One humid top-end wet season, we set up a pool with a pool pump to keep the water circulating. It was meant to gush water into our pool, but the pump drastically under-functioned, operating at about fifteen percent. Imagine our evangelism like a pool pump. The gospel should be gushing out of us, but sometimes (often!) our gospel pump is under-functioning. We might lack enthusiasm or be hindered by fear. The pump needs a fix-it job.
What is going on in your heart and mind as you think about evangelism? How do we fix our gospel pump? To have the gospel steadily and regularly gushing through us, we need our heart to be filled with the glory of Jesus.
The Gospel about Jesus
In Romans 1 the apostle Paul outlines the gospel. He starts in verse 1 by highlighting that he serves King Jesus, set apart for the gospel. He is a gospel man through and through. Then in Romans 1:2–4 Paul tells us about the gospel. It’s promised and foretold in the Scriptures. It’s the gospel about God’s Son, who was born a human descendant of King David. Paul is highlighting Jesus’ rule and kingship. It’s also the gospel about the resurrection, where the Son, “through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead”—fully and finally demonstrated to be Lord of all. Jesus has always been the eternal Son, but in his resurrection, he was declared by God through the Spirit to be the everlasting king in the line of King David. He is the fulfilment of all the promises of God and forever the ruler of all.
At the end of verse 4, Paul declared him ‘Jesus Christ our Lord.’ He doesn’t say, the Lord, he says our Lord. Paul submits to Jesus as Lord, the Roman church submits to Jesus as Lord and we too need to submit to Jesus as our Lord. This is key to getting our hearts pumping at 100% for evangelism: setting Christ apart as Lord (see also 1 Pet 3:15).
The Glory of the Jesus
In Romans 1:5 Paul talks about evangelism as a gift he has received: ‘grace and apostleship’ to see Gentiles obey Jesus as Lord. Do you think of evangelism as a gift given to you? If our heart is not captured by Jesus’ glory, we might think of evangelism as a burden, something that overwhelms or discourages us. But it is in fact a blessing from God to be able to communicate his gospel to others.
Paul uses this gift of grace, for ‘his name’s sake.’ If Jesus is Lord of all, he deserves all our praise, all our worship, everything. And Jesus is glorified when people recognise his Lordship and are saved by his death and resurrection. The goal of evangelism is not to feel good (or at least less guilty), not to build up a big ministry, please our mentors or impress our peers. The best reason to share the gospel is for the glory of Jesus.
Hearts Filled with Glory
To share the gospel for the glory of Jesus, our hearts need to be captivated by the glory of Jesus. We need his glory so filling our hearts that the good news flows freely. Ask God to show you the depths and greatness of his glory revealed in Jesus Christ through his word. Ask God to remind you of the great privilege and grace it is that we can share this gospel with others for the glory of Jesus. God can, by his Spirit, renew our hearts and minds; he can fix our gospel pump. Jesus said it is out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Lk 6:45). If our heart is filled with Jesus’ glory, we will speak his gospel.
When motivated to evangelism by the glory of Jesus, it won’t be a question of whether we should evangelise. Like Paul, we won’t be able to stop evangelising! Our gospel pump will be in full working order. We’ll be like the famous preacher George Whitefield of whom it was said, “all he had to do was open his mouth and out it [the gospel] would come, whoever he was talking to.”[1]
This article has been adapted from material given at the Perth Gospel Fellowship conference 2025.
[1] J.I Packer, The Heritage of Anglican Theology, p. 221.
