The New Testament often likens the Christian life to a race. God calls us to work out what He has worked in us (Phil. 2:12-13), and we are to run to win. What does it take to live all-out for the glory of God and avoid becoming "disqualified"?
Have you ever wondered why so many professing Christians (maybe even you!) are so spiritually lethargic and even downright apathetic to the things of God? Perhaps it's because they've never truly had the eyes of their hearts opened to see the glory and majesty of who God is and what He has done for sinners through the person and work of His glorious Son. If you truly are a Christian, God's plan and purpose for you is that you display the glory of His power and grace not only in the ages to come, but here and now. But if that is to happen, you have to set your gaze on the glory of the gospel.
Our natural bent is to be content, and so often our pride causes us to compare ourselves with others and even convince ourselves that, if only we could change our circumstances, we would be more spiritual and in a better position to serve the Lord. But the fact is that God is sovereign over every circumstance we face, and His will is not necessarily that we change those circumstances, but that we grow in Christ in and through them.
2 Corinthians 6:14 says that Christians are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Certainly this command applies to marriage, which is the closest of all human relationships. But what if someone becomes a Christian after they're already married and their spouse is still unconverted? Should they pursue divorce? The answer may surprise you.
The need to avoid sexual immorality is a no-brainer for most genuine Christians. Yet we so often hear of extramarital affairs and other forms of immoralities even among Christian leaders; not to mention the revealing statistics concerning the use of pornography among professing Christians. Perhaps one of the reasons for this inconsistency is a "convenient confusion" of the world's philosophy and the biblical teaching about human identity and sex. "Thou shalt not..." should be good enough for those who name the name of Christ, but the Apostle Paul approaches the subject from a deeper perspective that presents some radical reasons to flee sexual immorality and to glorify God with our bodies.
The First Century church at Corinth had the same sort of tendency to be deceived as we do in the 21st Century concerning the definition of a genuine Christian. So many in our day tell themselves and one another that they are on their way to heaven even though they are living in blatant, unrepentant sin. What does the Scripture say about this?
The local church is the physical representation of the larger body of Christ in a particular place at a particular time. It is the nexus of the Christian life; the place where the means of grace for sanctification are found. God's design for His people is that we do life together, and we can't be fully obedient to Him unless we're connected with His people. Church discipline is one of the means of grace He has provided for the preservation of His people and the purity of His church, and it is one of the corporate duties we fulfil in the context of our commitment to one another.
The church of Jesus Christ is commanded to take sin seriously because we are called to be holy. We do this by covenanting together in a local church and committing to following our Lord's instructions concerning how to deal with sin within the context of that community. Christ has provided a universal, step-by-step set of instructions for how to do this which is commonly referred to as church discipline. When we embrace these divine directions in obedience and seek to rightly understand and apply them, we will find that discipline is a means of grace for His church.
Many Christians think discipleship is defined by two or more people doing a study together. This certainly is an aspect of discipleship, but certainly not all the task entails. What are the indispensable elements of spiritual leadership without which discipleship is impossible?
Why do some Christians never seem to grow? Is there such a thing as a 'carnal Christian,' or is perpetual immaturity an anomaly? Are spiritual people Christians who have reached a higher plane of knowledge and maturity? What exactly is the measure of spiritual maturity, anyway, and how do we grow in Christ?
People are always desiring to have their ears tickled at the expense of the truth (2 Tim. 4:3), and preachers who are willing to cater to that desire abound in our narcissistic, entertainment driven culture. When we tamper with the truth of God's Word, we empty the gospel of its divine power because the wisdom of this world and the true wisdom of God are diametrically opposed.
Unity in the local church is of utmost importance to the Lord Jesus. Because Christians are united to Him, they are united to one another. Yet sadly, due to our pride, we fail to behave in a way that is consistent with this blessed identity and strife and division run rampant. How can we guard ourselves against disunity?
"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." Yet we are so prone to think that we are responsible for our successes, and look to point the finger of blame when things don't go our way. Through his example of thankfulness, the Apostle Paul directs our attention to the bountiful blessings that are ours in Christ which should cause us to always give thanks to God, and therefore to be humble.
If you could sum up the Christian life, what would it look like? The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, answers that question with a closing summary of his letter to Titus: believers are to be devoted to good works, God's word, and God's people.
These three words ring sweetly in the ears of those who have experienced this indescribable gift. But how are we saved? And what motivated God to save us? Meditating on the answers to these questions will make all the difference in how we work out what God has called us to do in response to His amazing grace.
Christians are often prone to see the unbelieving world as an oppressive adversary rather than a mission field. But when we remember that God saved us, not by any goodness of our own, but by His sovereign grace, we are motivated to be what He has called us to be in relation to them as we seek to win them to Christ.
Christians are to be different from the world, and yet engaged with the world, or as it is often said, to be in the world but not of it. We must move out of our "holy huddle" and to proclaim Christ not only with our words but with our attitudes and actions.
God's grace transforms us into the likeness of Christ, and we are to work that transformation out in practical ways not only in the community of the church, but in the larger community of the world around us. Despite the authorities over us or the way we may be treated, we are to apply ourselves to showing all people the character of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Salvation is a work of God's grace from start to finish. The gospel of God's grace-the good news that Jesus died for our sins and rose again-not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but removes the power of sin and trains us to be transformed into the likeness of Christ as we wait for the fullness of our transformation at His second coming when we will be finally freed from the presence of sin.
If slaves are commanded to have the proper attitude, action, and aim concerning their work, how much more do employees? While the workplace can be a challenging environment, simple obedience to God's divine directives for workers makes the gospel attractive to a lost world.
