August 31, 2015 RADICAL GOSPEL
Philippians 1:27: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,…”
Philippians 2:3-5: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely lookout for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Philippians 2:12-13: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
The gospel of the kingdom of God is indeed radical when compared to this world’s system and this world’s philosophy; and even the believer may see the gospel as being radical. If a believer is not aware of the fact that he has been made new, that he has been transformed, he may find the gospel to be radical because he is by his own self effort, trying to live out the gospel only to discover that he cannot do it. The gospel stands in stark contrast to the message we hear from the world. For example: are we actually to regard others more important than ourselves? Are we to look out for the interest of others? Is it really true that we are to have the same attitude that Jesus had? Is it true that the creator God, the God who rules the universe, the all- knowing God is at work in me-in you? And, is it true that the work that God is doing in me is for the purpose of bringing Him pleasure? Wow! When we understand what God is after, when we come to know that He has a plan that He is developing in us, then you can “bet the ranch” that we will with “fear and trembling” work out our salvation. This “fear” we are to have is not as the world defines fear-but indicates a heightened awareness of the seriousness of working and cooperating with God and realizing how tragic it would be to hinder His work in us. Our salvation is more than going to heaven; it involves every aspect of our lives and the working out of our salvation is to be our first priority in life. You could rightly say that in the scriptures we find a “code of conduct”, and the good news is that God has made it possible for us to conduct ourselves in “a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” We may get caught up in the routines of life- getting the oil changed in the car- taking out the garbage- going to work-paying the bills, etc., but in the midst of all the routines let us not forget that God is at work in us, steadily moving toward His goal of our lives bringing Him pleasure, and it is our responsibility to work with in as He works in us. By the way; we will discover that there is nothing more pleasurable than bringing Him pleasure. Less we miss-understand, it is clear in the verse above that we are to look out for our personal interest, but we are to look out for the interest of others as well. We are both stewards and servants. May each of us be about daily working out our salvation and let our conduct be “worthy of the gospel of Christ”-in so doing, we will bring pleasure to our Father.
Blessings,
Buddy
Philippians 1:27: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,…”
Philippians 2:3-5: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely lookout for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Philippians 2:12-13: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
The gospel of the kingdom of God is indeed radical when compared to this world’s system and this world’s philosophy; and even the believer may see the gospel as being radical. If a believer is not aware of the fact that he has been made new, that he has been transformed, he may find the gospel to be radical because he is by his own self effort, trying to live out the gospel only to discover that he cannot do it. The gospel stands in stark contrast to the message we hear from the world. For example: are we actually to regard others more important than ourselves? Are we to look out for the interest of others? Is it really true that we are to have the same attitude that Jesus had? Is it true that the creator God, the God who rules the universe, the all- knowing God is at work in me-in you? And, is it true that the work that God is doing in me is for the purpose of bringing Him pleasure? Wow! When we understand what God is after, when we come to know that He has a plan that He is developing in us, then you can “bet the ranch” that we will with “fear and trembling” work out our salvation. This “fear” we are to have is not as the world defines fear-but indicates a heightened awareness of the seriousness of working and cooperating with God and realizing how tragic it would be to hinder His work in us. Our salvation is more than going to heaven; it involves every aspect of our lives and the working out of our salvation is to be our first priority in life. You could rightly say that in the scriptures we find a “code of conduct”, and the good news is that God has made it possible for us to conduct ourselves in “a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” We may get caught up in the routines of life- getting the oil changed in the car- taking out the garbage- going to work-paying the bills, etc., but in the midst of all the routines let us not forget that God is at work in us, steadily moving toward His goal of our lives bringing Him pleasure, and it is our responsibility to work with in as He works in us. By the way; we will discover that there is nothing more pleasurable than bringing Him pleasure. Less we miss-understand, it is clear in the verse above that we are to look out for our personal interest, but we are to look out for the interest of others as well. We are both stewards and servants. May each of us be about daily working out our salvation and let our conduct be “worthy of the gospel of Christ”-in so doing, we will bring pleasure to our Father.
Blessings,
Buddy
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