If you’ve ever been to a fancy restaurant, you know there’s a certain way you’re supposed to act. You don’t wear jeans and a t-t-shirt. You don’t slurp. You don’t yell across the room.
And you definitely don’t ask the waiter, “Hey, y’all got chicken nuggets?” Why is that? Because the environment calls for something different.
Paul says the same thing about the Christian life. Listen to what he says in Philippians 1:27…
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
So Paul is saying to us… we are supposed to live here, like we would live in heaven. We are citizens of heaven. We should conduct ourselves like we would if that’s where our house was.
He says we should act in a way that is worthy of the Good news about Jesus.
Not because we’re trying to earn salvation. We can’t earn it… salvation is a gift. But we live out lives this way… because the One who called us is holy, worthy, and gracious beyond measure.
So here is the million dollar question: What does a life worthy of the gospel look like?
I think there are plenty of misrepresentations of what that looks like. Down through the years there have been many Christians who believe that living life like a citizen of Heaven means…
We are to live a joyless and restrictive life:
In other words… you’re not supposed to have any fun. You have to dress a certain way, wear certain cloths, not wear certain clothes. Can’t wear jewelry.
I grew up in a church of about 50 people maybe and our family were 8 of those people.
My mom was a Sunday school teacher for awhile. But she did the unthinkable. She shamed the entire family.
The preacher asked her to stop teaching Sunday School because of it. You know what this horrific thing was that she did? She got her ears pierced.
I know… (gasp!) It’s a miracle that I turned out to be a preacher really.
Some branches of Christianity are a "works-based" legalism that relies on human willpower to avoid certain behaviors and feels like a life of deprivation.
This type of Christianity… is passive, it’s only about avoiding "bad" things:
Or as the old-timers used to say, “don’t smoke, don’t chew… don’t go with girls that do.”
Avoiding sin is important… but it’s more than that. Living a life worthy of the gospel also involves actively doing good, such as sharing the gospel, encouraging others, and caring for the vulnerable.
There are some who believe that living like a citizen of heaven…
It is about being a spiritual elite:
The idea that holiness is for a special class of Christians is false. Instead, holiness is a process of becoming more like Christ that is available to all believers, not a status symbol that leads to judgment or self-righteousness.
So this is what living a live worthy of the gospel is not like… A joyless, pious, elitist mentality. Here is what I believe Paul is saying it should be like.
1. We are called to a higher standard of living.
Ok, great… what does that mean. It means, you didn’t call yourself, God did. As we said a couple of weeks ago, “God didn’t just save you from something, He saved you for something.”
Paul spends the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians reminding us of that calling: You are chosen, You are adopted, You are redeemed, You are sealed by the Spirit, You are His workmanship, You are seated with Christ
You can’t live a worthy life until you remember who called you.
Do you remember at recess time, they would pick teams. That was always a great time, wasn’t it? Anyway… did you ever get picked by the kid that was the star player?
You suddenly stand a little taller… because someone great said, “I want you.”
I remember one time when I was about 18 or so, I went with my cousin to the HPER-building at IU. And I was just having one of those rare, good days. I couldn’t miss a shot if I wanted to. (Really – true story)
Well, we had been playing for hours and our team had just lost. There were four guys standing on the sidelines, ready to take on the winners. They needed one more player to complete their team.
They asked me to be their fifth. Now… the story gets better. Two of those for guys were former IU basketball players… Stu Robinson and Winston Morgan.
Man… you talk about making a kid feel good! That did it! These guys wanted ME on THEIR team. Crazy! And we played with that team for about an hour straight and never lost.
It was a lot of fun… but with Stu Robinison and Winston Morgan on the team, I rarely got to touch the ball. But they chose me to play with them and that was cool.
I stood a little taller for awhile, because someone great, chose me to be on their team. They said, “I want you on my team”.
God is saying, “I want you on my team”. Your calling begins with God’s initiative, not your merit.
Before you attempt to “live worthy,” settle this truth: You matter because God says you do. Your calling is grounded in His grace… not in your actions or non actions.
So there are three things that I encourage you to do in regards to living a live worthy of the gospel. The first one is this.
Remember the gospel that saved you.
We don’t live worthy lives to get salvation.
We live worthy lives because we received salvation.
The Good News is that: Jesus came for us, Died for us, Rose for us, Forgave us, Adopted us, Empowered us, And will return for us.
Everything starts with remembering what Jesus has done.
I see this all the time… people who are forced to deal with cancer, will give money to and promote causes that supported them during that journey.
So, organizations like the American Cancer Society, certain hospitals, Hospice… those organizations receive your support because they have done something to help you in your journey.
Some people actively support those causes because they have meant so much to them.
When we stop and think about all that Jesus has done for us, how can we not want to live a life… worthy of that?
When we forget the Good News, we have a tendency to drift into selfish living. When we remember the Good News, our hearts are filled with gratitude and purpose.
This is partly why we take communion every week, to center us on what is important… and it’s all about the cross. So… remember the gospel that saved you. Also…
Stand firm in your faith
In our text today Paul said, Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose
A life worthy of the gospel stands strong.
Life will shake you. Culture will pressure you. People will misunderstand you. Temptations will chase you.
But the Good News gives you something unshakeable to stand on.
And standing firm doesn’t mean standing angry.
Some people confuse faithfulness with stubbornness. Paul says “stand firm in one Spirit” … meaning with grace, with unity, and with trust in God.
They say the huge redwood trees in California are an amazing thing to see.
They are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are over 300 feet high and more than 2,500 years old.
You would think that trees that large would have a tremendous root system, reaching down deep into the earth. But that is not the case.
Redwoods have a very shallow root system. However, the roots of these trees are intertwined. They are tied in with each other; interlocked.
