Evangelism, Part Two

As I studied evangelism, I was impressed by how much Jesus talks about growth in the kingdom of God (Mathew 13: 18-23, 24-29, 31-33). In fact, salvation and sanctification are both part of the Christian experience. We are to be apart not only of others’ salvation, but of their growth, as well. Jesus said as much in Matthew 28:19-20 when he commanded his closest followers not only to “make disciples” and baptize them, but also to teach them to obey everything they had learned from him.

For the Christian who is sharing the gospel, however, we may not always see the results of our ministry. Still, Scripture assures us that God will multiply our work and lead to growth of God’s kingdom. This starts with planting a seed.

Read, for example, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

Each person may therefore have a different role in the church’s growth. This shows that we may not see the results when we share the gospel with others, but God is able to use our message to encourage a person to know him.

The story of Helen Cadbury is illustrative. In 1893, four years after becoming a Christian at age twelve, Cadbury—teenage daughter of the president of Cadbury Chocolates Richard Cadbury—and a group of girls sewed pockets into their dresses so they could carry New Testament Bibles to share with others. They called their new organization the “Pocket Testament League.” After World War I began, the League handed to soldiers in Salisbury Plain, England, 400,000 New Testaments; and after World War II, according to its website, the League provided 11 million copies of the gospel to Japan, playing a role in the salvation of Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, who had led the attack on Pearl Harbor and became an evangelist himself. In all, the League has shared over 110 million copies of the Gospel. Cadbury could not have known that her act of sharing the gospel would have led to a movement to spread the gospel that still thrives today.

Consider, too, a Biblical example. Read John 3:1-4: "Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Nicodemus did not here understand what Jesus meant by being born again. We don’t learn in this passage whether Nicodemus immediately understood what Jesus was telling him. However, the conversation must have had some effect.

You learn this because of what happens later, in John 19:38-40: "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[a] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs."

At the least, we learn that Nicodemus honored Jesus’s life by giving him an honorable burial.

The Talmud, in fact, mentions the name Nicodemus ben Gorion, who according to the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible was a “very wealthy member of the Sanhedrin” and brother of the historian Josephus. Although the author of the encyclopedia thinks that this person is not the same man as the Nicodemus of the New Testament, Frederic Farrar explains Christian tradition by writing that Nicodemus became a follower of Christ, was baptized by Peter and John, was removed from office as a member of the Sanhedrin, beaten, and forced from Jerusalem. Despite this treatment, Nicodemus ben Gorion is spoken of with honor in the Talmud (Chandler believes possibly because of his wealth) and, if he is the same man as the one in the Talmud, then Nicodemus lost all of his wealth and became poor enough that his daughter was seen in the street picking grains to eat from cattle dung. He had shown his commitment to the Lord by enduring rejection and poverty.

What this shows us is that we may see a person in one season of their growth. We may be the one to share the gospel initially, and not see the fruit of that sharing, perhaps ever. This can be discouraging if we are doing what we can to encourage others to believe in Jesus, but not seeing results. Scripture reveals that God wants us to invite others into salvation and growth, but that ultimately, God himself will be the one to grow the kingdom of God in others’ lives.

Don’t be discouraged if you have been praying for and sharing the gospel with those you care about. God will use your witness in ways you may not see.