The Church as an Evangelizing Agency
By I. H. EVANS
(Reading for Sunday, December 12) The Church as an Evangelizing Agency
The Saviour gave a forecast of the position his church on earth should occupy when he said, “Ye are the light of the world.” As we look backward through the ages to see the fulfillment of this statement, we find the true church of God standing forth in great prominence. Nor does it matter whether it be in the days of tribulation and persecution, or in the years of her expansion and prosperity, still the church has been the “light of the world.” Sometimes this light has been dimmed by apostasy and sin; then the wheels of progress have been turned backward, a pall of dense spiritual darkness has enveloped the earth, and the world has groped as a blind man seeking the way. Sometimes a little company would seek God, and by renewed consecration separate from sin and apostasy; and at once light would break forth and reformation follow. Whenever and wherever Christ has dwelt within the hearts of his children, then their light has shone forth. When the Holy Spirit withdraws, its light gives place to darkness and confusion. Christ proclaimed himself the light of the world. In the church Christ dwells,—not simply in the organization, but in the hearts of his true followers. He is the One who illuminates; he kindles the flame of zeal, and sends forth the light of life through those who believe on his name. The psalmist says, “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” Here we are taught that light is sown for God’s people. As seed sown in the earth bears fruit, so light is sown for the righteous, that it may multiply and increase in the lives of the believers. The apostle, writing to the church in Thessalonica, used this language, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day.” Again we read, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” Thus the Lord identifies himself with his children. They have no light of themselves, but by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit they become light bearers, and share with Christ the honor of being the Light of the world. Light radiates. It cannot do otherwise than shine. It dispels darkness. It illuminates and makes manifest. Thus when Christ said of his followers, “Ye are the light of the world,” he only declared the position they held as his ambassadors in the earth, and indicated the work he would have them do. None would expect the church could be the light of the world by inaction and idleness. The gospel in the heart is compared to leaven, which knows no rest till the whole lump is leavened. Light is active. It always shines. Its very nature is to enlighten, and so it must be with any people of whom it can be truly said, “Ye are the light of the world.” The Responsibility of the Church
That Christ holds his followers responsible for giving the gospel to the world is evident from the Scriptures wherever the question is under discussion. “Ye are the light of the world,” is a statement involving every follower of Christ. It is not limited in its application to the apostles or the clergy; it includes the church. And not only does it include the church as an organization; it extends to the individual members of the church, and makes each in his place “the light of the world.” It could thus be read by each of us, “I am the light of the world in Christ Jesus.” It means much to be responsible to God for enlightening the world and making known to the unsaved the power of the gospel. This responsibility cannot be shunned nor shifted. When God relieves his followers of the duty of enlightening the world, he also will deny them their heirship in his coming kingdom. Responsibility and service go with salvation; they cannot be separated. In the judgment scene pictured by Christ, in which the sheep are separated from the goats, we read:— “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Surely here is individual responsibility.10 This helpful, Christlike work cannot be delegated to another; it must be done by the person himself. The reward is personal; it would be inconceivable that when the time of reward comes, the rewards would be given to a denomination or an organization, or a church. If we desire to receive an individual reward, a personal blessing, then there must be individual service; for the reward is given to the one who works. This earth is in rebellion against its Maker. A mighty, constant, fearful, hand-to-hand and soul-to-soul struggle is being waged between the followers of Satan on the one hand and Christ and his church on the other. It is a struggle for soul supremacy. Christ is trying to win the lost world back to God by every means known to divine love. It is not the material world God wants; it is not the gold or silver or earthly territory: rather, it is the hearts of men. He yearns for their love; he desires their obedience; he longs to have men believe in him and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He wants men to live. He sees his own creation plunging heedlessly, persistently, into eternal ruin. He sees man maddened by sin rushing beyond the boundaries of hope and mercy. He sees a lost world gone to ruin and going down to destruction. He knows the final result of sin and sinning, and he longs to save man from this fate. When Jesus ascended up on high, he gave his followers the charge to go into all the world, and make Christians of all nations. Never were the nations of earth engaged in a more fierce conflict between themselves than are Christ and his church in this war against the devil and his host. Christ tries by every holy and righteous means to win the followers of the enemy to enter his service, and the church is the agent used by God and the Holy Spirit to carry on this soul-winning campaign. The church is to be filled with the Holy Ghost. No one is sent to the front to fight alone. Just as far as the command to go is obeyed, so far may the promise be claimed, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Soul Winning the Work of the Church
