Part 3: "The Peace of God: "The Practice of Right Living".
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)
If there was ever a time that we need to possess the peace of God , certainly this is that time. We are living in the time of turmiol predicted by both Jesus and Apostle Paul. Moral coruption is everywhere in all walks of life from the Clergy to the Congress people. Many are abandonng the true faith in God and seemingly have decided that God's way just doesn't work anymore. How wrong are they? The answer to this is they are dead wrong! If you search the scriptures in Matthew 24:3-31, and 2 Timothy 3:1-15, and compare what both Jesus said as well as Paul to the climate in the world we live in today, the Child of God caught in the "crossfire" has to conclude if they are to fully experience the peace of God, that peace that surpasses our understanding that the third thing we need to practice in the midst of these tumultious times is Right living!
The "righteousness of God" will lead a believer to live the right way. It starts with our salvation and baptism, that is, after confessing our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Right Living will manifest itself in the life of the believer in the following ways:
A. In relation to the Church:
The believer will strive to walk together in Christian love, promoting the prosperity and spirituality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In John 13: 34- 35, Jesus said:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another". (NIV) The Apostle Paul says to us through his letter to the Philippian Church in Philippians 1:27-29:
"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved — and that by God". (NIV) In his second letter to the same church, Paul continued to admonish the members to practical living. He reminded them of the precious promises that God made toward them and made the following request (2 Corinthians 7:1b) "Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God". (AMP)
The Apostle Peter also wrote to the church, encouraging them concerning their Christian condict in lieu of the comming judgment of God. In writing, he piggybacked on a letter Paul had written:
2 Peter 3:11-18 (AMPLIFIED)
Since everything will be destroyed in this way,(melted with fervent heat and burned up) what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly livesas you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him".
"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen".
The believer will strive to do all they can to sustain proper forms of worship, biblical ordinances, living a live of Christian discipline, avoiding damnable heresies and false doctrines. (Hebrews 10: 25) (Matthew 28:19) (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) (Jude 3).
We are, not the buildings we worship in are the real church and we must give Christ pre-eminence in our lives, contributing cheerfully and regularly to the ministry of the Word, the expenses of the church, relief to the poor and to evangelism of the Word of God. (1 Corinthians 16:2) (2 Corinthians 8:6-7)
B. In relation to our Personal Christian living:
We are to take care of our families in every way, especially in the area of maintaining devotion to God. (Joshua 24:15) We will do all we can to educate our children and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 6:4- 7) We will strive to seek the salvation of our friends and acquaintances. We ought to walk circumspectly in the world, being honest in all of our business dealings and practices. We need to be faithful in keeping our word and in exemplifying extraordinary character worthy of being called a child of God. Part of exemplifying extraordinary character comes in avoiding gossip and excessive anger. (Ephesians 4:31, 5:15) (1 Peter 1:22) (Hebrews 2:15) (Philippians 2:14- 15)
C. In relation with fellow saints:
We have an obligation to love one another. (1 Peter 1:22) We are to pray for one another and be ready to aid each other in sickness and in times of distress. (Galatians 6:2) (James 2: 14- 17) We are to cultivate healthy relationships, being slow to become offended but always ready to reconcile our differences. (Colossians 3:8) (James 3:1- 2) We will follow the 2 “love” laws Jesus gave us. We will love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and might. Then, we will love our neighbor as ourselves, because all of the laws given in the Word of God ride upon love of God and love for our fellow man.
Conclusion: Whenever we live the right way, think the right way and combine these two powerful princilpes with praying the right way, the Child of God will truly let their light shine in this darkening world as they lift up Jesus in their overall manner of living a wholistic (holistic) Christian life dedicated to the glory of God. By living, praying and thinkling the right way, someone will be led to Christ throuth the preaching and teaching of the word as well as by seeing with their own eeyes God's Word in action throught the lives of the People of God. God bless you all!
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)
If there was ever a time that we need to possess the peace of God , certainly this is that time. We are living in the time of turmiol predicted by both Jesus and Apostle Paul. Moral coruption is everywhere in all walks of life from the Clergy to the Congress people. Many are abandonng the true faith in God and seemingly have decided that God's way just doesn't work anymore. How wrong are they? The answer to this is they are dead wrong! If you search the scriptures in Matthew 24:3-31, and 2 Timothy 3:1-15, and compare what both Jesus said as well as Paul to the climate in the world we live in today, the Child of God caught in the "crossfire" has to conclude if they are to fully experience the peace of God, that peace that surpasses our understanding that the third thing we need to practice in the midst of these tumultious times is Right living!
The "righteousness of God" will lead a believer to live the right way. It starts with our salvation and baptism, that is, after confessing our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Right Living will manifest itself in the life of the believer in the following ways:
A. In relation to the Church:
The believer will strive to walk together in Christian love, promoting the prosperity and spirituality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In John 13: 34- 35, Jesus said:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another". (NIV) The Apostle Paul says to us through his letter to the Philippian Church in Philippians 1:27-29:
"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved — and that by God". (NIV) In his second letter to the same church, Paul continued to admonish the members to practical living. He reminded them of the precious promises that God made toward them and made the following request (2 Corinthians 7:1b) "Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God". (AMP)
The Apostle Peter also wrote to the church, encouraging them concerning their Christian condict in lieu of the comming judgment of God. In writing, he piggybacked on a letter Paul had written:
2 Peter 3:11-18 (AMPLIFIED)
Since everything will be destroyed in this way,(melted with fervent heat and burned up) what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly livesas you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him".
"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen".
The believer will strive to do all they can to sustain proper forms of worship, biblical ordinances, living a live of Christian discipline, avoiding damnable heresies and false doctrines. (Hebrews 10: 25) (Matthew 28:19) (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) (Jude 3).
We are, not the buildings we worship in are the real church and we must give Christ pre-eminence in our lives, contributing cheerfully and regularly to the ministry of the Word, the expenses of the church, relief to the poor and to evangelism of the Word of God. (1 Corinthians 16:2) (2 Corinthians 8:6-7)
B. In relation to our Personal Christian living:
We are to take care of our families in every way, especially in the area of maintaining devotion to God. (Joshua 24:15) We will do all we can to educate our children and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 6:4- 7) We will strive to seek the salvation of our friends and acquaintances. We ought to walk circumspectly in the world, being honest in all of our business dealings and practices. We need to be faithful in keeping our word and in exemplifying extraordinary character worthy of being called a child of God. Part of exemplifying extraordinary character comes in avoiding gossip and excessive anger. (Ephesians 4:31, 5:15) (1 Peter 1:22) (Hebrews 2:15) (Philippians 2:14- 15)
C. In relation with fellow saints:
We have an obligation to love one another. (1 Peter 1:22) We are to pray for one another and be ready to aid each other in sickness and in times of distress. (Galatians 6:2) (James 2: 14- 17) We are to cultivate healthy relationships, being slow to become offended but always ready to reconcile our differences. (Colossians 3:8) (James 3:1- 2) We will follow the 2 “love” laws Jesus gave us. We will love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and might. Then, we will love our neighbor as ourselves, because all of the laws given in the Word of God ride upon love of God and love for our fellow man.
Conclusion: Whenever we live the right way, think the right way and combine these two powerful princilpes with praying the right way, the Child of God will truly let their light shine in this darkening world as they lift up Jesus in their overall manner of living a wholistic (holistic) Christian life dedicated to the glory of God. By living, praying and thinkling the right way, someone will be led to Christ throuth the preaching and teaching of the word as well as by seeing with their own eeyes God's Word in action throught the lives of the People of God. God bless you all!
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