Please fill out the EV pairing form:
Welcome to Becoming Fishers of Men!
All class materials can be found on the class page:
https://www.vinewoodcfc.com/becoming-fishers-of-men-sp-2024
Course Outline
Class 1 (Today): Introduction to EV, and Alignment
Class 2: Review of Man and of God; Practice
Class 3: Grace
Class 4: Christ, Faith
�Class 5: Skit
Class 6: Sharing Session #1
Class 7: Sharing Session #2
A Profile:
Parents went to church when I was young; I went to church with them
Believed and baptized in junior year of high school
Lived a more Christian life in junior year of college
Did internships during school; started working after college
Who can this represent?
A Profile:
Parents went to church when I was young; I went to church with them
Believed and baptized in junior year of high school
Lived a more Christian life in junior year of college
Did internships during school; started working after college
A Profile:
Parents went to church when I was young; I went to church with them
Believed and baptized in junior year of high school
Lived a more Christian life in junior year of college
Did internships during school; started working after college
Who can this represent?
(tongue-in-cheek) Roadmap to EV include:
1. What is evangelism?
2. Why should we evangelize?�
3. How should we evangelize?
4. Let’s get aligned to evangelism�
5. Gospel Outline
Overview of
Class 1: Introduction to EV, and Alignment
1. What is evangelism, or EV?
εὐαγγελίζω (euangelion): preaching of the Gospel, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
2. Why should we evangelize? Why now?
Some verses, concepts, and examples.
We are commanded to: Matthew 28:19-20 (c.f. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
“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 behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It’s an expected part of church ministry: Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV (c.f. 2 Timothy 4:5)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
It’s the opportune time to do so: Hebrews 4:6-7 (c.f. 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Revelation 20:11-15)
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
It’s what the apostles started, and the historic church has continued: Acts 1:8 (c.f. Matthew 24:14)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
We gain heavenly and earthly rewards: Matthew 6:19-20 (c.f. 1 Corinthians 3:10-14)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
2. Why should we evangelize? Why now?
EV does not save you. That’s really it, but more on this later.
Questions for you. (Take 1 minute)
2. Why should we evangelize? Why now?:
Love God, Love People
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
→ “Come for the evangelism, stay for Jesus.” is cool too.
We want to love God
Romans 11:33-36 (c.f. Revelation 4:11; Jeremiah 13:11; Isaiah 43:21; Ephesians 1:11-12)
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
2. Why should we evangelize? Why now?
You want to love people… You want to explore the gift/the burden of loving those unloved: Luke 15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
6…he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
9…And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
Who is “People”? (We want to love people…)
To prepare you for the mindset of not treating this class like theory, but application:
We want to love people… like God loves people
John 3:16-17 (c.f. 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3-4 )
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
1 Corinthians 13:4–8a (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
3. How should we evangelize?1
1Sigley, Thomas (1998). Evangelism Implosion: Reaching the Hearts of Non-Christian Counselees. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 17(1), 7-14.
Method | Description | What’s Good? | What’s Missing? |
Mass Evangelism | Evangelism in the context of large group settings, e.g. crusades, open air evangelism, distributing tracts. Mark 4:1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. | Mass proclamation of the Gospel! Many can hear at once. c.f. Acts 2:14-47 | No tailoring of the Gospel to the heart, behavior, and circumstances of individuals |
Method Evangelism | Evangelism that follows a certain outline of theological truth, e.g. Evangelism Explosion, topical memory systems. Matthew 19:4-5 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? (BY took this method to EV in Italy: John 10:10 …I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. + “Military rations” + This class) | Solid foundation of truth and where it comes from | Exegesis of Scripture but none of the person |
Modeling Evangelism | Evangelism that focuses on a Christian’s lifestyle and hospitality, e.g. “letting one’s light shine”. Mark 14:55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. (Chinese-side HOS; get the eyeballs) | Exemplifies God’s character through righteous living | Does not communicate the message that God’s grace is for dying sinners |
Me-Oriented Evangelism | Evangelism that promises the blessings of God, often here and now rather than in the age to come. John 6:13-14 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (Dorca fund? Having Qiqi live with us and parents go through their difficulties) | Illustrates the innumerable blessings we have in Christ | Could serve the flesh and prioritize God’s blessings over God Himself |
Mystical Evangelism | Evangelism that relies on the Holy Spirit to lead during witnessing encounters and emphasizes revelation and miracles. Luke 5:15-16 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (My grandma) | Can promote a healthy dependence on the Spirit and reliance on God’s power to save | Could encourage listeners to idolize experience over God’s revelation in Scripture |
Messiah Evangelism | Evangelism that seeks to emulate our Lord in understanding the heart and winning the worship of man. Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. (This class) | Focuses on evangelizing to people holistically | We are not Jesus |
