Please be seated. It is good to see all of you here this evening. Now as we come this evening to begin a mini-series entitled, Nine Foundational Perspectives for Biblical Evangelism, I ask you please to turn with me in your copy of the scriptures to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, picking up at verse 14, and I'll read to verse 15 in your hearing. Romans chapter 10. At verse 14, here the inspired apostle writes the following and says, Romans 10 at verse 14, Paul says, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. Well, let's pray and ask the Lord's blessings upon our time. Let's pray together. Our great and glorious God, we have confessed you in the opening hour as our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we thank you that you are our God, for besides you there is no other. And so we thank you, O great Father, for ordaining that a people would be saved, ordaining this even from before the foundation of the world. And Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that in time, space, history, you actually redeemed those people whom your Father marked out for salvation. And Holy Spirit, we thank you that again in the fullness of time, you came to those for whom Christ died. And through the gospel, you regenerated those elect sinners so that they might believe on Jesus. and be saved. And so, great God, we ascribe to you this night great glory and great praise. We thank you for such a wonderful plan of salvation. And God, as we come this night as your children to your word, we're asking for fresh help from on high. Oh, Spirit of God, as we confessed again earlier, we believe in you. So come. and empower both speaker and hearer alike, that we might be able to understand that word which you inspired, that it might be useful and practical, and that it might be that which helps us to follow the word of God all of our days, we pray, and we ask all of these things in that wonderful and glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Now, as many of you will know, I'm sure the topic of evangelism is one of my favorite topics in all of the Word of God. This is the case, thus I freely admit that I am quite excited to preach this mini-series to you. Now this mini-series of sermons is something that I originally preached over 15 years ago, in an extended 35-plus sermon series on the doctrine of the church. In that series, I covered many themes pertaining to the church, both the church universally and the church locally. And while I expounded that subject, I took a slight detour so that we could take up our stated subject at hand for this evening. Now, in view of the nicer weather coming to us in a few weeks, God willing, and the even greater concern of us obeying our Lord Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to every creature, even as he says in Mark chapter 16, I thought that it would be good for us to take up this subject once again. I thought that it would be helpful for us to be instructed concerning the great commission that Christ has given to us as people with reference to gospel proclamation. And this so that we could know what it's all about, why we are to do it, and how it is to be done properly. Now, before we begin our series for this evening, there are several books that I want to mention to you. Several books that have been very helpful to me over the years regarding our subject. These are great resources, and I just encourage you to get the titles of them for the sake of time. and your ability to write all of them down. And the first is J.I. Packer's book entitled Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, an excellent, excellent book. Do all you can to get it. Number one, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Secondly, there is R.B. Kuyper's excellent book entitled God-Centered Evangelism, God-Centered Evangelism. Third, there is Ernie Reisinger's helpful book entitled Today's Evangelism. Fourth, there is Walt Chantry's very helpful book entitled Today's Gospel, Today's Gospel. Fifth, there is Dr. Joe Beeky's small booklet entitled Puritan Evangelism, Puritan Evangelism. Sixth, there is Jeff Thomas's little booklet called You Can Have It All. Seventh, there is Peter Jeffrey's book called How Shall They Hear? Eighth, there is Will Metzger's book entitled Tell the Truth. Ninth, there is Paul Washer's Helpful book entitled The Gospel's Power and Message. In fact, he has a whole trilogy of volumes pertaining to the gospel. I would say get them all. And then 10th and finally in this regard, there is the helpful book by two of my friends named Ryan Denton and Scott Smith entitled A Certain Sound, A Certain Sound. Now, before we begin for this evening to take up our very first foundational perspective for biblical evangelism. I think that it's good that I begin by giving you a definition concerning our whole subject at hand. I mean, Church, what exactly is biblical evangelism all about? Well, No doubt, if you were to ask this specific question among various broad evangelicals around town, then I'm sure that you would get a whole host of different answers. I mean, this is sad, but it's true nonetheless. And so it's definitely good for us to start this new series off by asking this most basic, this most foundational question. And so again, Church, how can I define biblical evangelism in a nutshell. Well, I want to do this, firstly, positively speaking, and then secondly, I'll do it negatively speaking. And so, firstly, positively speaking, by way of definition, very simply, if you're taking notes, I want to say to you that biblical evangelism is