Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Colossians 4:6

For most Christians, the problem with evangelism is not that we don’t want to do it but that we don’t know what to say when an opportunity presents itself. Before we talk about what to say, let’s get two preliminary details about evangelism straight.

First, we can never be effective in evangelizing the lost until we regard people as fellow image-bearers of God. That is, we mustn’t look at people as “projects” for our evangelism but as unique people in their own right. Get to know them and find out what they are interested in. In short, love your neighbor as yourself.

Second, we will be much more effective in evangelism when we “do” Christianity ourselves (Jas. 1:22). We must let our light shine to show others what living for Jesus is like (Mt. 5:16). Living a faithful life takes away any legitimate accusations from unbelievers and may even draw them closer to salvation (1 Pet. 2:11-12).

Once we see people as God sees them and live according to God’s word, we can be ready to take the opportunities God gives us by weaving our faith into everyday conversation. Since Jesus is all the world to us, our faith should naturally permeate our speech. In other words, there doesn’t have to be a hard stop in the flow of our conversation with people while we shift into a “now-I-am-telling-you-about-Jesus-and-why-you-should-obey-him” mode. By raising an aspect of our faith in conversation, even if it moves on to other subjects later, we are showing our neighbor how central Christ is to our life. This may be as simple as someone asking us what we did over the weekend and responding with what we learned in a bible study or how encouraged we were by the church or worship.

In addition to weaving Christ into our communication, we can ask penetrating questions to move the discussion into more serious matters. To do this effectively, we must know what they are going through (see point 1). Perhaps someone is suffering from chronic pain. We may gently ask them, “What if your situation doesn’t improve?” This sets up the chance to discuss the difference between human happiness—which depends on circumstances being good—and Christian joy—which transcends all earthly circumstances. Or perhaps we may ask the nature lover what they think is behind the beauty of the natural world. These questions are risky because we don’t know how people will respond but they are necessary because they open up evangelistic possibilities.

When the opportunity comes, what do we say? We must proclaim Christ (2 Cor. 4:5), but how? There are many ways but here are three concepts from Mark 8:27-35 to help guide our conversation.

Identity (who Jesus is) — Jesus was no ordinary human but Israel’s prophesied Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior and King of the world. (Mk. 8:27-30) The first question to ask is: Who is Jesus?

Mission (why Jesus came) — Jesus left heaven for earth to fulfill his mission to save the lost through his sacrificial death on the cross to overcome sin and his resurrection to overcome death. (Mk. 8:31) The second question to ask is: Why did Jesus come?

Call (how to respond) — Jesus’ identity and mission put a claim on our lives to deny ourselves and follow him. (Mk. 8:34-35) Jesus bids us to come and die—to ourselves—and to live for him. So the third question to ask is: How will you respond to Jesus?

As we engage people with these three subjects, we must ask questions to see if they get it, if they agree with it, and what they will do about it—always listening more than speaking. Evangelism is not about saying everything, it’s about telling the truth about Jesus. By covering these three basic concepts we can be sure we are faithfully preaching the good news. The rest is up to God (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,

3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;

4 to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—

5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,

6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:1-7

Wynton Marsalis, the Pulitzer prize winning jazz trumpeter, once said of his role as a teacher at The Juilliard School of Music, “If you want to learn, I can’t stop you. If you don’t want to learn, I can’t teach you.” His statement is reminiscent of the biblical book of Proverbs. The introduction to the book Proverbs (above) contains the purpose of the book in verses 2-6, which is two-fold: to develop moral skill (AKA “wisdom” 2a, 3-4) and mental discernment (“understanding” 2b, 6). We need both to overcome our stupidity and naiveté which add so much unnecessary trouble to our lives.

However, to acquire these gifts, one must know one needs them. “Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7) because they already regard themselves as wise (3:7). Quintilian, a great Roman teacher of oratory said of some of his scholars, “They would no doubt be excellent students if they were not already convinced of their own knowledge… Blessed is the man who has the humility to know his own ignorance, his own weakness, and his own need.” To gain wisdom requires a proper view of oneself (humility, Mt. 5:3), which grows from a proper view of God (“the fear of the Lord”, Prov. 1:7).

This all reminds me of Jesus, the master Teacher. When opposition against him reached a certain point he began to teach in parables.  The greatest parable of all is the one by which all other parables are understood, the Parable of the Sower. In Matthew 13:1-9, Jesus tells the story of a man who went out to sow seed. The seed landed on various types of soil and was unfruitful for various reasons. However, some seed fell on good soil and produced a huge crop.

