Have you ever been in a public location when someone lost a contact? A lost contact causes everyone to walk with caution. This illustrates an important truth in the spiritual realm. Believers should be cautious in their walk before the world. In Philippians 1 Paul cautions the Philippian believers to "let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ." (vs. 27, NKJV) To what should the believer give attention? Notice four areas we should watch.
1. There should be consistency in our walk. Paul instructs us to "Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ." (vs. 27, NKJV)In the Greek this phrase refers to giving equal weight. In other words our walk should be consistent with our talk. If we confess Jesus Christ as Lord, our walk should match our talk.
- There should be consistency in our home life and our spiritual life.
- There should be consistency in our work life and our spiritual lfie.
- There should be consistency in our leisure life and our spiritual life.
2. There should be stability in our walk. Paul instructs us to "stand fast." (vs. 27, NKJV) The Philippians believers were facing many trials. In verse 29 Paul instructs the believers to "suffer for His sake."
- We should be stable under hardship.
- We should be stable when discouraged.
3. There should be unity among believers. Paul instructs us to "stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." (Vs. 27 NKJV)Many believers and many churches damage their testimony by being out of fellowship with other belivers (inside and outside) the church.
4. There should be courage in our walk. The Lord never promised us that the spiritual life would be easy. Paul instructed the Philippians to be "not in any way terrified by your adversaries" (vs. 28 NKJV)
As we show courage in our walk with Christ we attain two goals.
A. God will use our courage to convict our adversaries. Paul says God uses our courage as "proof" to our enemies.
B. God will use our courage to confirm our salvation. He says "that you will be saved--and that by God." (vs. 28 NIV)
