Discerning the Times in Evangelism

Brian Rex Davis
Cedar Park, TX
WBS ACTION! Editor and President

“Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” Matthew 16:3 NASB

Jesus, during His sojourn on earth, asked the religious leaders of Israel this question. Moving forward to today, we might ask ourselves, “Have I ever spent any time trying to discern the signs of the times as a Christian?”

I want to attempt to do so from the perspective of an evangelist, considering the world in which we live and how best to be about our Father’s business of seeking and saving the lost.

I approach this discernment from a very personal standpoint. I have two sons who are growing into leaders of the Lord’s church. How will I model and communicate this responsibility to them? The picture below provides an image of one important truth that I want my sons to realize. There is a ditch on both sides of the road. The only safe path is on the road.

This world is enamored with extremes and outrage. In the life of Christians and the church, many are being drawn into one ditch or the other, when we would be better served by considering a goal of aiming for Biblical center. Rather than reacting with outrage at extremes—and perhaps ending up in the opposite ditch—we would be wise to remember that God has provided His inspired Word to guide us in the straight and narrow way. His way should be our objective.

Since returning to the United States, I have heard many Christians react against their experience of “legalism” in their earlier life in the Lord’s church. I’m truly sorry for their experience and would encourage them with the fact that adding man-made rules and binding them on others (the right ditch) is not from our Lord, but from man (Matthew 23:4). I also encourage them to resist jumping into the opposite ditch in outrage where the authority of Jesus and His apostles is thrown out with the “bath water” (the left ditch).

In the September 1969 issue of Action, Jimmie Lovell and Reuel Lemmons were trying to discern their times for evangelism and seemed to be struggling most with the “right ditch”. But what about today?

This brings me to my first discernment for evangelism. The question needs to be considered: Which ditch is the majority of our world (and our nation) struggling with? Though some Christians may have had a negative experience with the “right ditch”, by far, our world and nation is awash with the spirit of license “to do what each one wants” rather than allow the authority of Jesus to guide one’s life!

What does this mean for evangelism? The church must resist the cultural inertia of jumping into the left ditch of permissiveness and pursue relentlessly the path of Jesus as our King who has all authority. Our public and evangelism messages need to communicate the freedom and joy that comes in surrendering to the rule of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1-3). The grace and forgiveness “in Christ” is provided for those who submit willingly to the rule of Christ in their life. This is discipleship.

If we allow ourselves to be driven by the currents of lawless culture in our approach to salvation, worship, the organization of the church, our roles within the church and our morality, we cannot expect to be recognizable as the Lord’s church. Our evangelism message and our walk with Jesus needs to be aligned for a world seeking an authentic relationship with Jesus and His church.

Our next generation is highly distrustful of “religion”. The popular philosophy of relativism – where everyone has their “personal truth” – has created a generation who sees inconsistency as hypocrisy. This next generation is becoming weary of standing in intellectual quicksand. They are looking for a rock on which to stand. Let’s introduce them to the rock known as Jesus (1 Cor. 10:4).

My second discernment for evangelism is related to the first. As a missionary, I am used to discovering how to communicate the Gospel in the “heart language” of the community in which I serve. Often this entails finding the “heart words” that accurately convey the teachings of Jesus and motivates the hearer to follow Him. Sometimes we are tempted to get this process confused with compromising the message to make it easier for the hearer to accept. Heart language communication should never lead to a compromised message. We are ambassadors of a King entrusted with the Divine Word. We must faithfully deliver it (2 Cor. 5:20).

Toward this end, one of the most influential Biblical principles in my life has been that of the Restoration Plea. I’m not talking about an event in history, although it has certainly sparked those. Rather, I am talking about the Biblical principle of striving to grow into the ideal of the Christian life and of the Lord’s Church and mission as revealed in Holy Scripture. This is the Restoration Plea taught in the Bible (2 Cor. 13:8-14 ESV). I want my two sons to discover the “heart words” of this beautiful and simple thought for their generation!

Every leader of World Bible School has discerned this Biblical principle for their time. Jimmie Lovell (Action, Aug 1962), Reuel Lemmons (Action, Sept 1984), Tex Williams (Action, Oct 1994), and John Reese (Action!, July 2017) have compellingly promoted the Restoration Plea in Action! Magazine.

Personally, I can not imagine NOT having the beauty of simple, New Testament Christianity as my aspiration. Yes, it is a Christian aspiration that is easier said than done, but so worthwhile. Settling for less just leads to earthly religion for which I am not willing to expend my life.

My third discernment for evangelism in our time is the very purpose for which WBS began: to motivate and equip a global network of Christians to use interactive Bible studies effectively. As Jimmie Lovell used to say, “We must become people of ACTION!” Over the last 50 years, we have been blessed with incredible evangelism tools that will teach us to teach, will pair us with a seeker asking for Bible study, will teach in a way that reaches even those who know nothing about God or His Word, with sensitivity and love and will help pursue Follow-up as we network with evangelists around the world.

We are always tempted to grow numb to the plight of those who do not yet know Jesus. Let us rather commit to love them as did Jesus! If you are reading this, can you encourage someone or some congregation to take ACTION and help us involve more Christians with WBS? Your ACTION makes all the difference!