Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better.
In 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul charges Timothy (and, thus, the Lord Jesus Christ charges the church and its ministers) to “do the work of an evangelist.” We do not know if Timothy had the gift of evangelism. But he had a sacred duty to do the work of an evangelist.
As we preach, there are two groups of people in the congregation: true believers, false believers, and unbelievers. We should always be sensitive to the unbelievers who may be present, so that we may preach the word evangelistically.
Here are ten principles to practice in evangelistic preaching:
The messenger of evangelistic preaching is the preacher. Preachers are heralds, witnesses, and ambassadors who are called to proclaim the word of God and the testimony of Christ.
The place of evangelistic preaching is the church. Timothy was to do the work of an evangelist, as a pastor of the church. We should preach the gospel to the lost and teach the gospel to the saved.
The authority of evangelistic preaching is the Bible. All scripture is God-breathed and profitable to edify the saints and evangelist the lost.
The focus of evangelistic preaching is Christ. We are to proclaim the Person and Work Christ, declaring Christ and him crucified (Colossians 1:28).
The message of evangelistic preaching is the gospel. It is the job of the faithful biblical preacher to get the gospel right and get the gospel out (Romans 1:16-17).
Thes of evangelistic preaching is love. We are not only to love the truth, but we are also to compassionately love for those to whom we preach.
The power of evangelistic preaching is the Holy Spirit. We cannot preach faithfully or fruitfully in our own strength. The human spirit fails unless the Holy Spirit fills (Ephesians 5:18).
The fuel of evangelistic preaching is prayer. Believing prayer is the means by which we access divine help to preach evangelistically. It happens after prayer!
The burden of evangelistic preaching is eternity. Every person will spend eternity somewhere – heaven or hell (Matthew 25:46). Eternal destiny is determined by your response to the gospel call.
The purpose of evangelistic preaching is the glory of God. We pray for the salvation of the lost and give thanks after they receive Christ so that God will receive all the glory (Romans 11:36).
HBC2 RESOURCES:
- On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.
- On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.
- On Worship by H.B. Charles Jr.
- It Happens After Prayer by H.B. Charles Jr.
- The Difference Jesus Makes by H.B. Charles Jr.
- Treasures of Truth by H.B. Charles Jr.
