APOSTOLIC EVANGELISM
Our text-book upon this subject is the entire Book
of Acts. This is the historical book of the New Testa-
ment. It deals with the preaching of the apostles and
the establishment of the church. It shows what the
apostles preached, and what they required sinners to
do to be saved, in each instance of conversion. Some
of the most important cases of conversion under the
ministry of the apostles are put on record in this one
book, as examples for all time to come. Let us study
the evangelism of the apostles carefully, and compare
it with the modern type of evangelism. We will draw
this comparison between apostolic and modern evan-
gelism under three general headings: 1. Message;
2. Method; 3. Results.
1. Message. The only message known to the apos-
tles was the gospel of Christ. Every sermon recorded
in Acts set forth the gospel as it was given to them
by the Holy Spirit. The gospel consisted of three
facts to be taught, three commands to be obeyed by
those who heard, and three promises to be enjoyed by
those who obeyed.
(1) They preached the facts of the gospel. The
facts of the gospel are three in number: the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
These facts constituted Peter's sermon on Pentecost
(Acts 2:14-36); his sermon from Solomon's porch
(Acts 3:12-26); his reply to the charge of the high
priest (Acts 4:8-12), and his sermon to Cornelius and
his household (Acts 10:34-43). These facts formed
the body of Paul's discourse to the Jews at Antioch
(Acts 13:14-41); the basis of his discourse on Mars'
Hill (Acts 17:22-31); the foundation of his defense
before the Jews at Jerusalem (Acts 22:1-21), and the
basis of his wonderful appeal before Agrippa (Acts
26:1-23). The preaching of the apostles, whether
defense, exhortation or argument, always centered in
the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
(2) They stated the commands of the gospel
(Rom. 10:16). The gospel can not be obeyed unless
it contains specific commands. These commands also
are three in number: believe (Acts 16:31), repent
(Acts 2:38; 3:19) and be baptized (Acts 2:38;
10:48). The apostles required unconditional obedi-
ence to these commands because Christ is King. It
never occurred to them that obedience to Christ would
be called "legalism." The man who really accepts
Jesus as his Christ is ready to obey Him without ques-
tion.
(3) They stated the promises of the gospel (Col.
1:23). These are likewise three in number: remission
of sins (Acts 2:38), the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts
2 : 38 ; 1 Cor. 3 : 16 ; 6 : 19) and eternal life (1 Pet. 1 : 3,
4; Tit. 3:7). They made these promises, in the name
of Christ, to those who were faithful unto death (Rev.
2:10).
The modern evangelistic message tends to overlook
the sovereignty of Christ; to dwell more upon the
ethical value of Christianity than its saving value; to
underestimate the word of God by substituting human
philosophy and phraseology. Modern evangelism
dwells upon faith and repentance, but overlooks bap-
tism to a great extent. The modern " union " meeting,
so called, is deceiving in the fact that the third specific
command of the gospel is omitted altogether because it
is somewhat obnoxious to certain denominationalists.
When our evangelism begins to weaken from the apos-
tolic message, in order to cater to sectarianism, it will
lose its positiveness and its power. We should teach
the facts of the gospel, and require obedience to the
commands of the gospel because Christ is King. We
should let people understand that the promises of the
gospel are only made to those who obey its commands.
2. Method, There were three distinct steps in the
evangelism of the apostles. These steps were definitely
outlined in the commission under which they worked
(Matt. 28: 18-20). They were loyal to this commission
because it was positively stated by Him unto whom all
power had been given in heaven and upon earth. They
obeyed Him implicitly because they realized that He
is King.
(1) Teaching, the first command of the commission
— "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations," as stated
by Matthew (28:19); or, "Go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature," as stated
by Mark (16:15). They taught the facts, commands
and promises of the gospel. Teaching is preaching,
and preaching is teaching. They taught the Jew that
Jesus is the Christ because He fulfilled Old Testament
prophecy. They taught the Gentiles that He is Christ
because of His mighty works, His perfect humanity
and His resurrection from the dead. As a result,
many of those who heard the message, believed it
(Acts 2:37; 8:12; 18:8). Their method of instruc-
tion was sane and practical. They appealed absolutely
to the understanding of those who listened. They
showed positively that there is but one way of recon-
ciliation, and that the one way is through Christ.
Those who believed the gospel were told what to do,
in a clear, concise statement (Acts 2:38). They
obeyed the commands of the gospel, and were added to
the "one body" by the Lord (Acts 2:47). To the
apostles, there was but one body, one Spirit, one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, and one Father of all (Eph.
4:4, 5).
(2) Baptizing, the second command of the com-
mission (Matt. 28:19) — "baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
They baptized those who had heard, believed and
turned to God (Acts 8:12, 37; 16:33; 18:8). In all
the cases of conversion on divine record, those who
believed and repented were baptized into Christ.
This institution is the only one on divine record con-
nected with the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. It is the ordinance which symbolizes the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:3-5); an
outward representation of the death of the old man
of sin, and the resurrection of the new creature in
Jesus Christ (Eom. 6:6-10), by the working of that
same power by which Christ was raised from the dead
(Col. 2:12). Baptism is the visible line between the
kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God. Bap-
tism was an absolute command of the commission
under which the apostles ministered. Hence we search
in vain in the divine record for a single person who
was recognized by the apostles as a child of God, or a
Christian, until he had been baptized into Christ (Gal.
