For the Faith of the Gospel

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” (Philippians 1:27-30 ESV)

So, what was the situation here? The apostle Paul was encouraging the Christians in their walks of faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus. He let them know that he loved them and that he was praying for them, too, for their walks of faith and for their maturity of faith in the Lord Jesus, that they would live holy lives, pleasing to the Lord, in the righteousness of God. 

And then he shared with them how God was using for good what Satan had meant for evil in his life. Even though he was being hated and mistreated for the sake of the gospel and for his testimony for the Lord Jesus, the Lord was turning it around for good, for the spreading of the gospel message, and for the glory of God, and for the salvation of human lives from bondage to sin, and for empowerment of God to live holy lives in accord with God’s word.

But Paul was not ashamed of the truth of the fulness of the gospel of Christ Jesus, nor was he afraid to suffer because he taught what is truth and not the lies. He asked for prayer, and he was confident that through those prayers and the help of the Holy Spirit that he would not be ashamed of Christ and of his gospel message but that he would have full courage and that Christ would be honored in his body (in his life and life practices).

Even though he was certainly prepared and ready to be with the Lord, for whenever the Lord decided to call him home, he was also willing to remain on the earth for as long as God wanted him to remain so that he could continue to be an encouragement to the followers of Jesus Christ, for their progress and joy in the faith. For this was his mission from God, not just to teach the gospel, but to disciple the believers in Christ to maturity in Christ.

For when we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, if our faith is of God, and not of the flesh, we are then crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Sin is no longer to be what we obey, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if we obey obedience to God, its end is eternal life with God.

And this is why Paul then stated what he said, that they should let their manner of life be worthy (suitable to, fitting to) of the gospel of Christ. And Jesus taught that if we want to come after him that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, and if we do not, that we will not have life in him, but that we will lose our lives for eternity. So for our manner of life to be worthy of the gospel means to do what Jesus said.

So, if we, as the body of Christ, are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, it needs to be the full gospel message as taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles, and not this popularized diluted half-truth gospel that so many are passing off as the true gospel message today. For we are not saved from our sins and on our way to heaven if sin is still what we practice and not obedience to our Lord.

But if this is true of our lives, that we are genuinely standing on the truth that Jesus and his NT apostles taught (in the full and appropriate context), the majority of those claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior are not going to embrace us and include us, because so many of them are embracing the lies which do not require of them that they deny self, die daily to sin, and walk in purity of obedience to our Lord and to his commandments.

For so many of them are totally rejecting the idea that we must repent of our sins and now follow Jesus in obedience, to have the kind of faith which is of God and which saves. And even if they teach repentance and obedience, so many are teaching them as optional, that “we should” do those things, but not as though they are required of God. And many are giving the “believers” free license to continue living in sin without having to feel guilt.

So, I encourage you to study the Scriptures in their full context so that you know what they are really teaching, that you surrender your lives to Jesus Christ to do his will, that you die with him to sin, and that you now walk in obedience to his commands, by his grace, and in his power. And then I encourage you to be telling others that true faith in Jesus requires that we die with him to sin and that we now walk in obedience to his commands.

[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 2:3-6,15-17; 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]

Teach Them  

An Original Work / May 24, 2012

Based off various scriptures

Open up the blinded eyes of

Those who walk in sin’s darkness.

Turn them to the light of Christ

And to His righteousness.

Turn them from the pow’r of Satan.

Turn them to the peace of Christ,

So they may receive forgiveness

And eternal life. 

Teach them to put off their old selves

And their former way of life,

And to put on their new self,

Reborn to be like Christ;

To not copy worldly customs;

Be transformed in life and mind;

Obey freely His word in them,

Pleasing unto God.

Teach them how to love their neighbors

Truly as they love themselves;

Be a witness; share the gospel;

Satan’s lies dispel;

Comfort all who mourn in sadness;

Share Christ’s love and joy today.

Do this through your life and witness

For your Lord always. 

https://vimeo.com/125485489