The Evangelistic Styles of

JB, JC, and JD

Matthew 3 – John the Baptist
Characteristics of his evangelism to the general public:

Verses 1-2:
He preached repentance, and he immediately linked the need for
repentance with the reason for repenting – the kingdom of heaven
is near. There was no time to sit on the fence, to play both sides of
the good and bad life, or to delay repenting until one’s death bed.
The kingdom is near – you must repent!

Verses 5-6:
He was an open air preacher. His style resulted in people confessing their
sins.
Matthew 3 – John the Baptist
Characteristics of his evangelism to the religious:

Verses 7-8:
He showed them much less mercy in his speech. These men were
treated as such because they should have known better. He
follows his first principle of teaching to the general public – repent
because of coming wrath. Notice the difference now though –
produce fruit in keeping with repentance. The religious would’ve
counted themselves past repentance already – thus the need to
explain to them that if they were really repentant they would show it
by the way they live. Many people claim to be Christians but few
live the lifestyle of a Biblical Christian.
Matthew 3 – John the Baptist
Characteristics of his evangelism to the religious continued:
Verse 9:
He removed all their excuses. Today many people have the “I’m a
good person” mentality that needs to be dispelled.
Verse 10:
He reminded them that there are only two options – repent of sins and
receive forgiveness or live your life and go to hell.
John 1:29 - John the Baptist preached that Jesus was the only way
to have men’s sins taken away.
John’s evangelism is most closely related to the guy on the street
corner today telling you to “turn or burn” – isn’t it interesting that no
Christians criticize John but so many Christians criticize those on the
streets today?
Matthew 4 – Jesus Christ
Characteristics of His evangelism to the general public:

Verses 12, 17:

His message was identical in form to that of John. He preached
repentance, and He immediately linked the need for repentance
with the reason for repenting – the kingdom of heaven is near.
There was no time to sit on the fence, to play both sides of the good
and bad life, or to delay repenting until one’s death bed. The
kingdom is near – you must repent!
Matthew 4 – Jesus Christ
Characteristics of His evangelism to the general public continued:

Verse 23:
He goes a step further than what we know of John – He tells of a
kingdom filled with hope, a kingdom of good news, a kingdom
loaded with power. Then He demonstrates the power of this
kingdom He is professing by healing every disease and sickness.
The characteristics of Jesus’ evangelism to the general public are
twofold: proclamation and demonstration. Tell the people about a
glorious kingdom of God; then show the people you aren’t making it
up.
Matthew 4 – Jesus Christ
Characteristics of His evangelism to the general public continued:

Verses 24-25:
His style resulted in many people being healed and following Him. (John’s
style was effective – brought repentance and baptism; Jesus’ separate style
was also effective – brought healing, forgiveness and belief).
Matthew 7 – Jesus Christ
Characteristics of His evangelism to the general public continued:

Verses 28-29:
He preached with authority. Don’t be wishy-washy about your faith.
Believe every bit of it and stand upon that truth with authority.
When people ask you, “Do you really believe Jesus is the only way
to heaven and everyone else who doesn’t believe in Him is going to
hell?” Answer, “YES!” Don’t waver in your authority to know and
speak the absolute truth.
Matthew 9:1-8
He had authority to forgive men their sins.
Matthew 12 – Jesus Christ
Characteristics of His evangelism to the religious:
Verses 33-37:
Jesus continues with the original mission statement – repent for the
kingdom is near. This time He does so in the same manner John
used: Produce good fruit. Just as John was less merciful in his
speech to the religious, so Jesus too calls them a “brood of vipers”.
His evangelism to the religious is abrasive. His evangelism to the
public is kindhearted. Religious need to be shaken out of their
stupor, public need to know they have a loving Savior.

John 14:6 - Jesus taught that He was the only way to heaven.
Jesus’ evangelism is most closely related to power evangelism. A
well known power evangelist today is Reinhard Bonnke. This
evangelism technique has saved billions.
Matthew 10 – Jesus’ Disciples
Characteristics of their evangelism to the general public:
Verses 7-8:
They give the same hook that Jesus and John give. No time to
ignore God – the kingdom is near. They are also given the same
authority Jesus has to heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out
demons. Their message is a proclamation demonstration.
Why is their ministry just like Jesus’? (Verses 24-25).

They are to mimic the style of Jesus, and by extension all of us who
call Jesus our Master and Teacher are to mimic His evangelistic
style.
Matthew 6:14-15 – They had authority to forgive men their sins.
Acts 4 – Jesus’ Disciples
Characteristics of their evangelism to the religious:
Verses 8-12
They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were bold about
proclaiming Jesus Christ as the sole source for their power. They
made sure to say that Jesus is the only way to be saved.
Verses 18-20
They were not afraid of men’s threats, “Do not be afraid of those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can
destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
Acts 23:1-3
Paul spoke to the religious harshly after they failed to realize the truth
of what he was saying.
Acts 2 – The Proclamation
Characteristics of a gospel message:
Verse 22:
Jesus proved His divine nature by the miracles, signs and
wonders He performed.
Many people will say Jesus was a good man, a prophet, a teacher;
but we must make the claim that Jesus is God Himself.
Verse 23:

Jesus was put to death on a cross for our sins.

Some religions claim that Jesus never died on a cross. We must
explain that His death on the cross was for the salvation of the
world.
Acts 2 – The Proclamation
Characteristics of a gospel message continued:
Verse 24:
Jesus rose from the dead.
A man who dies for his friends is certainly a noble man, but a man
who then rose from the dead by His own authority is able to give us
an eternal hope of resurrection from the dead also, and into His
promises of eternal life in a wonderful kingdom.
Verse 38:
Jesus is the only way to have sins forgiven.
John, Jesus, and later His disciples all make the claim that Jesus is
the only way to have sins forgiven and ultimately the only way into
heaven. If you are a Christian then this is your most core belief.
There is no compromising, no wavering over this fact – Jesus is the
only way to heaven, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Acts 2 – The Proclamation
Characteristics of a gospel message continued:
Verse 38:
You must repent of your sins, and turn away from that lifestyle (verse
40).
Lukewarm Christianity allows a sinner’s prayer and then a return to the
same old habits, but the Bible makes it clear that we are to be “a new
creation” where “the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
and we are no longer to be sinners because “we died to sin; how can we
live in it any longer?”
John 16 - What You Don’t See
Characteristics absent from a gospel message:
Verses 7-11:
The Holy Spirit’s job is to convict the world of unbelief. He can handle it
and doesn’t need your judgment on others you talk to. In a good gospel
message you won’t hear condemnation, or knit-picking over various sins.

Verses 12-14:
The Holy Spirit remains with us throughout all our endeavors for God. He
brings absolute truth and always glorifies Jesus. In a good gospel message
you won’t hear any squeamishness by the evangelist, any compromise
about the truth, or any talk about any God other than Jesus (there is no
other way).
General Public Vs. Religious
Know your audience:
General Public:
Matthew 14:14 – “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he
had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Bring a message of love and restoration, of healing and freedom.
Religious:
Matthew 3:7 – “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from
the coming wrath?”
Matthew 23:13-36:
Religious kill evangelists
Bring a message of coming wrath and shame, of sorrow and
gnashing of teeth. (Jude 1:12-13)