the activity of telling, sharing, or announcing the gospel to others. Let me repeat it once again. Biblical evangelism is the activity of telling, of sharing, of announcing the gospel to others. This word evangelism, as I just mentioned it in your hearing, this word itself comes from a Greek noun which means good news or good message. And the verbal form of the word means to announce or to proclaim. in putting these two things together we see that to evangelize means to proclaim or to announce the good news. It means to declare or to share the message of the gospel. Well, having said this, let's consider secondly now what evangelism is not, negatively speaking. And as I begin here, you will notice I trust straightway that there's nothing in my definition that I just gave you concerning getting decisions for Christ. There was Nothing at all, in my definition, with reference to this at all. Further, you'll also note that it had nothing to do with encouraging people to, quote, pray the so-called sinner's prayer or have them, quote, accept Jesus or ask Jesus into their hearts or have them sign a card or respond to an altar call, et cetera. Brethren, you will notice that my definition had none of those elements in it at all. Now really, all of this is quite remarkable, quite remarkable. And I say this because there are many churches throughout the entire world who when you, or rather, who when they speak about the topic of evangelism, for them, these are the key things that they emphasize. When they speak about evangelism, these are the key notes that they highlight. For them, this is the heart, this is the core of the matter at hand. Oh, but dear ones here this evening, I must say at this point that none of these things have anything to do at all with biblical evangelism. These are all man-made, man-centered things which are completely unscriptural. Now, it's good that I point these things out in the outset of our considerations. And why? Well, it's because there are many Christians who have felt guilty because they have not been involved in such practices as I just mentioned them. Many have been told that this is what biblical evangelism is all about. so that if, for example, they have not gotten, quote, decisions for Christ, then they have not actually been involved in this most noble work. Well, dear ones, to be sure, this has discouraged many of God's people. This has saddened them. Ah, but church, I'm here to tell you tonight that this is not, again, at all, what biblical evangelism is about. In fact, these popular, these modern methods of evangelizing are, as I said earlier, completely unbiblical. And why is this ultimately the case? Well, ultimately, It's because, as I said, to evangelize, biblically speaking, means to announce or to tell others the gospel or the good news concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord. This, dear brothers and sisters here this night, is the heart and core of the matter, which at its heart is all about us telling others about the doing, about the dying, and about the rising of Jesus Christ, our Lord, on our behalf. And if we have been faithful in doing this, then we have been completely successful in doing the work of biblical evangelism. And so you see, dear ones here this night, in this understanding of things, according to the Word of God, and listen carefully, successful evangelism is never to be understood in terms of numbers. never to be understood in terms of numbers, that is to say, numbers who respond. But rather it's to be understood with reference to our faithfulness to gospel proclamation. It's never to be understood in terms, again, of how many people reply positively to the message we shared with them. No, for that alone is God's work and His work only. Ah, but church, our work is that of getting the message out to as many people as we possibly can, for this is what biblical, scriptural evangelism is all about. Listen then to two popular writers as they drive this point home. And the first is Donald Whitney in his helpful book entitled Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. If you don't have it, I would encourage you to get it. Here Whitney asks the question, what is evangelism? Is it when the person you are witnessing to comes to Christ? He says, well, certainly this is what we want to happen. But he says, if this is success, are we then failures whenever we share the gospel and people refuse to believe? He asked, was Jesus an evangelical failure when people like the rich young ruler turned away from him and his message? Well, Whitney says, absolutely not. He writes, quote, then neither are we when we preach Christ and his message and they turn away in unbelief. He says, quote, what you and I need to learn is that sharing the gospel is. Successful evangelism, for success is measured by the careful and the accurate delivery of the message and not, underscore it, and not by the response of the recipients to which I say yes and amen. Secondly, then, there's Mark Dever. Mark Dever, in his helpful book entitled, What is a Healthy Church? In his book, Dever says that, quote, evangelism is not about doing everything we can to get a person to make a decision for Jesus. for attempting to force a spiritual birth will prove to be as effective as Ezekiel trying to stitch dry dead bones together in order to make a person. The point being, it won't be effective at all. Deborah writes, quote, evangelism should not be confused with the results of evangelism. as if to say we have only successfully evangelized when conversions follow. No, for Deborah Wright, evangelism is