Before he explained the meaning of the parable (Mt. 13:18-23) his disciples asked him why he was teaching this way (Mt. 13:10). Jesus replied, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Mt. 13:13). He did not speak in parables to hide the truth from certain people. Rather, he spoke in parables “because” the truth wasn’t getting through to them in the first place. In fact, parabolic teaching is a very effective way to learn but only to those who want to learn. Thus the parables sift the audience into those who are fit for the kingdom and those who are not.

Are you teachable? The issue is not intellectual but moral. If the mind cannot understand it is only because the heart has “grown dull” (Mt. 13:15). It goes back to the quotes from Marsalis and Quintilian: the people who gain wisdom are those who possess a humble attitude and a desire to learn. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Mt. 7:7-8). Reverential fear of the Lord is the prerequisite to knowledge (Prov. 1:9) and foundation for wisdom (Prov. 9:19). It hates evil (Prov. 8:13) and results in a prolonged life, in more ways than one (Prov. 10:27).

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”

Matthew 6:9

The first line of Jesus’ model prayer is familiar to most people but, perhaps, misunderstood. We must be careful not to use this prayer in the very way Jesus condemned in the previous verses (Mt. 6:7-8). By parroting these words without understanding we “heap up empty phrases” like the Gentiles and prayer ceases to be sincere communication with God and becomes instead ritualistic recitation.

What does our Lord mean by the phrase “hallowed be your name”? This is not a statement of praise (“hallowed is your name”), although that would be a perfectly appropriate expression of worship. Rather, this is request (“hallowed be your name”). It is an expression of a desire. But what exactly are we desiring?

To “hallow” something is to honor and respect it as holy. The word is translated in other places as “sanctify” or "consecrate." In this case, it is a request that God’s “name” be venerated and held in honor. In Scripture, a “name” stands for the person who bears it. God’s name represents all of who he is. Therefore, when we pray “hallowed be your name,” we are asking God to cause his name—and, thus, himself—to be honored in the world, exalted above every name. Praying some version of this prayer shows that we want God to be treated with the respect that he deserves. We want people to see God for who he is, to esteem his faithfulness and love as we do.

The Old Testament tells of Israel’s long history of dishonoring God’s name through their rebellion against him. Ezekiel 36 is particularly instructive. When God sent Israel into exile for breaking the covenant, a new problem arose. Since Israel was so closely identified with God, their disobedience “profaned” God’s name (Ezek. 36:20). But God had concern for his holy name, even if Israel didn’t, and promised to act to vindicate his name so that the nations would truly know who God is (Ezek. 36:21-23).

How would God vindicate his name? Amazingly, by saving his people! God promised to rescue Israel from slavery, gather them to himself, forgive them of their sins, replace their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, and give them his own Spirit to cause them to—finally—walk in obedience to his will (Ezek. 36:25-28). These new covenant promises were realized when Jesus came to give himself for us. Thus, God's new covenant people (the church) hallow God’s name. How can we integrate this prayer into our lives?

God’s name is profaned in the world — To pray for God’s name to be regarded as holy is to acknowledge that it isn’t universally regarded as holy. Creation is fundamentally out of step with its Creator while so many disregard and blaspheme God’s name. Our hearts should mourn over this profanity and burn with zeal for the vindication of God’s name.

God’s name is honored in our lives — To pray for God’s name to be “hallowed” implies that we intend to hallow it in our lives, lest we be guilty of vain worship and fall into condemnation (Mt. 15:8). If Israel profaned God’s name by their rebellion, we honor God’s name by our obedience. Let us honor God by worshiping him according to his word, parenting our children in faithfulness, serving our spouse in love, respecting our leaders, laboring at work with integrity, caring for our neighbors with compassion, treating others honestly, patiently and mercifully.

God’s name is central in our prayers — In prayer, all our requests must reflect this ultimate desire for God’s name to be hallowed. When our prayers are shaped by our central concern for God’s name, it transforms the content of our prayers in two ways: first, God’s concerns will be given priority (“your name, your kingdom, your will…”) and, second, our needs will be put into perspective (“give us, forgive us, deliver us…”) (see Mt. 6:9-13).

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:25-29

Vince Lombardi was one of the greatest football coaches of all time. He led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL Championships in seven years, winning the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and ’67. Lombardi was known to tell his players to stick to the basics. Each year, he started from scratch with his team. He would gather his players around, hold up a football and say, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

Can you imagine saying something like that to a bunch of 200-plus pound, grizzled football veterans? It would be the equivalent of holding up a book to a librarian and saying, “This is a book. They have stories written in them.” Or holding up a piece of sheet music to a conductor and saying, “These little squiggles here are notes. You write music with them.” Or holding up a tool to a professional carpenter and saying, “This is a hammer. You hit nails with it.”