3. How should we evangelize?
Mystical Evangelism
4. Orienting Principles
1. Prepare to be amazed at God’s work | Ephesians 2:10 (see also John 6:44) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. “The Scriptures declare that God himself is the chief evangelist. For the Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth, love, holiness, and power, and evangelism is impossible without him. It is he who anoints the messenger, confirms the word, prepares the hearer, convicts the sinful, enlightens the blind, gives lifes to the dead, enables us to repent and believe, unites us to the body of Christ, assures us that we are God’s children, leads us into Christ-like character and service, and sends us out in our turn to be Christ’s witnesses. In all this the Holy Spirit’s main preoccupation is to glorify Jesus Christ by showing him to us and forming him in us.” –The Manila Manifesto, Lausanne II |
2. We must first be with Christ to proclaim him | Mark 3:14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach |
3. You will not always be reaping. | 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. |
4. What you win them with is what you will win them to | 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. |
5. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel | Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” |
6. We should never lose the wonder of even one soul saved | Luke 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. |
7. The sovereignty of God does not mean we shouldn’t share the Gospel | Romans 10:14-17 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. |
8. We seek to win hearts, not a debate | 1 Peter 3:15-18 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, |
(5) Gospel Outline
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Man
God
Grace
Christ
Faith
1. Review: What, Why, How EV?
2. Baseline: Man & God�
3. Mini-Discipleship training: Man & God
4. Practice Man & God
Overview of
Class 2: Man and God
Please fill out the EV pairing form:
Welcome to Becoming Fishers of Men!
All class materials can be found on the class page:
https://www.vinewoodcfc.com/becoming-fishers-of-men-sp-2024
Homework. Read the cases. Sigley, Thomas (1998). Evangelism Implosion: Reaching the Hearts of Non-Christian Counselees. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 17(1), 7-14.
Start acclimating to people being different (on many levels). And it’s no longer you passively taking, but you actively contributing and managing the conversation, and negotiating your differences.
Agenda
Man and God, Biblical Fundamentals
God: God is love, but He can not accept sin
The unwavering standard of God:
What the Christian faith offers:
(…Tie to the rest of evangelism content): How then do we resolve this tension (unsolvable sin of man, separated from God)?: Acceptance of and faith in the free gift of grace, given to us through the loving sacrifice of Jesus.)
Man: We are sinful and can not save ourselves
The (unbalanced) definition of sin:
The nature of sin:
The hopelessness of man:
Tension
Pedagogy: Reflect & Practice vis a vis our Flock
I’m not going to preach to you. Why? You know “enough”. And I don’t know you and your flock enough.
Instead, I’m going to have us practice within the flock you each reside. Why teach like this?: Because Paul taught like this.
How to get “Courage”? I argue it’s more about God’s timing and whether you insert yourself into the battle for the soul.
Self-Reflection: 2 Columns (10 minutes)
Column 1 Write down answers to:
(1) What is sin?
(2) When have you/Man encountered sin?
Column 2 Write down answers to:
(1) What is God’s love?
(2) How does he regard sin?
Minimum 3 answers for each column. You could write down…:
Sharing Simulation #1 of 2 (10 minutes)
Talk to your partner about what you wrote. For each item you wrote, go back and forth each person talking for 1 minute.
Be genuine. Be truthful. No judgment.
I want you to share where you are in your faith, honestly and naturally: could be a lot, could be little, could be a little wrong—that’s OK because we’re learning here, in a safe environment w/ brothers and sisters, to grow. (1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 “8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet… 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”)
Man and God, Biblical Fundamentals
(Graft onto/Correct your Reflection)
God: God is love, but He can not accept sin
The unwavering standard of God:
The Christian truth:
(…Tie to the rest of evangelism content) How then do we resolve the tension of natural man separated from God?: Acceptance of and faith in the free gift of grace, given to us through the loving sacrifice of Jesus.)