spirit. He says it is sharing news. And it is being faithful to God and this by presenting the good news. Well, beloved ones here, This evening, I must pause to ask all of you in this place, in light of these things, how are you feeling now? How are you feeling now with reference to this whole matter? I mean, do you feel somewhat freed up? Freed up to share the gospel with others? understanding very basically, and listen carefully, understanding very foundationally that the only failure in the work of evangelism is that of not doing the work of evangelism. This is the case. For again, evangelism is not that of saving souls, no. And why? Because salvation is of the Lord. But rather, it's simply being faithful to tell others about our wonderful Lord. And then we joyfully leave the results up to him who, when alone, can save the soul. And so here, then, is where you and I need to be encouraged in this labor. Here is where we need to be heartened by it, for if, in fact, you and I have been involved in telling others about Jesus Christ, our lovely and living Lord, then we have been completely successful in this most glorious endeavor. Well, having given you then so far this basic definition for evangelism concerning what it is and what it is not, what I would like to do in the time that remains for tonight is to just take up the first of the nine foundational perspectives concerning biblical evangelism. The first perspective in this regard, and it is, you see it there in your bulletins, the need for Evangelism. Now, here is where we are simply asking and answering the question of why is it necessary for us as the people of God to be involved in this task? In other words, dear ones, why has God committed this work to our charge? Well, brethren, the answer to the question is simple. And it's because all people outside of the Lord Jesus Christ are lost and liable to the judgment of God because of their sins against him. And because it is through the means of evangelism that men and women come in contact with the saving message of the gospel, the saving message of the Gospel. Now, as all of you here this night, I'm sure, are aware, the Book of Romans is Paul's massive treatment concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. In this letter, the Apostle opens up many aspects, many facets of The Gospel, even as we considered over several years together. However, interestingly enough, the very first place where he begins after mentioning the Gospel itself. is by showing us that all people outside of Christ are guilty before God. The very thing that he mentions right after he speaks of the gospel. He begins by showing us that all people are lost outside of Jesus. They're guilty before God and they're under his just wrath. Consequently, they desperately need the saving message of Jesus. Well, notice this with me then, picking up in Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one. Romans chapter 1, here, after saying in verses 14 and 15 of this chapter that he was a debtor both to Greeks and barbarians, both to wise and to unwise, so that Paul says he's now ready to preach the gospel to them, even those who are at Rome. He goes on in verse 16 of this chapter to explain why it was that he was not ashamed of the gospel when he says Romans chapter 1 verses 16 and 17. Look at the words there in your Bibles. He says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why is he ready to preach it? Here's why. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Now we could say, Paul, why are you not ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Okay, here it is. For it is the power of God to salvation. How wide is it, Paul? For everyone who believes. For the Jew first and also for the Greek. Verse 17, look at it. For in it, that is, in the gospel. Now look at it carefully. He doesn't say that there is a righteousness from God, no. But in the Gospel, not a righteousness, but the, the very righteousness of God or from God is revealed. How is it received, Paul? From faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Now, again, having just made this grand statement, We might ask the question now, still, Paul, why is it that all people everywhere need the gospel? Why is the gospel necessary for them? Well, he goes on to answer this vital question quite plainly when he says next in verse 18 of this chapter, look at it with me there in your Bibles, he says, Here's why all people need the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Here's why. Verse 18, for, or we could say because, the wrath of God, quite literally, the wrath which belongs to God, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who do what? who suppress, that is to say, hinder and hold down the truth. How do they do it, Paul? Well, the prepositional phrase answers the question. In unrighteousness. They do it in wickedness. Now, we have here, in verse 18 of this chapter, The unmistakable reason for why it is that unsaved men and women, boys and girls, religious or non-religious or irreligious, all need the good news with reference to Jesus Christ our Lord. Here in this verse, Paul is giving us the rationale. for what he just said in verses 16 and 17 of this chapter, and he's also explaining to us why he was so desirous to preach Jesus Christ to everyone. Paul says here that the reason for this is because the holy wrath of Almighty God is against them because of their rebellion toward him. Now, the apostle. He goes on to speak some more about the rebellion of unsaved people in verses 19 to 32 of this chapter, as most of you will know. Here Paul says, picking up at verse 19, look at the words in your Bibles, he says, again, speaking more about their rebellion, Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, that is to say, through the voice of conscience, for God has shown it to them, Which is to say, through the voice of creation. Paul speaks of it in verse 20. