Evangelism as a Lifestyle

Trinity Baptist Church April 9, 2006
True Values
Evangelism as a lifestyle
John 4:1-42

A cartoon pictures a medieval Crusader, standing in full armor and holding his shield. He also held his long sharp spear at the throat of a prisoner on the ground. The prisoner on the ground struggles to say, “Tell me more about your Christianity. I’m terribly interested!”

That’s kind of the picture lots of Christians and non-Christians have of what we’ll talk about
this morning. Our subject develops some pretty extreme allergies both in some believers and some unbelievers.

For 8 weeks, we’re working our way through Trinity’s “Core Values“, examining their biblical foundations. We began with “Scripture is foundational” -- last time we considered “Grace driven authenticity“. Today comes the E-word. Evangelism. The value is simply, “Evangelism as a lifestyle.” You’ve got it in your worship folder; the explanation is also there.

Everyone in the body receives the commission from Christ to be part of furthering His message. We saw that clearly in the book of Acts in the last months. And, rather than church-centered evangelism, we desire to help individuals, couples and families become evangelistic in their outlook and habits of life. We encourage people to relate in genuine ways with unbelievers and seek to share Christ out of healthy relationships.

You’ve heard me say our Values are principles we prize, principles God has begun to build into us. The fact that we identify them as values by far doesn’t mean we’ve “arrived”. Because we value them, they’re what we want God to work into our fabric, as people and as a fellowship.

This value is one that’s not second nature to many of us. Some of us avoid it -- resist it -- even run from it. I remember as a young freshman, around the Navigator ministry at K-State, and one fateful evening, my Bible study leader, Dave Gras, had the audacity to suggest that Christians shouldn’t just grow in our faith, we need also to share it. I remember a sense of fear welling up in me.

I won’t beat you up today, you can be sure of that. Because you’re looking at someone who can share Christ, I think, in an effective way. And I do. Sometimes. But this value hits me between the eyes -- because I don’t regularly form the kind of quality relationships out of which effective witnessing can take place. I’m what’s called a professional Christians. So, my circles are mostly Christians. You all. Christians from other walks of life. Pastors and others in full time ministry.

I say that to say, I need depth on this one. You probably do too. I’m determined to get some. So let’s pursue it together.

Who better to show us how to relate Christ’s message than Jesus Himself. As He encounters men and women in the gospels, He defines for us gracious, personal interaction with needy people. This woman in John 4 has deep needs. By every human standard, she’s didn’t matter to anyone. If she had dropped dead carrying water back from the well, people would barely have noticed.

For one, she’s a woman in a culture that viewed women as less than fully human. They had few rights and were considered practically property. She’s a Samaritan. Samaritans were pretty much despised by surrounding peoples, especially the Jews. But, in His amazing way, Jesus transforms