Have you ever wondered why it seems to be so easy for some believers to live their faith in such a way that people know who they are without thinking of them as religious?
Some believers seem to have chances to share their faith without doing anything. Are they perfect, sinless people?
Of course not! Keep reading.
You know what I mean. There are believers who appear to love God with all their heart mind and soul and their neighbor as themselves. But they don’t preach. They can even carry the Gospel without constantly quoting scripture.
They are on a mission to share the Good News, to be sure. They are certainly not ashamed. They live to glorify God.
Well, their secret is found in scripture.
Usually, the first passages that leap to mind are found in the New Testament, like the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, or the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, or the allegory presented by Jesus in John 15 about the vine and the branches. There are so many great examples. Each is to be learned and followed by believers.
But king David listed some great attributes in psalm 15 that every believer must embrace to glorify God and join Christ in His Great Commission.
The theme of the Psalm focuses on three goals
- Leading an upright life
- Doing good to others
- Speaking with truth and simplicity in our words
David opens by reminding us of God’s holiness.
Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.
Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.
Psalm 15 (NLT)
Do you see the character qualities that make wholly committed followers of Jesus just simply shine? The appearance of holiness is naturally becoming. It is winsome and compelling. It actually draws people to the Spirit that lives within them.
Kind of makes you want to aspire to living like that doesn’t it? Living like that frees you from the captivity of perfection, because these believers are not perfect. They are sinners saved by grace and they know it. They are thankful every day for that grace. And they are humble.
So if you are a believer but you are stuck in the muck of gossip, dishonesty, cheating, apathy, laziness, complaining, whining, self-indulgence, etc., you know what to do.
Take the first step. Talk to Jesus about it. Get some help. Confess your sin to the Spirit, read your Bible, and study God’s Word for real. Fellowship with true believers and be faithful to Church.
None of the attributes that I have described develop overnight. It takes a lifetime. But little by little, you will begin to add these attributes and character qualities to your life, and you will begin to look more and more like your Savior.
Then you really can go and share the Gospel in your world!
How beautiful are the feet of those
who bring the Gospel of Peace to the world!
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 