And because of this, when the storms come and the winds blow the redwoods still stand. With an interlocking root system they support and sustain each other. They need one another to survive. So do we!
Paul is saying, when we remember the gospel, when we serve with one another in unity, we are strong and when the storms of life come… we are not easily knocked down.
We don’t follow Jesus alone A gospel-worthy life is a team sport.
Christians don’t compete with each other… we link arms for the mission.
As we’ve said a couple of times already in this series… Everyone has a part to play. Some teach, some serve, some encourage, some give, some pray, some support.
But all of us together advance the Good News of Jesus. Think about it this way…
A football team huddles together… Just for illustration sake – Let’s just say that the IU football team is in a huddle and the offensive coordinator calls a play that play is expected to be run.
But if and if the quarterback Fernando Heisman-Doza runs off alone every play, they are going to lose. Everyone on the team does their part.
Victory comes from working together. And the gospel becomes believable to the world when the church becomes beautiful in unity. And this leads us to our next point.
2. There are enemies to living a higher standard.
The last thing that Satan wants to see from the Lord’s church is a group of people living out their lives like they are citizens of heaven.
He wants you to be content with coming to church occasionally so you can check off another religious item.
J.D. Greear was the first person I heard say this.
“The Church is not an audience, it’s an army.”
The enemy wants us to stay in our pious, acting like we’ve been baptized in vinegar, self. So he creates enemies to this kind of living. Let me share what I think are the two main ones.
Spiritual Complacency
Spiritual complacency is one of the quietest, deadliest threats to a believer’s walk with God.
It doesn’t crash into your life like a storm… it creeps in slowly, silently, subtly… until you stop growing, stop seeking, stop burning with passion for Jesus.
The enemy doesn’t have to make you wicked to defeat you…
he just needs to make you comfortable. Jesus speaks with urgency to Laodicea.
In Revelation 3:15-16
I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
Their greatest sin wasn’t rebellion… it was complacency.
Not cold. Not hot. Just comfortably in the middle.
Lukewarm faith is faith on cruise control.
It’s “I believe in Jesus… but I’m not desperate for Him.”
A life worthy of the gospel cannot be lukewarm.
Proverbs 1:32 says… For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
Solomon, the wisest man to ever lives basically said, When we get spiritually lazy… when we stop pursuing holiness…when we stop fighting sin… when we stop feeding on the Word…
destruction isn’t far behind.
And here’s the deal, you don’t ever drift toward God. If you are drifting… it’s always away from Him. And generally, we don’t wake up one morning and just say… I don’t think I need God in my life anymore.
What happens is, we skip church, we skip prayer, we skip bible reading… we skip the prompting of the Holy Spirit to the point of tuning Him out altogether.
And the next thing you know, you’ve drifted so far away… you’re having a hard time seeing Him at all.
And then we make excuses about why our life is so messed up. We say things like, I didn’t see God working when this happened or when that happened. Where was God during this or where was God during that?
Could it be that you were just so far away from Him you couldn’t see Him? Be careful not to drift into complacency. It’s a slow and painful spiritual death.
Now there is a second enemy that I think goes hand in hand with spiritual complacency. In fact, it’s probably the main cause of spiritual complacency and that is…
Worldly distractions
One of the enemy’s greatest tactics isn’t immediate destruction… it’s distraction.
As the saying goes… “If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll try to make you busy,”
He wants you to become preoccupied, and unfocused. Worldly distractions pull our eyes off Jesus and weaken our walk with Him.
This is why the writer of Hebrews wrote this in chapter 12.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Listen, there are some things in our lives that aren’t necessarily sinful, they are just hindering us from following Jesus like we should.
Jesus says distractions can choke the spiritual life right out of you. Worry, wealth, wants… if they become the focus, the Word loses its impact.
Mark 4:19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.
We spending so much time watching TV, movies, or consuming content on social media, the internet, or other platforms can pull focus from spiritual matters.
Even seemingly harmless or "good" hobbies can become a distraction if they take up the time and emotional energy that should be given to God.
While relationships are important, allowing friends, family, or spouses to become more important than one's relationship with God is a distraction.
The desire to please others can compete with the call to obey God.
Worldly concerns and internal struggles. Worries and fears: Anxiety about life's circumstances, finances, or the future can be a major distraction from faith.
Everyday and unexpected events Minor distractions: Frequent, minor issues like work conflicts, a difficult child, or endless emails can constantly pull focus.
Unexpected life events, such as a job loss, a medical diagnosis, or other crises, can become major distractions.
This is why it is so important to Prioritize time with God: Consistently make time for prayer and reading the Bible a top priority every day.
Be decisive: Deal directly with anything that pulls you away from a relationship with Christ.
Recognize the source: Be aware of what your personal distractions are and how they impact your spiritual life.
Trust in God: Place your trust in God's goodness and sovereignty over every circumstance, so you can depend on Him for your every need and desire.
And then it comes down to one final point really… and it’s this.
Who are you going to serve?
3. Choose your master
As the great theologian Bob Dylan once said…
“You’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
Jesus said, “no one can serve two masters.” Joshua said, “choose today, who you’re going to serve.”
There is not straddling the fence in the Kingdom, you’re either in, or you’re out.
If you say you are in, “then live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” If you are out… then why are you out? What are you waiting for?
Maybe today is your day to confess Jesus, repent of your sins, and be baptized for the washing away of your sins.
Or maybe you’re here today and you’ve been lukewarm. Would you commit to doing better? Would you commit to living your life worthy of the gospel.
Maybe you want to become a part of our church family here at ECC. We’d love for that to happen as well. You come during this song.
Let’s pray!
