Living Biblically
Since January I’ve kind of been on a series that I ended up calling, “Living As A Christian.” Over the past several weeks, however, we’ve looked at how a lot of believers and churches have left the foundational roots of the faith, and have been living their lives and conducting the affairs of the church in a similar way as the society around them, even to the point of calling sin as acceptable and okay. And if someone have the audacity of calling out the sin, they’re called intolerant, and these accusations are not only coming from those outside the faith, but unfortunately by those who call themselves by the name of Jesus Christ, or Christians.
I recently was looking up the history of the Great Wall of China, and how the Mongols successfully overcame it and invaded the country. And while the Great Wall has a complicated history, what I found in some renditions is that the Mongols bribed one of the gatekeepers.
In a way, this is what is happening within the church. It is the gatekeepers, that is, the church leadership that is selling out to the cultural norms of society, which is why we see major doctrinal shifts toward unbiblical stances.
Satan knows how to get at our hearts. Satan has a strategy, as he continues to fill our minds with all the stuff of the world. And I hope you understand and hear what I am going to say, and that is that Satan doesn’t have to curse us, instead he gets us to curse ourselves by living our lives in direct opposition to God and His word.
This is why Christians and the church are not affecting the communities and the world for Jesus Christ. We need godly wisdom to live in this ungodly world. Therefore, we need to watch what we let into our hearts.
The Bible says in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life,” which is what Jesus makes sure we understand saying, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-5).
And seeing what Jeremiah says about the heart, that it is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), we need to be careful not to let in any more of the bad stuff.
How can we do this, by putting in more of the good stuff, that is, not succumbing to the philosophy of this world, but taking a Biblical worldview, that is, we need to form our stances from what the Bible says, and stay true to the biblical doctrines like holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, and the like.
Literally, we have to start telling our minds how to think; instead of letting the world and social media run wild through our brains. And we do this through the Holy Spirit that resides within every believer.
The Bible tells us to take off our former corrupt conduct and deceitful lusts and put on the new man we’ve become in Jesus Christ in true righteousness and holiness, and it says we do this by being renewed in the spirit of our minds (Ephesians 4:22-24).
It is the Holy Spirit that resides inside each one of us that should be telling us how to think, but if we’re not putting in the good stuff, that is, what the Bible has to say, He has nothing to work with, and we’ll start moving toward our automatic default setting, which is sin.
We can only begin to live biblically by thinking biblically, and that is accomplished when we open up God’s word on a daily basis and take in the wisdom of God on how to live a holy life in an unholy land.
And so we need to start living our lives in accordance to the Bible. But we need to be careful not to just read it, but to put it into practice, as the Apostle James so wisely said in chapter one verse twenty-two.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 NKJV)
We also need to be careful of not being so doctrinally correct that we become devotionally wrong.
There came a time shortly after seminary that people would come into my office just to debate some doctrine that they held dear, which they knew that I was not in total agreement with, like the “Once Saved Always Saved” or the “Calvin/Pelagius debate.” But it didn’t take long before I just quite debating them, because while we were debating the correctness of a doctrine, there were people who were dying in their sin and in need of the gospel message. That is what I mean by being so doctrinally correct that we’ve become devotionally wrong.
And so in order to think biblically and thus live biblically, we need to trust the Bible and that what it says is true.
Let me say that to date, there hasn’t be one Bible objection or apparent contradiction that hasn’t been answered and set straight, with the Bible always being verified and vindicated.
And second of all, I think that it is the height of arrogance on the part of today’s critics of the Bible to claim superiority over those who lived during those times, and who saw and heard Jesus and the Apostles. We won’t accept it in a court of law in the establishment of facts and truth, then why do we accept it this area. For me it is the height of hypocrisy.
The Bible is Like No Other
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NKJV)
The Bible isn’t some outdated book on God, nor is it the morality of another age. The Bible is God’s word for every age, culture, and society.
The Bible addresses hundreds of controversial subjects along with the hot topics of our own day like marriage, morality, homosexuality, addictions, finances, greed, government, parenting, and the issues of life and death.
It was written over a 1,500-year time span in three different languages from a wide diversity of writers from business people to fishermen, kings, shepherds, soldiers, politicians, priests, prophets, an IRS agent, and a physician.
It was written in various locations like Moses in the wilderness, King Solomon in a palace, Jeremiah in a dungeon, Paul in prison, and John in exile, along with the countries of Italy, Greece, Mesopotamia, and Israel.
It was also written in times of peace and times of war and in a variety of literary styles
And yet, over all these years and by all these different authors and places of writing, the Bible is unified and remains in complete harmony in all these topics. There is not another book that can make this claim.
The Bible isn’t just another religious book. It’s God’s roadmap to salvation, giving both direction and purpose for life. The Bible is God’s instruction manual as to how we live our lives before a holy and righteous God.
Reading and studying God’s word is therefore the most transformational practice we can do, because we are daily encountering the one who created us.
Therefore, the Bible is like no other book, because it is literally God’s word for our lives. It tells us everything we need to know and gives us instruction as to how we face the trials, tribulations, problems, and struggles of life.
So what sort of life is a biblically based life?
1. It’s A Sacrificial Life
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1 NKJV)
What is a living sacrifice?
It is the process of putting to death the old self that is full of corruption and sin, and it’s becoming alive in Jesus Christ and the process of putting on the new man or woman that we have become in Him.
The Apostle Paul gives us this description of what it means to us as believers.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him (that is God) who created him” (Colossians 3:1-10 NKJV).
A sacrificial life is a life that is set apart to God. This life is not about pleasing ourselves, but about pleasing God by doing His will. We need to take as our example Jesus Christ who lived such a life and everything He did was to please the Father by doing His will. He lived sacrificially and gave His life to redeem humanity from its slavery to sin and death.
