140831 How Should We Live?

2 Peter 3:8-13 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. ¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

About two thousand years have passed since Jesus ascended into heaven. At the time of his ascension his disciples were told that he would return in the same manner. But, since so much time has passed, many people, even Christians, doubt that He is coming. There have been many explanations of why Jesus has not returned. Well, I am convinced we need to believe the Bible and stop explaining it. The word of God says that He is coming. Jesus Himself said that He will return and that’s enough for me. Since He is coming again how should we live?

That’s a question we should ask ourselves often. Not only is He coming back but in a very real sense He is here now. How should we live when we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is ever present with us in His Spirit? Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” That should have a very strong influence on how we live our lives. But more than that, He who is with us spiritually also promises to be with us physically.

Since Jesus will be here in person we should live…

In expectation and anticipation. Turn with me to Philippians 3:20-21 and listen while I read.  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

We need to remember that our primary citizenship is in heaven. We may, or may not, be citizens of the United States of America. If we have confessed that Jesus is Lord and believed in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead the Bible says we have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of Heaven. That change of citizenship should initiate a new set of loyalties and commitments. At this point in time we have several citizens of the United States of America being held in foreign countries. I can’t think of anything right now that would be more welcomed by any of them than for a representative of our government to come for them. Nothing would be more exciting than for the President himself to arrive.

Well, that’s what it will be like when Jesus returns, if we are still alive. The promise of Scripture is that those who are alive will be caught up together with those who have gone before to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord!

This little bit of life we have on earth will come to an end and we will be with the Lord either through death or through transformation at His return!

We should eagerly anticipate Christ’s second coming…

In holiness and godliness. Remember the qualities that Peter told us we would have to work at? Turn with me to 2 Peter 1:5-7. Listen while I read. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

The Christian life should be one of growth. We begin with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our faith tells us that He has paid the price for our sin on the cross and been raised again to prove that He has the power to deliver us. That faith is the beginning point in the Christian life and as we anticipate His return we should be making every effort to grow in grace. This growth in grace will reflect holiness and godliness. In fact, in Hebrews chapter 10 we are told that God’s discipline in our life, which is often painful, is so that we can share his holiness. When the apostle Paul asked for the thorn to be taken from his side he was simply told that God’s grace is sufficient for him. That “thorn in the flesh” was for his good just as our “thorns” are for our good and for our growth. We need not talk about the cross we bear but instead we should remember that many of the physical problems we have are not crosses, but instead are thorns. The writer of Hebrews goes on to encourage us to struggle for “holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” We are to be set aside for God. We belong to Him! The presence of Christ in our life and the gift of grace make us holy in God’s sight.

We are to live lives of eager anticipation, of godliness and holiness that is…

Free from bondage to material things. Turn with me to 1 Timothy 6:6-10. There is great danger in the influence that material things have over us. Listen while I read But godliness with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Timothy was Paul’s “son in the faith” and Paul wanted him to be successful. He begins his admonition with an encouragement toward godliness and contentment. These are qualities that cannot be purchased but are part of the gift of God. Discontent exposes us to all kinds of evil influences. We need to remember that we can’t take anything with us.

Well, we can have it buried with us but it won’t do us any good. For example, this really happened. Before he died in 1899, Reuben John Smith of Buffalo, New York, made sure that he would spend eternity in comfort. He was buried seated in a leather recliner chair with a checkerboard sitting on his lap. Smith also requested that he be dressed in a hat and warm coat with the key to the tomb inside his coat pocket. I can assure you that all his preparations were for nothing. Long before Mr. Smith’s body was interred, along with his recliner, he was facing one of two realms. He was immediately in hell or heaven. What was done with his body meant nothing to him.

I heard about a man who all his life had desired to have a hundred thousand dollars in the bank. He reached that goal not too long before he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. This was very frustrating to him. He was not going to be able to enjoy the money he had accumulated! So, he asked his wife if she would put the money in his casket before it was closed. She said yes she would do that. True to her word just before they closed his casket she placed an envelope in his hand. A friend who knew about the situation asked her, “Did you really put that money in there?” The widow replied, “Yes, but in order for it not to take up so much room I wrote a check.” I suppose that the love of money had been no blessing to him.

We need to make every effort to be content with what we have. Money itself is not evil. But the love of money leads to all kinds of evils. A desire to be rich leads to covetousness and self-centeredness that dishonors God in our lives.

