Is your conduct worthy?

I hope you are doing well this morning. Let us continue in our study of Philippians. Today we are going to look at Philippians 1:27-30. Here they are:

27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

Think about what verse 27 says..."let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ"!!! What does it take for our conduct to be worthy? Well when we think about what Christ did for us and the example he set for us and how he tells us to live our lives it is not easy to be worthy that is for sure. These words from Paul are just another example of how we should be striving everyday to do our very best to live like Christ has commanded us to do. If you are wondering what Christ has told us to do you need to read your Bible but a few examples are love others, don't lie, meet needs, help the unfortunate, obey laws of the land, share the gospel, ect. As this verse continues Paul tells them to be "striving together for the faith of the gospel". This is what the church is for. Working together as a unit to spread the gospel and bring the lost to Jesus. This can have a two fold meaning as in your individual church and in the universal church.

In verse 28 Paul tells us not to be scared by those who oppose us. He says to those that oppose us it is a proof of their perdition. Here is what perdition is:

per⋅di⋅tion

1. a state of final spiritual ruin; loss of the soul; damnation.
2. the future state of the wicked.
3. hell
4. utter destruction or ruin.
5. Obsolete. loss.

Paul is telling us that those who oppose the gospel this is what happens...perdition. But to us who follow the gospel salvation and it is a gift from God. Praise the Lord..thank you Jesus!

In verses 29-30 Paul tells us that when we believe in Christ we will also suffer. While we may not suffer physical persecution, as they did in Paul's day, here in America if we are sharing the gospel as we are suppose to you will face persecution. People will cuss you. people will slam doors in your face, people will call you names, family will turn their back on you and call you a Jesus freak, and many other things. So ask yourself if you are facing persecution for Christ? Then ask yourself how much you are sharing the gospel. I can almost tell you for certain that the two go hand in hand. If we are sharing the gospel we will face some sort of persecution. Am I wrong?

So let us end with the question we started with "Is my conduct worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ"?

That should give us something to think about today!

God bless you my friends...Tom