The Freedom of Proper Expectations in Evangelism

Expectations can cause a prospective evangelist to either soar with hope or deflate with doubt. Too often, when improper expectations are left unchallenged, a believer with good intentions will remain silent rather than proclaim his name.

Proper expectations that are aligned with a biblical perspective hinge on understanding the spiritual condition and mindset of an unbeliever.  A common response to hearing the gospel is polite indifference, solemn disinterest, or sometimes, an angry retort. To process rejections and disinterest, evangelists need to understand this important truth.

The Bible teaches that all people have inherited sin from Adam and Eve and are born spiritually dead. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can raise a lost soul from spiritual death to life. Therefore, a Christian should not automatically expect an encouraging or positive response. Faith is a miracle, and it is a miracle that only happens through the power of God’s Word.

Evangelists are the tools God uses to proclaim that Word. In the same way a hammer cannot drive a nail by itself, and a saw cannot cut wood on its own, believers must rely entirely on a power source outside of themselves. We are instruments, empowered and wielded by God’s hand to sow and reap.

We are message-senders, not miracle-workers. We are representatives of the King, bringing a message that sounds like pure foolishness to hearts fully attached to the comforts, securities, and anxieties of this world. We are like ambassadors from a foreign country approaching a powerful nation, delivering them terms of peace and surrender. Often, we are laughed at, mocked, or simply not taken seriously.

But when Christians truly understand the state of the unbeliever, they can rest their expectations solely on the role God has given them.

Here are five reasons why evangelists can expect, and not be discouraged by, negative responses:

• By nature, unbelievers are blind to spiritual realities. They cannot be convinced by their own intellect or reason to trust in God’s promises.
• By nature, unbelievers are at odds with God. They cannot easily comprehend the severity of God’s wrath or the depth of his grace.
• By nature, unbelievers are spiritually dead. We cannot shake a person awake from a spiritual slumber or shock them into life with an icy bucket of Truth. God must breathe life into them.
• By nature, unbelievers consider the gospel foolishness. They often think the message is too good to be true, that they are beyond saving, or they simply cannot fathom the consequences of their sin.
• By nature, unbelievers are helpless yet unwilling to change. They often stubbornly resist absolute truth, purposefully setting out to establish their own righteousness.

An evangelist should expect negative responses from unbelievers much of the time. Embracing this truth fundamentally changes how we confront the rejection, frustration, or discouragement that comes with sharing the gospel.

Evangelists with a biblical perspective can detach their self-worth from the outcome and concentrate solely on their actual job: being a faithful messenger. Our success is not based on how people respond to the message, but on how we respond to the opportunities God gives us to proclaim it.