Worthy Living

Philippians 1:27

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

This is a sobering passage of Scripture.  Why?  Because the truth is we are not capable of being worthy of the gospel.  We are none righteous in our own strength.  But praise God!  When we come to Christ for salvation He makes us worthy. He credits us as righteous. The Father looks at us and sees Jesus.

But we must go on from there.  We must grow in the grace He has given us.  At salvation, we are made a new creation.  The Spirit of God comes to dwell on the inside of us and becomes our constant companion and teacher.  He shows us how we are to live, what we are to think, say and do.

That is the interesting two-sided coin of sanctification-1) He counts us as righteous; 2) We must learn to walk and live righteously.  We should be closer to godliness and holiness than when we first began to follow Christ.

As believers, we are ambassadors and representatives of Christ.  What we do in life from then on reflects either positively or negatively back to the Lord.  Our approach to life can make the gospel more appealing to non-believers; or conversely, we can make it repulsive to others.  That is a heavy duty.  One that we must consider several times throughout each day.

Stuff will happen in life.  Bad stuff. Anger provoking stuff. Temptation.  But at that moment we have to choose our conduct.  The Holy Spirit is on the inside of us advising us “Don’t say that.”  “Don’t do that.”  Our flesh is saying “Give them a piece of your mind.”  “Teach them a thing or two.”  The battle is on! And it all happens in the privacy of our own minds.  Truthfully, the only public part of this happens when we choose a side- flesh or righteousness- then by our conduct, we exhibit the fruit of our choice.

The Bible is clear that when we receive Jesus as Savior we are making a divine exchange.  We are giving ourselves away; signing over the papers of our life to Him.  We then trust him to be our sacrifice for sin, and our Master and King for life.  “You are not your own.  You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”  ( I Corinthians 6:19b-20)

The Word from the Lord to each one of us today is to live like he told you.  Act as he directs you.  No matter what happens, where you go or what you do remember Whose you are.  And be representing!

Lord, help me today to hide your Word in my heart that I will know the right road to take.  Help me to bring the flesh under subjection to You and to follow after your ways.  Help me conduct myself in a manner worthy of You and the sacrifice You made for me.  Help me to further Your Kingdom and to not cause others to stumble by what I say and do.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri