Messy Gospel, Week 8: A Godly Life and a Bold Voice
Our life will either demonstrate the gospel or undermine its credibility. The fruit of the Spirit planted in us at salvation must become visible to the unbelieving world around us if they are to hear our message of hope.
Effective personal evangelism begins with living a transformed life. Paul, in Romans 12:2, exhorted us not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).
How we think determines how we speak and act (Proverbs 23:7; Luke 6:45). Sinful words and actions come from sinful thinking; righteous words and actions result from righteous thinking. The believer’s mind has been transformed from being enslaved to sinful lust and selfish desires to being submissive to Christ.
But we must continue to renew our minds by daily meditating on God’s Word. The Holy Spirit works through the Word implanted in our conscience (Psalm 119:9–11) to help set our minds “on things above” (Colossians 3:2) and help us to focus on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Philippians 4:8).
The outcome is your Christian influence in an unbelieving world. Your lifestyle must authenticate the message. Because we are believers, our lives should “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect” (Titus 2:10).
To the church at Ephesus, Paul wrote: But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (Ephesians 5:3-4)
Peter calls believers to sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 3:15-16).
These verses speak to the purity that should characterize the life of every believer. Purity of life grows from a sound conscience continually trained under the authority of Scripture. As Believers, we must guard the challenge to be effectual doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves (James 1:22-26). It is not enough to clinically know the facts of the gospel, we must strive for Christlike holy humility.
Hypocrisy in a believer’s life destroys evangelism like mold destroys bread. Eloquence and persuasive speech cannot overcome the stench of unrepentant sin. We must remember that long before unbelievers hear what we say, they will observe how we live. Just as unbelievers are identified by their “fruit” (Galatians 5:19-21), so too believers are identified by their “fruit” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The example we set may be the only gospel many will know. Sin is still a part of our lives and at times the unbelievers to whom we are witnessing will be impacted by our sin. Yet even in those moments of failure, we have opportunity to demonstrate humility in seeking forgiveness and reconciliation both from God and those we offended.
A believer who lives as salt and light in a dark and decaying world (Matthew 5:13-16) will not detract from the gospel message, but will put Christ on display as the world sees Him working through us. Since the believers life will be characterized by increasing patterns of righteousness. Here are some simple questions to ask at this point.
What specifically do I now love as a believer that as an unbeliever I once hated? (Reading Scripture, being with other believers, proclaiming the gospel, praying, seeking forgiveness, etc.)
What specifically do I now hate as a believer that as an unbeliever I once loved? (Personal sinful thoughts, words, actions, sin in the lives of people I know, etc.)
Are there sins that I have rationalized, ignored or simply from which I simply have refused to repent?
In what ways are the beatitudes evident in my life (Matthew 5:3-12)?
How are the fruit of the Spirit being manifested in increasing measure (Galatians 5:22-23)?
Christ said in Luke 6:45, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
What is filling your heart? The gospel message mandates holy living! For how can we knowingly contradict with our lives the very message we are privileged to proclaim! The consistent example of a changed life is compelling proof of salvation.