There is a double duty resting upon every church member: first, to get himself ready for his Master’s coming; second, to win souls to the kingdom of God. The first duty must not be ignored. On it our own salvation is dependent. Everything must be sacrificed that this salvation may be secured. The most awful mistake a man can ever make is to lose his own soul. In these days of stress and trial, we have great need to read our Bibles, and to spend much time daily in prayer. The soul cannot live and make a healthy growth without this daily communion with God. Without Bible study and prayer we are easily overcome by temptation, and become the prey of the enemy. The believer is like some of the timbers in the tropics, from which the heart has been eaten by the ants and only a hollow shell remains; outwardly he passes for a Christian, but inwardly he is dead in trespasses and sin. Our first and chief duty must be to gain the victory over temptation in our own lives. Our next great duty is to win souls to Christ. The church must ever be a missionary, evangelizing instrument used by the Holy Spirit to extend the kingdom of God. Some will say, “Could I go to China or India, gladly would I give my life to this soul-winning work.” But all cannot go to these distant lands. Only the young, the strong, and generally the educated, can succeed in these hard heathen fields; but about us on every hand we have the lost and perishing. Is your own heart right with God? Is your family saved? To you there are no questions more vital than these. No call from distant lands will excuse you from bringing your own to Christ. This homeland needs the attention of the church; it demands the prayers, the tears, and the labors of consecrated parents. Hear this warning to our people:— “Oh, that parents would look carefully and prayerfully after their children’s eternal welfare! Let them ask themselves: Have we been careless? Have we neglected this solemn work? Have we allowed our children to become the sport of Satan’s temptations? Have we a solemn account to settle with God because we have permitted our children to use their talents, their time, and influence in working against the truth, against Jesus Christ? Have we neglected our duty as parents, and increased the subjects of Satan’s kingdom?” Neither the church as a whole nor the church members as individuals should ever lay down the burden while there is one unsaved soul in the families of its members. Since the days of Cain, men and women have been asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Surely God has made it so. The answer is, “Thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” Christ said: “Why stand ye here all the day idle? . . . Go ye also into the vineyard.” “Work . . . while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” Who will warn your neighbors of the coming doom of this lost world if you hold your peace? You are the light of the world. God has commanded you to “arise, shine,” for your light has come. It matters not how poor and ignorant you are, these are not reasons for your idleness. God will be with you in your endeavors. “No matter what may have been their occupation,—farmers, mechanics, teachers, or pastors,—if they had wholly consecrated themselves to God, they would have been efficient agents to work for the heavenly Master.” There is no work so strong and persuasive as personal work for souls. More and more the personal touch is counted as the strong means in helping the halting to yield to the pleadings of the Holy Spirit. A personal invitation, a quiet talk, a prayer offered in behalf of the sinner, is oftentimes used by God to win a soul to Christ. Then there are the tracts, books, and periodicals coming from our presses, laden with the living message for these times. God has put his Spirit into much of this literature, and it is a living, burning message for these times. Thousands of believers in the third angel’s message have accepted present truth by reading. The church has a mighty work to do if it meets the divine requirements in circulating this literature. The light of the world is not to be hidden; it is to be revealed. “His lamps are we,
To shine where he shall say.
And lamps are not for sunny rooms,
Nor for the light of day,
But for dark places of the earth,
Where shame and wrong and crime have birth;
Or for the murky twilight gray,
Where wandering sheep have gone astray;
Or where the light of faith grows dim,
And souls are groping after him.
“And as sometimes a flame we find,
Clear shining through the night,
So bright we do not see the lamp,
But only see the light,
So may we shine—his light the flame—
That men may glorify his name!” Then, too, we must not forget the nations of the East. Their doors are open and the Macedonian cry is sounding as never before since sin entered the world. This call for help must not be answered with a deaf ear and by inaction. Since the death of Christ till now there has been no such call to the church for help as is now sounding forth from the lands of heathenism. Their cries for help will not go unanswered. Already a good work has been started, and every year sees growth and progress. Even converted heathen are entering the work and preaching the gospel. More leaders and teachers must be sent; but there is hardly a man in our ranks today who is not willing to go anywhere for Christ. We must give our children and our means to the finishing of this work. All must go on the altar for service as God sees fit. The world is fast preparing for the loud cry of the third angel’s message. Now is our day of opportunity to give the trumpet a certain sound and to work for souls with that earnestness and zeal that will command attention. God’s hand can be clearly seen in directing and extending his work in the earth. Every Seventh-day Adventist should be a soul winner. Soon the night cometh when no man can work. “Toil on, faint not, keep watch and pray;
Be wise the erring soul to win;
Go forth into the world’s highway,
Compel the wanderer to come in.”