Dear Friends,
Your life – your choices, your priorities, the things that matter most to you – these are the things that make the loudest and clearest statement about what matters most to you.
If you had lived in Philippi in the first century, one of the things that would have mattered most to you would have been your special standing as a citizen of Rome. The men and women in Philippi used to exhort one another to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of their status as Roman citizens.
We can see this clearly in Acts 16. When Paul came to town preaching the gospel and declaring that Jesus is King, many of the locals were incensed. They brought Paul and his companions before the local magistrates and charged them with disturbing the peace of Philippi. “These men are Jews,” they declared, “and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”
Years later, when he was in prison, Paul recalled those charges brought against him as he wrote to the church that he had planted in Philippi. In the same way that his opponents were proud of their status as Roman citizens and worked hard to avoid any conduct or practices that would be unbecoming for a Roman, so Paul urged his readers to make sure their manner of life was “worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
What did that mean for them? And what does it mean for each of us?
Living a life that is worthy of the gospel is about something bigger and deeper than simply living moral, upright and virtuous lives. It doesn’t mean less than that. But it means something more.
Living a life worthy of the gospel means you live in such a way that you show that you actually believe the gospel is true. In short, you live by faith.
To live a life worthy of the gospel means we live as though we believe that there really is a God. That He really does love us. That He actually demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die in our place. That He really has forgiven us for our sins. That He really is changing us. That He really is coming again. And that we really will live with Him forever.
Living a life worthy of the gospel means that when people look at your life, they don’t see that you have somehow achieved a sufficient level of holiness or godliness to make you worthy of God’s grace. Instead, it means live your life in a way that people see how worthy Jesus and the gospel are, and how grateful you are for God’s amazing grace in your life.
Paul’s exhortation for his readers to live a life that is worthy of the gospel is not a call to live perfectly. Paul knows that while we make it our aim to please Him, we will fall short. But we put the glory of the gospel on display every time we fail by responding rightly to our sins and our failures. Every time we mess up and people see us confessing our sins, repenting and believing again that the gospel is true, we are putting the good news on display for others. God forgives. God restores. God transforms. God’s grace truly is amazing.
But living a life worthy of the gospel is not simply so we have an effective witness among unbelievers. We ultimately live lives worthy of the gospel because Jesus is worthy. We respond to what He has done for us by living our lives in a way that honors Him. When you consider all He has done for you, the right response is to live a life that is pleasing to Him, that honors Him and that points people to Him.
As the hymnwriter said “Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Paul tells his readers that how they choose to live their lives is what matters most. Whether I’m there or not, he writes, I want to hear that you are living lives that honor Jesus. Lives that are worthy of the gospel.
I hope that each of us will make that our prayer and our aim today and every day.
The NxtGen college and young adult group will get together a week from this Sunday for the second of three lunchtime gatherings to discuss the book Knowing God. If you have questions, look for Pastor Cole Perkins or Pat Howell.
Students, I hope you’re resting up. You have two special events coming up soon. A movie night at church on Saturday, July 20. And a day at Magic Springs on Saturday, July 27.
Don’t forget on Tuesday night, July 30, we’re diving in, we’re going deep, in over our heads we want to be (apologies to Steven Curtis Chapman). It’s our family pool and pizza party, and everyone’s invited!
Plans are already underway for our AWANA Kickoff night on the last Wednesday night in August. But in order for us to love and care for and plant gospel seeds in the hearts of dozens and dozens of children this fall, we need you!
If you’re a member at Redeemer, would you pray a simple prayer? Would you ask the Lord if He wants you to be an Awana volunteer this year? The only special ability you need to serve in Awana is your availability on Wednesday nights during the school year from 6:15 pm until 8:00 pm.
We need you. The kids need you. And Laura White would love to hear from you. Send her an email at laurawhite811@gmail.com (mailto:laurawhite811@gmail.com) or text her at 501.517.5799.
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If someone asked you what the Kingdom of Heaven is like, how would you respond? Jesus, in Matthew 13, presents a series of parables that give us insight into God’s Kingdom and how we ought to understand it. We’ll look at some of those parables this week for a better understanding of what the Bible means when it talks about the Kingdom of Heaven.
See you in church.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Bob
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