3:27) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).
(3) Nurturing, or the third command of the com-
mission (Matt. 28:20) — "teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you." The
apostles did not stop with the baptism of sinners into
Christ, but continued to manifest the same solicitude
over those who had obeyed the gospel, as a mother in
watching over her children. Paul called this "the care
of all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28). They ordained
elders to look after the spiritual interests (Acts 20: 17,
28), and deacons to look after the material interests of
the congregations which they established (Acts 6:1-6).
All of the twenty-one letters of the apostles were writ-
ten to Christians, to those in Christ, telling them what
to do to lead Christian lives and gain the promises of
the gospel. These letters contain doctrine, reproof,
correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Tim.
3:16).
Modern evangelism fails in loyalty to the commis-
sion of our Lord. It is unsane, unscriptural and sen-
sational to a great extent. It strives to appeal to the
emotions rather than the understanding. In many
instances it is not positive in pointing out the one way
of salvation; in many instances, overlooks baptism
altogether ; and, in most instances, pays but little atten-
tion to the care of all the churches. It fails to the
same extent that it falls below the standard of the
commission. Let us remember that if we faithfully
teach, baptize and nurture, Jesus has promised to be
with us "even unto the end of the world"; and unless
we are true to His specific commands, we can not claim
the benefit of His promise.
3. Results. The evangelistic methods of the apostles
brought three distinct results:
(1) It led multitudes to obedience. Three thousand
heard and obeyed on Pentecost. This number was
increased to five thousand within a few days. When
the church at Jerusalem was scattered by persecution,
the word of the Lord spread over all Judea. Philip
preached Christ in Samaria, and a great multitude
believed and obeyed. Paul took the gospel all over
Asia Minor, and across the Hellespont into Macedonia
and Greece. Within a single century after Pentecost,
the gospel had been preached in Jerusalem, in Judea,
in Samaria, and over all the civilized world, even to
distant Rome ; and great multitudes had lived and died
in the faith. The gospel, when faithfully presented,
will accomplish wonderful things.
(2) It led people into Christ. There is a distinc-
tion between reformation and salvation. The tendency
of modern evangelism is to reform rather than to save.
It is indeed splendid to make a good man like Corne-
lius; but it is better to make a saved man like Corne-
lius after he had obeyed the gospel. The apostles
taught that Jesus Christ wanted all men to be saved.
Righteousness is doing the will of God, and includes
obedience as well as morality. A man must be "born
again" before he can expect to enter the kingdom of
God (John 3:3-5). Just as many as have been bap-
tized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). The
evangelism that merely makes men moral is not apos-
tolic; to be apostolic, it must lead men into Christ.
The true object of evangelism is something more than
reformation; namely, salvation. As there is no salva-
tion outside of Christ (Acts 4:12), and only those
who have been baptized into Christ are in Christ (Gal.
3:27), it follows that the evangelism which overlooks
baptism does not save, but merely reforms. Jesus
Christ has said: "He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Dare any one say:
"He that believeth and is not baptized shall be saved"?
(3) It was permanent in its results. The seed
sown during the ministry of the apostles has never
been uprooted. It was sown for time and eternity.
Christianity met and overcame Judaism, paganism and
Gnosticism. It weathered the ignorance and supersti-
tion of the Dark Ages. It has emerged from the creed-
bound cells of Protestantism, after a lapse of eighteen
centuries, in its primitive form. To-day the perfect
law of liberty exists as in the days of the apostles. It
will overcome rationalism, criticism and higher learn-
ing of to-day, as it has triumphed over all false sys-
tems in the past. And we are told that, in the end,
every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
that Jesus is the Christ (1 Cor. 15 : 25 ; Phil. 2 : 10, 11).
The modern sensational species of evangelism does
not get permanent results. It fails in this respect
because it does not instruct, and because it appeals to
the emotions rather than the understanding. Just
because a person comes forward and signs a card is
no evidence that he is converted or pardoned. We
often hear of two or three thousand "converted" in a
single meeting, when there has not been a single con-
vert in the New Testament sense of the term. The
majority of these so-called converts, not having been
taught, and having no conception of Christianity, soon
lose all interest in it, and many of them drift into
utter indifference or skepticism. Because of this type
of evangelism, churches of Christ are being filled with
people who have no understanding of the Bible, no
realization of the distinction between denominational-
ism and the one body of Christ; of people who, having
no religious convictions, stand for everything in gen-
eral and nothing in particular. We must get back to
the sane, Scriptural evangelism of the apostles — or
perish !
We do not need a twentieth-century system of
religion, as some overeducated propagandists would try
to make us believe; but we do need the primitive
system of the first century for the twentieth century.
We do not need a new evangelism for the twentieth
century, but we need, as never before, the evangelism
of the first century. We do not need a new church
for the twentieth century, but we do need a complete
restoration of the church of the first century. Why do
men make the oft-repeated mistake of trying to change
the Bible, as they think, to meet the conditions of the
age, when the Bible is positive, unchangeable and
divine, the same yesterday, to-day and forever, as its
Author! When will men learn that the New Testa-
ment is adapted to the ideals of all ages! Do not the
errors of the past warn us to refrain from similar mis-
takes in the present? Let us remain true to the plea
for the restoration of primitive Christianity, its organi-
zation, its ordinances and its fruits.
