
Brethren, when our neighbor's house is
on fire, we do our best to extinguish the
flame; when his body is starving, we see
that he is fed; if naked, we clothe him; if
dangerously ill, we send a physician; if
drowning, we throw him a lifeline. But
how many Christians are really putting
forth effort to lead lost souls to Christ?
The case was put even more strongly by
an infidel. "Were I a religionist, did I
truly, firmly, consistently believe, as
millions say they do, that the knowledge
and the practice of religion in this life
influences destiny in another, religion
should be to me everything. I would cast
aside earthly enjoyments as dross, earthly
cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and
feelings as less than vanity. Religion
would be my first waking thought and
my last image when sleep sank me in un-
consciousness. I would labor in her cause
alone. I would not labor for the meat that
perisheth, not for treasures on earth, but
only for a crown of glory in heavenly
regions where treasures and happiness are
alike beyond the reach of time and
chance. I would take thought for the
morrow of eternity alone. I would esteem
one soul gained for heaven worth a life of
suffering. There should be neither worldly
prudence nor calculating circumspection
in my engrossing zeal. Earthly con-
sequences should never stay my hand nor
seal my lips. I would speak to the imagi-
nation, awaken the feelings, stir up the
passions, arouse the fancy. Earth, its joys
and its grief, should occupy no moment
of my thoughts: for these are but the
affairs of a portion of eternity — so small
that no language can express its com-
paratively infinite littleness.
"I would strive to look but on eternity
and on the immortal souls around me,
soon to be everlastingly miserable or
everlastingly happy. I would deem all
who thought only of this world, merely
seeking to increase happiness and laboring
to obtain temporal goods — I would deem
all such madmen. I would go forth to the
world and preach to it, in season and out
of season: and my text should be: 'What
shall it profit a man if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul.'" (source un-
known)
Many years ago, Charles Peace, one of
the greatest of criminals was brought to
justice. As he walked to the scaffold the
chaplain walked by his side offering what
he called, "The consolation of religion."
As he spoke of Christ's power to save, the
wretched man turned to him and said,

"Do you believe it? Do you believe it? If
I believe that, I would willingly crawl
across the England on broken glass to tell
men it was true." Christian, do you really
believe men are lost and Christ can save
them?
Second, every Christian must be con-
vinced that we have the good news that
men need and we dare not hold our
tongues."Evangelism, properly conceived,
is not the occasional concern of the
church but its continuous concern. Sin
and death take no holiday. If the church
has the one remedy for sin and the only
antidote for death, its guilt would be
immeasurably great if it neglected for a
single day to make known the salvation
for the want of which a soul perished."8
Jerusalem was surrounded by the
Syrian army and her citizens were starv-
ing to death. Four lepers, outside the
gate, decided to go into the Syrian camp
which they found deserted. While gourg-
ing themselves and hiding the silver and
gold they suddenly stopped and said, "We
do not well: this day is a day of good
tidings, and we hold our peace: if we
tarry till the morning light, some mischief
will come upon us: Now therefore come,
that we may go and tell the king's house-
hold" (2 Kings 7:1-9) We live in a day of
good tidings to all people. (Lk. 2:10) The
Lord invites us to come (Matt. 11:28-30)
that we may "go" and "tell" other;, the
good news. (Matt. 28:18-20) "The story
is told that when Cyrus stormed the
capital city of the rich Lydian King
Croesus, the defeated monarch put on his
royal robes, mounted his throne, and
awaited the end. When the king's son,
who had been tongue-tied from birth, saw
a savage Persian warrior about to impale
his father on the point of a javelin, the
awful agony of the hour caused him to
break the bands that bound his tongue,
and he cried, ' P e r s ia n , spare my
Father.'"9 Lost souls are in danger of
Page 31
hell-fire (Mk. 9:43-47) and we must break
the bands that bind our tongues and
speak for Jesus.
Third, more members will be involved
when every gospel preacher in every con-
gregation practices personal evangelism,
preaches personal evangelism, teaches
others how to do personal evangelism and
elders set the example by practicing it
themselves It's surprising how many
gospel preachers plainly state that they
do very little personal evangelism, in fact,
don't know much about how to really
lead people to Christ by personal evange-
lism. Preacher, how long has it been since
you preached on personal evangelism?
Elders, how long has it been since you
went out to lead a lost soul to Christ?
Christian, how long has it been since you
heard the subject discussed? Preachers
must not only practice and preach
personal evangelism but they must teach
others how to do it. The statements "just
plug in the projector" or "take your Bible
and get at it" won't get many members
involved. Many members are willing, but
they are afraid to begin because they
need encouragement and help. They need
to be taught: First, what to say. "But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and
be ready always to give an answer to
every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and
fear." (I Pet. 3:15) "The obligation im-
plies sufficient acquaintance with the
word of God to substantiate one's hope
therewith, and godliness of life consistent
with its teaching."10 Second, how to say
it. "Let your speech be alway with grace,
seasoned with salt, that ye may know
how ye ought to answer every man."
(Col. 4:6) The truth, "sweeter also than
honey and the honeycomb" (Psa. 19:10)
can leave a bitter taste in one's soul if
spoken in a bitter, harsh fashion. Third,
they need to be shown how to best use
filmstrips. charts, or open-Bible method.
Page 32
They need to be taught some of the best
closing methods in leading an individual
to obedience. They can learn many of the
things in a class, but the best way is work-
ing with some experienced individual.
Fourth, we must begin to teach and
practice evangelism in the classrooms.
Children must be impressed early with
the responsibility of leading others to
Christ. The Bible school must be posi-
tively evangelistic. Teachers need to be
earnestly seeking to lead their students to
Jesus Christ as their Savior and instill in
them the desire to lead others to Christ.
"The supreme business of Christianity is
to win the lost for Christ. . .Surely then
the Sunday school must relate itself to
the winning of the lost to Christ as an
ultimate objective."11 Statistics gathered
in the Baptist Convention over a period
of years, "show that, in Sunday Schools
which are constantly growing, more than
three-fourths of the boys and girls nine to
twelve years of age are not Christians;
that more than half of those thirteen to
sixteen years of age are not Christians;
and that a little less than half of the
young people, seventeen through twenty-
four, are not Christians. In schools which
follow the methods which produce con-
stant growth, lost people of all ages, in-
cluding adults, are constantly being en-
rolled and won to Christ. A growing Sun-
day school is the most effective factor
known to insure perennial evangelism."12
Let's begin to teach our boys and girls
this vital truth while they can be taught,
lest they reach the stage where they can-
not or will not be taught, thus never be-
come soul-winners for Christ.
Fifth, every individual that obeys the
gospel must be impressed with the truth
that he is saved to save others. (Rom.
