Lived Out Faith: Live Worthily
Lived Out Faith: Live Worthily by Rev. L. John Gable
September 30, 2018
When I was in high school I distinctly remember one of our youth directors asking this pointed question, “If being a Christian was against the law would there be enough evidence to convict you?” That question begins to get at the issue we started talking about two weeks ago when we asked “What does it mean to have a “lived out” faith? What do we mean when we say, “I am a Christian”, and what measurement might we use, or evidence might we point to, to try to substantiate that claim? In short, if being a Christian was against the law would there be enough evidence to convict you?
You might recall, we drew a distinction between what we will call our “orthodoxy” and our “orthopraxy.” By “orthodoxy” we mean our “right beliefs and convictions”. I don’t mean this in the narrow, fundamentalistic, exclusionary way we often hear the term “orthodox” being used, as a kind of litmus test to determine the genuineness of another’s profession of faith. Rather when I refer to “orthodoxy” – “ortho” meaning “right or correct” and “doxy” meaning “thoughts or beliefs”, I mean aligning our beliefs within the mainstream of historic Christian beliefs and teaching. Without question we would all accept that having “right beliefs” is essential to the Christian faith, but it doesn’t end there, does it? It is also necessary for us to have “right practices and behaviors”, what we will call “orthopraxy.”
In its fullest sense to be a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ, a Jesus follower, is not simply something we say or confess; it is also something we actually do. It is not just a way of thinking or believing; it is also a way of being and behaving, and one without the other is simply insufficient if we desire to have a “lived out” faith. Our believing must find expression in our doing. And conversely, our doing is the evidence of our believing.
I told you of the four commitments Dr. Frank Harrington asked of new members of Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta when they joined that fellowship. As those making a commitment to be a member of Christ’s Body the Church and His representative in the world, Dr. Harrington would ask them, as I am now asking you, to make a commitment to * to worship regularly * to live worthily * to serve eagerly and * to give generously. As we agreed, regular worship is essential to our spiritual lives and growth because in worship we very intentionally place ourselves in the presence of the living God, offering ourselves as a “living sacrifice” to use the language of Paul in the 12th chapter of Romans. In worship we discover who we are and to Whom we belong and what it is we are called to do and be. So, to this end, worship cannot be optional for us; rather it is essential and so must be regular, if we truly desire to have a “lived out” faith.
Today then we look at the second commitment to “live worthily”. This concept is taken directly from the passage we read from Ephesians 4. Paul writes, “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Elsewhere, in his letter to the Philippians, he writes, “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (1:27). Now I will admit right up front that this one may well be the most challenging of the four commitments we are being asked to make, “to live worthily.”
As I read this passage I trip over the word “worthily”. It suggests that there is some cost or value or worth to the Christian life, and knowing myself as I do, I know I am not “worthy” of that designation on my own; which begs the question, if there is a cost to be paid, how much is it, and perhaps even more importantly, who’s going to pay it? We know that we cannot earn or purchase our salvation on our own. We read in Ephesians 2, “For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” So, if we cannot pay the price of our salvation for ourselves, who can? Who has? God has, through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the central teaching of the Christian faith. This is the core of the Gospel. This truly is the Good News.
The shortest summation of the Christian Gospel is given to us in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” So what is the cost of our salvation? What are we worth in God’s eyes? The very giving of God’s own Son, the One we call Savior and Lord.
Every reference, every descriptor we can give of Jesus, references what He did for us. We call Him Savior because He alone is able to save us from our sin. We call Him Healer because He alone is able to heal our brokenness. We call Him Deliverer because He alone is able to deliver us from our bondage. We call Him Rescuer for He alone is able to come to our aid. We call Him Redeemer because He alone is willing and able to pay the penalty of our indebtedness to sin. And on and on. He is the Judge who finds us guilty and then pays the penalty on our behalf; hence He is the Judge judged in our place, and “by His wounds we are healed” (Is. 53:5).
Jesus has done for us that we cannot do for ourselves, namely He has saved us, redeemed us, restored and delivered us. Friends, the price of our salvation has been paid by God Himself. Scripture tells us, “God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8) which tells us the exact price of our salvation, the cost of His Son on the cross. This then is “the worth” of the life we have been called to lead in His name. We are to lead lives “worthy” of the price of our salvation. As Paul will write, “We have been purchased with a price” (I Cor.7:23). We are no longer our own. We belong to Christ. Admittedly, we are not worthy, not one of us, but we are called to live lives that are worthy, lives that reflect the value and worth of our salvation. As one has put it so succinctly, “Christ’s love for us is proved by His death. Our love for Christ is proved by our living for Him.”