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen. That is to say, God's creative power and his handiwork being understood how? Well, here it is. By the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. So that, or to the end, they are without excuse. No excuse. It's a legal term in Greek. No excuse. Guilty is what the sense is. Why is this? Well, Paul tells us. Because although they knew God. Not knew God savingly, of course not. But they knew that God was the creator. Because although they knew God. In the original text, the definite article is there. Actually knew the God. That there was one God. They did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, literally morons, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, here's the result. God also gave them up to uncleanness and the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves. And here's the great exchange. So sad. Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever, amen. Again, the causal result, verse 26. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions For even though women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature, likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain or hold on to God and their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, or as Nichols calls it, a garbage mind, to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whispers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things. disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who, knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, if you can believe it, but also approve of those who practice them. Now, at this point, someone might argue against Paul and say, well, while this might be so, that God is angry with those who are blatant rebels against him, who are pagan non-Christians in the world, surely This would not be the same concerning people who are religious, although they're not saved. I mean, surely God is pleased with people like that, right? Well, unfortunately, dear ones here this night, this is not the case. And the apostle addresses this matter in Romans chapter 2, verses 17 to 24. And I ask you to look at this with me there in your Bibles. Romans 2, verses 17 to 24, here is the apostle. now deals with the deluded religionist, showing them that a ritualistic life without biblical regeneration will profit them nothing on the final day. Thus, he says in Romans 2, verses 17 to 24, note the language with me, he says, indeed, you were called a Jew. You're a religious man, a religious woman. And rest on the law, self-righteously, that is to say, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve of the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, out of the Torah, and are confident that you yourselves are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having a form of knowledge and truth in the law, Oh, you're very confident that that's you. Then Paul says, application, you therefore who teach another, do you teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, Eighth Commandment, you remember it this morning. Do you steal? You who say, do not commit adultery, Seventh Commandment, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? The point is, you do. That's what you're doing. You're hypocritical. You who make your boast in the law. Do you dishonor God through breaking the law? The answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That's what you do. Paul summarizes then in verse 24. For, or because of this and these things, the name of God is blaspheme. among the Gentiles. Why? Because of you as it is written. So what then do we see in these words here before us now? Well, what we see is that as the Apostle continues his case study on humanity, he shows us that religion cannot save us. Right? He shows us that even being religious and Jewish absolutely gains no merit in the sight of God. And this is because without the righteousness of Christ imputed to an individual, they are undone before the Lord. Well, this then is the conclusion of the matter. And the Apostle summarizes it nicely in Romans 3, verses 9 to 18. And I ask you to please turn with me there in your Bibles. Romans 3, verses 9 to 18. Paul summarizes all that he's been saying in the previous chapters. When he writes here saying, what then? You see the conclusion in his words. Are we, that is to say we Jews, better than they, that is to say they Gentiles? Answer, not at all. Why? For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. Not merely in sin, but under, note the preposition, under sin's sway. while they're unconverted. As it is written, now here Paul takes a bunch of quotes from the Old Testament to prove his point. Here it is. Here's the sum of the matter. There is N-O-N-E, righteous. None. No, not one. There is N-O-N-E, who understand. There is N-O-N-E, who seeks after God. None. Who does this? They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no, not one. Now, in describing their anatomy, spiritually speaking, the throat is an open tomb. With their tongues, they have practiced deceit. The poison of asp is under their lips. whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood. I mean, this is reading like the daily newspaper. This is like what we see online in the news. This is our country. These are people outside of Christ. