Evangelism Starts in the Heart

Evangelism is not a program. It is not a curriculum, a one-and-one approach, or a clever technique. It begins — and it lives or dies — in the heart of the Christian who has been gripped by the word of God.

The Power Behind the Gospel

Paul declared in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. That word power is the Greek word dunamis — the same root that gave us the English word dynamite. But notice: that explosive power is only fully unleashed in the life of someone who believes — not a casual nodding agreement, but an all-in, all-encompassing conviction that God said it, and it is going to happen.

When that kind of faith meets the gospel, things change. People change. Even the worst characters on the face of the earth can be reached.

A Document or a Living Word?

In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul writes to the Corinthians who had repented and turned back to God, and he explains why the message got through to them. He says:

"Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart... not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:3-6)

The word Paul uses for letter is the Greek word gramma — a mere document, a note, a bill, a book sitting on a shelf. If we treat the Bible as just another book, the letter kills. But if we receive these words as God Himself speaking directly to us, they have the power to cut our hearts, move us to repentance, and shape us into people who can carry that same message to others. That is what happened to the Corinthians. They heard Paul's words as the voice of God — and it changed everything.

No Grandchildren in God's Kingdom

One of the sobering realities we must face is this: God has no grandchildren. Every person must be directly converted and become one of His children. Faith does not transfer automatically from one generation to the next.

The answer to that danger is written plainly in Deuteronomy 6. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength — and then teach these things diligently to your children as you walk by the way, as you sit in your house, as you lie down and rise up. When the love of God is the constant conversation of a household, the next generation sees what it looks like to be all-in for God. They are not inheriting a religion — they are watching a living faith and choosing it for themselves, generation after generation.

The Crown of Joy

Paul tells the Philippians that they are his joy and his crown (Phil 4:1). He asks the Thessalonians: "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" That is the motivation. One day we will stand before the Lord — and imagine seeing someone you helped bring to Him arrive right alongside you. That is a victory no human achievement can touch.

But there is a sobering contrast. In Matthew 7, the Lord says to some who called Him Lord, "Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." None of us want those words. We want to see Him smile.

In Closing

It all begins with the heart. Is your heart all in with Him? The gospel went to the entire known world in the first century without the internet, without radio, without a printing press — because ordinary men and women let the word of God take root in their hearts and then could not stop talking about it. That is still how it is meant to go forth — from you, to the person next to you, and outward from there. Let God write His word on your heart, and then go be the salt He called you to be.