7:4) Carl Johnson, missionary to India,
reports that converted Indians do not
stop until they have told every member
of their family — mother, father, grand-
parents, nephews, cousins, etc. — about
Christ and salvation. Too many come into
church without real appreciation and
gratitude for what they have received and
are unconcerned about others.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. C. J. Sharp, Personal Evangelism (Cincin-
nati: The Standard Publishing Co., 1937), p. 5,
6.
2. Henry E. Speck, Jr., The Church's Educa-
tional Program (Austin: R. B. Sweet Co., Inc.,
1963) p. 272.
3. James D. Bales, Evangelism, Every Member
and Every Day (Shreveport: Gussie Lambert
Publications, 1967), p. 18.
4. Sharp, Op. Cit., p. 5, 6.
5. Speck, Op. Cit. p. 272.
6. Gene Edwards, How To Have A Soul Winn-
ing Church (Springfield: Gospel Publishing
House, 1962).
7. Bales, Op. Cit., p. 18.
8. G. S. Dobbins, Building Better Churches
(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1947) p. 89. 90.
91.
9. Willie W. White, The Greatest Work In
The World, (Joplin: College Press, 1961), p.21.
10. Guy N. Woods, A Commentary On The
New Testament, Peter, John, Jude (Nashville:
Gospel Advocate Co., 1954), p. 98.
11. Arthur Flake, Building A Standard Sunday
School (Nashville: Convention Press, 1954), p.98
12. Ibid. p. 100.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY
1. Define and discuss "evangelism." What are
some differences in "congregational evange-
lism" and "personal evangelism?"
2. Name and discuss some of the different
ways one may use his talents in evangelism.
3. What is probably the one area in which we
have most miserably fa iled in restoring the New
Testament Church? Why?
4. Why can we never be satisfied with just
offering the Lord's invitation at the building?
5. What brought about daily additions to the
Lord's church in the first century?

6. What are things that indicate every Christian
is not convinced men are really lost?
7. Why must Christians not neglect a single day
in making known the good news?
8. Why is it essential for preachers and elders
to be involved in evangelism?
9. Name and discuss some reasons why more
people will be involved in evangelism if teaching
is started in the preschool classes.
LOVE: THE MOTIVE
FOR EVANGELISM
TOM HOLLAND
The acute need for evangelism may be
seen by observing existent world condi-
tions: hate, greed, immorality, pessimism,
confusion in the home, community and
in the nation. "That these are troubled
and tumultous times needs no authenti-
cation. Life in the atomic age has been
described as 'the predicament that pre-
cedes death.' The world has moved to the
edge of an abyss from which there may
be no drawing back and stands teetering
on the rim."'1
The responsibility that God's people
have to evangelize the world is clearly
revealed in the New Testament. The
Great Commission still demands, "Go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature." (Mark 16:15)
The challenge of evangelism may be
seen in the world population which has
now passed the three billion mark, and
has the potential for more than doubling
by the turn of the century. Only a frac-
tional part of these three billion people
are "Christian," by the world's criteria;
an even smaller part is Christian according
to the New Testament standard.
The burden of evangelizing the world
falls squarely upon the shoulders of God's
* Tom Holland, Professor of Speech and Bible at Freed-Hardeman College, one of the most cap-
able evangelists in our brotherhood.
Page 33
people. Saints of God today have the
financial resources, the facilities for train-
ing and developing workers, the potential
man-power, and opportunities for using
mass media, to proclaim the good news of
salvation through Christ. What will move
Christians to evangelize the world? Love
is the motivation for evangelism.
What Is Evangelism?
The purpose of this explanation is not
to reflect on the intelligence of the
reader, but to clearly restate the truth of
God's word on this subject. Unless there
is an understanding of the nature of evan-
gelism Christians may think that they are
engaged in evangelism when in reality
they may be only pursuing a program of
man.
The verb, "to evangelize" is simply a
transliteration of the Greek verb euag-
gelizo, and means "to proclaim glad tid-
ings,"2 or to bring good news. The noun
euaggelion means good news or glad tid-
ings, and the twenty-seven time this word
appears in the New Testament it is
usually translated with the English word
"gospel."3
Evangelism is, therefore, the procla-
mation of the gospel of Christ. It is the
proclamation of glad tidings of for-
giveness of sins, purpose, purity and
peace in life, and the hope of heaven
offered to men through Jesus Christ.
The message to be proclaimed is called
the "gospel of God." (1 Peter 4:17; 1
Thess. 2:2) The message originated with
God, and not with man. Therefore, "One
is not privileged to break out in the midst
of a doomed humanity with a self-
centered message for the direction of his
fellows.. . .God is the only one who can
send a messenger to fallen humanity." 4
The good news is also called the
"gospel of Christ." (Romans 1:16) He is
the subject of the message. A Christ-
Page 34
centered message must be proclaimed to
lost men. Jesus died for all men (Heb.
2:9); He saves all who will obey Him
(Heb. 5:8,9) He shall come for the eter-
nal salvation of those who look for Him
(Heb. 9:28).
The gospel is also called the "gospel of
salvation" (Ephesians 1:13) because the
design of this God-authored, Christ-
centered message is the salvation of the
souls of men. Since man has his being
through a creative act of God, and not as
a result of the blind forces of nature, man
has a spirit given to him by his Creator.
(Heb. 12:9) The gospel reveals what this
loving God has done to save men from
the power, guilt, and the condemnation
of sin. The gospel of salvation also sets
forth the commands that men must obey
in order to be saved from sin, and how
they are to live in preparation for eternal
life with God in heaven.
The God-given message, the gospel, is
the "gospel of peace" (Romans 10:15)
because belief and obedience to this truth
brings men peace with God (Romans
5:1), and those who have made peace
with God have the peace of God ruling
their hearts. (Phil. 4:6; Col. 3:15)
Evangelizing the world means to
preach the gospel to every creature. How-
ever, it is not enough to know what evan-
gelism is, the gospel must be taught. "Be
ye doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves." (James
1:22) "It is regrettable that this spirit of
evangelism is not so manifest in the
church today, as it was in the days of the
apostles; but anyone who has any con-
ception of the world and its needs knows
that there is no adequate substitute for
it."5
God's people have the command, the
challenge, and the capability of evangeliz-
ing the world. The need is motivation;
not a shallow sentimental excitement, but
a genuine, abiding love for God, the Son
of God, the word of God, the church of
God, and for men created by God.
Love Is The Motive For Evangelism
Since the word love has been stolen
by subculture people and used to "jus-
tify" their actions, since a perversion of
this Biblical concept has been applied to
such un-loving attitudes as rebellion
against civil authority (Romans 13:1-ff,
cf. 1 John 5:3), and situation ethics
(Romans 13: 8-10), it is necessary to ex-
plain what love really is.
The real barrier to world evangelism is
a lack of understanding what love is, and
of course, a lack of love.
