08/22/2024
Living right every day; this is our thought for today. Do we live consistently righteously in our everyday life? Are those things we read in scripture and pray about in our prayers true, and evident in our daily lives? The world we live in is full of temptation and wickedness, and it can lure us into situations that can challenge our faith as we try to make our way through life. We can find ourselves living a double life.
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”
Philippians 2:14-16 ESV
So often we pray and worship while seeking righteousness, only to find ourselves returning to a pattern of arguments and worldly pursuits the moment our Amen is said, or when the church doors close behind us on our way out. To live in this manner is not righteous at all... our faith isn’t wired to a light switch so that we can turn it off and on as we like. We are told to live in a steady state of righteousness; we are instructed to pray without ceasing, and to adhere to God's commandments and teachings always. Jesus taught that we should demonstrate in our lives what we profess in our religious worship... He identifies us as either a good or bad tree based on our behavior.
“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”
Matthew 7:16-17 ESV
How does our fruit look and taste today? Are we answering this question "Great!" Because we haven't left our prayer closet this morning? Or, are we really living our life as we should?
I am not talking about a momentary lapse into sin or wrong living; those moments are why we pray for forgiveness. No, I am focusing on a set routine in which we are worshipping, praying, and speaking our faith in one way while living a life that in no way resembles what we have been professing to God and our Christian brothers and sisters. I am talking about deceiving ourselves into believing we are actively seeking God when in fact our lives reveal otherwise.
We have all run into someone who gushes praise and compliments about us whenever we are around them. They speak warmly about us and appear to be our friend but later we find out that they have been saying bad things about us to others, or have "sold us down the river" in some way. This is how God feels about us if we are living a double standard of faith.
I used the term "sold down the river" on purpose. This is a term that originated during slavery years in the United States when a slave in the North would be sold to a plantation further south to be used in hard labor. This term came to be synonymous with "profound betrayal." Originally, the "river" meant the Mississippi or the Ohio, but today it has come to mean anything in which a person has been betrayed. This was considered tantamount to a death sentence to slaves, and it can be the same to lukewarm Christians... but in reverse... this death sentence belongs to the betrayer.
“"'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”"
Revelation 3:15-16 ESV
Are we yielding to our desires? Are our vices and worldly wants drawing us away from God? Are we selling Him down the river by saying one thing and doing another? Actions such as this are a death sentence to our faith and indeed a very real spiritual death to us as well.
Let’s consider our position this morning. If the double standard in faith that we have been discussing describes us then we need to go back into our prayer closets to confess, and ask for forgiveness. Then, we should change our lives! But, if our lives ring true and we are following the scripture, and practicing our faith as you should, then we should thank God because it is only by His grace and mercy that we are succeeding in that endeavor.
“Ringing true” is another phrase with a meaningful past, and origin. In the days when counterfeit coins were common, people would drop them on the table, and if they were truly made of gold then they would have a certain sound to them... it was said that they “rang true”. Are our lives with Jesus ringing true? When we are dropped on the table of judgement how do we sound? Are we pure? Or, are we a mix of gold and some other metal? Are we like pyrite (fool’s gold) and found to be worthless?
Let’s listen to the tone of our lives this morning and if they don't ring true then let’s purify ourselves and do away with our mixture of faith and worldly living. Let’s refine and recast our lives over and over again until we can one day be held in the hand of God and when dropped in judgement... Ring true.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who teaches us how to live pure lives, and to ring true in our faith and righteousness before you. Thank you for your Word that instructs us to be either hot, or cold, but never lukewarm as we believe, and serve you. Help us Father to resist temptation and to live righteous lives no matter who we are with, or where we are. Help us to be true to your Word, and righteous witnesses to those who don’t yet know you. Let our lives ring true to you, and to those who are seeking the treasure of divine faithfulness in you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is perfect, good, and merciful. Holy are you whose grace surrounds us, and who never fails us. Give us strength in our faith, and an unwavering belief in you as we obey your will. Wash us clean in the blood of Jesus, and teach us to be worthy of eternity in your presence. In this and for this, we will praise you, worship you, and give you all the glory forevermore.
Amen
Rich Forbes