Who Walk According to the Example

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:17-21 ESV)

The apostle Paul felt confident enough in the Lord and in his walk of faith, by the grace of God, that he could encourage other Christians to imitate his walk of faith and to use him as a model or as an example of what genuine faith in Jesus Christ really looks like. He never claimed to be perfect, but he walked the walk, and he did not just talk it. He took God and his word to heart, and he obeyed the Lord in doing what he said to do, and he did not walk in sin, but he led a holy and a godly life committed to Jesus Christ.

For, although he had not yet finished the race, he was running the race every day, fighting off the lies of the enemy, opposing enemy forces, proclaiming the truth of God’s word, and exposing the fruitless works of darkness and the liars and the deceivers who were trying to lead other Christians astray. He was committed to truth and to righteousness and to leading other people to do the same. And he continued on this path despite being hated and persecuted and falsely accused, and all for the glory of God. Amen!

But then he also encouraged the Christians to keep their eyes on those who walk according to the example that they had in Paul and in the other apostles. And this is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to speak, i.e. this is the most important point, i.e. the moment of truth. And this is where it is critical that we know and understand the truth of God’s word and what a genuine follower of Christ should look like. So we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context.

For the image being presented to us today of what a “good Christian” looks like is often the opposite of what the Scriptures teach us, and the opposite of what Paul and the other apostles modeled to us. For in today’s world we have this image of a good Christian as someone who is just a “good deed doer” and who is “nice” to everyone and who goes around just making people feel good about themselves. And this, too, is the image that many today are painting of Jesus Christ, which is not the truth.

Was Jesus kind? Yes, he was. And kindness is being willing to tell people the truth even if they end up hating you and murdering you in return, which is what they did to Jesus Christ. For they didn’t like it that he told them the truth about their lives and that he told them that they needed to change and that they needed to surrender their lives over to him to make him Lord of their lives. And they didn’t like it that he did not conform to their worldly standards and to their religious hypocrisy and to their human traditions.

So, it is critical that we follow the model that Paul provided for us as to what it means to be a Christian. And Paul, contrary to what many people are presenting of him, was not someone who was “struggling” with (regularly giving in to) sin. For he taught that if sin is our practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, that we are not in true fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we will not inherit eternal life with God unless we repent and we obey our Lord, in practice.

So, be very careful about who you are listening to, and who you are following, for not everyone is of true faith in Jesus Christ who claims to be. Not everyone tells the truth. Liars and deceivers abound these days, in and out of the gatherings of “the church.” So learn to be those who test everything you read and hear against the teachings of the Scriptures, but do so within the appropriate context, and not out of context. For many lies are being perpetrated today via teaching Scriptures out of context.

Take for example, Ephesians 2:8-9 is being taught absent of verse 10, and so many are teaching that we are to do no works at all. But verse 10 dispels that by telling us that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. And John 10:28-30 is being taught absent of verse 27 which tells us that Jesus’ sheep listen (adhere) to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him, and they have eternal life, and they will never perish.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, in practice, then we have the hope of eternal life. For he also said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

VOICE OF TRUTH 

By Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman

II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24

Oh what I would do to have

The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in

Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone

Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is

And He’s holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me

Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed

The waves they keep on telling me

Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”

“You’ll never win!”

But the voice of truth tells me a different story

The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”

And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”

Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CsiBjc0UIA

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