If one operates on the assumption that
love is an impulse then he may conclude,
"I can't preach the gospel, or teach the
truth until I love (get the impulse) to do
so." But, love "whether exercised toward
the brethren, or toward men generally, is
not an impulse from the feelings, it does
not always run with the natural incli-
nations.. . ."6
Barclay has an excellent comment
about love, "Agape (love) does not mean
a feeling of the heart, which we cannot
help, and which comes unbidden and un-
sought; it means a determination of the
mind, whereby we achieve this uncon-
querable goodwill even to those who hurt
and injure us."7
An observation of what love does is a
good way to understand what love is.
"Love can be known only from the
actions it prompts."8
God loves men. This love has been
manifested in the gift of His Son for the
sins of the world. "But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans
5:8) Christ loves men. He demonstrat-
ed this love because "greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Man's love for God will show itself in
obedience to God's commands. (John
14:15; 1 John 5:3)
Genuine love is built on the founda-
tion of faith. Of course, man's love for
God reciprocates God's love for man.
"We love him, because he first loved us."
(1 John 4:19) However, what would man
know of God's love apart from a revela-
tion of that love in Christ, and the record
of that revelation in the New Testament?
The more time men spend in reading
and meditating upon the expression of
God's love in Christ, the more they sin-
cerely reflect upon the proof of Christ's
love for men, the more they think of the
blessings now and eternally which are
found only in Christ, the more they con-
sider the needs of men who are lost out
of Christ and His church, the more they
share with others the saving message, the
gospel, the more they love God and men.
There is a cycle of love. God loves
man, and has shown it. Man is impressed
with this love, and loves God in return.
"Love has God for its primary object, and
it expresses itself first of all in implicit
obedience to His commands."9 When
men learn to love God they find joy in
serving God whom they love, "But the
service we render to God is also the ser-
vice to man and the more we serve man in
the satisfaction of serving God, the more
we will love man. . .The more we invest in
man the more we will love him. . .We can
come to love people because we have
done so much for them with the satis-
faction that what we have done is pleas-
ing to God."10
The key to evangelism is love for God.
The motive for evangelism is love for God
and man. "The dynamics necessary for
most efficient communication accom-
pany true love. Without love, one may
have mastered communication metho-
dology and yet not communicate."11
How can one stay close to a loving
Page 35
God in a faithful, diligent study of His
word, and in persistent, sincere prayer,
and not love people "which are made
after the similitude of God" (James 3:9)?
How can people who really have the mind
of Christ be indifferent to the needs of
those who are in life as "sheep without a
shepherd?" How can people who have
obeyed the commands of the Great Com-
mission to be saved from sin fail to faith-
fully fulfill the great charge to preach the
saving gospel that others might be saved
from sin ?
Has the materialism of the age de-
ceived God's people into thinking that
things are more important than people?
Has the unbelief of the day so influenced
God's people that the word L-O-S-T does
not move God's people to strive to preach
the saving gospel? And has the selfishness
of the world so permeated the hearts of
saints that they are too busy with jobs,
professions, and pleasures to learn to love
men by sharing with them the wonderful
words of life?
Genuine love will cause congregations
of saints to plan a program of evangeliza-
tion, prepare men to fulfill the plan,
finance the work, faithfully pursue the
work until a new congregation can
assume the responsibility for a similar
program. Genuine love for the lost will
whet the spiritual appetites of Christians
to learn how to teach the truth to others.
It will cause God's people to live ex-
emplary lives in the home, on the job, in
the community. Love will send Christians
into the homes of the "poor and lowly"
serving the Lord.
Love will prompt a mother to instill
within the heart of her son the desire to
prepare himself to proclaim the gospel of
Christ. Love will move brethren to sup-
port those who are preparing themselves
to preach God's truth. Love will send a
child of God into the home of a sinner to
teach him the way of righteousness. Love
Page 36
will cause God's people to think in terms
of a world-wide commission.
The more service men give God, the
more they love him. The more men love
God, the greater the service unto men.
The more service men give God, the
deeper the joy in doing His will. Love
causes the Christian to look upon evange-
lism as a dividend of Christian service, not
as a note coming due.
FOOTNOTES
1. Charles B. Templeton, Evangelism for
Today, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957),
p. 3.
2. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of
New Testament Words, (Westwood, N. J.:
Fleming H. Revell Company, 1966) Vol. 11, p.
44.
3. Herschel H. Hobbs, New Testament Evan-
gelism, (Nashville, Tennessee: Convention Press,
1960), p. 2.
4. John Allen Hudson, The Lipscomb Lec-
tures, (Nashville, Tennessee: Gospel Advocate
Company, 1947), Vol 1, p.14.
5. "Evangelizing the World," Annual Lesson
Commentary, (Nashville, Tennessee: Gospel
Advocate Company, 1961), p.257.
6. Vine, Op. cit., p. 21.
7. William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew
(Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1963),
Vol. 1,p. 172.
8. Vine, Op. cit.
9. Ibid.
10. J. Ridley Stroop, How to Inherit Eternal
Life, (Nashville, Tennessee: J. Ridley Stroop
Publisher, 1954), p. 158.
11. Raymond W. McLaughlin, Communication
for The Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1968). p. 201.
QUESTIONS
1. Why do God's people have the responsi-
bility to evangelize the world?
2. Discuss the potential for evangelism today.
3. What is evangelism?
4. Why is the gospel called the "gospel of
God?"
*Albert G. Lemmons, presently teaching Bible at Freed-Hardeman College. On Feb. 1, 1971, he will
return to the Hialeah Church of Christ, 1094 E. 4th Avenue, Hialeah, Fla. 33010. (Where he preached
from 1961 to 1965).
5. Why is the gospel called the "gospel of
Christ?"
6. Why is the gospel called the "gospel of sal-
vation?"
7. Why is the gospel called the "gospel of
peace?"
8. Is love an impulse, and therefore, can men
be taught to love?
9. How has God's love been shown to man?
10. How is man's love shown to God? How
does this relate to evangelism?
WHY SOME
CHURCHES
DO NOT GROW
ALBERT G. LEMMONS
By nature and temperament, I would
prefer to address my efforts to the posi-
tive side of the moral spectrum. However,
the theme under discussion is charged
with reality since this is the frequent
pattern followed by many congregations.
The development of this theme will be
under the three main headings as follows:
I. Lack of personal commitment to
Christ on the part of the church leaders.
The Bible says, "Where there is no
vision the people perish." (Prov. 29:18a)
A church will not outgrow its leadership.
Expressed in simplest terms, a leader is
one who can get others to follow him.
In no case will good results be obtain-
ed unless the leader is a man who can be
looked up to, whose personal judgment is
trusted, and she can inspire and warm the
hearts of those he leads while gaining
their trust and confidence, and emplaning
what is needed in language. The beginning
and essence of leadership is a battle for
the hearts and minds of men — the capa-
city and the will to rally men and women
to a common purpose and the character

which will inspire confidence. The
power to concentrate is essential in a
leader. The constant exercise of this
ability makes him a disciplined human
being. It enables him to simplify a prob-
lem and to discover the essentials on
which all action must be based.
