Ears Up: The Importance Of Listening In Evangelism

Not long ago, I witnessed an evangelistic encounter that saddened me. It saddened me not because the evangelist did not know what he was talking about; he did. It saddened me not because the evangelist failed to faithfully proclaim the message of the gospel. He did. It saddened me not because the evangelist failed to call on the person he was speaking with to repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). He did.

Rather, this encounter saddened me because while the evangelist had ample opportunity to do so, he showed very little interest in either learning about, dialoguing with, or otherwise listening to the person the Lord had sovereignly placed in his path. Instead, the evangelist in question talked over, argued with, and otherwise steamrolled his conversation partner. He seemed more intent on demonstrating the depths of his biblically-informed wisdom while pummeling the unsaved man he was speaking with into gospel-laced submission than he seemed interested in listening to and then lovingly leading this man to the Savior through a winsome presentation of the gospel.

The outcome of this encounter, predictably, was not successful. Instead, the recipient of these tactics was noticeably offended by the evangelist’s methods and proceeded to visibly turn his shoulder, pivot, and walk away.

This outcome was avoidable. Further, the outcome highlighted three truths, which are shared below.

A LACK OF LISTENING SHOWS A LACK OF WISDOM
When we, in our evangelism, dominate the conversation, it ultimately shows a lack of wisdom – and specifically, a lack of biblical wisdom (the only form of wisdom that ultimately matters!).

Scripture’s consistent testimony is that we are to do more listening than speaking. Consider James 1:19: “Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak.” Or Proverbs 18:13: “One who gives an answer before he hears, it is foolishness and shame to him.” These are universal principles and certainly extend to our evangelism!

Surely, to be successful in evangelism, one eventually does have to speak. After all, at the heart of evangelism is the sharing of the gospel, which is a message that must be verbally proclaimed. However, there is no evangelism-related exception to the above passages of Scripture. Even in evangelism—and especially in evangelism—demonstrating sound listening skills is imperative. Dominating in our gospel conversations shows a lack of wisdom.

A LACK OF LISTENING SUGGESTS A LACK OF LOVE
Not only does a lack of listening in evangelism demonstrate a lack of wisdom (specifically, biblical wisdom), it also suggests a lack of love. Specifically, to sacrifice better listening for the sake of more speaking could indicate that the evangelist loves hearing the sound of his voice, or the thrill of deftly articulating theological truths or the excitement of winning an argument – more than he loves the fellow image-bearer the Lord has placed before him.

This is a real risk and requires a real assessment of whether our evangelistic methods are a reflection of actions and methods that are about making us look and feel good, or instead whether they truly stem from a genuine love for the unrepentant sinner and an earnest desire to see them come to a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

A LACK OF LISTENING STIFLES EVANGELISTIC EFFECTIVENESS
Romans 1:16 is clear. It is the gospel message itself which is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” What that means, theologically speaking, is that no matter how rude, uncouth, or domineering a person may be in his evangelistic presentation, it ultimately is not his presentation which determines whether an unsaved person will ultimately come to saving faith in Christ. It is God who saves, and it is God who saves through His gospel.

That being so, this still is no excuse for not doing everything we can to adorn the gospel (Titus 2:10; 1 Pet 3:3-4) through a winsome presentation of truth preceded by engaged and active listening. The fact of the matter is that we are far more likely to build relational credibility with our audience by showing that we genuinely care about them, are interested in where they are coming from, and are interested in what they have to say.

Our poor listening will not prevent God from doing His work through the gospel in His timing, but our poor listening can cause an unregenerate sinner to turn a shoulder and walk away – and unnecessarily so – from our gospel presentation.

In our evangelism, let’s commit to not being noisy gongs, clanging cymbals, or dripping faucets – even if what comes out of our mouths is truth. Rather, let’s be earnestly-engaged, genuinely-caring, truth-committed, and actively-listening soul-winners.

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