I have come to the conclusion that God will give us everything he can trust us with. I think that explains the condition of a lot of Christians! Not only are we to live lives of eager anticipation, of godliness and holiness as well as a life of freedom from bondage to earthly things we must be…

Using our time wisely. Turn with me to Ephesians 5:15-21. Listen while I read. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰ giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

This passage of Scripture is often misunderstood. It usually is only used in a discussion of being filled with the spirit. There is a lot more in this passage than just Holy Spirit fullness.

Whatever we do whether in word or deed should be done to the glory of God. Because, as Jesus said, we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to us. (Matthew 6:33)

Some people — in all seriousness — believe that we should use every moment of our time in some kind of “meaningful activity”. In the Psalms we are told that God created the great sea creatures to play in the ocean. (Psalm 104:26) In God’s admonition to Job he referred to the wilderness areas as being where all the wild beasts play. (Job 40:20) Since God allows his creatures to play it seems to me that he allows us to play also. I believe our lives should be balanced between work and play. Either one of these by itself, in excess, can lead to utter failure in our lives. Wise use of our time will cause us to focus on the will of God. We need to remember that there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We are to live in harmony with one another rejecting pride and haughtiness. We should make every effort to live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:14-21)

We are to live lives of eager anticipation, lives of godliness and holiness as well as lives of freedom from bondage to earthly things. We must be using our time wisely… With concern for those around us. Turn with me to Matthew 28:18-20. This passage is the Great Commission that Jesus gave His disciples just before he ascended into heaven. Listen while I read. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ we are to go about our daily activities in such a way that those around us will listen when we witness. Notice how Jesus puts it. Since we are “going” anyway we should be willing to disciple other people.

I realize that “disciple” might be a scary term. The way we use the term “discipling others” in the church today implies a lot of learning and teaching. I don’t believe that’s what Jesus had in mind. Once you know the Lord Jesus Christ you have all the “tools” that you need to be a disciple maker. Our lives should be lived in such a way that others can imitate us and not be in the wrong about anything. In fact, several times Paul admonished his Christian friends to imitate him or to imitate other Christians. Paul intentionally lived his life so that he could provide an example to imitate!  (2 Thessalonians 3:9)

Friendship is one of the most important tools that we have. We need to spend time with other people as their friends. To paraphrase a popular saying at social events “friends don’t let friends drive drunk” we should say “friends don’t let friends go to hell”. When we do bear witness to another person they should know that we are concerned about them and want them to know what they need to know to get to heaven. Once they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord then, and only then, are they to be baptized and taught. You only need to know that you know Christ in order to introduce him to another. Baptizing and teaching should be part of the Church experience that naturally follows in our lives.

Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, had some instruction and a word of exhortation. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:33-34. Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” ³⁴ Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

This passage of Scripture should be a rebuke to us as well as the Corinthians. In Stamford, New York, there are people who have no knowledge of God and we should be ashamed. On any given Sunday there are more than one thousand residents of the village who are not in church.

In his book, “The Chaos of the Cults”, J. K. VanBaalen referred to the “cults” — meaning Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, as well as other smaller groups, — when he said that they are the unpaid bills of the Christian church. His position was that if the church did its job properly then there would be no one willing to listen to these false teachers because they would know the truth — whatever they were doing with it.

Our lives should be lived in such a way that others would be inspired to find out what it’s all about. Paul told the Colossians, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person”. (Colossians 4:5-6) this parallels what Peter said in his first letter. “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”. (1 Peter 3:15)

We are to live lives of eager anticipation, lives of godliness and holiness as well as lives of freedom from bondage to earthly things. We must be using our time wisely with concern for those around us. Our concern for those around us should be first focused on their coming to faith in Christ. If we take care of their food needs and their clothing needs without taking care of their spiritual needs we will do them a great disservice. I heard one preacher say that taking care the physical needs without bringing them to faith in Christ just sends them to hell fat. I believe we are guilty of not speaking enough about Christ or of not living a life that will cause them to ask, “How do we do it?”.

The Bible is filled with direction as to how we should live our lives. We should not be passive simply waiting on God to do the work. We have an active role in our lives. We are to strive for peace and holiness (Hebrews 12:14). We are to abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Corinthians 6:18) We are to purify ourselves. (1 John 3:3) We are to avoid partnership with unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6:14) We are to cleanse ourselves in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1) This is not a passive endeavor it requires effort on our part. I am not talking about earning salvation by works. I am talking about works that show our salvation. Real faith produces real work. Have you put your faith in Him? Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time.

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.