It is the man which matters, his capa-
city for the right decision, and his know-
ledge of human nature. The great art in
leadership is the power to simplify a
problem and to expose the fundamentals
on which all action must be based — to be
followed by decision and action.
Incapability of decisiveness and action
too often characterize everything from
the business meeting to the advertisement
of the gospel meetings. Battles are pri-
marily won in the hearts of men, and
once trust and confidence are gained of
those who serve or work under a leader,
then and only then, the greatest achieve-
ments become possible. My brethren,
Jesus Christ does not ask us to idolize
him; what he asks one and all to do is to
support his cause. Do no idolize me, but
follow me He says.
The true attributes of leadership may
be understood in three words — charac-
ter, decision and action. Some elderships
wait too long to make their decisions and
when they do this consistently, they are
not making a decision at all. They are
avoiding a decision. The leader who has
lost his imagination forfeits his right to
leadership. Ralph Waldo Emerson is
credited with the question, "What is the
hardest task in the world?" "To think,"
he answered. I would say to think
creatively is one of mans noblest virtues.
The work of the church cannot be left
to a few men so weary of daily toil that
their best energies of the day have long
since gone. Those same good men must
allow the work and progress of the
church to become an obsession of their
minds.
Page 37
II. Lack of a deep sense of the mission
of the Church.
One of the greatest things Jesus ever
left His church in this earth was a sense of
purpose, a reason for existence. (Luke
19:10) "As thou did send me into the
world, so have I sent them into the world.
And for their sake I consecrate myself
that they may also be consecrated in
truth." (John 17: 17-18) Christ came to
the earth to accomplish two things. First,
to establish the church, to bring together
a community of Christian believers en-
trusted with a gift of everlasting life, and
having done this he returned to the right
hand of the Father. Second, He came to
bring the message of eternal life to the
world through the Church, and this
mission He commits to all who are His
followers who would honor Him as their
Savior as they preach His gospel. The
Church exists as a necessity in God's plan
for the salvation of the world. How does
the Church appear to our modern pagan
world? As a group of pious souls secure in
their own spirituality who care nothing
for the lost world around them? It is the
world that God so loved that He gave His
only begotten son, the world that Christ
on His cross reconciled to God, the world
into which the risen Lord sent His
apostles to declare the gospel to every
creature.
In the eyes of the world there is some-
thing a little ridiculous in the picture of a
man about to be executed, briefing a
handful of fishermen and peasants to go
out and start a revolution that would turn
the world upside down and change the
entire course of history and eternity. But
He did!!! Taken by themselves, these men
seem hardly up to the great task. And the
amazing thing is Christ's unbounded con-
fidence in His followers. He put His un-
mistakeable confidence in them. He had
confidence in the inexhaustible supply of
His Father's storehouse. However noble
Page 38
your intentions, one cannot be without
God what with God He must be.
The Church then exists for the salva-
tion of the world — this is the purpose of
the Church, its reason for existence.
Apart from the Church of Christ, God has
no other plans for making the world
aware of Christianity or leading the world
back to God, and yet brethren, we are
simply making a little beginning. When
the Church loses its sense of mission, it
loses its purpose for existence. One of the
greatest needs of the Church today is the
need of recovering interest in our young
people to become Christian missionaries.
Whoever speaks to his son about preach-
ing the gospel? Or who encourages his
daughter to train as a medical missionary
and teacher? Thousands of pulpits are
empty today because we are not suffi-
ciently training young men. Humanitarian
services go unrendered by our young
women because we fail to train them.
III. Lack of proper concept of
stewardship of money.
"He that loveth silver is not satisfied
with silver." (Eccl. 5:10a) "There is a
sore evil which I have seen under the
sun, namely, riches kept for the owners'
hurt thereof." (Eccl. 5:13) One of the
dilemmas of all earth has been how man
with all his intelligence could give more
honor and respect to the few things God
placed in his hands than to God who
made all things. There is an ironic correla-
tion that as man's wealth increases, his
dependence upon God decreases. One of
our most serious tasks as Christians is to
constantly (daily) reassess our prosperity
so our giving may keep up with our
receiving. As our income and many other
forms of prosperity increase in this good
land, so in equal proportion must we
increase our giving.
"The stewardship of money and
evangelism are spiritual Siamese twins. To
separate either means death to both."
Many church programs are rising above
their concept of immediate community
needs to have little or nothing left for
global outreach By this, I mean, their
plant indebtedness and operations of
local administrations so tax their
deficient levels or incentives of giving that
the small amount in residue become their
rational or excuse of saying No, No, No.
If this trend is not changed immediately,
it will be an inherent factor in our failure
or spiritual death from the standpoint of
God's will for us.
Owner or Overseer — which? "The
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness there-
of.. . ." (Ps. 24:1) This is my Father's
world. The truths of the foregoing freight
an awesome sense of responsibility upon
the alert disciple of Jesus. Adam and Eve
are good examples of people who forgot
this truth and suffered immeasurably. Job
is a positive example. Anything the devil
destroyed in that catastrophe, God stood
the loss. All Job lost was his job for a few
days. What he was did not depend upon
what he had. If that had been the case,
when all material things were taken from
him, he would have been void as an
individual. The bases of his dignity and
self-worth were contingent upon values of
a higher dimension than perishable media
of exchange. This is a barometer of life. If
God should see fit in his providence to
wrest every dime of your worth from
your hands, how many elders, deacons,
preachers and other Christians would
heed the advice of Job's wife and curse
God and die? The reason is evident. We
are more in love with the gift than the
Giver. It has been said that money is the
easiest thing to give. This may be right, at
least in some things. If you are not giving
money in a significant proportion to your
earning power, to the cause of Christ, it is
a fact that you are not really giving your
heart and life to Christ. This may offend
some. This is why some churches do not

grow.
To withhold is to perish. This is true
with reference to a tree, a man, or a con-
gregation. "Our Lord said, It is more
blessed to give than to receive." (Acts
20:35b) When this becomes the forgotten
beatitude, churches die and souls are lost.
The storehouse of God is perpetually
replenished. Go into partnership with
God and allow Him to channel through
you all the good He chooses.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR STUDY
1. Discuss Proverbs 29:18a.
2. What is the essence of leadership?
3. What is the great art in leadership?
4. Discuss the significance of the words
"character," "decision" and "action" to real
leadership.
5. What is the reason the the church's exist-
ence?
6. What can parents, teachers and elders do to
encourage more Christian young people to want
to become missionaries?
7. Discuss Eccl. 5:13 in view of the budget of
many congregations — or your own.
8. Evaluate your giving in the light of II Cor.
9:7.
ASSOCIATE EDITORIAL. . .
THE EXAMPLE
OF PAUL
IN EVANGELISM
RUBEL SHELLY
Imitation is recognized as one of the
primary principles of education. We can
learn to perform the most difficult of
tasks by watching others do them and
then putting into practice what we have
learned by imitating the examples of
those whom we have watched.
