Dockery Confident Witness

Evangelism and Apologetics for the 21st Century
1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-4335-9014-6
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 304 Seiten

Essay Collection Offers Colleges and Students a Practical Introduction to Evangelism Inclusivism, universalism, and other secular cultural trends are dominating higher education and the world at large. Are Christian universities making the most of their unique position to advance the gospel in the 21st century? Compiling essays from various Christian scholars, Confident Witness helps educators and students understand the importance of evangelism in every generation. Edited by David S. Dockery, president of the International Alliance for Christian Education, the chapters cover a variety of topics, including the theological foundation of evangelism; discipleship and apologetics; evangelism in church history; spiritual lostness; and evangelism in a post-Christian context. Uniting influential voices in Christian higher education, Confident Witness challenges students to take an active part in God's salvation work through direct, urgent communication of the gospel. - Insightful Introduction to Evangelism: Edited by David S. Dockery, with contributors from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Biola University, Colorado Christian University, and more - Practical: Calls on leaders in Christian higher education to prioritize instruction around evangelism and prepare students to share the gospel - Comprehensive: Analyzes evangelism in Scripture and throughout church history, local and global evangelism, contextualization, and more - Ideal for College Students and Those Interested in Apologetics: Each chapter concludes with reflection questions and a list of resources for further study

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dockery, David S.

Leseproben

1

Introduction

David S. Dockery

Evangelism is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with men and women, boys and girls, who do not yet know him as Lord and Savior. Evangelism is a work of God as he leads and gifts his people by his Spirit to share the gospel message with others. Those who respond to this good news do so as the Spirit of God enables them and changes their hearts to believe in Jesus Christ, granting them the gift of salvation.

Salvation is a free gift of God, and it cannot be earned by our good behavior (Rom. 3:22–24). Salvation is not the culmination of humanity’s quest for God; it is a response to God’s initiating love for us. The apostle John writes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9–10). God’s grace brings us to him and strengthens us to continue and complete the spiritual pilgrimage (Eph. 1:4–7; Phil. 1:6). In no way does this deny human involvement in salvation, but it does affirm God as taking the initiative.

When men and women receive the grace of God, it is a testimony to the transforming power of grace itself. When humans reject God’s grace, it is a sign of the hardness and sinfulness of human hearts (Rom. 1:18–3:20, 23; Eph. 2:1–3). Salvation comes to us through God’s agents of grace who share the good news of the gospel with those who are alienated from God, lost in their sins. This spiritual transformation comes to the ill-deserving not because of their own efforts but because of the loving favor of God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

Salvation is of God, yet humans must respond to God’s grace. As the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British Christian leaders Andrew Fuller and William Carey made clear, God uses the means of evangelism and the responses of men and women to the gospel message to bring about his desired plan. Only persons who receive divine grace can make a favorable response to God’s salvific invitation, but only those who do respond to this good news are transformed by grace.

Thus, we want to affirm the priority of God’s initiating grace without neglecting in any way the importance of believers’ sharing the good news with others and the responsibility of men and women to believe the gospel message (Rom. 10:9–17; Eph. 2:8–9). When God extends his grace to us, he is the active agent, but he always extends his grace through various means, including the preaching of the gospel, the sharing of personal testimony, the written word of God, the invitation to respond to grace, the prayers of God’s people, and the faith of the respondent.

The Bible maintains that faith is the means by which we receive God’s salvation, which was purchased for us by the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16). Faith includes a full commitment of the whole person to Jesus Christ, a commitment involving knowledge, trust, and submission. Faith is not merely an intellectual assent or only an emotional response but a complete spiritual change of our lives brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Evangelism involves guiding unbelievers to place their faith in Jesus Christ. Though faith is more than doctrinal assent, it must include adherence to Jesus Christ as fully God and fully human (John 1:1, 14, 18), as the one who knew no sin yet became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Unbelievers respond to this evangelistic message by placing their faith in Jesus Christ, acknowledging him as Savior from their sin and Lord of their lives (Rom. 10:9).