Man: We are sinful and can not save ourselves
The (unbalanced) definition of sin:
The nature of sin:
The hopelessness of man:
Tension
Sharing Simulation #2 of 2 (20 minutes)
Talk to your partner again about what your wrote (1 minute each item)
Some ideas…
Grace
Grace is the unmerited favor of God that reconciles sinners through Jesus Christ
Galatians 3:23–24
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
The Law
The Law
Related elements:
Why Did God give Israel the Law?
(Deut 4:6-8; Ex 34:10)
The Relationship of the Law to Sin
The Old and New Covenant
New Commandment
How is grace related to salvation?
Ephesians 2:8–9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
How is grace related to salvation?
Grace and the Christian faith
Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Grace and the Christian faith
Grace and the Christian faith
Romans 6:15-18
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Grace and the Christian faith
The sufficiency of grace
2 Corinthians 12:9–10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong
The spirit of grace
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Luke 15:32
And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.
Grace does not judge. Grace loves!
FP: We should tease out works-based thinking.
Romans 3:27
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
Christ
Christ is the perfect God-man who died to save us and rose again
Without Christ, we have no salvation
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Christ’s nature
Philippians 2:6-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Christ’s nature - fully man
Philippians 2:6-8
Christ’s nature - fully God
Philippians 2:6-8
(Heb 5:8-9)
Christ’s perfect obedience
Philippians 2:6-8
Christ’s sacrifice - one and done
Hebrews 9:24–27
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.
Christ’s sacrifice - one and done
Hebrews 9:24–27
But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 14:1-6
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 14:1-6
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 14:1-6
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 14:1-6
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 14:1-6
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 14:1-6
FP: We should assess how our friend’s life aligns with what they believe about Christ
James 2:19
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Faith
Faith in Christ is the only way to salvation, and true faith is lived out daily
What is faith?
Faith defined
What is faith?
Faith defined
What is faith?
Biblical faith defined
What is faith?
Examples of biblical faith
Faith and Works, Part 1
Ephesians 2:8–9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
Faith and Works, Part 1
Faith is the means of salvation, not works.
Faith and Works, Part 1
Jesus completed the work on the cross that we could not
(John 19:30)
Faith and Works, Part 1
Jesus completed the work on the cross that we could not
- Martin Luther
Faith and Works, Part 2
James 2:22
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.
Faith and Works, Part 2
(Gal 5:6)
Faith and Works, Part 2
What does it look like to walk by faith and not by sight?
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk [live] by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:6-7)
Faith and Works, Part 2
Sanctification
But that is not the way you learned Christ! Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:20-24)
Faith and Works, Part 2
Work out your salvation
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his purpose. (Phil 2:12)
FP: We should look for signs of faith
Ephesians 4:20-24
But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Faith and Life | |
Belief in the Gospel | Trusts in Jesus’ death on the cross as satisfying God’s wrath for his or her sins; believes in God’s forgiveness, acceptance and favor through Jesus and puts no hope in personal performance (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 3:28) |
Desire for Christlikeness | Wants the character of Jesus to be more obvious in his or her life (1 John 3:2-3; John 13:13-15) |
Obedience to God | Willingly complies with any of God’s commanded attitudes or actions in Scripture (1 John 2:3-5) |
Faith and Life | |
Walking by Faith | Lives in a way that shows his or her trust that God’s word is true; doesn’t need to know how things will turn out before taking the next step (Colossians 2:6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11) |
Spiritual Fruit | Demonstrates love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control or other commendable qualities (Galatians 5:22-23) |
Sin and the World | |
Confession of Sin | Identifies areas in his or her life that are contrary to God’s will and admits to them before God and others (1 John 1:8-9; James 5:16) |
Mortification of Sin | Grieves over his or her own offenses against God and takes action to sin less, depending on the Spirit’s power to do so (Romans 6:1-2; Acts 26:20; Romans 8:13) |
Resisting Worldliness | Hopes in God rather than in the experiences and possessions of this life; isn’t ruled by cravings for things (1 John 2:15-17; Philippians 3:8) |
Horizontal Fruit | |
Biblical Fellowship | Participates in discussion; shares about his or her current understanding and experience of God; isn’t silent (1 John 1:3) |
Love Toward Others | Takes initiative to help others experience God’s goodness, including addressing their sin when necessary; is not self-focused and unaware of what others need (1 John 4:7; John 13:34) |
Conclusion
FP: Our words should give grace.
Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
FP: We should strive for ambassadorial friendship.
2 Corinthians 5:20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Backup slides