The Bible encourages the imitation of
good men and women as a means of
*Rubel Shelly, minister of Getwell Church of Christ, 1511 Getwell Road, Memphis, Tenn. 38111.
Page 39
learning to please the Lord. Incidents in
the Old Testament were recorded as
examples to us, and they are written for
our admonition. "Now these things
happened unto them by way of example;
and they were written for our admoni-
tion, upon whom the ends of the ages are
come." (I Cor. 10:11) We also believe in
the imitation of New Testament examples
of devotion to God's will. In fact, the
whole Restoration Movement is
predicated on the belief that if we follow
the New Testament pattern of teaching
and practice, we will be exactly what
those early disciples were — Christians
only.
There is no other character mentioned
in the New Testament, except Jesus
Christ, who is more worthy of our
imitation than Paul the apostle. For
example, men should be willing to follow
his example of willingness to turn from
error. Paul was a man of conviction who
believed in standing for what he thought
was right. But when he was convinced
that he was in error in upholding the Law
of Moses and persecuting the followers of
Christ, he was humble enough to admit
his wrong actions and make a dramatic
change. But in this study I am particu-
larly interested in Paul's Example in
Evangelism.
The apostles were told to go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. Then, upon Paul's conversion,
the Lord singled him out to be sent "far
hence into the Gentiles" to preach to
them the unsearchable riches of Christ. In
fulfilling the charge Paul became the most
widely-travelled, most "successful"
missionary in the history of the church!
If we would please God in our efforts to
win people to Christ, we will do well to
follow Paul's example!
A Preliminary Consideration
Before going into our study of Paul's
special example in evangelism, I ask you
Page 40
to consider this preliminary matter:
Christians do not have an automatic con-
cern for evangelism! The fact that one has
become a child of God by being born
anew of the water and the Spirit does not
mean that he will be concerned about
carrying the message of salvation to
others. Winning souls to Christ is a costly
business and only a small percentage of
God's people seem to be willing to pay
the price! It cost God his son. It cost
Jesus his life. It costs you and me some-
thing to proclaim that salvation. But
people today — including many New
Testament Christians — are looking for
something cheap and easy!
The reason why more fathers and
mothers aren't encouraging their sons to
become preachers or their daughters to
marry preachers is because they know
"the work of an evangelist" is demanding
and difficult work that often must go un-
appreciated. The reason why such a small
percentage of the boys who enter
Christian schools with the intention of
preaching ever actually do so is that they
discover there is more to it than "two
thirty-minute sermons a week." The rea-
son why it is so hard to enlist members of
local congregations in personal work pro-
grams is because they are more interested
in watching TV or lounging away the
afternoon than in trying to save souls.
And, besides that, someone might call
them religious fanatics.
Furthermore, some people are not
interested in evangelism because they
want to be careful to be "tolerant of the
other person's faith." But what many
people are now calling "tolerance" is
really sheer lack of conviction!
No, Christians do not have an auto-
matic concern for evangelism. It must be
nurtured and developed over a period of
time. But that concern for lost souls must
be developed if our evangelism is to be
successful! Paul's sincere concern for the
lost was so great that he could say, "I say
the truth in Christ, I lie not, my
conscience bearing witness with me in the
Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and
unceasing pain in my heart. For I could
wish that I myself were anathema from
Christ for my brethren's sake, my
kinsmen according to the flesh: who are
Israelites." (Rom 9:1-4.)
Until this genuine concern for the lost
fills our hearts, any attempts to imitate
the particulars of Paul's example in evan-
gelism will be in vain!
Contributing Factors to Paul's
Successful Evangelism
Now let us turn our attention to
specific factors which contributed to
Paul's effective work as an evangelist.
First, consider Paul's conversion
experience. When I speak of his "conver-
sion experience" I am not thinking of the
supernatural and miraculous events which
were involved. Instead I am thinking of
his personal reaction to the fact of having
received God's grace and pardon. For the
remainder of his life Paul served God with
unequalled devotion because of a sense of
indebtedness for his salvation! In I
Corinthians 15:10 he wrote: "But by the
grace of God I am what I am: and his
grace which was bestowed upon me was
not found vain; but I labored more abun-
dantly than they all: yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me." Paul
attributed his "abundant labors" to
God's grace bestowed on him. God had
saved Paul. And Paul, very conscious of
his indebtedness to God, served him
devotedly!
From my experience it appears that
very few people in the church feel this
sense of deep indebtedness for salvation.
Therefore they feel no compulsion to ser-
vice in the kingdom. I am afraid that a
great many of our brethren feel they did
God a favor by becoming members of the

church! They are of the opinion that they
were "pretty good fellows" before their
conversion. Therefore their "conversion"
does not mark a radical change in their
attitudes and actions. And, lest we be-
come too critical of this attitude, let us
ask ourselves whether or not we have
brought about this attitude by our
preaching and teaching. I do not believe
we should appeal to people like this:
"The church needs you and your talents.
Why not be baptized?" I have even heard
preachers say, "John, most of your best
friends are members of the church of
Christ. What's the matter with you?" Is
either of these methods effective in im-
pressing a person's need for salvation on
him? Doesn't each of them have the
emphasis in the wrong place? The only
appeal which we are authorized to make
is this: "Your salvation is at stake! YOU
NEED THE LORD. Won't you yield to
his will for your salvation?"
Second, consider Paul's sense of obli-
gation to others. In his own words, "I am
debtor both to Greeks and Barbarians,
both to the wise and to the foolish"
(Rom. 1:14). Paul understood that know-
ledge carries responsibility. The fact that
he had learned of salvation automatically
indebted him to all others who did not
share that knowledge.
I once read a newspaper account of a
lawsuit brought against a doctor who
passed the scene of an accident without
stopping to render medical assistance.
The driver of one automobile involved in
the accident died from a loss of blood.
The dead man's family then sued the
doctor who was seen passing by the scene
of the fatal accident. The court ruled
against the doctor and awarded a great
deal of money to the dead man's family.
Why this judgment? It was ruled that the
doctor's knowledge automatically made
him responsible to assist in the saving of
life. In exactly the same way, the fact
Page 41
that Christians have knowledge of salva-
tion automatically makes them respon-
sible to assist in the saving of souls! Does
any one of us think that the Judge of
heaven and earth will ignore the fact that
his saved people are "passing by on the
other side" and allowing people to be lost
in their sins? WE ARE DEBTORS, TOO.
Christians are under obligation to every
unsaved person in the world. And no one
of us is released from that obligation until
every person has been adequately taught
the truth. The Christian never goes to bed
at night with his work done or rises in the
morning with nothing to do! Evangelism
is a constantly pressing matter!
