Where Is the Bible in Evangelism & Discipleship?

Where is the Bible? I like that question. I think it’s a question that should be asked more frequently. Asked in the home, the answer tells you not just the Bible’s physical placement in the house but also speaks to its prominence. Is it easily available? Is it to be found in the hands of both parents and children? Are Bibles actively engaged with it in their lives? Asked at church, the question tells you if Bibles are available to unbelievers, the role of the Bible in church life, and gives an indication of the pastor’s methodology of preaching, discipling, and counseling. When I fear that I might have deviated from God’s commission, I find asking, “Where’s the Bible?” helpful to orient me towards the Lord.

In the last year, it has been a question that seems to emerge from my mouth more frequently, not just when examining myself but also when examining the state of the church. And let’s be honest, sometimes I can be critical, falling into the trap that criticism equals critical thinking. That’s why, after some exasperation after a series of missions conferences, I forced myself to self-examine my own heart while asking my wife if I was being too critical or if my concerns were legitimate. The answer: yes and yes. Yes, I can be critical, AND yes, my concerns were legitimate.

While dealing with my sin of criticism personally, the question can also be asked, “What do I consider legitimate about my concerns?”What prompted these grievances has been a consistent theme that has emerged at these recent events in which there has been a tremendous promotion of God’s work, but absent from it has been God’s Word. There were plenty of ‘ministries’ sharing stories about how they made connections with people through mutual interests, such as fishing or sports, or how relationships were developed through difficult circumstances. Certainly, the Lord may use those as a means to foster an opportunity for leading people towards God through Christ, so please don’t think I’m just trying to be contrary. My concerns began to develop, though, when those stories were about leading people towards the Lord, yet nobody mentioned the use of God’s Word. All of this was placed under the banner of evangelism and discipleship, but when prompted about how the Scriptures were utilized and brought to bear in people’s lives, the responses were along the lines, ‘We spent time together,’ ‘I gave them counsel,’ or ‘I summarized the gospel in my own words.’

Sometimes, we fall into the falsehood that my opinion or summation about what the Bible says is just as sufficient as what the Bible says. I say that not as a condemnation of others but as a conviction for myself. My pride leads me to think my words are adequate - they are adequate to summarize God’s Word to make it understandable, they are adequate to convey God’s truth, and they are adequate to convict of sin on behalf of God’s Spirit. Yet, the author of Hebrews tells us that God’s Word is living and active, able to pierce and discern (Hebrews 4:12). Nowhere in Scripture are we given a description of our own words having even a quarter of that effect.

Perhaps this point seems a bit inconsequential and overly particular. After all, we see pastors use their words when they exposit a text, teachers who bring in other resources to share about the cultural background of a passage, or counselors who explain the application of a text. Let us consider, though, that when our words eclipse God’s words, there are legitimate consequences to be considered. In avoiding the direct use of Scripture, the following foreseeable risks are present:

1.    Conditioning people to depend on man’s words rather than God’s Word.

2.    Fostering greater interest in human interpretation than in divine revelation.

3.    Prompting an over-reliance on self or others instead of on God.

4.    Fostering pride in human intellect rather than humility before Scripture.

5.    Undermining the authority of God’s Word in the minds of readers.

6.    Weakening the confidence in the Bible’s clarity and accessibility.

7.    Leading to the establishment of standards apart from Scripture.

8.    Contributing to biblical illiteracy by sidelining the text.

9.    Diverting us from God’s mission and wisdom.

Sin is never without effect, which means that even in our best intentions, there is the potential for my interpretation to misalign with God’s intention or that my conviction may not carry the same weight as God’s Word. Even more, sin inclines us towards ourselves, which means that my natural tendency is to rely upon my own words rather than on God’s words. Yet, with such extreme risks as those listed above, it would make more sense for us to minimize that risk by reemphasizing the Lord’s sufficient Word in our evangelism and discipleship.

Is it ever OK for us to use our own words? Absolutely. We see this with the Apostle Paul throughout the book of Acts as he presents God’s truth, not just citing Scriptures, but explaining them, reasoning with the people, and defending the truth (Acts 17:2-3, 17; 18:4-11; 19:8-10; 26:24-29). Yet, we should be cautious that our words do not supplant God’s Words, allowing Him to speak and allowing His Spirit to convict. So, how do we do this?

1.    Read from It: The obvious step is to read directly from the Word. Pull out the Bible and read from it directly.

2.    Have Others Read from It: Don’t just read it yourself; ask those you are speaking with to read it.

3.    Memorize It: Memorize the Word; know it well enough that when something is said, you know exactly where to direct people in Scripture for their circumstances, and be ready.

4.    Quote It: As long as you have it memorized, quote it. Use direct citations and verses, allowing it to pierce the heart.

5.    Refer to it: Make sure you are grounding everything you say in Scripture, referring to references that support what you say, especially in application. Even more, give them a list of references they can look up on their own.

6.    Let It Stand: Finally, let the Word stand on its own, especially when a silence has followed. Don’t be too quick to fill the silence, but let the Word stand between you, piercing the silence.

So that you do not supplant God’s Word with your Word, make Scripture the primary mark of your conversations, leading people to it.

Just thinking out loud as I write this, I have to wonder if some of the ineffectiveness of our evangelism and discipleship stems from an unwillingness to engage God’s Word more directly. My words will fail; they will fall short. Only God’s Word is adequate and sufficient. In fact, God’s Word not only carries more authority than our own, but because God is perfect, so is His Word. The more I rely upon my words to convey a concept, the more I risk distorting it, messing it up, or just appearing foolish. I don’t want to make disciples who follow me or follow my interpretation and explanation of the Word; I want to see disciples who are committed to following after the Lord, and the way to do that is by following after the Lord’s directions. How do we respond? Evangelism and discipleship are God’s work, so let’s use God’s Word.