“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30). Trying to save those who are lost is a very good work. We can find modern churches that enjoy success and growth. They employ numerous gimmicks to attract and retain large crowds. Our standard must continue to be the example set by the New Testament church. When it comes to the work of evangelism, these disciples are worthy of our examination and imitation. 

The church we read of in the book of Acts grew at a rate unheard of today. It started with only 120 people (Acts 1:15). On the Day of Pentecost 3,000 people were added to the 120 (2:41). The number soon grew to include 5,000 men (4:4). This figure does not include the women.

By Acts 5, Luke stopped giving numerical figures and simply chronicled the church’s incredible growth. Multitudes were increasingly added to the Lord, the disciples multiplied greatly and increased in number daily (Acts 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 16:5).

What caused this incredible growth? How can we hope to replicate it? No doubt, the Holy Spirit’s miraculous work contributed to this amazing spread of the gospel. And these Christians were living in a unique time in history (Gal. 4:4). In that day, many hearts were ready to hear and respond to the gospel.

We can do nothing about these factors. The Holy Spirit’s miraculous gifts have served their purposes and are no longer available to us. We can’t change the time during which we live. However, another vitally important element was essential to this early-church growth – individual Christians were zealously spreading the gospel. “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).

What generates a passion and fire to be personally involved in spreading the gospel to the lost?

1. Love for the Lord. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). If we love the Lord, we will do what He tells us to do -- obey His word and carry out His wishes. Disciples are supposed to make disciples. The last command Jesus gave instructed His followers to observe all His commandments, including the command to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20).

2. Our Lord’s Example. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). One’s motive for seeking and saving the lost needs to go deeper than surface obedience to the Lord. Disciples need to follow their master’s example. We need to be involved in doing what He did. Jesus actively sought the lost in order to save them.

3. Examples Set by Other Christians. Paul said that Christians were motivated by his efforts to become “much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14). Energy, dedication, and enthusiasm are contagious. Seeing other Christians involved in good works, and experiencing success in those works, encourages us to do the same sort of work.

News of conversions in other places does not cause mature Christians to be envious or skeptical. It does not cause them to downplay their own abilities. Rather, it encourages them to become more involved in spreading the gospel.

4. Love for Lost Souls. Jesus tried to get His disciples to see the true spiritual condition of those around them. People are lost in sin and destined for eternal punishment in hell (Matt. 9:36-38). Evangelism is a good work because it is a rescue mission, and too few are involved in this work.

Most of us would do anything we could to save another person’s physical life. If we happened to arrive at the scene of an emergency, we would act. If we knew someone’s life or health was in danger, we would speak up. Why do we remain silent when it comes to that same person’s spiritual condition?

5. A Desire to Share Our Greatest Blessing. Andrew was one of the first disciples to meet Jesus (John 1:38-42). He was not content to enjoy this blessing alone. He found his brother and brought him to the Lord.

People around us desperately need Jesus! They may not realize it; they may not care, but they need Him. We have found our greatest blessing – our Savior. We should want to share this great news with everyone.

6. A Moral Obligation. In 2 Kings 7:3-9, we read of four lepers who found their salvation. The Syrian army had abandoned camp and left behind more food, wealth, and clothing than the lepers could ever use. As they were celebrating their discovery, they came to a realization. “Then they said to one another, ‘We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household’” (v. 9).

Nearby there was a city full of people who were starving to death. It was not right for the lepers to keep the good news to themselves. In fact, they feared punishment for doing so. They went to the city and shared what they had found.

It is not right for us to keep the Gospel’s good news to ourselves while so many around us are living and dying in sin. We will give account to God for our lives (2 Cor. 5:10), including our willingness to share the gospel with others.

Conclusion: The most successful evangelistic effort in history happened because individuals were personally involved in sharing the gospel. We live in a different time, but we have the same gospel, and the fields around us are just as white for harvest. We’ve considered numerous motivations to get involved in this good work. Pick one – and get busy!