Third, consider the sense of urgency
which prompted Paul to labor so
diligently. Paul's preaching was not the
" take-it-or-leave-it" type of preaching
which is coming to be the vogue of our
day. His preaching and actions were
always characterized by a sense of
urgency. Paul labored under the con-
viction that people without the gospel
were lost! It was only through learning
and obeying the gospel that those people
could be saved. Do we really believe that
the preaching of the gospel is that urgent
a matter? Does every one of our sermons
have a sense of "eternity-in-the-balance"
urgency? D. T. Niles defined evangelism
as "one beggar telling another beggar
where to find bread." Now there is a
picture of urgency. Until we manifest this
attitude in our presentation of the gospel
— both publicly and privately — we need
not expect people to become too
concerned over our message!
Fourth, consider the message which
Paul preached. Paul preached the gospel
of Christ in a straightforward, simple
manner. To the Galatian brethren he
wrote: "For I make known to you,
brethren, as touching the gospel which
was preached by me, that it is not after
man. For neither did I receive it from
Page 42
man, nor was I taught it, but it came to
me through revelation of Jesus Christ"
(Gal. 1:11-12). Notice particularly the
phrase "it is not after man." Paul's
message of salvation was not of human
origin. Neither was it filled with useless
trivia having to do with petty social con-
cerns. It would appear that in spite of
Christ's clear statement about the non-
-earthly nature of his kingdom, a great
many professed followers of Christ in the
present generation are determined to
make a socio-political organization out of
the church! In the minds of these people,
the preaching of the gospel and offering
of prayers are not nearly so important as
rounding up voters to push through a re-
form at the ballot box. They contend
that spirituality, godliness and Christian
morality are "unrelated" to life as it
really is. Their idea of "conversion" is to
produce political demonstrators who are
dedicated to a particular program of
social change.
These "modern prophets" have be-
come so far removed from the real work
of Christ and his church that they have
traded the solid rock of Biblical authority
for the quicksand of relativism and
humanism! They have given up the idea
of being humble followers of the lowly
Jesus and have taken the roles of agita-
tors, insurrectionists, subersives and law-
breakers! This IS NOT the work and will
of Christ. He said, "My kingdom is not of
this world."
I am glad that we don't have too many
of these social gospel people among us.
But we have some! And they are making
tremendous inroads in the brotherhood
by means of magazines, Bible school lit-
erature, etc. We don't need what they
have to offer! We need to continue
making our appeal for Biblical authority
in religion and for a spiritual church not
encumbered with the weight of human
philosophy!
The message which people are anxious
to hear today is the same message that
Paul preached in his day. "But God
commendeth his own love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us." (Rom. 5:8) "The times of igno-
rance therefore God overlooked ; but now
he commandeth men that they should all
everywhere repent: inasmuch as he hath
appointed a day in which he will judge
the world in righteousness by the man
whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath
given assurance unto all men, in that he
hath raised him from the dead." (Acts
17:30-31) "For ye are all sons of God,
through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as
many of you as were baptized into Christ
did put on Christ."(Gal. 3:26-27)
The message is simple. Yet it is suffi-
cient to bring men unto salvation! We
must not let the pseudo-intellectual wave
that is sweeping our great brotherhood
engulf us. We must continue to preach
the Bible. We must "hold fast our profes-
sion of faith" in the face of influential
men and powerful pressures. Our message
in our efforts at evangelism must be
exactly what it was in Paul's day: Men are
lost in sin and salvation is available only
in the body of Christ. Men receive this
salvation and are added to Christ's church
through faith in Christ, repentance of
past sins, confession of faith and immer-
sion in water for the remission of sins!
Then, fifth, consider Paul's presenta-
tion of the gospel. His preaching was not
designed to promote human loyalties or
to build a personal following. In I Corin-
thians 2:1 Paul declared that his emphasis
had not been on oratorical form but on
the message itself. "And I, Brethren,
when I came to you, came not with excel-
lency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God." With
Paul, it was the message rather than the
method which was supremely important.

sometimes differs from Paul's method. It
is not uncommon to hear people leave an
auditorium saying, "Doesn't brother
Blank have an excellent voice!" or
"Doesn't he have an unusual delivery!"
Very seldom does one hear people leaving
the building discussing the issues that the
preacher intended to raise in the course
of his sermon. This is not always the
preacher's fault. But division in the
church today is sometimes the result of a
preacher getting too carried away with his
ability or importance. Personal followings
can be created which will eventually
cause division within a given congrega-
tion. Preachers must consciously guard
themselves against the temptation to
make themselves the center of attraction
in a sermon. The gospel must stand out
prominently with the preacher in the
background.
The preaching we do must be, like
Paul's, authoritative in nature. "For God
gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of
power and love and discipline. Be not
ashamed therefore of the testimony of
our Lord. . ." (II Tim. 1:7)
Conclusion
I can think of no more appropriate
conclusion for a study of "The Example
of Paul in Evangelism" than a reading of
his final charge to the young evangelist,
Timothy.
"I charge thee in the sight of God, and
of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living
and the dead, and by his appearing and
his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent
in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort, with all longsuffering and teach-
ing. For the time will come when they
will not endure the sound doctrine; but,
having itching ears, will heap to them-
selves teachers after their own lusts; and
will turn away their ears from the truth,
and turn aside unto fables. But be thou
Page 43
sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the
work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry.
For I am already being offered, and the
time of my departure is come. I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the
course, I have kept the faith: hence forth
there is laid up for me the crown of right-
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give to me at that day; and
not to me only, but also to all them that
have loved his appearing." (II Tim. 4:1-8)
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR STUDY
1. Cite several traits of Paul's character —
other than his evangelistic zeal — which men
should imitate.
2. Do Christians have an automatic concern
for evangelism? Give evidence to support your
answer.
3. Discuss Paul's sincere concern for the lost
in view of his statement in Romans 9:1-4.
4. What impetus to evangelism was provided
Paul through the experience of his conversion?
5. In what way can it be said that knowledge
carries responsibility in regard to salvation?
6. Discuss the "sense of urgency" which char-
acterized Paul's ministry.
7. Compare Paul's evangelistic message with
the message being preached by religionists of
our time.
8. Discuss Paul's manner of presentation of
the gospel. Did he emphasize the message or the
method in his teaching?
9. Discuss II Timothy 1:7.
10. How involved are you in the work of saving
souls?
Page 44
Feature Article for Quarter.. . .
FALSE VIEWS
OF
TRUTH (No. 2)
THOMASB.WARREN
IX. It is a false view of truth to hold that
men have the right to be wrong about it.
In effect, I have made this point
already, but, so that the point will be
emphasized, permit me to make a sepa-
rate point of it. To those who claim that
we have the right to be wrong about truth
I pose this question: "Are you saying that
we do not have to be right about any-
thing at all? That there is not even one
thing about which we must be right in
order to be saved? Are you saying that we
can be wrong about everything involved
in Christianity and still be saved?"
It seems clear to me that many in the
world and some even in the church are
saying, "Yes! You have the right to be
wrong about everything!"
