Today in a chapel service the man asked whether we are
living a lifestyle as Christians or is it a way of life. He displayed the Wikipedia definition of the first
two. Here is their definition:
The term lifestyle can
denote the interests, opinions, behaviors, and behavioral orientations
of an individual, group, or culture.
The term was not coined until almost 1900. This definition tries to envelop anyone who
has the same interests, opinions or behaviors into the same lifestyle. There is a Goth lifestyle, a gangster
lifestyle, a country lifestyle. There
are as many lifestyles as there are people and personalities.
When you discuss way of life you are directed back to
lifestyle. There is a brief neglected
definition of way of life that states:
Way of life is a term to describe how a person lives.
If you break it down further and ask yourself what style
means you get this:
Style is a manner of doing or presenting
things.
When we examine all these things we come to one
conclusion. There is no specific way of
doing things. Your way is as good as my
way. Your plan is just as valid as
mine. Whatever you prefer is for you and
whatever I prefer is for me. To many
this means that stealing and murder are no more evil or negative than nurturing
and love. When all is relative, without
a bedrock foundation of changeless ideals, there is no right or wrong.
When you examine the various religions we discover gods who
battled amongst themselves and whoever wins rules. In other religions people worship a god that
they themselves have created; gods with no power, no breath, no life. These religions, no matter how full of quaint
philosophy or ideals, ultimately fail for the lack of a greater being who ultimately
creates and judges those standards.
Man has long mocked the God of the Christians and Jews for
His willingness to step back and let us reap the rewards of our disobedience
all the while tugging at our eternal spirit and soul. There was a time on this earth when every man
and woman knew God. They knew Him by
experience and intimate personal knowledge.
Even now, thousands of years after mankind’s creation there are men and
women who know for a certainty that God exists and is actively involved in our
future as a race.
The certainty of that knowledge varies from heart to heart
and life to life. This is not through
some failing of God’s power or purpose but of our willingness or unwillingness to
submit fully to His eternal plan and instructions. He has left us with a perfect and unchanging
voice that is both blatant and subtle, current and eternal. He has left us with His LIVING word.
Many who incorrectly call themselves Christians or Jews or
Deists can only accept His perfect word as a series of quaint lessons to be
viewed through layers of our own experiences and ideals. They forget that God intended His Word to be
eternal, unchanging, perfect and above all…obeyed. If that Word is not all of those things and
if our obedience to that Word is not required for salvation and eternal life
then the Word is not perfect. It would
just be one more compilation of life studies that can be abandoned as one
‘grows’ and ‘matures’ in their knowledge of life.
This attitude of abandoning the purity and perfection of
God’s Word is why our nation is stumbling, why this earth is struggling and why
mankind rushes to destruction rather than embracing God’s gift of eternal life
(Matthew 7:14-14). As I write this,
scriptures float before my inner man which all link together into a perfect
whole. If at any time you feel that
there is no answer for your problem, attitude or life, it is not a flaw of Old
and New Testament scripture, but of your understanding.
Even if I cannot answer your question out of my current
biblical knowledge it does not mean the answer is not available, merely that I
have not learned it. The beauty is that
God loves to help us discover this knowledge…though not without some
difficulty (Proverbs 25:2). Gold and
diamonds are not valuable because they are common. They are valuable for the difficulty in
obtaining them. God’s Word is of
incalculable value (Matthew 13:45-46).
God’s Word cannot be read with the goal of proving your
point or position. It can only be read
with the desire to be led. He is not
interested in great leaders, but in great followers and servants (Mark
10:42-44). This alone drives many
away. Many man made religions create
conquerors or destroyers. Some might say
that Israel was a conqueror in the Bible but that would be incorrect. Israel was ordained to bring the truth of
God’s Word to all mankind. Because they largely
fell short, Satan used that corrupted formula to deceive mankind for his own
purposes. He creates lies and calls it
faith. I don’t know how many times I have
heard people tell me, “There are many ways to come to God.”
That terrible lie has condemned countless millions to an
eternity in hell. God’s answer comes in
John 14:6 and says, “Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me.” God didn’t just offer a way
of life or a style of life. God offered
one specific way, one clear truth and one acceptable life. You must go through Jesus’ sacrifice. You must accept and believe God’s Living Word. You must strive to live that perfect and holy
life.
God doesn’t hate mankind.
He loved us so much He gave His only begotten son so we wouldn’t perish
(John 3:16). He knows we will fall short
and stumble but He expects us to get back up again (Proverbs 24:16) and press
into His Word (Philippians 3:13-15). The
truth is you will be hated by those who want to follow their own
lifestyle. You will be hated by those
who have their own way of life. You will
be hated by those who falsely say Jesus would not speak against their ‘lifestyle’
(Matthew 10:22-23, 24:9) even though He said to keep His commandments (John
14:15).
Living for God in Christ is a lifetime responsibility. It requires tremendous effort on our part and
a determined effort to gain more knowledge of God’s living word. Our position is the bride of Christ and in
that place we should do everything possible to abide fully in His WAY, His
Truth and His life. There are no
shortcuts in our walk with God. Amos 6:1
says, “Woe to them that are AT EASE in Zion.
When God says to PRESS toward the mark of the high calling in Christ
Jesus, it means to be so completely sold out to God that you are almost certain
to suffer persecution (Philippians 3:14).
God never said sin was not pleasant. He never said it was not tempting. What He said was, “Be ye holy as I the Lord
thy God am Holy (Leviticus 20:7, 1 Peter 1:15-16).” Being holy, sanctified, set apart and fit for
the Master’s use is never easy but its benefits are ETERNAL.
Stay on the path beloved.
Walk in His Way, His Truth and His LIFE!
We need all three to have eternal life.
Bishop J
