CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

Thomas P. Johnston 441
1) Other verses emphasizing evangelism as the work of man:
Acts 12:25, “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission
[the service], taking along with them John, who was also called Mark”
Acts 13:2, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”
Acts 14:26-27, “From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the
grace of God for the work that they had accomplished [eivj to. e;rgon o] evplh,rwsan]. When they
had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done
[evpoi,hsen o` qeo.j] with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles”
Acts 19:21, “Now after these things were finished [fulfilled, accomplished], Paul purposed in the
spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, ‘After I have
been there, I must also see Rome.’”
1 Cor 3:5-8, “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as
the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the
growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who
causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own
reward according to his own labor [kata. to.n i;dion ko,pon]”
1 Cor 3:9-15, “For we are God's fellow workers [qeou/ ga,r evsmen sunergoi,]; you are God's field,
God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder
[w`j sofo.j avrcite,ktwn] I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be
careful how he builds upon it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work [e`ka,stou to. e;rgon] will become evident; for the day
will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each
man's work [e`ka,stou to. e;rgon]. If any man's work [tinoj to. e;rgon] which he has built upon it
remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work [tinoj to. e;rgon] is burned up, he shall
suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire”
1 Cor 9:1, “Are you not my work [to. e;rgon mou] in the Lord?”
Phil 2:16, “holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because
I did not run in vain nor toil in vain”
2 Tim 4:5, “do the work of an evangelist [e;rgon poi,hson euvaggelistou/]”
2) Verb describing the spiritual battle or agonizing difficulty of this work:
a) sunaqle,w (2 NT uses) – meaning to fight or contend beside:
Phil 1:27, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I
come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one
spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”
Phil 4:3, “Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my
struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow
workers, whose names are in the book of life”
3) So strongly did Paul see his role in the salvation of others that he wrote:
Rom 1:5-6, “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus
Christ”
The phrase, “to bring about the obedience of the faith” comes from the Greek: eivj u`pakoh.n
pi,stewj
Therefore the NAS (quoted above) supplied the verb “bring about”
The verse might also read: “through whom we have received grace and apostleship unto
obedience of faith…”
The issue involved seems to be this: is the obedience described in Rom 1:5 the obedience of the
recipients of the Gospel (“all the Gentiles”) or the obedience of those receiving grace to
make known this Gospel unto “all the Gentiles”?
Perhaps this chart will help: