Today we are talking about the church’s values. One of these is evangelism. That’s a great value to have. But strangely, the Bible doesn’t say much about evangelism itself. It says so much about loving one another, believing the word of truth, and forgiving one another. But specifically about evangelism, it doesn’t say a lot. So we’re going to look at a passage that does talk about evangelism. This is the word ’announce’ in our text. The apostle tells us what he is doing, and that gives us some insight into what we should be doing. Evangelism has roots, shoots and fruits. Roots means why we do it. Shoots means what we do. Fruits means the results of what we do. Understanding the roots, shoots and fruits of evangelism helps us to understand God’s heart.
John speaks about the Word of life. Immediately, we know what he values. He values Jesus because he gives life. Then he talks about what he has seen and heard – that is his experience. The roots of evangelism lie in what we know of God. We know God through the message of the Bible, and how the Holy Spirit has worked in us. Our knowledge of Jesus Christ becomes the most valuable thing in our lives. We see him as life-giving. That then begins to affect the decisions we make, how we see our lives and it shapes our experience. We see the work of Jesus in giving us life. We speak of what we know, whether it is from the word of God or from our experience. In other words, our lives are shaped by the work of Jesus. That is the root of evangelism. That doesn’t mean you have to be an amazing Christian or know the Bible perfectly. What it does mean is that you value Jesus, and deeply appreciate what he has done in your life.
When we value Jesus and his work in our lives, evangelism becomes natural. Most evangelism is personal, from friend to friend. We listen to people we trust, and so, in ordinary conversations, we will naturally speak about Jesus. For example, when I was a first year student, I had many opportunities to speak about Jesus. We were all new students, all happy to listen and share experiences, and so it was easy for us to talk about what God had done in our lives. It’s often unplanned. I remember reading about someone who came to faith in Christ. She had been friends with a Christian for many years. One day, while talking with her Christian friend, she said about someone “they’ll go straight to hell.” She probably meant it lightly. Her Christian friend said “what makes you think you won’t?” It wasn’t planned, but it made a huge difference to the woman. She came to Christ. It can be very unpredictable. One day my brother and I went to the corner shop. We met a couple of young women who were language students, and were looking for the nearby laundry. But it was closed. We spoke to them briefly, but we went home, I asked my wife, and then we offered them to do their washing at our house. My wife and children spoke to them. Grow. They came to church and committed their life to Christ. When the roots are there, the shoots of God’s word will grow. What are the underlying obstacles to us telling people the gospel?
The shoots of evangelism means the actual proclamation of the gospel. The Greek word here sounds very like “evangelise” and is from the same root. It occurs twice in the Greek, but it’s actually the framework of the verses, so it appears three times in the English. This means the things that we actually do. This is important. The roots come first, but the shoots grow and even give strength to the roots. We choose to speak, or to remain silent. We choose to do things that will give us a chance to tell people the good news. This doesn’t have to mean standing in Piccadilly Gardens on a book table. For example, I joined a cricket club when I first came to Manchester. We might use our social media to write about Christ. My daughter wrote a poem and put it on her whatsapp status. There are things we choose to say, rather than keeping silent. There are opportunities, such as Christmas and Easter, when we can choose to work towards spreading the gospel. There are things we can arrange, like Alpha courses. There are people we can visit. This is the proclamation of the gospel.
We’re not all the same. Some of us are shy, some of us would rather do anything than speak publicly about Jesus. But everyone can make a difference. Everyone can contribute. Think of a way that you could contribute to the spreading of the good news.
Lastly, there are the fruits of evangelism. That is, evangelism has a goal. I planted lots of tomatoes this year. I got the seeds from squashing up a cherry tomato. But I was concerned for a while that there wouldn’t be any fruit. Perhaps the seeds were sterile. Today I saw fruit. What is the fruit of evangelism. It’s life. Life with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it is also the shared life of God’s people. You might think that’s the church, not evangelism. But the love of God is always found among his people. That comes from the root. Often the church is our best friend in bringing people to Christ. Our goal is life shared with God, and so the things we do in and around the church matter. If you don’t welcome people, for example, or don’t talk to them, then inviting them to church won’t make much of a difference. Keep the goal in mind. It’s more than a prayer on the street, it is a life shared with God and his people. Jesus told us to make disciples, full of the Holy Spirit and full of joy.
So now we see how the roots feed the shoots and fruits. But the fruit also gives the seed to replant, to give new roots. So we will pray that God gives us deeper roots in Christ, helps us to speak the truth clearly, and grows the fruit of God’s love in our lives.
