Setting the Right Example

“You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ESV)

The apostle Paul wrote this to the church of the Thessalonians, but the letter was from him, Silvanus, and Timothy. These men not only taught the gospel of Jesus Christ but they lived the truth of the gospel before the people as an example to them of what the Christian life is all about. Therefore the apostles served as a model to the Christians there, who apparently then followed after their example and the example of Jesus Christ in how they ought to live to please God and to serve the Lord with their lives.

Then they went on to serve as examples to other believers in Christ Jesus in other locations of what the Christian life is supposed to look like as acted out in our daily lives. And I really like what it says next. Not only did these believers in Jesus Christ give testimony to the gospel of Christ in these other locations, but their faith went everywhere, too. The people not only heard from their lips what it means to be a follower of Christ, but they saw it lived out in the lives of these who were sharing the gospel message with them.

And one of the evidences of their faith in Jesus Christ was that they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. So they weren’t just preaching the gospel, but they were living it. For Jesus taught that if we want to come after him that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to our old lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin and follow him in obedience, we have eternal life in him, by his grace.

And Paul taught that faith that is genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ results in us dying with Christ to sin and us living to God and to his righteousness in the power of God at work within us. True faith results in us surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ to do his will, and submitting to him as Lord, and us forsaking our sins to follow him in obedience to his commands. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to life eternal with God – all by God’s grace, in his power.

So, it is critical that we not only make verbal testimonies of faith in Jesus Christ, but that we are actually walking in that faith, in practice, in doing what our Lord commands that we must do as his followers. And it is critical that we are not only sharing the truth of the gospel with others, but that we are living out that gospel truth in our daily lives as an example to others as to what it means to be a Christian and what it means to live the Christian life in daily practice in walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 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 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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