As believers our lives are set apart to God with Jesus Christ as our example. To see exactly what this looks like, the Apostle Paul gives us this picture.
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:3-8 NKJV)
Let me make this one connection, and that is, if we want to live biblically and thus sacrificially, we need to live our lives in obedience to God and to His word. It’s as I stated earlier from the Apostle James about our need to be doers of God’s word and not just hearers only (James 1:22).
This idea that a sacrificial life is a life set apart to God leads me to the second thing that a biblical life is like.
2. It’s A Holy Life
In Peter’s first letter he brings forth a condition of God, and that is the need to live our lives differently now that we are His, that is, holy lives as outlined in Leviticus 11:44 that says, “Be holy; for I am holy.”
“As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:15-16 NKJV)
Holiness is a key component in the house of God, as Psalm 93:5 says, “Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever,” but also seeing that within every believer lies the Temple of God, and Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), holiness is then a key component in the hearts of God’s people as well. The Apostle Paul said that God hasn’t called us to uncleanness, but to holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
The word holy means to be separated from the world and set apart for God. It implies living a life of service for God and conforming to and becoming like Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5–8).
To be holy, therefore, is to be separate from sin and set apart for God. In fact, if I could be so bold, it means that we are not at peace with the sin that lies within. Instead our hatred of sin should grow, and therefore our desire, above everything else, should be to be free from its grip.
Because God is holy, He hates sin. Concerning the sins committed by Israel, the Lord said, “All these are things that I hate” (Zachariah 8:17b).
Therefore, the more we grow in holiness, the more our hatred for sin will grow. In Psalm 119:104 it says, “Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.”
I’ve heard it said this way. “It was sin that wove the crown of thorns that drew blood from Jesus’ head. It was sin that caused His hands, feet, and side to be pierced. It was sin that brought Him to Calvary, the cross, and the tomb.”
Now do you see why we should hate sin!
Further, holiness isn’t about, nor does it start with a set of rules and regulations. Rather, holiness begins with the Lord, because He is holy, and as we have seen, He calls us to be the same.
Unfortunately, as we have seen, some Christians and churches base their lives and their doctrines upon cultural holiness. They adapt their character and behavior to the culture and society around them; rather than to God’s word.
When we begin conforming to our culture and society rather than to God and His word, we start becoming less holy in the eyes of God. God hasn’t called us to be like others. He hasn’t called to be like the society we live in. Instead, He’s called us to be like Him.
Further, because God’s nature is holy, He cannot ignore or approve any evil that is committed. It goes against His character. Concerning God, the prophet Habakkuk said, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13).
God is holy; therefore, He cannot excuse or overlook sin, no matter how we like to excuse it away.
Unfortunately, holiness no longer holds the place it should in our hearts. To turn ourselves around, we need to follow God’s advice.
“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die?” (Ezekiel 18:31 NKJV)
Holiness is needed in our lives and in the church if we ever want to see the revival that we’ve been praying for, and that is so sorely needed.
3. It’s An Integrious Life
“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”(Psalm 15:1-2 NKJV)
When talking about the qualities that are necessary for a Christian life, integrity is one quality that cannot be ignored. The reason is because that’s the type of life God desires and uses.
Of King David the Bible says, “And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Psalm 78:72 NIV)
It was with such an integrious heart that God commended David for having saying that He was a man after His own heart, Acts 13:22.
If David had a heart after God’s heart, and if David’s heart was integrious, therefore, it can be concluded that integrity is an integral part of God’s own heart, in other words, integrity is one of God’s qualities.
This is seen in something Moses said about God’s character.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
I think it’s safe to say that integrity is needed just as much today as it’s ever been. Not only are we a society drowning in lies, but we are living in a world that is living more by the lie than by the truth, and the sad part is that most people don’t even think it’s that big of a deal.
But it is a big deal, and the Bible calls it sin. In fact it’s such a big deal to God because of how it hurts our relationship with Him and others. Therefore, God made it into one of the big ten, the ninth to be exact.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16 NKJV)
So what is integrity? Integrity is about being honest, fair, and having a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. It’s adhering to moral and ethical principles, and goes directly to a person’s character, that is, who they truly are.
Integrity is not so much about what we do as it is about who we are. It means we live according to what we say and believe in.
Integrity is about who we are on the inside more than what we portray to others on the outside. It’s doing right when no one else is looking, and it’s about who we are in the dark more than what we do in the light.
Integrity, therefore, begins on the inside, which is probably why Jesus tells us to cleanse the inside, and when we do, then we’ll be clean on the outside, or in how we deal with this world that is hell bent on getting us to say one thing while doing another.
So, what is a life of integrity? It is a life free from hypocrisy, and a life that is honest about its true condition before a holy and righteous God. It’s a life that doesn’t put on a mask to hide its true identity making people think that it’s something that it’s not, but rather openly confesses its faults, shortcomings, and sins, and actively seeks to turn away from them.
A life of integrity, therefore, not only speaks the truth, it stands for the truth of God’s word.
Conclusion
Today we’re confronted with all sorts of information and news telling us what is going on in our world, and then it is telling us how we are to think and react to what we are seeing, hearing, and reading.
But God has called us to rise above the noise of this world, and instead start listening to His plan and purpose through it all, that is, to have a biblical worldview and perspective.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3 NKJV)
We need to be careful of all this political correctness that is being forced upon us. But we need to be careful not to respond with hurtful speech or in ways that will inflame emotions. Paul says that we need to be careful not to be overcome by evil, but rather to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
Peter said, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9 NKJV)
Instead of responding to the evil of this world with evil, we are to respond to the world and its evil with what God says through His word. That is, instead of being politically correct, we need to be biblically correct in both our speech and actions. In other words, we need to live biblically.
