Evangelizing Christians ~ Ray E Horton

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While I experience the Lord’s burden for the lost, I also keenly feel His burden for those of His children who have gone off on tangents, focused on non-essentials, bought into lies, judge others, live spiritually weak lives, live in apathy and complacency, walk in condemnation, sickness and lack, and otherwise don’t experience the fruit of the spirit and the joy of the fullness of their salvation.

In this article, I will allude to scriptures without quoting them, to save space, trusting that if anyone is unsure of what I’ve written, I can then back it up scripturally.

God so loved the world, and desires all to be saved, and so should we.  He also wants all of His children to enjoy the fullness of the salvation bought for us by Jesus at a great price.  We have been delivered from the curse of the law. Our salvation includes not only the forgiveness of sin and eternal life, beginning in the here and now, it includes healing and an abundant, overcoming, long, fruitful life.

Unfortunately, many Christians are living weak, defeated lives, feeling discouraged and condemned, hanging on by the skin of their teeth, so to speak.  They have not been taught the Good News.  Most people who call themselves Christians and go to church on Sunday hear only pablum, if not legalistic teaching about their need to perform and do all these things to get and stay right with God. They are told to be good, and when they fail, they are condemned, and many fall away.

Yes, the heathen needs to be evangelized, the Hindus, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Animists, the Atheists, etc., all need a relationship with Jesus. The Jews, the humanists, everybody needs to hear the Good News of the Gospel.

But equally important, most Christians need to be evangelized.  Ray, don’t you mean discipled?  No I mean evangelized; discipleship follows.  Let’s look at the word evangelize.  According to the dictionary, it means to preach the Gospel.

What is the Gospel?  It is the Good News of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. The Good News is the fullness of His salvation, our freedom from enslavement to sin and from the tenants of the law that are impossible to fulfill in the flesh. It is the peace that surpasses all understanding.  It is joy unspeakable and full of glory as we come to know in the depths of our being that Jesus really did it all.  It’s realizing our burdens have been lifted, and Christ in us is able to keep us from sin, and the Holy Spirit in us leads us and guides us in all truth.

Is that what we hear from most pulpits?  No!  I praise the Lord for the places where the Good News of living by grace through faith rather than works is preached, like the church where the Lord has me planted.

There are two types of Christians that need to be evangelized, given the fullness of the Good News:

1) Nominal Christians, and dedicated Christians who are not Born Again and therefore not really Christians at all.

2) Born Again Christians who lack the revelation of who they are in Christ, and the power and authority that has been delegated to us in the Holy Spirit.

Reaching them a job for all of us. As the Holy Spirit leads, He will give us the boldness and the words to encourage our brothers and sisters, to teach the magnificent riches of the Gospel.  We are called to be ministers of reconciliation. It’s not just the unbeliever that needs this ministry, for many who call themselves Christians need to be reconciled to God by receiving a richer understanding the fullness of Christ’s gift.

Let the Lord’s heart for the lost, as well as for His children, be our hearts as well.