Evangelism, also known as “witnessing,” is the spreading of the Gospel to others. Mark 16:15-16 (ESV) tells us: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
We share the Word of God with the world so that they may find salvation. Another key Scripture that gives us great comfort and assurance as we follow God’s command to evangelize is Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV): “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
God has put eternity in the heart of every person who has ever existed. Despite exterior appearance or attitude, deep down inside every living person there is an inherent awareness of eternity. From those who are without any education to the most intellectual individuals on earth, all people have one thing in common – an intuitive understanding of the reality of life beyond death.
When God breathed into the first man the breath of life, the Creator placed within him the very hope of another life beyond this present one. The existence of this universal hope is the basis of success of all evangelism, missionary outreach, and personal soulwinning. Knowing that God has already put into man’s heart an awareness of eternity makes our job as witnesses not only possible but much easier. We do not have to convict or convince anyone; our job is to share the Good News of Jesus wisely and lovingly.
The second part of this verse says that although he is aware of eternity, man does not know the way to it. Our job as witnesses is simply to show the people that way. We do that by telling them the Good News of Jesus, sharing with them God’s plan for eternal life.
In my high school speech course, during one of our assignments, I shared the message of the Gospel to my class. My instructor was enraged that my speech was based on biblical truth and informed me that I was never to use the Bible for my speech content again. Despite her response, I was comforted by the thought that my class all heard the Gospel message.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 confirmed to me that every person who heard my speech already had “eternity in their hearts.” This meant they had an opportunity to respond to the Gospel seed that was presented that day!
The awesome revelation of Ecclesiastes 3:11 is that it explains that half of our job has already been done for us by the Lord when He placed within people the awareness of eternity. Now it is our assignment to complete the other half of the job by sharing the life-changing message of Jesus with those in our circle of influence.
Pastor Doug Daniels is a staff member of Lord of Hosts Church.
