This is part three of an ongoing series on evangelism prompted by a meeting with the Grace Cov, Bremerton leadership team and Pastor Grant Christensen. It was a very ordinary monthly meeting with ministry reports, budgets, and decisions made. What I was not expecting was their monthly rhythm of individually checking in with each other about their evangelism “temperature,” a practice learned at the evangelism cohort. It was refreshing to watch how they are choosing to keep sharing Christ front and center as a leadership. As often stated, “you cannot lead where you have not gone yourself.” After they shared, Pastor Grant then walked through evangelism related Bible studies that he created. I asked Grant if he would share his material and he graciously said that his only requirement is that it would never be sold. So much for the conference fundraiser! I include it below to encourage and to stir. May we walk as those full of the Holy Spirit as we share Christ today. – Greg Yee
by Grant E. Christensen, Pastor, Grace Covenant Church, Bremerton
Galatians 5:18-25 (nasb95) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. {19} Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, {20} idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, {21} envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. {22} But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. {24} Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. {25} If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.[1]
In the Epistle to the Galatians the Apostle Paul contrasts two ways of living, one lived out according to one’s own self-effort by following the external commandments of the Law, the other lived out according to the indwelling presense of our Lord Jesus Christ in and through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 3 Paul stated emphatically that we are not to be perfected by the flesh, or as the New International Version translates it: by our own effort. Rather, just as having begun in the Spirit when we were born from above we are now to continue on by the Spirit, being continually perfected by the Spirit. Which is better then? To live by our own self-effort according to the outward commandments of the Law? Or to have the very One who authored the Law come and live within—by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?
If one reads chapter five carefully this same contrast between Law and Spirit takes up the entire chapter. Is there something wrong with the Law? No, in the words of Paul, “May it never be!” As Paul states in Romans, the Law is “holy, righteous and good!” The difficulty is not with the Law, but with the depravity of our flesh—our self life. When we as creatures of flesh try to accomplish the works of the law by our own effort, we invariably produce the opposite, the deeds of the flesh (which is literally, the works of the flesh.) However, when we seek to walk by the Holy Spirit, seeking to be led of the Holy Spirit, He produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Whereas the heart of the Law was to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves—as lived out by our own effort—now we are to walk in the Spirit, being led of the Spirit, and He the very embodiment of love produces in us what we cannot produce ourselves: the fruit of love—God’s kind of love.
So what is it then to walk in the Spirit and to be led of the Spirit? Everywhere people went in Jesus and Paul’s day they had to walk. If people were going to the market, they walked. If people were going to the synagogue or to a gathering of Christians, they walked. If people were visiting neighbors or family, they walked. We don’t walk; we drive. Walking then became synonymous with living. To walk was to live, and to live was to walk. Throughout my life as a Christian I’ve come across many sets of steps to walking in the Spirit. Yet, in all these steps, I suspect that what was described was no longer the authentic walk in the Spirit—but only a manufactured copy. The best way I know how to learn to walk in the Spirit is to ask God to teach us to walk in the Spirit and to be led of the Spirit! I’ve been praying this for many years—and I am still learning!
There are facets of walking in the Spirit that can be described: listening to the Holy Spirit’s voice—through Scripture, through His still, small voice within, through sermons heard, through the counsel of the body of Christ, and so on. Paul speaks of praying at all times in the Spirit. Jesus speaks of worshipping in Spirit and in truth. We can ask God to teach us to hear His voice. We can ask God to teach us to pray in the Spirit at all times. We can invite the Holy Spirit to worship in and through us—in truth.
One facet of walking in the Spirit is described by Paul in Galatians chapter 3, Paul writes:
Galatians 3:1-5 (nasb95) You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? {2} This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? {3} Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? {4} Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? {5} So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Herein Paul again states emphatically that we received the Spirit by hearing with faith—not by works of the Law. Furthermore, Paul says that we are not to be perfected by the flesh—by our own self effort—but as implied, we are to be perfected by the Spirit. Hence, faith is a necessary and crucial aspect to walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit then is a life lived out of trusting God—and not ourselves—a life lived out of trusting in the Holy Spirit’s work and not our own!
