The Fruits of Personal Evangelism
by Joe Collins
In Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15-16, Jesus commanded all disciples to go and preach the gospel and teach all nations. For centuries, men have been fulfilling this commandment. Christians often become discouraged when they cannot see all of the results from their labors in personal evangelism. Perhaps the greatest success that anyone will ever have here on the earth is bringing souls to Jesus Christ. Our accomplishments may not always be visible, but in preaching the gospel to the lost, we observe many fruits as we teach others. Let us now investigate the fruits of personal evangelism.
The Bible teaches that when we bear fruit for the Lord, we are His disciples (John 15:8). It may be on the job, at school, in the community, etc., but wherever we are or whatever we are doing, we must bear fruit for the Lord. The true worth of discipleship in Christ is making disciples of others for Him. A challenge too, and yes, a desire of all Christians should be to bear fruit for Christ.
An important fruit of personal evangelism is the joy it brings to everyone involved in the conversion of souls. It brings joy to the sinner who is being converted. In Acts 8:39, the Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing. There was much joy in Samaria when Christ was preached and obeyed (Acts 8:5-8). In Acts 16:34, the Philippian jailor and his entire household rejoiced because they had obeyed Christ. There is also much joy for the person who preaches the gospel to another and sees their obedience. The apostle Paul rejoiced over the faith of the Romans, the Philippians, the Thessalonians, and others who obeyed the gospel at his preaching. As Christians, we rejoice daily over those who are obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ because of the efforts that we put forth in His kingdom. But we must also understand that there is rejoicing among the angels in Heaven when a sinner is converted (Luke 15:10). Jesus Himself rejoiced when people came to Him and accepted Him as their Savior. One of the most fulfilling fruits of personal evangelism is the conversion of our own family members and close friends. The Bible teaches us about people in the Scriptures who brought their relatives and friends to Jesus. In John 1:40-42, Andrew brought his brother, Simon Peter, to Christ, and in John 1:44-45, Philip brought his friend Nathanael to Christ. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges we face is to convert those we love most in this world. Like Noah of old, let all of us accept this challenge to the saving of our own houses (I Peter 3:20, Hebrews 11:7).
It must also be ascertained that a great fruit of personal evangelism is the conversion of those people who, in turn, convert many others. Again, it was Andrew who brought the apostle Peter to Christ, and in turn, Peter was instrumental in the conversion of three thousand souls upon Pentecost. Also, it was the apostle Peter who first preached the gospel to the Gentiles. It must be kept in mind that some individuals converted those men of God who have increased the borders of His kingdom to Christ.
Each local congregation of the Lord’s church benefits tremendously when its members are active in personal evangelism. Local churches are usually more friendly when they are active in this great work. The concept of biblical love and of better attitudes toward one another and the church is exemplified when congregations are active in saving lost souls. When Christians are involved in this good work, they tend to study more and have greater Bible knowledge. There is a greater desire to pray more, not only individually but collectively, when men and women are concerned about those who are lost. In the first century, the church grew more because people were interested in gaining their neighbors and friends for Christ (Acts 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.). Members of the church are challenged to grow more in the grace of God when they see the results of their labors in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. When congregations are striving to save lost souls, they are more concerned about their own consecration and sanctification in the sight of God. We as congregations will bear more fruit for the Lord collectively when we are involved in the conversion of lost souls.
The greatest fruit of personal evangelism in our lives is the gaining of eternal life, not only for ourselves but for those whom we teach. The only way to have the more abundant life here and in the hereafter is to truly desire to see as many people as we can go to Heaven (John 10:10). At the end of the apostle Paul’s life he was convinced that he had “kept the faith, finished his course, and fought the good fight” (II Timothy 4:6-8). The reason that Paul could say this with the assurance that he did is that he had taught and influenced as many people as he could to go to Heaven. Perhaps the greatest joy of Heaven will be not only being saved eternally ourselves, but realizing throughout all of eternity that we helped someone else gain that eternal life.
