One of my favorite podcasts subscriptions is the Capitol Hill Baptist Church sermon audio. Capitol Hill is where Mark Dever pastors. One of the reasons why I like Dever so much is (in addition to his biblical fidelity) his ability to communicate grand concepts clearly and with intentional application. So when I heard that Dever was soon releasing a new book on evangelism I was eager to read.
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism is a short book (128 pages) but is filled with helpful, Bible saturated, honesty and exhortation. Dever is writing both as a pastor and a Christian. Therefore he is transparent about his own evangelistic struggles but also clear about the necessity for believers to faithfully herald the gospel.
“My prayer is that because of the time you spend reading this book, more people will hear the good news of Jesus Christ.” (p.16)
As someone who teaches a class on evangelism I often cringe when I hear contemporary authors and preachers talk about the motivation and means of evangelism. Far too often emotional and pragmatic sentiments drown out the clear God-centered goal of evangelism as outlined in the Scriptures. Thankfully Dever does not swing and miss on this critical understanding of evangelism:
“According to the Bible, good motives for evangelism are a desire to be obedient, a love for the lost, and a love for God….Ultimately, our motive in evangelism must be a desire to see God glorified. This was the end of all of the Lord Jesus’ actions (See John 17)….God is glorified in being known. To see others truly come to know him glorifies God and honors him….The call to evangelism is a cal to turn our lives outward from focusing on ourselves and our needs to focusing on God and on others made in his image who are still at enmity with him, alienated from him, and in need of salvation from sin and guilt. We bring God glory as we speak the truth about him to his creation.” (pp. 96, 101)
Dever maintains a steady posture of introspection and exhortation throughout the chapters. I firmly believe that if you are a Christian and you want to grow in the area of evangelism then this book will be helpful. In each of the chapters Dever aims to makes us comfortable with obedience while stirring up discomfort with complacency and the fear of man. Here are the chapters titles, each are about 10 or so pages long:
Why Don’t we Evangelize?
What is the Gospel?
Who Should Evangelize?
How Should We Evangelize?
What Isn’t Evangelism?
What do we Do After We Evangelize?
Why Should We Evangelize?
In closing I want to highlight some of Dever’s recommendations for increasing in our evangelistic faithfulness:
Ask for testimonies
Consider the reality of hell
Consider God’s sovereignty
Meditate on the Gospel
Consider the Cross
This book is not exhaustive but it clearly was not intended to be. Dever aims to cultivate faithfulness in evangelism while also exposing some unbiblical practices that regrettably seem to characterize much of evangelicalism’s evangel. In this Dever was successful. I suggest picking up the book for yourself or reading it with a friend or small group. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism is a helpful, God-centered shot in the arm for the church.
You can pick up the book on Amazon.