Table of Contents

The Evangelist's Personal Life

By Luis Palau

"For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you" (Deuteronomy 23:14*).

God honors obedience and punishes transgression. The gospel is a holy covenant, a holy commitment. Paul told Timothy, "[God] called us to a holy life" (2 Timothy 1:9). As evangelists we are to follow the Lord's example in every aspect of our lives:

Our spirit. "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Are you walking in the light? Is your conscience clear before the Lord?

Our speech. We must practice truthfulness. If I am going to have the power of the Holy Spirit, I must be truthful in everything I say. Are you holy in truthfulness?

Our motives. The glory of God must be our whole objective. Don't mingle desires for personal fame with preaching Jesus Christ.

Our honesty and transparency in finance. Do you keep money that doesn't belong to you? Do you play games with expense accounts? The Lord knows.

Our jealousy. Because evangelists are well known, we have a tendency to think we're superior to other people. Which of us has not felt jealousy or envy when somebody else has a bigger meeting, better results, or is written up in a Christian magazine or newspaper? How easy it is to become competitive and jealous of one another, to undermine the other person, and to speak words of hurt—just to bring him or her down a little.

Our sexuality. More evangelists have wrecked their lives because of failure in sexual temptation than perhaps any other area. Are you holy in your sexual behavior? It is a delicate subject but must be dealt with. Don't ever say you won't be tempted. We have a silly idea that good people, outstanding people, don't know what temptation is.

The Bible says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). We must watch our inner selves. Joseph had the right principles and ran away from temptation. In some situations we must flee too.

We have the power of the indwelling Christ. His death must be at work in us so that His life may be manifested in us.

The Bible, together with the indwelling Christ, is the power we need. We don't fall into sin—we walk right into it with our eyes wide open. We are tempted when we allow ourselves to have thoughts we shouldn't have. Our sensitivity level goes down. Before we know it, we have taken one step and then another, and the Holy Spirit doesn't seem to get through to our consciences. When the final crash comes, people say, "How could it happen?" It resulted from many small compromises.

If we have fallen or stumbled in this sensitive area of our lives, have we confessed it before the Lord? Have we made amends? Have we reconciled with our local church? Have we gone to our godly counselors to ask what the next step should be?

Proverbs 29:1 reminds us, "A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy." We all know men and women, whom we loved and respected and would listen to with appreciation, who fell into sin and refused to repent and ask for cleansing. They stiffened their necks and became hardened and are broken. Some have become traitors to the cause of Christ. It is a sobering thing.

Are you holy in your heart? Are you walking in the light with the Lord? Is your conscience clear before Him? Robert Murray M'Cheyne said, "According to your holiness, so shall be your success." Ask yourself, "Am I holy before the Lord?"

—Abridged from an article that originally appeared in Decision magazine. Copyright 1998, Luis Palau. Luis Palau is an evangelist and lives in Portland, Oregon.

*Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.