Is there a basis for lifestyle evangelism?

You are absolutely correct. The Holy Spirit is the necessary and missing Ingredient in any God blessed church. We can do all the studies and know the culture we serve, but withour Him we can do nothing.

To me, these verses call for a separated Christian lifestyle not Christians separating themselves from OUT of the world. Jesus spent an awful lot of time with people who drank and partied. The Pharisees accused him of not being separated enough at best and accused him of being a hlutton and a drunkard because of whoom he spent time with.

Our church is not like the world. We clearly preach the Gospel, but we do it in the language of southwest Florida.

Maybe in other places but in our church we have people from 10 different states from all different cultures. Add to that the number of hispanic who all come from different cultures even within though they all speak spanish. If you also add in the number of people who have lived here for 50 years when this was a fishing community. They are all locals, but as a church we have to figure out what's the best way to reach them with the message of Christ. We are not becoming like the world we're merely learning the best way to communicate the Gospel to them.

while I am in a disagreeable mood...

Maybe you ought to grow up a while before as a teenager you correct of a veteran missionary's clearly correct statement of what verses mean. You've got a lot on the ball, but maybe you ought to have some humility before you start correcting everyone else.

 

So let me get this straight. You believe that if I live a godly life so that a lost person glorifies God because of that, that will then not have anything to do with bringing them closer to Christ? And the Lord cannot work through my life for their salvation? Do I have you right?

 

Yes, the Lord cannot work through your life to bring them to Christ. He uses the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel does not need to be embellished by our lifestyles.

 

Sorry, but your theology is whack!

So a person can go to the bar on Saturday night, and preach on Sunday, and everything will be fine?

And the sinner that saw the preacher drunk on Saturday night, will not be affected Sunday morning if the sinner comes to church?

That is a fairy tale theology...

 

Explain these verses then....
Paul knew that his lifestyle affected the salvation of others...
1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some.

1Co 8:9
(9) But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.

Rom 11:14
(14) If by any means I may provoke to emulation [them which are] my flesh, and might save some of them.

 

This statement is absolutely true. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It is the Father, and the Father alone, who gives men ears to hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Richard Wurmbrand wrote of those in Communist countries who came to faith in Christ while reading verses quoted in atheistic publications whose purpose was to ridicule and marginalize the Scriptures.

 

We just got back from church, and we took Mrs. Fujii home who lives in our neighborhood. She is not saved yet, but comes to church faithfully because she sees something in our lives that she wants. She has said specifically that she wants to be able to treat all people equally and with love like we do. That is God working in our lives, we tell her. We could not treat people right and love people if God did not give us love. This is what I mean by lifestyle evangelism--living a life that makes others open to the Gospel. And of course they will not get saved without the Gospel.

Christianyouth, I urge you, reconsider your position here. I'm afraid a fault of us IFBs is that we sometimes draw too strong a line between us and the lost world, so that evangelism is something we do on Thursday night visitation or Saturday morning bus visitation, rather than something we should live every single day. We're sometimes afraid to forge ties with lost people, and that is wrong.

My wife is friends with Junko, the lady across the street. They study languages (Japanese and English) together every Wednesday, go places together, shop together. Right now Junko has no interest in the Gospel, but someday the Lord will wake her up with a tragedy or a sickness, and she'll be ready to hear the Gospel. In the meantime, the friendship cannot be deep since Junko is a lost sinner. My wife is a saved sinner, though, and can still love her and wait for her. :type:

 

But don't forget 1 Cor. 3:6-8: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour."

This passage shows that with many people salvation, while instantaneous through the Word of God which is the Gospel, has a process leading up to it. Very few people are saved the first time they hear the Gospel. I've actually done a survey on this with congregations, and almost no one is saved the first time. They hear the Gospel over and over, and they go to church, and they watch the lives of Christians to see if they are different. Thus, our lifestyle definitely has something to do with people getting saved.

 

Which means your studies are vain.

Who said anything about leaving Earth? Keller did not endorse a separated lifestyle. He advised us to engage in the same kind of entertainment that the unspiritual seek.

Jesus spent a lot of time preaching to sinners, but you will not find Him in the theatres, 'bars', fairs or the popular hangouts of the day. What one finds, actually, is that the crowds sought Him out, not the other way around.

And Jesus spoke in parables to hide His meaning from those who were not chosen for salvation, and he expounded their meanings only to His disciples.

But there is an example of one Apostle, who appealed to his familiarity with the Jews thinking that by it he would get through to them. It resulted in a riot and they called for his execution. Acts 21:39-22:23.

 

Yes, indeed. christianyouth, please comment on this verse and tell us why it is not saying that God can use the life of a wife to win her unsaved husband:

1 Pet. 3:1--"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives." (I'm sure everyone here knows that in 1611 "conversation" meant "lifestyle," right?) :type:

 

My husband says that watching me was what led him to the Lord. I'm not taking credit for his salvation in any way, so please don't think I'm exalting myself, but how we live does make a difference to the ones watching us. It's not just preaching that leads people to Christ. In fact my husband would get irritated with me when I talked "too much" about the Lord. So, I backed off and as he would see me read my Bible he began to ask questions. Sometimes we would talk for a long time, but he initiated it instead of me pushing him. He wondered what was the "big deal" about church. But he saw my joy and I remember him saying things like "I wish I could feel what you feel". My best friend from childhood has also said this to me, but as of yet she hasn't come to the Lord. She lives 5 hours away so it's harder to be a witness to her than my husband who I see everyday.
So our lives are a testimony to Christ.


Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

Predestinarians believing the “specially” chosen for salvation will receive it, so being under this view it would really have little rational foundation to find desire to try to evangelize to the lost since personal effort can neither add or subtract to what has already been decided by God. Why then would they put the effort into lifestyle examples if it’s rationally inconsistent with their view including of what “making full proof” (1Tim4:5) could possibly interpret in their ministry toward others? Actually why would they put any personal effort into anything that they have NO ability to prove of the truth to anyone.

They would rationally need to exclude “godliness is profitable to all things” to include lifestyle in evangelism (1Tim 4:8) wouldn’t they?

They wouldn’t need to take heed unto themselves to possibly mean (lifestyle) or to their doctrines (being in surety of predestination and inability to persuade by adding personal effort) when concerning evangelism wouldn’t they? (1Tim 4:16)

I see the Determinist point being made here, don’t agree with it, gotta question the motivations, but I see the point!

What could ever NOT come to their reasoning for NOT preaching the gospel to the lost under this line of thought in order to support their boxed view of God???

 

As I recall, christianyouth is a Calvinist, so that would explain his position. Please correct me if I'm wrong, christianyouth. And you have been asked a couple of questions about Scripture. Would you mind coming back and answering them?

 

Amen and praise the Lord, Amy! :jesus:

 

Don't be surprised if you don't an answer, I'm still waiting on one in another thread. :laugh:

 

I cannot answer for Christianyouth as to his theology, but I have to say that I would be surprised if anyone who is Reformed/Calvinist/holds to the Doctrines of Grace would say that the Christian life doesn't matter. To do so would be surely to deny the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.16:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.​

 

John, though I believe in sovereign grace (more and more I hate the label Calvinist), I agree with your take on this thread vs. ChristianYouth's. Just wanted to point out.

 

Amen, David. I agree.

 

I agree with David and Andy. Calvinism should not mitigate against lifestyle evangelism. The dynamic tension I see here is, if God did it all, then how can a Christian's life affect another's salvation? But of course it can and does, no matter what your theology is. A Calvinist who questions this needs to examine more deeply the dynamic tension between God's sovereignty and our responsibilities as Christians.