We Go: Evangelism - Go In Love
Focus: We go because while people are lost and in desperate need of a savior - Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
People are Lost
People Need a Savior
Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost
People are Lost
We go because people are lost
We will start by examining two instances in which Jesus revealed both his mission and his motives.
John 3:16-17 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
-Jesus speaking to Nicodemus
Luke 19:1-10 ESV
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:9-10 ESV
“And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Mission and motive both matter.
It is possible to have a pure motive but a paltry mission.
Likewise, it is possible to have a compelling mission and a compromised motive.
Luke 19:10 captures the divine mission of Jesus: to seek and to save the lost.
John 3:16 captures his motive: love.
Luke 19 contains the story of the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus, who sought to see Jesus.
Zaccheaus was not only a tax collector; he was the chief tax collector.
In that culture, it was bad enough to be a tax collector, but being the chief tax collector was doubly bad.
Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today."
This was a shocking statement to many of his Jewish followers who assumed all tax collectors, especially the chief, were far from God.
But Jesus is speaking kindly to Zaccchaeus, even inviting himself to his house.
The disciples and the onlookers were appalled, because they didn't really understand Jesus' mission to seek and save the lost.
If anyone was lost, it was the chief tax collector.
We see the same misunderstanding of Jesus' mission when the religious elite complained, saying,
about Jesus’ activities:
"This man [Jesus] receives sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:1-2).
Luke 15:1-2 ESV
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
John 3 contains the story of Nicodemus, a respected religious leader who did not seem lost, but in reality was just as lost as the chief taxman.
As Jesus interacted with Nicodemus, the motive for seeking and saving the lost was clearly stated: For God so loved the world, that he sent his Son.
Whether a person is seemingly godly or ungodly, Jesus loves them and seeks to save them.
It is true that gospel stories present Jesus as a friend of the poor and oppressed.
But the story of Zacchaeus shows that Jesus was also a friend of rich oppressors.
In Luke's gospel, Jesus is not one who vindicates the poor and condemns the rich, but one who brings good news to all who are lost!
Without Jesus, all people are lost.
"Amazing Grace," the still popular hymn written in 1772 by Englishman John Newton, poignantly describes the human condition as wretched, blind, and lost.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me / I once was lost, but now am found / Was blind, but now I see."
Newton was certainly a lost, blind, and truly wretched human - the captain of a slave ship - until he encountered the transformative grace of God during a violent storm while at sea.
He eventually became an ardent abolitionist, prolific hymn writer, and ordained gospel minister.
Like Newton, all humans are morally wretched, spiritually blind, and eternally lost.
But God loves wretched, blind and lost people, so much that he sent Jesus to seek and save them.
“If I had a thousand lives, China should have them. No! Not China, but Christ. Can we do too much for Him? Can we do enough for such a precious Savior?!!”
-Hudson Taylor
People Need a Savior
We go because lost people need a savior.
Lost people need a savior - whether they realize it or not.
Romans 10:20 ESV
“Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
The fact that the divine solution to the universal human condition was for Jesus to seek and to save the lost implies that lost people will not seek God and cannot save themselves.
Romans 3:10-11 ESV
“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
The prophet Isaiah described human lostness and divine salvation:
Isaiah 53:6 ESV
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Salvation does not happen because lost humans figure out a way to deal with sin and iniquity.
Salvation is available because our Savior has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Salvation happens because our Savior was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Lost people need Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost
We go because Jesus seeks and saves lost people.
Jesus told three parables to explain his love for lost people.
First, there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost one.
Luke 15:3-7 ESV
“So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
He left the 99 to seek and save his lost sheep.
When he returned home with his previously lost sheep, he threw a party with his friends to celebrate.
The second parable was about a woman who lost a valuable coin.
Luke 15:8-10 ESV
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
She stopped everything she was doing to seek and search for her lost coin.
The third and longer parable was about a father and his two sons.
The younger son took an early inheritance, squandered it, and decided to return home, unsure how his father would react.
Would he forgive and welcome his lost son or reject him as the young man had rejected his father and family?
The surprising end of the story is a picture of the love of God for the lost.
Luke 15:20 ESV
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
The shepherd seeking his lost sheep, the woman searching for her lost coin, and the father running toward his lost son are poignant metaphors of Jesus seeking and saving the lost people who may or may not be seeking him.
In fact, many are doing the opposite of seeking him.
They are running and hiding from him.
But he seeks them anyway.
The motivation of love is central to our evangelism and mission activity.
As J.I. Packer said in his book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God,
“It must never be forgotten that the enterprise required of us in evangelism is the enterprise of love: an enterprise that springs from a genuine interest in those whom we seek to win and a genuine care for their well-being. If love prompts and rules our evangelistic work, we shall approach other people in a different spirit. And this spirit of friendship and concern will shine through all that we say to them.”
Jesus left glory in eternity to humble himself in love on a rescue mission for lost humanity.
Having suffered the same temptations that we experience, Jesus endured and exemplified love for the Father by living sinlessly, dying sacrificially for us on the cross to pay for our wrongdoing and three days later rose from the dead that we might have the opportunity for eternal life.
As we repent of our sins and turn to Jesus, we who were once lost are not only forgiven, but given the opportunity to join the rescue mission of Jesus to see lost family members, co-workers, neighbors and friends experience the life transforming love of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Wherever we are in our journey, let us respond appropriately in faith and obedience to that call from God today.