“Unique Evangelism”

Last week I walked into the wrong room in the hospital. The person I was going to see was in room 400, but I had gone into room 401. The usual reaction upon realizing the mistake might have been to say, “Sorry,” excuse myself, and go to the right room. But I’m not a usual person. When I realized my mistake, I admitted what I’d done but then introduced myself as a local pastor. I asked, “Is there anything you need, while I’m here?” “Just pray for me,” he said. He told me about his health problem and said, “Yesterday, I thought I was going to go down there.” He pointed to the ground with his thumb.“Tell me what you mean,” I said.

“The grave,” he said,
“or worse.” I knew where
he was going, but asked
anyway. “What could be
worse than the grave?”“-
Going to Hell,” he said.
“Tell me about that,” I
said. “Do you think you’re
going to Hell when you
die?”“Probably so,” he
said. He told me he be-
lieved that when you die,
God puts all your good
deeds on one side of a scale,
and measures them against
your sins on the other side. “If your good deeds outweigh your sins, you’re saved,” he told me. That started a long conversation about his spiritual condition, and just how it is that we can be saved. I explained to him that none of us escapes Hell because we’re good enough. We’re saved because Jesus is good enough to give us His eternal life. It was a good conversation—and even though it made me late for the visit I had intended to make, it was worth it. I call it a “divine appointment.”

In Acts 8:25-40, we read about a divine appointment kept by Deacon Philip, who God used as an evangelist. But before we get into that, we need to admit that many Christians are reluctant to share their faith. Some are afraid that they won’t know all the answers and they might be right about that! Far too many Christians are biblically illiterate. Others think that they’ll look like hypocrites. They’re definitely right about that! Still others don’t want to appear intrusive or bigoted against non-Christians. Many people want to leave it to the professionals. One survey by Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ reports that 98% of Christians do not share their faith on a regular ba- sis.1 Another Gallup poll confirms this figure.2 If we take salvation seriously, and if we believe in a place called Hell, then we ought to figure out how we can break this fear of witnessing. We need to quit worrying that we’ll do more harm than good, or fearing a negative reaction. Let’s look at what Philip did to share his faith, and see how we can do the same.

Before he even met the court treasurer, Philip had to locate him. To do so, he had to obey God’s instructions. Not all of us can have appointments commanded by an angel like Philip did—but we can be sensitive to the “accidental” divine appointments that are all around us. Philip could have ignored the call to the Gaza Road. I could have simply excused myself and found Room 400. Finding your audience means being willing to be late, inconvenienced, or distracted by those who may take up your time. Just think of how many people could come into the Kingdom if more Christians just made the time and followed God’s leadership. So, once Philip found his audience, what did he do to lead him to Jesus? I wrote about this in 2002:

First, Philip broke down racial barriers. Though Philip was Jewish and the traveler was Ethiopian, the deacon shared his faith with him.Second, the evangelist tore through the obstacle of language. Perhaps it was a mir- acle like in Acts chapter two, or maybe the two muddled through their dialectic differences. But Philip didn’t let language obstruct his witness.Third, Philip overcame the obstacle of income. While he was a common man, the traveler was likely dripping with gold—a court official to the Ethiopian queen. But socioeconomic disparities meant nothing to Philip when it came to sharing his faith.

Fourth, Philip set aside his judgment regarding the man’s sexual identity. Even though his culture dictat- ed that eunuchs be ostracized, Philip didn’t let the sexual condition of his audience even factor in, when he decided to befriend him. All he knew was that the man needed Jesus. And Philip was willing to share.Fifth, Philip did not let his own politics impede his witness.