It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, (Ephesians 4:11)

The evangelist is a gift to the Body of Christ, but God makes witnesses over a period of time. Perhaps it will help us to consider the difference between being an evangelist and being a witness.

The word witness appears over a hundred times in the Bible. The terms evangelize or evangelism do not appear at all. Evangelist is found twice and evangelists once.

When we use the term witnessing today we usually are speaking of evangelizing. We are telling others about Jesus, about the plan of salvation.

The word witnessing is employed only once, and that by the Apostle Paul.

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: that the Christ [Messiah] would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles. (Acts 26:22,23)

Paul here was referring to that which had been shown him by the Lord. Notice how different Paul's witness was from the "four steps of salvation" we use today. I think the difference is significant.

Christ would suffer.

Christ would be the first to rise from the dead.

Christ would proclaim light to the Jews.

Christ would proclaim light to the Gentiles.

Paul was actually bearing witness of what he had seen with the Lord. What a refreshing breath of Heaven Paul's witness was! Our approach today, "all have sinned, we can't save ourselves, if we confess and believe we will be saved," sounds more like we are making converts to a religion. It is not really a witness of anything. It is a kind of "canned evangelism" that operates without regard to the individual's background or needs and often is pressed without any sense of the Lord's leading or timing.

Today's kind of proselytizing lacks the vibrant uplift of Paul's witness of what he had seen with God. All kinds of religions and cults send forth their converts to make more converts to their group. This is proselytizing and I think it is what often takes place under the name of witnessing, leading others to Christ, saving souls, or what have you. I don't believe there is much Divine life in it.

There certainly are Christians who are evangelists, ranging from personal evangelists all the way to the greatly used evangelist who stands before hundreds of thousands of people.

But telling all believers, even if they have been converted for only five minutes, that their job is to save others, that they have been saved to save others, is not at all scriptural and is the same thing that takes place in the cults. It would be comparable to telling a baby that had just been born that his task is to go out and get more babies.

To be continued.