If it really is the case that we have the
right to be wrong about everything, then
I ask, "Of what value then, is the Bible?
If we have the right to be wrong about
everything the Bible teaches; then why
wouldn't we be in just as good a position
without it as we are with it?" The doc-
trine is manifestly false!
The doctrine is clearly false, because
the Bible makes clear that we must be
right about a number of matters. For
example, we must be right about believ-
ing in God;34 we must be right about be-
lieving and obeying the gospel;36 we
* Thomas B. Warren, Ph.D (Vanderbilt Univ.), Chairman of Bible Department, Freed-Hardeman
College Henderson, Tennessee
must be right about worshipping God;
we must be right about being in the body
of Christ; 39 and so on.
When you hear some preacher con-
tending that it is not necessary to be
right, ask him some questions such as
these: (1) Do we have the right to be
wrong about the fact that in the be-
ginning the Word was with God and the
Word was God? (2) Do we have the right
to be wrong about Jesus being born of a
virgin? (3) Do we have the right to be
wrong about his sinless life? (4) Do we
have the right to be wrong about his
being raised from the dead? (5) Do we
have the right to be wrong about being
baptized?
X. It is a false view of truth to hold that
it does not need to be defended.
We sometimes hear this view ex-
pressed, "The truth will take care of it-
self; it doesn't need to be defended."
There is at least one thing wrong with
that: it just isn't true!
Jude exhorted God's people to "con-
tend earnestly for the faith."40 The ex-
pression "contend earnestly" signifies
that we should regard ourselves as com-
batants in the great battle to defend the
truth against all who deny and/or attack
it. The word "earnestly" indicates that
the battle should be carried on with great
intensity—it involves a real fight!
Paul said he was "set for the defense
of the gospel."41 Peter laid on us the
obligation of "being ready always to give
answer to every man that asketh you a
reason concerning the hope that is in
you. . ."42 The Greek word here translated
"answer" actually means "defense". We
are thus instructed to be ready to defend
the truth against any challenge which
may arise against it.
If you will carefully study the life of
our Lord, you will learn (if you haven't
already done so) that he was a great con-
troversialist, a great debater, being most

constantly involved in the defense of
what is true and right as against that
which is false and wrong. An investigation
of the work of Paul will reveal that again
and again he was engaged in what we to-
day would call debating — he defended
the truth!
The church grew with amazing
rapidity during both the first century and
the nineteenth century. During both of
these centuries, gospel preachers were
again and again involved in the defense of
the truth in public debates. Shouldn't we
get back to this kind of activity? On
every hand, by way of every means of
communication there are sounding forth
blatant challenges to true New Testament
Christianity. Shouldn't we rise up, accept
these challenges, and defend the truth of
the gospel of Christ? I say, "Yes!" And I
challenge every member of the church to
recognize the truth of what I am here
saying.
We can stop the mouths of those
among us who deny the fundamental
truths of the gospel. Thus, by a valiant
defense of the church we can prevent
many weak, "babes in Christ," being
carried into apostasy by the winds of
liberalism which are blowing among us.
While it is good — even essential — to
preach on the moral principles of the
Christian life, such preaching alone is not
going to awaken the denominational and
skeptical world out of their false ways.
For this to be done, the "whole counsel
of God" must be preached with great
fervor.
XI. It is a false view of truth to hold that
it has nothing to do with logic.
Paul said, "Prove all things; hold fast
to that which is good."43 This lays on us,
among other things, the obligation to
think logically, to reason soundly.
However, there are those among us
who would have us to accept the basic
views of existential philosophy and of
Page 45
neo-orthodox theology, thus, more or
less, tossing reason "out of the window."
But he who throws reason out of the
window throws with it his ability to give
any grounds for believing and doing as he
does. Again and again Jesus, Paul, and
others in the New Testament make use of
the principles of sound reasoning. 44
XII. It is a false view of truth to hold
that truth cannot be a dynamic force in
our world today.
In connection with this point, I must
admit that there is a gigantic amount of
evil in the world today, and that there is a
growing tendency toward anarchy, utter
contempt for law and authority, that
there is a growing tendency toward in-
difference and even contempt for
religion.
But, while I admit that such is the case
in our world today, I do not admit that
the gospel is powerless to change matters.
I say that for at least these reasons: (1)
because the gospel is "the power of God
unto salvation," and (2) because the
gospel has already demonstrated its
power in the lives of men and women.
S ho r t l y before, during, and
immediately after the period of the
ministry of Christ on earth, much the
same situation prevailed throughout the
entire Roman Empire (which then had its
tentacles of domination over most of the
then-inhabited earth) as now prevails in
the world. There was growing contempt
for law and order. There was growing in-
difference to religion. The Roman legions
did not forbid the religions of the peoples
whom they conquered but simply a-
bsorbed them into their culture. Because
religion and religious leaders stood for so
little, because the propositions set forth
by devotees of various religions seemed to
matter so little, the people in large mea-
sure grew indifferent to religion. While it
may have been the case that almost every-
one was religious, it was also the case that
Page 46
being religious did not really do anything
for those who were religious.
But while matters religious were going
sleepily along, suddenly there erupted a
"force" which shook that mightily Roman
Empire to its very foundations! Soon this
"force" was the topic of conversation on
practically every street corner and in every
living room from Rome to Jerusalem!
What was that "force?" It was the
church, the people who had been pur-
chased (out of sin) by the blood of
Christ. What were they doing to cause
such a stir? They were preaching a
message and applying that message to
their own lives. What was the message?
Just the pure, unadulterated gospel of
Christ — nothing more, nothing less.
Who were these people who were
doing this preaching? Were they soldiers?
politicians? philosophers? They were
people from all walks of life: some were
poor, some were rich, some were well
educated, others were not, some followed
this trade and others followed that trade.
None of these things were crucial matters.
What was crucial was the fact they had
obeyed the truth and they were preaching
that truth! They preached it — that
message and only that message — every-
where. They preached it without compro-
mise. They let people know that they
were lost in sin and that only through
Christ (in obedience to his gospel) could
they be saved. They preached Christ!
Pre-existent! Bom of a virgin! Sinless life!
Crucified for the sins of others! Resur-
rected! Ascended! Coronated as King of
kings and Lord of lords! Coming again to
call all men into Judgment!
And everywhere they preached, the re-
action was either: obedience, because of
loving submission to Christ, or violent re-
action, hatred because of rejection of the
gospel. Because, with the gospel in its
"hands," the church was such a dynamic
force in the first century, it was described
as having "turned the world upside
down" and as being "everywhere spoken
against."
Brethren, let us note this please: the
church of the first century was not
ignored by the world. People knew it was
in the world, and they knew what it was
doing.
But let us ask ourselves, "Is the church
of the twentieth century turning the
world 'upside down' as did the church of
the first century?" I think it is the case
that none of us would dare to say that it
is. The church is unknown in some places.
