Oct
11
Title: The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
Author: Mark Dever
Forward by: CJ Mahaney
Publisher: Crossway
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 124
Audience: This book is a great resource for laymen of all theological reading levels. There is an appendix especially intended for encouraging pastors.
Mark Dever has written an excellent resource for personal evangelism. I bought this book having heard of Dever’s particular passion for personal evangelism. I was not disappointed. On the other hand, I was a little surprised. My perception of Dever is that of a pastor-scholar excelling at theological argumentation and biblical exegesis. Yet the power of this book is not in it’s scholarship or argumentation. Its peculiar strength comes from how personal, practical, and honest it is written.
Dever fills this book with stories of evangelistic successes and failures. Some of these stories are from Christian history and some are from his own life. He avoids complex theological terminology making this book readily accessible to layman and pastor alike. What is so disarming about the book is how frequently he inserts his own reflections on personal evangelism and even on writing a book about evangelism. At one point he breaks in mid paragraph to write:
“And just to drive this home, as I’ve been writing this, a non-Christian friend called and wanted to talk to me. We chatted for about thirty minutes, the whole time during which I was impatient to get back to writing this book on evangelism! Aargh! Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this wretched body of indifference? If we would evangelize more, we must love people more.”
When you add together the simple vocabulary, rich stories, personal reflection, and short chapters you get a book that is incredibly easy to read in a single sitting yet profound enough to stick with you for years to come.
This books is also, of course, profoundly Christ-centered. Each chapter repeatedly brings the reader’s attention back to consider the magnificence of the cross of Christ. Why should we evangelize? Consider Christ. What should we say when we evangelize? Consider Christ. What should we do if the response is less than positive? Consider Christ. What is the end goal of evangelism? Christ, Christ, Christ. It is a joy to read this book and join in Dever in his praise for the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.
You will also find in this book helpful discussion on the relationship of God’s sovereignty and personal evangelism. Dever is very concerned to place personal evangelism soundly within the frame of God’s sovereign power in salvation. He does not want people to evangelize out of guilt. He does not want people to rely on their own sales tactics to bring the lost to Jesus. He wants the church to find tremendous encouragement and power in the truth of God’s sovereignty as it related to personal evangelism.
Another aspect of this book which was particularly welcomed was the way Dever addressed common excuses for not evangelizing. He doesn’t pull punches. He doesn’t excuse excuses. In multiple places he completelyannihilates the kind of thinking that leads Christians to live lives of un-evangelism. He leaves no other option to the reader but to say along with him, “It is the responsibility of every Christian to be involved in personal evangelism.”
Lastly, you will find this book very practical. Many of the chapters provide numbered lists of things to do as you prepare in, participate in, and follow up personal evangelism. Dever avoids the pitfall of pretending to provide a flawless step-by-step plan for cookie-cutter evangelism. Instead he provides biblical and practical help for growing in your desire for and skill in personal evangelism.
I highly recommend this book. I also suggest you purchase it and read it as I did. I realized my sinful habit to read about doing personal evangelism rather than actually doing it. I was therefore reluctant to buy this book for fear I would feed my own laziness in personal evangelism. In the end I bought the book but only with this caveat: “I will not read this book without allowing Mark Dever to be my teacher. I refuse to read this book without doing what Jesus calls me to.” To this end I purchased it and it is my prayer that the Lord will bless my further frail attempts at seeking to lead the lost to Christ.
Choice Quotes:
“First, and most basically, there is a certain balance that we want to strive for in our evangelism, a balance of honesty and urgency and joy.”
“Like a collector buying up a collection, we should desire to capture each fleeting hour and to turn it into a trophy for God and his grace.”
“The Bible presents the human problem as one that can never be solved by coercive force or imposition. Therefore, all I can do is present the good news accurately, live a life of love toward unbelievers, and pray for God to convict them of their sins and give them the gifts of repentance and faith.”
Choice Authors Quoted: Calvin, Ryle, Stott, Bunyan, Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon, Flavel, Augustine
Table of Contents:
- Foreword
- Introduction: An Amazing Story
- 1 Why Don’t We Evangelize?
- 2 What is the Gospel?
- 3 Who Should Evangelize?
- 4 How Should We Evangelize?
- 5 What Isn’t Evangelism?
- 6 What Should We Do After We Evangelize?
- 7 Why Should We Evangelize?
- Conclusion: Closing the Sale
- Recommended Reading
- Appendix: A Word to Pastors
- Notes
Other books I recommend on evangelism:
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
Tell the Truth
The Art of Manfishing
Words to Winners of Souls
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