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Indeed,
all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
-2 Timothy 3:12, NAS
My
friend, Bill, called me up the other day and asked if I would meet him
for breakfast. We occasionally get together to catch up with one another
on the important topics of the world such as sports, sports, and sports.
It's a guy thing. Anyway, this meeting of the minds turned out to be
quite different from most of the others as Bill began to open up about
his struggle to "live the Christian life":
"John,
you've known me for a long time and while I love to argue with you about
who was the best baseball pitcher of all time or what team is going to
take this year's Super Bowl, my greatest pre-occupation in life is to be
a godly man. I want to be Christ-like in all I do and say. The problem
lately has been that I'm just not measuring up. I try to do all the
right things and avoid all the wrong, but I can't seem follow-through on
my commitment. I know God wants me to live in a godly way but I feel
like I'm never going to get there and that He is constantly disappointed
in me. What am I going to do?!"
Bill's
struggle speaks to the dilemma of many people today who have been made
new in Christ. Because he has a deep appreciation for the love of God
and a gratitude for what Jesus has done for him through the cross, he
longs to demonstrate his indebtedness by how he lives life. He wants to
be obedient to God and do what pleases Him.
How
about you? Do you long to live a godly life? Do you want to obey the
Lord and do what pleases Him? Sure you do. He has placed that desire in
you. The problem arises, however, when we interpret that desire to be a
call to perfect behavior and then inevitably discover that "the
good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do
not wish" (Romans 7:19). We then see ourselves as failures, as
un-godly, and end up reaping the consequences of condemnation and guilt.
Friend, if living godly means to live without faults and failures, then
we are all sunk!
Why
would God tell us to live an impeccable life knowing that we will never
achieve it? The good news is that He has no expectations that you will
live perfectly. Never has and never will. He does, however, tell us to
pursue godliness (1 Timothy 6:11), to lead a tranquil and quiet
life in all godliness (1 Timothy 2:2), and that "all
who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy
3:12). It seems that from God's perspective, living godly is
possible. If that is the case, then what does it mean to live godly and
how is it possible? The answer lies not what we do but in what we
believe.
Friend,
to live godly in Christ means to live life as God would have you now
live it. And in this dispensation or age of grace, He declares that
those in Christ are to live daily by faith:
For
in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is
written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH"
(Romans 1:17).
Now
that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for,
"THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH"
(Galatians 3:11).
We
who are righteous in Christ are to live life resting confidently in the
finished work of our Savior Jesus Christ. Does that mean that our
behavior will be loving, kind, patient, and forgiving? Maybe it will and
maybe it won't. If ever there was a godly man it was the apostle Paul,
yet he too found himself not always practicing what he would like to do,
but doing the very thing he hated (Romans 7:15). Either way, you and I
living godly lives is not about us living as perfect Christians. It's
all about having a steadfastness of mind and a firm conviction that no
matter what the circumstances, no matter what our outward actions and
deeds may look like, our right standing with the Lord is secure solely
because of the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
But
wait a minute. Paul says that those who desire to live in this manner,
those who trust exclusively in the work of Christ on their behalf plus
nothing, will be persecuted. Persecuted by whom? None other than the
religious and the self-righteous. Think it through, folks. Read through
the book of Acts and Paul's epistles. Who was it that caused him his
suffering as he traveled from place to place sharing the word of the
cross? Was it the drunkard? Was it the prostitute? How about the
homosexuals? No. Instead it was those who oversaw, profited from, and
supported the law-based religious system of the day. Paul describes
these persecutors as "those who desire to make a good showing in
the flesh" (Galatians 6:12a). Just like the same men today, they
were those who believed that a man can and should do something to
make or keep himself right with God. They, therefore, had rejected the
gift of righteousness that God offers by faith for a works-based system
of their own. They were at odds with the gospel message "simply
that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ" (Galatians
6:12b). They would rather blend in and remain safe by supporting the
religious party-line than stand out and be persecuted for living
"godly in the present age" (Titus 2:12).
Paul
made it clear that in order for a man to live godly he must live by
faith, not by works. The life which Paul lived in the flesh he
lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself up for
him (Galatians 2:20). We received Christ by faith as well and we too are
to continue to live in the same manner (Colossians 2:6). This is living
godly in Christ. This is living as God would have you and I to live!
Friend, the greatest temptation you will ever face in life is the
enticement to do something to recover your right standing with
God when you feel like you have lost it. Don't go for the bait! The
gospel proclaims that it is "to the one who does not work, but
believes in Him who justifies the ungodly (those who do not live as
God would have them to live, a.k.a. by faith) his faith is reckoned
as righteousness" (Romans 4:5). Stand firm in the truth, live godly
in Christ Jesus, and then do not be surprised that your reward from this
religious world is a healthy dose of persecution. We stand with you!
Grace and peace to
you always!
John
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