Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Inc: Welcome. The following message is a ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The Alliance is known for ministries such as the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, as well as nationally syndicated radio programs like The Bible Study Hour, Every Last Word, and Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible. Our purpose is to promote a biblical understanding and worldview. Thank you for listening.

Pastor Phillips: Howard Pleasanton III is going to come and preach. For those of you who don't know Howie, he was injured at birth by the doctors and he's had cerebral palsy his entire life. He has never, ever seen it as a handicap, and we've never treated him as if it were a handicap.

He is a remarkable person. He just finished his first year of college. Because he couldn't run around and do a lot of things other people did, he sat for ten years for hours studying theology, listening to preachers, praying for people, and helping people. He preached his first sermon when he was ten years old in Scotland, and he's been preaching off and on ever since. He's got the gift of preaching and a brilliant mind.

Before any of you guys go out and say that Phillips has brought in a charismatic that can't talk plain, speaking in tongues, and a woman preacher who interprets for him, don't do that. He's got an interpreter, Amber. It's a beautiful thing. Amber is his cousin, and they have been together all these years. Every time Howie preaches, either Amber or her mother, Loretta, or his grandmother, Henrietta, interprets for him, and they do a magnificent job. Amber is the chief interpreter. She's number one. So now we're going to let them come and preach.

Amber Pleasanton: Can you guys hear him? Yes or no?

Howard Pleasanton III: It's been a real foretaste of heaven this week seeing all the reverends preach and to see the people of God being inspired. This morning I would like to talk about ten reasons why you should believe in free will. But really, it's a great honor to be with you, and I know what you're all thinking: I hope this boy hurries up so we can go eat. Thank you, Pastor Phillips.

I've been assigned a topic that I really enjoyed, the topic of lifestyle evangelism. This is probably the issue of the church today. I know this probably sounds weird, but this is probably more crucial than any heresy that is out there. This morning, if you would, turn your Bibles—or if you're under 50, open your app—to Luke chapter 10. We would really like to read the first nine verses, and then I'll pray.

"After this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace be to this house!" And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you."'"

I thank our Father who sits in heaven to reveal himself through Scripture. I pray that whatever I say, it would be only for your glory, only for your honor, and for your glory. Father, I pray that you would use me, in Jesus' name, amen.

John Calvin, the great theologian, when asked to define evangelism, stated that evangelism is a lifestyle of worship. This being said, lifestyle evangelism is my topic this morning. I have chosen this text for four main reasons. Number one, we've been in Luke for a year and a half in Sunday school and it's all I have in my head. Number two, I appreciate the clarity of the book of Luke compared to the other three synoptic gospels.

When we come to this text, I will not be focusing on it, but I want it as a landing point—a launching point where we can start. When we look at the book of Luke, I'm going to give you a brief timeline. The first five chapters of the book of Luke establish the deity of Christ. When we arrive at chapter six, Jesus chooses twelve men that he, for the next four chapters, trains. These men are known as the disciples.

First there were twelve, and then they grew to around 100. Jesus sent out 72, and we know from the other gospels that Jesus kept some to help him with his own ministry. So that's how we get the number around 100. The three things that I want you to see from this text is: we are sent by Christ. The second person of the Trinity, God himself, has called us to be evangelists.

The second thing I want you to see is all Christians are called to the ministry of evangelism. One of the things that has bothered me over the last couple years is I hear men say, "I'm not called to the ministry." Aren't you a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are called to some sort of ministry. Now, this may not be pastoral work, but you are called. As mentioned before in 1 Peter, to give a good defense of the faith.

The last thing I want you to see is that our lives should point to the kingdom of Christ. Jesus Christ is building his kingdom on earth, and he has sent us out. Much like he has sent the 72 here to be witnesses of him, we are called to be witnesses of our God and King. It's a matter of discipleship. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are commanded to testify his lordship.

Shane had done so well in our first message, and I really appreciate where he started us. Jesus Christ is our Lord; he is our King. Let me move on. Lifestyle evangelism can be defined as being in the world while being in Christ. This is a crucial balance. In the extreme of this in both directions, it kills the church. If you go too liberal, you become a hypocrite. If you go to conservative, you become a legalist. You can't wear shorts, you can't have an iPhone because that's too worldly.

Let's go to the fifth chapter of Matthew, verses 13 through 16: "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Let's do a brief survey. How many of you all are in full-time ministry? That's over half. So those of you who are in full-time ministry, when you read through the third chapter of 2 Timothy, the first thing he says is to be men above reproach. That's what he tells us in ministry.

The USA Today, a paper I read almost every day along with the Bible so I know what both sides are doing, had a survey of those who do not attend church. 78% of those who do not attend church state hypocrisy inside the church is the number one factor of why they don't go to church. Now I know who's totally to blame. I know these people are totally depraved. But that should bother us who are in the church that they can call us hypocrites and we are not being good witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus tells us to be salt and light, he's telling us we should be different than the world, but he's telling us to still go into the world. And here's a major problem I see within the Reformed church: we make ourselves too holy. We believe that being in the world is the same as being of the world, and it's not.

We need to be able to go into the world but still have our Christian values. When you talk about Reformed theology, this is the part of the Reformation that gets totally overlooked. We look at the theology, but we forget how much emphasis these men put on Christian living. One of Calvin's Institutes was solely on biblical ethics. The morality of the church has died.

One of the things that kills young ministers, and we see it in our own church, is that they refuse to live ethically and also be able to hold down a job. If you're going to be a man of God, it's crucial that you have the ability to hold down a job. And we wonder why all these people are on unemployment. It's a matter of morality.

Secondly, go to Romans 12:1-2: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Being in the world is just as important as not being of it. Being able to talk with our lost friends without being too religious—I don't mean a Christian, I mean being too religious—to evangelize. This is possible. You cannot be able to evangelize because your theology does not allow you to be in the world. This is the heart of legalism: that we're so religious, not Christian but religious, that we can't reach the world for Christ.

This is a massive issue. It's very controversial. Don't send me an email saying how wrong I am. We see many in the Baptist denomination who are so legalistic. I know a pastor buddy, who will go unnamed, who said to me, "I won't wear shorts because I don't want anybody to see my legs." Wow. We've got a world going to hell and you're worried about shorts? We've got a world who's about to die and meet the Maker, and we're fighting over what we ought to wear? There are 50 million babies being killed and we're fighting over how long your dress is? Wow.

That's all you can really say to legalism. Now, I'm all for being modest, but there's a difference between being modest and legalist. There was a recent study done in the Netherlands that says the main cause for antisocial disorder is religious fundamentalism. We're so fundamentalist that you can't go into your culture and tell people of Jesus Christ. You can't go into your culture and witness to society for Christ your King.

Luther said—I'll only be a minute—it is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor. When Jesus was on the earth, his problem was not with the lost; his problem was with the religious fundamentalists, also known as the Pharisees. They called him an alcoholic because he would witness to a drunk. They called him a Beelzebub because he was willing to go into the culture and radically preach the gospel.

Praise God for you men who go out in the street. I pray for you every day, and I pray that you would be bold and that you would not only preach but live out theological conviction. If Jesus really is the Lord, we should live for him. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you for this day, and we pray that you would be glorified and we would be edified. And Father, I pray that our lives would glorify you through ourselves and be a witness to the lost so that you would be revealed to them, in Jesus' name, amen.