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace, the way of Arene, Shalom, they have not known. And why? Well, Paul tells us in verse 18, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Well, here, the apostle has reached the height of his argument concerning why it is that all people everywhere need to be saved through the gospel of Christ. This is the case, and as you probably know, after this, In the following chapters of this book, he then goes on to speak about the implications of the gospel, practically speaking. He goes on to speak about sanctification, and then sovereignty, and the sovereignty of God, rather. And interestingly enough, right in the midst of his discussion of the sovereignty of God. He brings up our topic at hand, namely, the need for evangelism in Romans chapter 10. Notice this with me in your Bibles, Romans chapter 10. Here again, starting in chapter nine, he started speaking about the sovereignty of God. Goes into chapter 10, chapter 11, right here in the midst of it. He brings up this whole matter for the need of evangelism. Romans 10, picking up verse 14 of this chapter, our opening passage for this evening. just saying in the previous words. Verse 13, look at it. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Paul now in verses 14 and 15 of this chapter asks his famous four how questions. His famous four how questions. And each one of them is directly connected to the question of why it is that you and I must be involved in the work of evangelism. Notice Paul's words with me here. Again, Romans 10, verses 14 and 15. He says, again, just having said in verse 13 that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved, verse 14 now, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall They hear without a preacher. And how shall they preach unless they are sent, as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. Now, Paul's line of reasoning here is quite plain, I trust. It's clear. And it is that since again, according to verse 13 of this chapter, people are saved by calling on the name of the Lord. He argues first then that this calling on the Lord to be saved must be impossible for those who have not believed in Him And this makes complete sense, right? I mean, church, you don't call on someone to save you who you don't believe in. Well, secondly then, he argues saying that the act of believing upon Christ must be impossible for the one, for the individual who has not heard about Christ. And again, this makes complete sense because you don't believe in a person of whom you've never heard. Third, Paul says that this act of believing on Christ must be impossible unless someone preaches him to them. And again, Paul's point, Paul's logic is very plain. And then fourthly and finally, he argues that this type of preaching must be impossible unless people are sent to do it. Now, all of this makes absolute sense. And I trust, dear ones here this evening, that you're getting Paul's fourfold line of reasoning. I mean, in our passage, the answer to all of his questions is assumed to be negative. to be negative. So that the point is, number one, people will not call upon Jesus to be saved, whom they have not believed. Second, people will not believe in Him if they've not heard of Him. Third, people will not hear without a preacher. And then fourth, people will not preach unless they are sent. And so church, what Is our passage stressing to us? Well, it's stressing to us the crucial, the vital need for you and I to be involved in the work of evangelism. It's stressing to us the whole matter concerning the means by which the gospel comes to the lost who are heading to hell. which is to say, by means of human instrumentality. And so you see, dear ones here this night, since our God does not zap people from heaven and save them, nor has he commissioned angels to go to people and tell them about Jesus, nor Has he chosen to write in the clouds? The words would say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. This then, church, is why it is that you and I need to be involved in this great work. This is the case. And again, why is it? Well, it's because, as I said earlier, it's through the means of evangelism. that men and women, boys and girls, come in contact with the saving message of Christ. This, beloved, is the whole machinery of salvation, as Spurgeon said. For he said that, quote, God provides salvation in Christ Jesus. He then sends preachers to tell of it Men hear of it, they believe, and salvation is theirs. The whole machinery of salvation. And so, because this is the case, I trust that you see, brethren, that there is a real urgency which is laid upon each and every one of us as believers to speak the Gospel to the lost. Right? Yes, here, church, the apostle is telling us that there is a gospel obligation which is placed on us as God's people to do all that we can do to be like the early church in Jerusalem who, according to Acts chapter 8 and verse 4, quote, went everywhere. Doing what? preaching the word. The church, not just the apostles, not just the so-called evangelist in the church, but the church, the text says, went everywhere preaching the word. Listen then to Spurgeon once again, as he pressed his own congregation in this regard. Spurgeon said, quote, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. For if hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let not one go there unwarned or unprayed for. Spurgeon said, the fact is, brethren, we must have conversion work here. He said, quote, we cannot go