Evangelism Tips from Romans 1-2

Have you ever felt the struggle of sharing your faith with others? Perhaps you've found yourself caught in circular arguments trying to prove God's existence, or you've been distracted by addressing individual moral choices rather than reaching the heart of the matter.

Romans 1-2 offers us profound insights that can transform our approach to evangelism.

Romans 1 and 2 gives us a profound understanding of humanity, both at the individual and cultural level. It also gives us some insights into how to share the gospel with those who don’t believe.

Here are just a few insights, and how this passage transforms our approach to evangelism.

1. People already know. Every single person already knows that God exists and that he is good (Romans 1:19-20). This frees us from having to prove that God exists. The problem is not a lack of knowledge of God. Deep down, everybody already knows.
2. The real issue is spiritual. Human rebellion against God is rooted in our suppression of the truth, and our refusal to honour God as God and give thanks to him (Romans 1:19, 21). It’s a heart issue.
3. The sins that we see mask the root sin. Don’t get distracted by the individual sins of people around you. The root issue is a failure to worship God (Romans 1:26-31). All other sins are downstream of this primary sin.
4. We’re all in the same boat. Paul argues that idol-worshiping Gentiles and religiously observant Jews are in the same boat (Roans 2:1). Apart from Christ, all of humanity exists under the wrath of God and needs salvation.
5. Everyone knows that they don’t measure up. Even if they don’t know or understand God’s law, they have an internal sense of right and wrong and know that they fall short (Romans 2:14-16).
6. We need bad news before the good. Paul’s whole point in Romans 1:18-3:20 is to give us the bad news so we see our need for the good news. The gospel becomes beautiful as we understand our desperate plight and our need for salvation.

Here’s what all of this means. The real barrier people face is not ignorance of God but the state of the human heart. Every person already has an innate knowledge of God’s existence and moral standards. Our task is not to prove God exists, but to lovingly expose the heart’s attitude and need for salvation. The deepest issue beneath outward sins is a failure to honour and worship God as God. Evangelism should therefore focus on helping people recognize this root problem, affirm the universal need for rescue in Christ, and move beyond secondary issues to the central message of the gospel. When people see their desperate need in light of their own conscience and God’s standards, the good news of salvation becomes truly urgent and beautiful.

Evangelism is less about arguments and more about awakening spiritual need, addressing the heart’s rebellion, and patiently pointing all people, regardless of background, to the hope found in Christ.