Learning Evangelism from Jesus
Jerram Barrs | 2009-05-06 00:00:00 | Crossway Books | 288 | Evangelism
Studying Jesus' conversations with diverse people in his day, Jerram Barrs draws lessons and principles for attractively communicating the gospel to unbelievers in our day.
Living in a culture that is opposed to Christianity tempts God's people to conform, to retreat, to be silent. But Jesus showed the way to live faithfully before an unbelieving world.
As the greatest evangelist, Jesus exemplified how to attract people to the gospel. He modeled how to initiate spiritual conversations full of grace and truth. Christian evangelism, then, both in theory and practice, must be shaped by his pattern.
Seeking to articulate the passions and principles present in Christ's life and words, longtime L'Abri staff member Jerram Barrs has studied Jesus' diverse encounters with people throughout the Gospels. Each chapter of Learning Evangelism from Jesus recounts one of those stories, draws useful lessons for readers' lives and communication of the gospel, and concludes with questions for further reflection and application. This highly practical book will guide Christians in how to live before unbelievers and how to love them into the kingdom, just as Jesus did.
Reviews
For many of us, evangelism involves handing someone a tract, sharing four spiritual laws, or telling our testimony of coming to Christ. These approaches are not necessarily wrong, but are they the best way to share the Gospel? Does one size really fit all as we seek to communicate Christ with those we love and those we meet? Jerram Barrs suggests that if we want to be more biblical and loving in our evangelism, we should consider how Jesus, the greatest evangelist of all time, interacted with people during his earthly ministry.
The author says that "the theme of this book is that Jesus, the Son of God, shows the way to be in the world. It is my deep conviction that our evangelism, both in theory and in practice, must be shaped not only by the general teaching of Scripture but also, indeed most of all, by imitating the pattern of Christ." (pp. 14-15). To do this, he takes many of the encounters that Jesus has with people in the Gospels, and takes a closer look at them. In each story, he observes what Jesus did and said, the spiritual state and attitude of the person Jesus spoke with, and then, he gives a summary of what we can learn from each encounter for our own lives and witness to the people we encounter.
I found this to be a wonderful book to read. Not only does this book give great insight into the variety of ways we need to reach different people, but it also reminds us anew of our own need for the Gospel. For example, in his chapter entitled, "Revealing the Pharisee's Heart" (from Matt. 9:9-13 & Luke 18:9-14):
"Once our hearts are in the right place before Jesus, we will begin to think very differently about our fellow sinners who, like ourselves, are trapped in sin of one kind or another. In fact, it may be stated as an absolute principle: if I have a hard heart toward the unbelievers and sinners around me, then it is a certain sign that I do not have a good understanding of my own sin and unbelief, nor of my own need before Jesus for his continual mercy and forgiveness. That is why the Lord's Prayer teaches us to ask for forgiveness for ourselves just as we offer forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. I am to know that I am just like my neighbors. They need forgiveness and so do I. They need the gospel and I do, too." (pp.159).
And another similar example of how the lessons from this book help us both with evangelism and with better understanding our own relationship with the Lord occurs in the chapter about Jesus calling Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10):
Jesus has to make the first move with Zacchaeus if there is going to be any possibility of a relationship with him. Because he is a social and moral outcast, Zacchaeus cannot invite the Lord to his home, or into fellowship. We learn from Jesus in this encounter how necessary it is for believers to take the initiative with those who are outcasts, indeed with any who are despised or looked down on, socially, economically, culturally, racially, or even morally. In truth, in all relationships Christians should be glad to take the first step in seeking to get to know people, for this is what grace is. We did not go looking for the Lord, for no one seeks God. Rather, the Lord came looking for us." (pp. 94).
As you can see, this is more than just a "how to" book on evangelism - it is in fact, a deeper examination of the implications of the Gospel on us, how we see ourselves, how we view others, and how the Lord's grace changes all of our relationships. It also is a book that gives much wisdom for us, as we look at the way Jesus, our model and source of wisdom, dealt with people's hearts. It really fleshes out many of the Gospel stories that we have frequently read by giving the cultural and Biblical backgrounds for those stories to help make their meaning much clearer and more vivid. As you read this (and I hope you will), you will get a greater understanding of your Savior's love for you, patience with you, and mercy to you! It will convict you of your pride, your unbiblical thinking, and your idolatry. But, it will also encourage you that God can even work through you to love those you encounter!
Reviews
I purchased learning evangelism from Jesus after reading "the Heart of Evangelism" by the same author. The idea of learning evangelism from Jesus appealed to me as extremely sound. But I was a bit disappointed. The author selected some accounts as representative of the evangelism of Jesus and each chapter is dedicated to pondering one account. I found that the author selected mostly accounts that were similar and support his views, with the result that the whole is unbalanced. Often, I thought that the author imported declarations in his analysis that had more to do with modern Western evangelical theology than was shown to issue from Jesus' teaching and example. But in all fairness, he makes many very good points too. Though I have been frustrated by what seems to me an obvious interpretative slant and selectiveness, it still caused me as a reader to ponder these accounts, even on points where I disagreed with the author. So, as long as someone is ready to weigh the author's points carefully and not just swallow everything (especially as it agrees with what culture wants us to make of Jesus), then the reader may find the trip beneficial. I have. The Heart of Evangelism was much better though.
Reviews
This book is a good read. There are reminders that are all throughout this book on how Christ conducted Himself with the "sinner." It is so saturated with the Scriptures and history. The book also makes one look at the internal perspective of himself, you can not help to examine yourself as you read this. It was a great reminder to me that our example is Christ. How did Jesus share with the unbelieving? Was he cold and indifferent towards them? Did He separate Himself from the sinners as so many confessing Christians in the churches do today? Christ did not bypass God's law, as is much taught in today's message of salvation. He spoke the law to their sinful hearts, yet He did so with compassion and mercy. He offered them hope. I highly recommend this book to those who have been cold towards your neighbors, those of different religions, different cultures, and those who have so much sin in their life and see no hope. I also recommend this book to those who sit in the pews with their heads high and with their stanch theology, to see Christ and walk in his example when it comes to the sinner. It's strange how easily we can forget how sinful, lost, wretched, and wicked we are. Still, somehow God sent people to us to share the gospel to us. We should remember, we are commanded to do the same. The Great Commission to the Church. Let's pray to do it more Christ like. Thanks for the book Jerram Barrs. Most of all thanks be to our Lord for using you to do so.
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