I’m old enough to remember the traveling evangelists who led tent revivals in the seventies. Some were like Billy Graham while others were a different kind of messenger. I’ve witnessed God’s word being shouted on street corners, worn on T-shirts, and posted on billboards and on the walls in people’s homes. I’ve used and been blessed by God’s word in many of those ways. 

God’s word is used today in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s intended to teach but other times it will threaten or warn. God’s word should always make people think. I am not called to sit in judgment on anyone’s evangelism, but I would want to encourage them to be careful with God’s word. 

Paul had some perfect advice about evangelism for his protégé, Timothy, when he said, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

For all of us who want to share God’s truth with others, we should be careful to consider Paul’s counsel.

-We must present ourselves to God as one approved. We aren’t preaching or teaching a crowd, or even speaking to one person. God is our audience, and his approval should be the only approval we seek.

-We need to be a worker who is honest, compassionate, and humble about our own imperfections so that we can be unashamed of our testimony about God’s redemption in our lives. We are beggars helping other beggars find bread.

-Finally, we need to speak words of biblical truth, even if that truth isn’t what others want to hear or believe for themselves. Our job is to present Christ as Savior and Lord. Christ came to be a King, and his words must be obeyed and revered as truth. He loves us too much to want less for our lives.

We should want to be trained and ready to speak the truth of God’s word. We should want to live a life God can bless and use for his kingdom purposes. We should want to be evangelists who rightly handle the word of truth with the love of Christ. We should want our audience of One to approve of our evangelism.

Wisdom is joyfully sharing Christ with others. Wisdom is to present ourselves to God as Paul taught Timothy. We want God to approve of us and view us as a worker who has no need to be ashamed because we are rightly handling the word of truth.