Skip to main contentHistorical Examples — Evangelism
203 illustrations
The Able Minister: Natural Gifts and Spiritual Qualifications
An able minister requires two foundational elements: natural endowments and spiritual qualities.
2 Corinthians 1:6Universalministerial callingspiritual qualifications
The Spirit's Leading: Evidence of God's Children
This is no mere sentiment, but the living testimony of regeneration itself.
Romans 9:2Universalspiritual witness
The Christian's Inescapable Obligation to Proclaim
The commission 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature' was not spoken to the eleven apostles alone, but to all generations of Christ's Church.
1 Corinthians 9:16-17
Gospel Penetration: Truth Spreading Underground
Only *sections* of these households became Christian; notably, the masters themselves remained outside the faith.
Romans 16:10-11
The Terror of the Lord as Persuasive to Holy Obedience
First, the *phobos* (fear) of preparation for judgment itself.
2 Corinthians 4:11Universaldivine judgment
The Apostolic Power: Four Pillars of Resurrection Witness
The authority of their testimony rested on four unmistakable foundations.
Acts 3:33Universaltestimony and evidence
The Word of the Cross Speaks for Itself
Paul renounced the "wisdom of words" because human eloquence veils the gospel's truth.
1 Corinthians 1:18Universalthe sufficiency of Christ
The Martyr's Fire Lights Others to Martyrdom
Among those who reverently buried the martyr were devout men—not disciples, but Hellenistic Jews, perhaps from the very synagogue whose members had disputed with Stephen and dragged him before the council.
Acts 8:1-17
Christ's Division: When Faith Separates Families
Because all members share identical stakes in eternity.
Matthew 10:35Universalcost of faith
Faith as the Mainspring of Prophetic Speech
Consider any discipline of human knowledge: a man who disbelieves the principles of astronomy or geology yet pretends to teach these sciences will find his teaching rendered useless by his own heartlessness.
2 Corinthians 4:13Universalfaith precedes witness
Paul's Strategic Silence: The Art of Apostolic Restraint
Standing amid the magnificent statues of Pallas Athene and Greek art, surrounded by educated philosophers who mocked new ideas, Paul possessed every reason to denounce their idolatry immediately.
Acts 17:22-34
The Promise Extended: From Apostles to All Generations
This covenant embraced three distinct circles of blessing.
Acts 1:39Universalgenerational promise
The Earthquake That Opened a Soul to Salvation
Yet when the earthquake shattered the prison doors and loosed the chains, something far more profound than physical tremor seized him.
Acts 16:30-31
The Tent-Maker's Unostentatious Power in Corinth
Yet Maclaren observes that this solitude, rather than paralyzing the Apostle, clarified his method.
Acts 18:1-11
Love's Shadow: Why the World Must Hate Christ's Disciples
Christ does not warn His disciples of persecution as an unfortunate accident; He presents it as the necessary consequence of their union with Him.
John 15:18-20
The River Winds: Walking by Faith Without Sight
Yet he 'obeyed at once,' unburdened by ignorance of his destination.
Acts 8:26-40
When Outward Law Becomes a Snare to the Gospel
Had the Judaisers prevailed, the faith would have collapsed into merely another Jewish sect.
Acts 15:12-29
Divine Revision: When God Reshapes Our Plans
He had rough-hewn his plan with apostolic certainty.
Acts 19:21-34Universal
John's Unshaken Humility Before the Greater King
Yet Luke captures something more profound than fearlessness: John's perfect humility before Christ.
Luke 3:15-22
The Persecutors Who Refused to Ask: Is It True?
The priests resented the teaching because it threatened their official prerogative.
Acts 4:1-14
The Apostolic Ministry as Light and Living Reflection
First, the gospel illuminates what was previously hidden.
2 Corinthians 4:1Universaldivine revelation
The World's Ignorance: Rejecting Christ Means Rejecting God
When our Lord declares, 'They know not Him that sent Me,' He establishes an axiom that reverberates through all ages: to turn away from Christ is necessarily to turn away from the Father.
John 15:21-25
The Devil's Dread: Why Evil Cries Out Against Christ
This outburst reveals the nature of evil's opposition to Christ.
Mark 5:7Universalspiritual warfare
Christ's Compassion for the Spiritually Scattered and Leaderless
His gaze pierced beyond mere physical suffering to discern spiritual disease—the scattered, fainting condition of sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36Universalspiritual vision versus partial sight
the Holy Spirit's work
Universal
obligation and grace
joy in service
Alexander Maclaren253 words
Universal
God's subversive kingdom power
truth transcending social hierarchy
Alexander Maclaren230 words
fear of God
apostolic authority
rejecting human eloquence for divine truth
Universal
persecution as providence
witnessing through martyrdom
Alexander Maclaren238 words
divided households
obligation to proclaim truth
Universal
adaptation and flexibility
truth meeting error
Alexander Maclaren222 words
Holy Spirit power
Universal
divine intervention
spiritual awakening
Alexander Maclaren247 words
Universal
faithful labor in obscurity
self-sufficiency in ministry
Alexander Maclaren223 words
Universal
opposition to faith
identification with Christ
Alexander Maclaren258 words
Universal
progressive revelation
divine guidance
Alexander Maclaren257 words
Universal
gospel liberty
Jewish-Gentile unity
Alexander Maclaren252 words
divine providence reshaping human plans
surrender of personal agenda
Alexander Maclaren256 words
Universal
recognition of Christ's supremacy
true greatness consists in diminishing
Alexander Maclaren245 words
Universal
truth versus opposition
the triumph of the gospel over persecution
Alexander Maclaren230 words
witness and testimony
Universal
revelation of God's character
spiritual blindness
Alexander Maclaren239 words
resistance to Christ
Christ as the Good Shepherd