on, as some churches do, without converts. We cannot, said Spurgeon. We will not. We must not. We dare not. For souls must be converted here. And if there be not many born to Christ, may the Lord grant to me that I may sleep in the tomb and be heard of no more. for better indeed for us to die than to live if souls be not saved." Wow. Wow. Now you talk about the inner disposition of a broken-hearted evangelist. I'll take the title of another excellent work on this topic written by my dear friend Jeremy Walker. You talk about the inner disposition of a broken-hearted evangelist. Here it is! Mr. Spurgeon. I mean, here, Spurgeon, the great Calvinist, almost sounds like a modern-day Arminian. Oh, but brethren, as you know, Spurgeon was no Arminian. Rather, he was a staunch Calvinist. He was a strict five-pointer. who said in his heart regularly with the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 10, quote, I endure all things for the sake of the elect, and this so that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. Well, here then, is where we end for this evening. are considerations concerning nine foundational perspectives for biblical evangelism. Tonight we've considered the very first foundational principle concerning its need. And so in the time that remains, I want to make a few applications first to those of you here who are believers gathered together with me. A few applications. Three specifically. The first thing that I want to say, dear church, is that the message for this evening teaches us that we must utterly rethink and renounce all unbiblical ideas concerning evangelism and be retaught according to the word of God. Utterly rethink and renounce all unbiblical ideas, practices, methods, concerning evangelism and be retaught according to the word of God. So many sloppy modern methods which riddle so many churches and people. Decisionism, altar calls, sinner's prayers. You've all heard of these things, right? All over the place. Except Jesus. Except Jesus? Is that really the call of the word of God? No. the glory of the Word of God is not that we accept Jesus, but rather is that He accepts us. Accept Jesus, do something for Jesus, with Jesus. Let me tell you, you don't have to do something for Jesus or with Jesus, He needs to do something for you and with you. This is modern-day Arminianism, which plagues the churches. Come up to the front of the church and get saved, as if getting saved was something connected with the movement of the feet. Salvation has nothing to do with the feet. It has to do with the heart, responding to God. And this, of course, ultimately is because God has first worked in the heart so that it might respond to him. But we must utterly rethink and renounce all of these old ways, which many of you were reared in. Can't say many of us. Thankfully I was spared much with reference to sloppy evangelism. And God set me on a good course very early in my life, which I'm grateful for. But these other methods I've seen time and again in literature, tracts all over the place. And when you give out tracts, brethren, make sure they're good tracts. Make sure there's nothing on the back that says, now pray this prayer and you get saved. No, the stuff we have downstairs, excellent. Excellent. And we're gonna talk in this series about many things with reference to evangelism and how to do it and all the rest. But just as we begin for this evening, be sure that your methods are biblical. Biblical. And again, you're not trying to work of a decision in an individual, trying to do something that manipulates them. No, salvation is of the Lord. Tell them about the Lord. And then, of course, you give them the command of the Bible, which is repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. That's different than accept Jesus in your heart. And again, of course, there's the other big one. Maybe it's the elephant in the room. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Really? If God loves me as an unsaved person and has a wonderful plan for my life, then I really don't need to be saved. That's not what Paul says after announcing the gospel in verse 18 of Romans 1. Right after 16 and 17, he doesn't say God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. No, he says the wrath of God abides upon you. That's what he says. That's where he starts. Does God have a common love for people and common grace in that sense and that he's merciful to unconverted people so that he brings rain upon the just and the unjust? The same with the son, of course. But this has nothing to do with salvation. In fact, this will only increase their damnation in the final day because God had been so good to them. No, the message is not God loves you. The message is God owns you. He made you. You've sinned against him. You're under his wrath. And it's only his mercy that he hasn't split open the floor and sent you to hell already. That's the message for the unbeliever. It's the bad news you tell him. You're under God's condemnation. John 3, the wrath of God already abides upon you. It's the bad news. Again, we'll talk about it more in the series. Then you tell them about the good news. Even though this is so in love, he sent a substitute, even Jesus. Explain the gospel to them, etc. But brethren, we must be biblical. And again, that's why I mentioned books in the beginning of the message. So that you can read them. Make sure that your language is precise. We want to be clear in these things. We want to be biblical. Secondly, for you here this night who are believers, the message this evening teaches us that you and I must