Every Place is a Place to Talk about Jehovah

Every Place is a Place to Talk about Jehovah

            Several weeks ago, I had a very embarrassing interaction at a small Asian restaurant in my town. I was grabbing lunch with one of the elders from Christ Presbyterian Church to have a time of fellowship. After we prayed for the meal, a very kind old lady approached us and asked us: “Are you gentlemen Christians? What kind of Christians are you?” And after a very brief interaction with her, we found out that she was a member of Kingdom Hall (Jehovah’s Witnesses) in the nearby town, and she approached us because she heard us praying in the name of Jesus.

            After I finished having a lunch with the elder, I had to stay little longer at the restaurant to order takeout for my wife. And as I was waiting for the food, I saw the old lady sitting at one of the booths with her companions. I decided to approach and interact with her further, curious to find out how much she knew the doctrines of Jehovah’s witnesses and also to invite her to the church.

             The conversation with the old lady soon revealed to me that she was a very ardent member of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She knew her doctrines very well, and she even tried to convince me that Jesus was the created being by Jehovah and that everyone must believe in Jehovah to be saved from Armageddon.

            My brain, of course, was pulling out Scripture references after references to “counter” her arguments. But, at the same time, my Asian upbringing also kicked in (most likely because I was in an Asian restaurant) and made me think, “I really shouldn’t embarrass an elderly lady in a public place and in front of her company”.  So, I told her, “I am really enjoying our conversation, and I would like to talk more about your beliefs. But, obviously, this is not a place and time for this…” And without hesitation, the old lady stopped me and replied, “Every place is a place to talk about Jehovah.” And I stood there stunned and embarrassed.

The Absence of the Spirit of Evangelism

            Perhaps one of the saddest realities of many Reformed churches in the United States is that there is a much absence of the spirit of evangelism among believers. Although believers and churches might find a great need to reach out to the communities and the lost souls around them, many believers often find themselves shying away from evangelism for various reasons. For example, some believers shy away from evangelism because they think evangelism is for extroverted people who know how to connect with unbelievers around them. Some believers hesitate to evangelize unbelievers because they think it is for educated and theological people who know how to explain and defend the Bible. Others refuse to engage in evangelism because they don’t want to find themselves in awkward or even hostile situations.

            As such, at the end of the day, every Christian who finds evangelism difficult and challenging asks these questions to themselves – Why don’t I just support the evangelistic efforts of those who are clearly more gifted at reaching out to unbelievers than me? Can I not just live a normal and peaceful Christian life, caring for and fellowshipping with those who are already in my church? Must I evangelize unbelievers around me? And my answer to these questions is, “Yes. You too must reach out to unbelievers personally and evangelize those who don’t know the Gospel.”

I. We Must Evangelize because We Are “Christians”

            The first reason why every believer must engage in evangelism is because we are “Christians.” The Heidelberg Catechism question 32 shares a very helpful insight into why every believer must engage in the task of evangelism. When it asks the question, “But why are you called a Christian?”, the Catechism answers:

Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity [Emphasis added].

In this answer, the Heidelberg Catechism clarifies many reasons why believers are called Christians. Nonetheless, there is one answer that stands out in relation to evangelism, which is that believers are called Christians because we are, “Anointed to confess his [Christ’s] name”.

            While we certainly confess the name of Jesus Christ in our churches when we gather together every Lord’s Day, we are also anointed to confess the name of Jesus Christ particularly to those who are outside of our church walls. Jesus clearly taught us in Mathew 10:32, “So everyone who confesses me before men, I also will confess before my Father who is in heaven.” Accordingly, evangelism is something that we must do because it ties to our very identity in Jesus Christ. We are to confess and proclaim the name of Jesus and the Gospel to all those around us because we are men and women who confess His name.[1]

II. We Should Evangelize because We Have “Hope”

            The second reason why every believer can engage in evangelism is because the Gospel of Jesus Christ produces a joyful hope in our hearts. For example, growing up as a missionary kid in Cambodia, one of the things that most excited me was traveling back to Korea for a visit. My dad would share with us the date of the departure and the places we would visit back in Korea. And this wonderful news would fill my heart with joy and hope, and I would immediately begin to count down the days for the trip as I shared with everyone around me what I was going to do when we were back in Korea!

            The same is true with Christians and evangelism. The Gospel of Jesus Christ produces joyful hope in our hearts. It tells us how God so loved the world and sent His only Son to save sinners from their eternal damnation.[2] It tells us how Jesus Christ loved His elect people so much that He died for them on the Cross.[3] It also tells us how Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to become the hope of our resurrection.[4] It then tells us how Jesus ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of God,[5] now ruling and defending His people,[6] and will return to us in His glory![7]

            For this reason, the Apostle Peter commands all Christians to be, “Always prepared to make a defense [explain] to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”[8] On the flip side of the coin, therefore, if we are not so moved to evangelize unbelievers, we should sincerely examine whether we know this joyful hope or not.

III. We Can Evangelize because We Are “Able”

            The third reason why every believer can evangelize others is simply because we are able to do so. Unlike how so many Christians think evangelism is a difficult and grandeur task, all good evangelism begins with the simple step of ordinary conversation. Dr. Brian Najapfour shares a penetrating insight in his book Every Christian is an Evangelist:

Our problem today is that many Christians do not even attempt to evangelize. They just waste the obvious opportunity that God gives to them. Even a simple “May God bless you” to a cashier at the store or the response “God is good to me” to a waiter’s “How are you?” question can spark a conversation or plant a seed in the ear of the hearer.[9]

If a person you are trying to evangelize does not desire any engagement, we should respect it and move on. However, it is more commendable in the sight of the Lord that you have tried to evangelize the person even though you were rejected rather than losing the opportunity due to the fear of rejection. Most importantly, should the person desire the engagement, you can pray that the Spirit would give you the right words to say[10] and help the person to leave with the Gospel seed planted in his heart.[11]

Every Place is a Place to Talk about the Gospel

             Going back to my embarrassing interaction with the Jehovah’s Witnesses woman, it taught me a very important lesson on evangelism – every place is a place to talk about the Gospel. Every Christian must, should, and can evangelize unbelievers because we are Christians with joyful hope in Jesus Christ, who are able to share the Gospel with everyone around us through our day-to-day interactions.  And as such, I want to conclude this article with another inspiring quote from Dr. Najapfour:

Wherever we are – whether we are home, at church, at school, at work, at the bank, at the restaurant, at the airport, at the gym, at the hospital, at the store, at the hairdresser, or anywhere else! – let us seize every opportunity that God gives us to present the gospel to others. Whenever God opens a door for us to talk about His Son, let us grab it, because we may not have this opportunity again.[12]