And, in other places, where the church is
known it is largely ignored. Why is this the
case? Is it because the gospel has lost its
power? Of course, it hasn't lost its power!
Then, what is the trouble? The trouble is
that we. God's people, have not preached
the gospel in its fullness with zeal, fear-
lessness, and fervor!
I wonder: have we let someone deceive
us into believing that we should preach
the truth in such fashion as to "hurt the
feelings of no one?" I, for one, would like
to sound a call to brethren to be willing
once again to preach the truth, all of the
truth, and nothing but the truth without
fear of any man.
Among the reasons why the early
church turned the world upside down was
the fact that they preached the truth
everywhere. They entered into the haunts
of the Jewish doctors of the law,
preached Christ crucified as the fulfill-
ment of the prophecies concerning the
Messiah and challenged them to refute it!
To the Greek doctors of philosophy they
preached Christ crucified as the wisdom
of God and challenged them to refute
that truth! They were not arrogant in so
doing — they were motivated by love for
God and man and characterized by meek-
ness — but they did preach the truth even
when it "hurt the feelings" of their
auditors.
 Page 47

It is my sincere conviction that, for REFERENCES

the most part, we are merely "dabbing" 34. Psalm 14:1; 19:1; Romans 1:18-23;
with the task the Lord has given us to do. Hebrews 11:6
The church must preach the gospel in 35. John 20:30,31; 8:24,36. II Thessalonians
such fashion as to constitute a challenge 1:7-9; Hebrews 5:8,9; Acts 2:38.
to the world. In a very real sense, the 37. Philippians 1:27; II Peter 1:5-11; Galatians
world must be "staggered" by the gospel. 6:7-9
The world must learn that not only does 38. John 4:24; II John 9-11
the gospel differ from the doctrines of 39. Ephesians 2:13-16; I Corinthians 12:13;
men, but that that difference really does Acts 20:28: Ephesians 1:7
make a difference! The world needs to 40. Jude 3
learn that that difference is the difference 41. Philippians 1:16
between eternity in heaven or eternity in 42. I Peter 3:15
hell. 43. I Thessalonians 5:21
To those sincere brethren who might 44. For example: Matthew 21:23-37;
object by saying, "But we must make a 22:41-45; I Cor. 15:12-19; II Peter 2:1-11
positive approach; we must not build up
prejudice by preaching negative matters." QUESTIONS FOR STUDY
In reply I should say, "I am afraid that 1. Explain and refute the view that men have
you have studied more of the viewpoints the right to be wrong about truth.
of modern psychologists than you have 2. Explain and refute the view that truth does
those of Jesus, Paul, Peter, and Jude. I am not need to be defined.
afraid you have not studied carefully how 3. Explain and refute the view that truth has
John, Jesus, Paul and others preached (as nothing to do with logic.
set forth in the New Testament)." Cer- 4. Explain and refute the view that truth
tainly, there are many positive matters we cannot be a dynamic force in our world
must preach, but there are also negative today.
matters we must preach.
Brethren, the Lord gave us the job of
preaching the truth to every person on
this earth and of defending it against
every challenge raised against it.
"Let us go up at once and possess,"
for — with God's help — "we are well able
to overcome."

CONCLUSION
I repeat: the only good reason why a
religious doctrine would be accepted is
that it is true! If a particular doctrine
(Proposition) is not true, then there is no
really good reason why it should be ac-
cepted.
God has given us the truth (the Bible).
We can learn that truth. And we can obey
it. May the Lord help us all to love and
obey the truth.
Page 48
THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US
The population of the United States
totaled 103,500,000 in the 1945. In 1967
the mark exceeded 200,000,000 and a
population of 235,000,000 is virtually as-
sured by 1975. The world population
figure now exceeds 3,500,000,000. We
live in a big world that is getting bigger
every day.
And how are we doing in our efforts
to evangelize our big—and growing—
world? We are not even keeping pace with
the birth rate, much less gaining ground
on the total world population! Churches
of Christ around the GO QUICKLY, CHRISTIAN
world have a total
membership of less
than three million.
Three million in a
world of three and
one-half billion!
According to the
most accurate informa-
tion available, there are
11,260 congregations
of New Testament
Christians. And a full
4,000 of the total of
11,000 are in the states of Tennessee and
Texas!
When we look to our missionary en-
deavors the figures are even more alarm-
ing. The facts show that we have only
425 missionaries outside the borders of
the United States. The Mormons have
10,000 and the Jehovah's Witnesses boast
of over 10,000. Have we become so self-
ish, introverted and exclusive that we are
no longer willing to share the hope that is
in Christ?
Comparing our evangelistic programs
to the needs of our exploding world we
find that we are not keeping up with the
population explosion—not even on a per-
centage basis! The truth of the matter is
"that progressing at our present rate and
using our present methods, we will not
only have failed to carry out the Great
Commission of Jesus, to 'go into all the
world and preach the
Gospel,' we will fall
further behind in our
attempts." (Larry T.
S w a i m in Gospel
Advocate, April 23,
1970).
'The church must
mobilize for total
warfare with the forces
of evil! Each Christian
must recognize his per-
sonal responsibility to
the lost and be about
the business of saving them. We send
forth this issue of the Spiritual Sword
with the fervent prayer that it will help to
kindle a fire within the hearts of our
readers and provide them with informa-
tion that will be of great practical value in
their efforts to win the world for Christ!
—Rubel Shelly
 APRIL SPIRITUAL SWORD TO DEAL
WITH THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION
There can be no successful denial of
the fact that the Christian religion and
the theory of evolution are involved in a
life or death struggle. When one emerges
victorious the other will necessarily dis-
appear. And the Christian is laboring
under a false impression who thinks that
the theory of evolution is no threat to the
Bible and the church. While his eyes are
closed to the danger it may well be that
his faith or that of his children will be
totally overthrown!
We must challenge this false theory
and combat it with every means at our
disposal. We are warned: "Take heed lest
there shall be any one of that maketh
spoil of you through his philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ." (Col. 2:8).
Planning and work have been under
way for several months with the end in
view of the production of a special issue
of the Spiritual Sword which, will treat
the threat to faith being posed by the
theory of evolution. The Lord willing,
this issue will be completed and ready for
release as the April, 1971, edition of the
Spiritual Sword.
Won't you please give consideration to
ways in which you can use this vitally
needed publication? If you work with a
congregation in a college community,
why not allow us to mail a copy of this
special issue to every student in that
school? Order a bundle for distribution
and study by the young people of your
congregation. Place at least one copy of
this issue with every family in the congre-
gation. Buy copies for distribution in
local high schools. We sincerely
believe that this will be a unique and
valuable contribution to the entire
brotherhood. We would be happy to cor-
respond with you concerning the details
of a special mailing, the cost involved or
any others matters pertaining to the use
of this special issue of the Spiritual
Sword. You may address your questions
to the address given on the outside back
cover.