utterly reject all forms of hyper-Calvinism, which tends to downplay the need for evangelism. All forms of hyper-Calvinism. The hyper-Calvinist says, God will save whom he will save. And He doesn't need us to be involved in the process. Now really, is that true? Is that true? Well, it is certainly true that God will save whom He will save. Yes and amen. Ah, but the question is, how will He do it? That's the question. What is His ordinary means and who are His means, His channels, His outlets to reach the lost? Our beloved ones here this evening, the Bible's playing, and it's us. It's believers. Thus, this is why, for example, Paul could say in 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 16, for necessity, quite literally, Paul says, a continual intense distress was laid upon me. Paul says, yes, woe is me, therefore. if I do not preach the gospel. Paul understood that God had committed the gospel to earthen vessels. That again, as I said earlier, it was through human instrumentality that the lost would hear the gospel and be saved. I mean, think about your own life. How did you get saved? Did an angel appear to you? Did the clouds form, repent, and believe? on Jesus. No, God used a servant of the Lord to bring the good news to you. How shall they call upon Him in whom they have not heard? How shall they believe unless they are sent, et cetera? Bible's playing. God is absolutely sovereign in saving souls, of course. Does that mean we sit back and do nothing? We don't obey the Great Commission. We just sit back and say, well, God'll just zap them, I guess. It's a problem. It's a huge problem. And Spurgeon fought against it very strongly in his day, very strongly. Great book, you can write the title down. It's called Spurgeon versus Hyper-Calvinism. I believe it's Ian Murray. And again, the hyper-Calvinist in Spurgeon's day called him an Arminian. The Arminians called him a hyper-Calvinist. He couldn't please anybody. But he pleased his master. And he understood, even though salvation is of the Lord and God must save and save alone, nonetheless, God has chosen the foolishness of the thing preached to save those who believe. And so brethren, any preaching that you hear from any so-called Calvinist that denies or downplays this whole issue of evangelism, be on guard. Be on guard. People often say to me, oh pastor, I appreciate that you preach the gospel every week. You pour yourself out for sinners. Why do I do that? Because I believe the Bible, that it's through the means of preaching that God brings in his elect. Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow. And so we go after them when we preach the gospel. But you don't know who the elect are, that's fine, I don't need to know who they are, God knows who they are. And I'll just spread the net as wide as I can. I'll obey Jesus, preach to every creature. I trust that as I preach, whether from this pulpit or open air, whatever it might be, that as I'm preaching, God the Holy Spirit is going after those for whom Christ died, those for whom the Father set aside from all eternity, and he brings them in. He will bring them to himself. So watch out for all forms of hyper-Calvinism. And truth be told, if you check church history, you will see that the greatest evangelists were always Calvinist. Always Calvinist. They were able to see both truths in the word of God. The sovereignty of God and yet the responsibility of the sinner. And the responsibility of the preacher to call upon the sinner to repent. For God commands all men everywhere to repent and to believe the gospel. That was Whitfield, that was Edwards, that was Spurgeon, that was all the Puritans, that was Lloyd-Jones. And the list goes on and on. And so be on guard against any form of hyper-Calvinism that downplays the need for us to be involved in evangelism thirdly and finally, brethren, in this regard. The message for this evening teaches us that we utterly or absolutely have a work to do as God's people when it comes to reaching the lost. We have a work to do. You have a work to do. Now, am I saying, listen carefully, am I saying that all Christians are to be involved in the work of evangelism? Listen carefully. Yes, I am. You got it? I said it. Everyone is to be involved in the work of evangelism. Yes, they are. Every single Christian is to be involved in the work of evangelism. The answer is yes, yes, yes. But not in the same way. Not in the same way. Not everybody is called to stand on a soapbox and preach the gospel, as you know I've done for over 20 years. in the open air in New York City, in Jersey, here in Rhode Island, many, many, many times. Not everyone is called, like Bob Tatra, to go knock on doors and do that type of evangelism. Some are, but not all. Some of the greatest evangelism happens, mothers, right in your own kitchens with your children, sharing the gospel. Some mothers say, so should I go out and preach open air? Should I, does it have to be something grand? No, you've got children in front of you every day of your life. Evangelize them. Grandparents, evangelize them. Evangelism has a million different ways in which it looks. And so, not all in the same way. Not everyone's gonna do, again, open air or knocking on doors. Some of you go to the workplace every day. It's a great opportunity. I miss those opportunities. Be around unbelievers all day long. You know, we go to restaurants. What do we do? Eight times out of ten, we leave a gospel tract. There. Give it with our It's evangelizing. Always, and then we pray over the tract. Lord, bless it. Use it to save Sally. Use it to save Rick. We're