Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
Evangelism is more like Hide and Seek than it is Tag. In Tag, you’re not guaranteed to touch a single person (especially if you’re as slow as I am). However, in Hide and Seek, the game doesn’t end until you find everyone—and you do find everyone. Allow me to buttress this weird analogy with Scripture.
Acts 13:48 reads, “And when the Gentiles heard [the gospel], they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” There are three things to note here:
(1) In the preceding verses (vv. 44-47), we are told that “the whole city” gathered to hear Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel. If there’s anyone who can be considered “the best evangelist,” it’s Paul. If evangelism is a game of Tag, Paul is that one 5th-grader who’s somehow faster than most adults and seems to have endless energy. If there’s someone to tag, you can count on Paul.
And yet, (2) verse 48 does not say, “and everyone who heard the gospel believed.” Why? Well, because evangelism is not a game of tag. Paul is a better evangelist, preacher, and Christian than any of us will ever be. He presented the gospel with more clarity, power, and faith than any of us could muster. And yet, it was not everyone who believed, but, “as many as were appointed to eternal life.”
(3) The Greek verb τεταγμένοι (“appointed”) is in the perfect tense and the passive voice. Stick with me—it’s not as complicated as it seems. When a Greek verb is in the “perfect” tense, this just means that the action was completed in the past, but has continuous ongoing effects. For instance, you and your spouse were wed to one another, but that wedding has a continuous effect—you continue to be married. Now, when a Greek verb is in the “passive” voice, this just means that the action is done to the subject. For instance, in the sentence, “Holden was hit by Finn,” Holden (subject) receives the verb/action (hit). Thus, when Paul preached, the only men and women who believed (subject) were those whom God had appointed (verb/action) before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
The point is this: you have never converted anyone. Paul never converted anyone. We aren’t converting people in evangelism. We are simply finding those men and women whom God has already appointed to eternal life. This is Hide and Seek, not Tag. The pressure is off—it’s not on you! We are called to faithfully proclaim the gospel, and leave the saving to God. God has already appointed men and women to eternal life. Our job is to find them.
