Evangelism for the Non-evangelist

From Purpose Driven and Lee Strobel

At the turn of the first century the emperor Trajan issued a decree that all citizens of Rome must worship the pagan gods or face death, but not everyone obeyed his edict.

Word came to Trajan, as he traveled to Antioch, that the Bishop of Antioch -- a man named Ignatius -- openly defied his orders by refusing to worship anyone or anything but Jesus. Infuriated, the emperor ordered Ignatius arrested and taken back to Rome where he would be torn apart by lions.

As he traveled to Rome for execution, Ignatius re-examined everything he knew and believed. He wanted to separate hope from conviction. His search survives through seven letters he penned. Reading Ignatius’ letters we see the embodiment of 1 Corinthians 2:13 (NIV), “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”

Our proclamation to the unbelieving world must be truth.

We’ve been told that we live in a postmodern age where no one cares about truth, and all truth is relative. My own experience shows this is not the case. Before I came to Christ I was an atheist. Yet after my wife became a Christian and radically changed, I had no choice but to investigate God and the Bible. Two years later, I saw the torrent of evidence which would force me to exercise greater faith to remain an atheist. As one trained in journalism and law, I had to follow the truth.