What the book is to the librarian, what music notation is to the conductor, and what the hammer is to the carpenter, the command to love one’s neighbor is to the Christian. Sometimes we behave in such a way toward others that it would be good for Jesus to walk up beside us and point to the other person and say, “This here is your neighbor. You are supposed to love him.”

Loving one another is so fundamental that if we fail to do it, we can’t say that we even know God. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 Jn. 4:7-8) “No one has ever seen God…” (1 Jn. 4:12) “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 Jn. 4:20)

In Luke chapter 10, a lawyer asked Jesus what one must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus pointed him to the Law of Moses which said that one must love God and love his neighbor as himself. The lawyer then asked, “And who is my neighbor?” In other words, who are we required to love? Where are the limits to love? Are we required to love even disreputable people? Does this include those who hold wrong views on politics, religion and morality? The lawyer was hoping Jesus would see how difficult Leviticus 19:18 was to interpret. Just who is my neighbor? Who are we required to love?

Jesus’ answer was to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan which turns the lawyer’s question on its head. The lawyer was looking at the commandment to love from the point of view of the one giving love. Jesus told the parable from the perspective of the one in need of love. “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” (Lk. 10:30) There is no way to identify this man, thus rendering the lawyer’s question moot. We don’t know anything about the victim except that he is needs of love. Our neighbor is our fellow man, irrespective of any labels. Out of the three examples Jesus gave, only the Samaritan, whom Jews of the time despised, had compassion and helped the man in the ditch. This unlikely hero understood the fundamentals of being human.

Jesus ends his discussion with the lawyer as he began, with the command to love one’s neighbor (Lk. 10:28, 37). In our quest as Christians living east of Eden and under the sun, let us never forget something so fundamental as “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Paul instructs Christians to “pray without ceasing.” This echoes the parable of Jesus which teaches that disciples “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1-8). Ceaseless prayer suggests a mental awareness of God’s presence and a disposition of heart that seeks constant communication with him. The knowledge of God's nearness forms the basis for this command; God is “near to the brokenhearted” (Psa. 34:18) and is “not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). The omnipresence of God means that no matter where we are, God is “there” to “lead” and “hold” us (Psa. 139:7-12). God’s nearness is a comfort to the faithful and a great encouragement to pray. Though he is “far from the wicked” he “hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Prov. 15:29)

This constant communication with God offers tremendous practical blessings to the Christian. Throughout the day, our thoughts often turn to worry, fear, discouragement and anger. But when we have the mindset of ceaseless prayer, we turn those unfruitful thoughts over to God. Undisciplined thinking results in anxiety and propels us away from God as our imagination takes over in all the wrong ways (see Mt. 6:25-34). But the one who “prays without ceasing” disciplines his mind and takes every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5).

When our minds are trained to “pray without ceasing,” we learn to surrender our thoughts to God and receive the peace only he can give: “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:5-7) Note that the nearness of the Lord forms the foundation for the command to take everything to him in prayer.

In another place, Paul says we are to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Col. 4:2) He sees prayer as an indispensable piece of our spiritual kit and an effective weapon against evil (Eph. 6:18). Prayer is our first line of defense in our trials and our first method of attack in our fight against the powers of darkness. When we pray ceaselessly, we remain strong because we are continually dependent on God’s grace (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Because we live for the world to come, we experience constant tension in a world that is “passing away” (1 Jn. 2:17). Alone, we simply cannot bear up against the pressures and temptations of this “present world” (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Tim. 4:10). Hence the need to be in constant communication with God through ceaseless prayer. We cannot afford any interruption in that fellowship or else we will quickly lose our way. Prayer should be as natural to Christians as breathing: we breathe in God’s truth (his communication to us through his word) and breathe out God’s praise (our communication with him through prayer).

Jesus taught that because his disciples were not “of the world,” the world would hate them (Jn. 15:18-19). He asked the Father not to “take them out of the world” but that he would “keep them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15). One way God answers Jesus’ request is by providing us the avenue of prayer. Though the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 Jn. 5:19), when we “pray without ceasing” he cannot gain any purchase on us because we are safely abiding in Christ (Jn. 15:1-11; Rom. 8:38-39). In the world we experience tribulation, but in Christ—where we enjoy access to God through him—we have peace (Jn. 16:33). Ceaseless prayer is an essential part of Christian living. It keeps us humble, thankful, joyful, focused and at peace, despite the daily challenges we face.