God uses our acts of personal kindness and friendship as forms of pre-evangelism, but we must not think that evangelism can take place without a verbal communication of the gospel, either spoken or written. Believers are exhorted to be ready to give an answer for the hope within them (1 Pet. 3:15), doing so with gentleness and respect. The book you hold in your hands is an attempt to help people understand better the meaning of the gospel and the need for taking this gospel message to others, whether across the street or around the world. It is written particularly for college students and for those who serve on college campuses, serving as a reminder of the importance of evangelism and apologetics (making a reasoned defense of Christianity), especially in our pluralistic and secular contexts, in which an implicit form of universalism seems to be prevalent.

Evangelism involves the declaration of God’s good news that through faith in Jesus Christ, our sins can be forgiven (Rom. 3:21–26). This message emphasizes complete and total forgiveness (Heb. 10:10–17), as portrayed in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). The means of this forgiveness include our faith and repentance, resulting in the conversion of sinners. Such forgiveness is found only in Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no hope.

The work of evangelism must be understood within God’s overall redemptive work, for God is not merely saving individuals; he is saving a people for himself, the redemption of those from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev. 5:9; 7:9). As a number of contributors to this volume will note, our evangelistic efforts must reflect an awareness of our context, a lesson provided for us by the apostles in the book of Acts.

The opening chapters in this volume make a concerted effort at closing the gap between theology and evangelism, in keeping with the observations of Michael Green in his Evangelism in the Early Church that early church evangelists were theologians and early church theologians were evangelists. Faithful messengers of the gospel will want to be sure their communication faithfully represents the theological truths taught in Holy Scripture. We thus gladly and joyfully acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, our prophet, priest, and king, who has completely revealed God, has reconciled women and men to God, and now sits enthroned as ruler of God’s kingdom and head of his church. Confident Witness: Evangelism and Apologetics for the 21st Century is a testimony to this good news and our shared thanksgiving for what Jesus Christ has done for us. Moreover, it is an expression of our desire to take the gospel to the nations (Matt. 28:19–20) with all boldness and without hindrance (Acts 28:31).

Robert Sloan, president of Houston Christian University, expands on these themes in his chapter, “What Is Evangelism?” Chris Morgan, dean at California Baptist University, and Erik Thoennes, professor of theology at Biola University, provide thoughtful chapters on the scriptural and theological foundation for evangelism. David Gustafson, from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, offers an insightful look at “Evangelism in the History of the Church.”

David Kotter, dean at Colorado Christian University, traces the New Testament practices of evangelism and apologetics for our readers. Jim Denison and Mark Legg, of the Denison Forum, combine to make us aware of the challenges and opportunities associated with evangelism in a post-Christian context. Travis Dickinson, professor of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University, offers an illuminating look at the role of apologetics in evangelism, while Hal Poe, the Charles Colson University Professor of Faith and Culture at Union University, provides lessons from the life of C. S. Lewis regarding similar themes.

Anna Daub, who serves at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, turns our attention toward global evangelism. Tim McKnight, from Anderson University in South Carolina, offers readers a look at the faithful work of cultivating, planting, and reaping. Susan Booth, of Canadian Baptist Theological Seminary and College, reminds us of the essential ministry of the Holy Spirit and the need for prayerfulness in our gospel proclamation. Daniel DeWitt, currently serving at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri, shows us the importance of both evangelistic and discipleship efforts. Finally, Freddy Cardoza, dean at Grace College and Seminary, connects the dots for us with a summary chapter, “Christian Higher Education, the Church, Evangelism, and Discipleship.”

It is our prayer that these combined efforts will provide a symphonic look at the gospel and our calling to be faithful gospel messengers in our various places of service, particularly with application for the context of Christian college and university campuses.

All of the contributors to this volume join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to the Mathena family and the Witness to Win Foundation for their generous encouragement for this project. We certainly want to offer our thanks for the support from Justin Taylor, Jill Carter, Thom Notaro, and the rest of the Crossway team for this project. Wang Yong Lee, Kylie Frueh, and Andy Jennings offered valuable editorial assistance at each step of the way. For all who have participated in this...