Tag: manner of life

29.i. “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ”

 

Colossians 2:6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

 Isaiah 2:5    O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

 John 14:6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 Ephesians 5:1-2   Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.   And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 Philippians 1:27  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,

 1 John 2:6   whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him: This is a wonderful rule for Christian living. We cannot perfect in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit; therefore just as you received Jesus, walk in Him in the same way. The simple things of the Christian life provide continual and reliable spiritual fuel for growth. We always have to be reminded of the things we have been taught. So walk in Him, rooted and built up: Paul used a curious combination of metaphors. As Christians, we walk, but we are also rooted, and we are also built up. The metaphors are somewhat mixed, but the message is clear: be established and keep growing. 

What keeps us from growing and being established?  Fleshly and worldly things will hinder our growth and erode our foundation. Are we truly satisfied with a single grape worth of fruit and a shallow foundation unable to build upon? Day after day we are continually exposed to worldly and fleshly things. They are all around us and coming at us all of the time.  It can be from those we choose to be around, what we choose to watch and read, or what we choose to think about and allow our minds to dwell on.  How are we to discern that which is true, right, holy, and beneficial from that which is meaningless, worthless, tempting, deceitful, and false?  Being committed to be in the presence of God at all times with a heart and mind deep desire to, in all things, honor and glorify Jesus Christ is the fertile soil and rock-solid foundation that gives us discernment and understanding for that which is right, true, holy, and beneficial.  Water your roots and dig deep into your foundation through daily reading and studying God’s Word.

20.w. “Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!”

 

 

 

Romans 12:2   Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

J.B. Phillips translates this vs, Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the Plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

 Leviticus 18:30    So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”

 1 John 5:19     We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

 1 John 4:4-5   Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

 1 Corinthians 3:19    For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

 1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 Ezekiel 18:31    Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!

 Ephesians 4:22-24   to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

 Colossians 3:10   and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

 Psalms 34:8   Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

God’s word warns us that the “world system” – the popular culture and manner of thinking that is in rebellion against God – will try to conform us to its ungodly pattern, and that process must be resisted. The battleground between conforming to the world and being transformed is within the mind of the believer. Christians must think differently.  “I don’t want to be conformed to this world. I want to be transformed. How do I do it?” By the renewing of your mind. The problem with many Christians is they live life based on feelings, worthy are only concerned about doing. The life based on feeling says, “How do I feel today? How do I feel about my job? How do I feel about my wife? How do I feel about worship? How do I feel about the preacher?” This life by feeling will never know the transforming power of God, because it ignores the renewing of the mind.  The life based on doing says, “Don’t give me your theology. Just tell me what to do. Give me the four points for this and the seven keys for that.” This life of doing will never know the transforming power of God, because it ignores the renewing of the mind.  God is never against the principles of feeling and doing. He is a God of powerful and passionate feeling and He commands us to be doers. Yet feelings and doing are completely insufficient foundations for the Christian life. The first questions cannot be “How do I feel?” or “What do I do?” Rather, they must be “What is true here? What does God’s Word say?” “How do I apply this or how does it apply to my life.” “What is in my heart and mind?” “How do I discern the intents and purposes of my actions?” “What things in this world are contrary to things of God?”

God’s Word must be more than do’s and do not’s.  This would never transform a person from the inside.  Meditation on God’s Word, however, will transform us.  The problem is that we too often fall into the trap of only listening to what others have meditated on.  We listen to our pastors on Sunday. We listen to radio preachers throughout the week.  We may form opinions based on what they have said.  We may even try to remember the three or four points they tell us are important.  When is the last time we spent in God’s Word, asked God to give us wisdom and understanding, and meditated upon it?  I must admit, very seldom, when our pastor is preaching, am I fully listening.  I read the passage from which he is preaching. I cross-reference to other verses.  I think about what God is revealing to me and then I give thought to this throughout the day.  Some thoughts will stay throughout the week with me while I think about it and try to make sense of it.  At the end of the day we are renewed and transformed in how we think, act, and do, by our thoughts and meditation on God’s Word.  It is a shallow commitment to God when we spend no time meditating on His Word.