seeking to do something for the Lord in this regard. Are you seeking to do something for the Lord in this regard, dear brother, dear sister? If we are God's means, God's hands, God's feet, what are we doing? What are you doing? When's the last time you told someone about Jesus? We need to be involved in this work because the need is great. We're the means to aid the need. And so let's do what we can, as we can, where we can, how we can, because that's what we're called to do. And so may God help us. May he help us to be people who take his gospel far and wide. I close now with a word to any non-Christian here this night, to anyone who's not a true believer, to you who don't know Jesus savingly, what can I say to you? But simply this, I trust that this night you see your need for Christ. I trust that you see that, like everybody else in the world, You're as an unclean thing before God. That's why I read those lengthy portions of scripture tonight, especially Romans chapter one. You're stinking in the nostrils of a holy God. All of your lies, your lust, your theft, you're living for yourself. God is angry with you because of these things. Well friend, I say that your sins have caused the God of the Bible to be repulsed by you, so that even now he has separated himself from you. Notice with me in Isaiah chapter 59, as we wind down, Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59, I remember the first time I read this scripture, it was just striking, striking, striking. I used to think that God and I were like this. We were one, and then I read this text and I found out we were like this. Isaiah 59, the heading, well stated, separated from God. Isaiah 59, 1 to 3, behold, or look and see, the Lord's hand is not shortened. that it cannot say, nor is his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities, that is to say your sins, your lies, your lust, your theft, have done what? Separated you from your God. And your sins have hidden his face from you. To what end? So that he will not hear. Isn't that sad? That's horrible. What an eye-opening text this is. Why is all that so? Verse three, for your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue has muttered perversity. That's why God has separated himself from you. That's bad news. It's terrible. And so if you're not a Christian here this night, thinking maybe some of you younger ones here this evening, most of the older folks, I believe, are saying, this is your situation before God right now. It should cause you to say, oh, Lord, this is terrible. I thought we were one. Oh, but it's clear that there's something between us. It's my sin. Well, God must deal with that sin. You know, God has dealt with that sin already. And this very prophet Isaiah tells us about this very thing just a few chapters earlier. Note it with me in Isaiah 53 and verse 6. Here we have this glorious text. And it tells us how God has dealt with our sin problem. Isaiah 53 and verse 6, he says, all, each and every one of us, we're all like sheep. We have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. Again, that's the essence of sin, going your own way. That's the bad news. Here's the good news. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Praise God. That's the gospel. That's the good news, that even though we're sinners, before God, even though we've broken His law and we're worthy of His judgment, and we've caused Him to recoil from us because of our unrighteousness. The Bible says, nonetheless, that He in love provided a substitute, Jesus Christ, the sinless one. And there on the cross, the Father laid on Him the iniquity of us all. The us all, that is to say, all who believe on Jesus Christ, who He is, the Son of God, what He's done, died in our room and in our stead and accomplished our salvation on the cross. That's what the cross is all about. Jesus didn't die there for sins that He had committed. No, He had no sin. But in love, He willingly assumed our responsibility and our liability. And as our substitute, as our surety. In the covenant of redemption, he allowed the sins of his people to fall upon himself. And he was punished for them at Calvary. And paid their fine and full at Calvary. so that all who trust in his work alone could be forgiven by God Almighty. That's the good news of the Bible. And so, my dear non-Christian friend here this night, what must you do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. Turn from your sins. Say, oh God, I'm done with this life. I'm done with living apart from you. Oh God, it's terrible that you've stepped away from me because I'm a rebel in your sight. Oh God, say to him, reconcile me to yourself through your son's death on behalf of guilty sinners. Acknowledge your sin. See yourself in truth, see yourself as God sees you. And cry out to Him through Jesus Christ the Lord to save you, to forgive you, to wash you, to make you a brand new person. Remember again our text from Romans 10 in verse 13. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved. Might you be found, then, even this night, my dear non-Christian friend, whoever you are, younger person or older person, calling on the name of the Lord. Let's pray together. Our great God, with this fresh burden upon us of the need for evangelism, I pray, O God, you would stir us up, drive us forward, Help us to see, O God, that we are your instruments to bring the gospel to the lost and you might save them. O God, help us, we pray. Encourage us in this work we have. And we pray all of these things in and through that wonderful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.