In a couple of weeks, I will be preaching a lesson titled “All Around the Neighborhood.” The design of this sermon is evangelistic in nature. This lesson will investigate the one simple message we want to make sure that is proclaimed all around our neighborhoods. What is the one message that we want to make sure that our community knows?

Well, of course, we know the answer to that question — JESUS!

There is a foundation I want to lay as we gear up for this sermon and one that will remind us what evangelism is and why we should be doing it. We have seen

evangelism = LOVE

evangelism = ETERNALLY BENEFICIAL

evangelism = HOPE

Today, I want to remind us how evangelism = FAITH-BUILDING

Nothing helps us learn a subject better than us teaching it to someone else. Teachers will tell you they learn more by teaching than even their students do by being pupils. Evangelism is no different. When we practice sharing our faith with others, we end up building and strengthening our own faith. 

If we practice regular evangelism, it will force us to study more and investigate the details of God’s Word. Sometimes our non-christian friends will ask us easy questions, but sometimes they might throw us a more challenging, harder question our way. This means we have to commit to being diligent Bible students ourselves. We might have to wrestle with the more challenging questions, discover the answers for ourselves so that we can respond to our friends and family. 

I believe that the church will be stronger and more evangelistic if we commit to studying God’s Word most diligently. 

Paul writes to Timothy, 

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

There are a few things that I think are worth noting from this verse: 

  1. To be diligent is to be eager and make every effort. 
  2. To be an unashamed workman means you have done a job well enough that you can be proud (This is not proud as in arrogant. This is proud as in confident you did well). 
  3. To accurately handle the word of truth is to understand that there is the potential that you could handle it inaccurately. This should only motivate you to handle the Word of God even more correctly. 

When we study and work hard to be good Bible students to be evangelistic to our community around us, then the result will be that our own faith is built up to be stronger, too!

Let me challenge you to be a good bible student with the intention of sharing what you have learned with others. You will probably end up growing in your own faith. No complaints here, right?

All because… evangelism = FAITH-BUILDING!

I love you, 

Alex