Walking in the Spirit and being led of the Holy Spirit are therefore crucial aspects of authentic evangelism. Often authors writing about evangelism speak of the the necessity to love authentically those to whom we are sharing the faith. Yet, if walking in the Spirit and being led of the Spirit is the means by which the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives—of which love is the first segment—then for us to live a life out of our own self-effort, while not being led of the Spirit, is to love with a self-manufactured love, a love infinitely less than what the Spirit is able to produce within. By necessity this will hamper the quality of our sharing our faith.
Furthermore, to be led of the Spirit is to be attuned to the Spirit’s voice and promptings—to know when to go and when not to go, to know when to speak and when not to speak, to know what to speak and what not to speak, to have the Spirit move a conversation from an ordinary conversation into one that gives life. In the book of Acts, Dr. Luke reveals much about the Holy Spirit’s leading—with much of the Spirit’s leading having to do with evangelism:
Acts 10:19 (nasb95) While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.”
Peter’s vision and the Spirit’s subsequent communication to him was to result in the salvation of Cornelius as well as many of his family and friends. In the following verse Paul recounts the Spirit’s communication to him to go to Cornelius’ house.
Acts 11:12 (nasb95) “The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house.”
Acts 13:2 (nasb95) While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
The Holy Spirit spoke to the believers to set apart Barnabas and Saul for their first missionary journey during which they would bring the Gospel to Asia Minor.
Acts 13:4 (nasb95) So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
The Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul on their first missionary journey.
Acts 15:28 (nasb95) “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
As more and more Gentiles were coming to faith in Jesus, their arose a dispute in Antioch as to whether the Gentiles were required to keep the Mosaic Law, which was brought to a resolution at the Jerusalem council through the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Acts 16:6 (nasb95) They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
Here the Holy Spirit forbid them from bringing the Gospel to Asia.
Acts 16:7 (nasb95) and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;
Again the Holy Spirit prevented them from going into Bithynia—possibly for their own safety.
Acts 20:23 (nasb95) except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
In this verse and the two following verses the Holy Spirit seems to be testing Paul’s resolve to be led before kings and ultimately Caesar himself, occasions in which Paul would proclaim the Gospel.
Acts 21:4 (nasb95) After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.
Acts 21:11 (nasb95) And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'”
It is clear from these verses the vital role the Holy Spirit has in our sharing our faith. When I have sought to share my faith apart from the Holy Spirit’s work and influence, I often ended up doing more harm than good, frequently ending up in arugments and causing pain. As I’ve learned to walk in the Holy Spirit and to be led of the Spirit I have time and time again seen a fluidness to His witness in and through me. I don’t know how the Spirit does it, but one minute I’ll be just conversing with someone and the next minute the Spirit will have opened the door, even giving me words and boldness! I am neither an expert on walking in the Spirit nor do I mean to write an exhaustive treatise on what it means to walk in the Spirit. Rather, I have found that asking the heavenly Father in faith to teach us to walk in the Spirit and to be led of the Spirit is enough! To ask this is to ask for the very will of the Father for our lives! I suspect that in the how much more willingness of the heavenly Father to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, to ask that He would teach us to walk in the Spirit, to be led of the Spirit, is to request the very thing the Father longs to teach and reveal!
© 2019 by Grant Christensen. “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8b niv) You are free to share—copy and redistribute in any medium or format—as long as you don’t change the content, don’t use commercially without permission of the author or author’s family, and include attribution with the following Creative Commons License:
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[Click Here] for part one of the series titled, “Asking for the Holy Spirit”
[Click Here] for part two of the series titled, “Praying for the Power of the Holy Spirit for Witness”