So how do we know what such a “worthy life” looks like? We need only look at Jesus, so Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”, then he goes on to explain, “though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be either grasped or exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being born in human likeness, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” It is this posture of obedience and humility and service that we are called to translate in to our lives, if we desire to have a “lived out” faith. And admittedly, this is the hard part. It is one thing to agree in concept to the notion of being humble and gentle and patient, willing to bear with one another in love; but quite another to actually do it. Yet this is the “worthy” life to which we have been called in Christ. This is the life of discipleship.
If we are to call ourselves Christians, followers of Jesus, then we have been called, and must commit ourselves to living a life which reflects something of His presence and lordship; to living in obedience to His Word and in submission to His will; to living a life which demonstrates the two great commandments – a genuine love for God and a compassionate caring for others; to living a life enriched and empowered by His Holy Spirit in the full recognition that we cannot do this on our own, nor should we even try. To call ourselves Christian, we must recognize that we have been called, and must be committed, to having a “lived out” faith, to living a life “worthy” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The word “integrity” has taken on a popular usage in recent years. To be integrated means to be complete, connected and consistent in all the various parts of our lives. As we apply that to our Christian lives I believe this is what it means to “live worthily.”
It is my desire, not simply because I am your pastor, but because I am a representative of Jesus Christ, one of His followers, to living an “integrated” life of faith. By that I mean, I desire to live my life in a consistent enough manner that I will be the same person wherever I am and whatever I am doing. I desire to live my life in a manner that reflects the character of Christ whether you hear me in the pulpit, or see me on the streets. I desire to be the same person out there that I profess to be in here, because wherever I am, I am a representative of Jesus Christ, as are you, so I want this to be your desire, too!
This has become something of a life verse for me. I want “to live my life in a manner worthy of the Gospel”. At the end of my days I’m not terribly concerned that God is going to ask me if I have been successful, but I am convinced He is going to ask me if I have sought to be faithful to His calling, and I want to be able to answer, “Yes!”
When we walk out of here we are representatives of Jesus Christ in the world and believe me when I tell you, the non-believing, religiously skeptical world is watching us. Believe it or not they are looking at you, at the way you live, the way you talk, the way you treat your neighbors, the way you conduct your business affairs, even the way you drive your car, particularly if you have one of those Tab magnets on it, and wondering if this is what it means to be a Christian; which means, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are never off the clock, never out of uniform, never off duty, someone is always watching us. Think of it this way, you may be the closest thing some people will ever get to seeing a “real” Christian up close and personal, so “I beg you to live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel”. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read, so let the text of your life speak boldly and plainly. You may be the only answer some people will ever get to the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?”, so let your life be a worthy demonstration of the Gospel: at home and at the office, in school and in your places of leisure and recreation. Let your business dealings and your conversations be governed by the high calling to which you have been called in Jesus Christ.
I know that sounds like some great burden, but it is not so much a burden as it is a high calling, a great opportunity and a great privilege. Imagine this, God has chosen the likes of you and me to be His witnesses, His ambassadors in the world. At the close of Paul’s teaching about having the mind of Christ he writes, “So work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (work out your faith in the real practicalities of your own life, but be assured you are not working alone), for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” As we practice this kind of a “lived out faith” we discover our true life’s calling and not only does this bring us life’s greatest joy, but it is also very compelling to others. I will confess that I am inspired when I look at the way some of you live out your faith. I watch how you spend your time and your money and your energies. I see the commitments you make to growing in your faith, to working with the children of our church and community, to serving the poor and needy in this neighborhood and around the world, and friends, if I notice that in you, others surely do, as well. They see what you are doing and the joy and meaning for life that you get from doing it. They see how your words are being translated in to actions, your “orthodoxy” in to “orthopraxy”, and that is a very compelling argument for the difference that Jesus Christ can make in a life. You are giving them good answers to the question of what it means to be a Christian, at least I hope you are, as I hope I am, because you and I are Christ’s representatives in the world and they will judge Him by what they see in us.
So “I beg you to live your life in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”, so that, if ever you are brought up on charges of being a Christian there will be more than enough evidence to convict you.