“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:8-10).
Whenever we start talking about the need to obey, people start wondering whether we’re exchanging grace for works. God forbid! We are saved by grace, and no one will be able to boast that they did anything to merit salvation. But we were saved for good works. We were called to a godly life.
Some people don’t let that concern them. That should concern them. Faith that saves produces good works. The apostles took this quite seriously.
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14-17).
“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1John 2:3-6).
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:12-13).
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ... So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do...” (Eph 4:1, 17).
Faith produces works. Grace transforms. A life given to Jesus is a life lived like Jesus for Jesus. We do it not to earn God’s favor but to show our gratitude for God’s grace. And we do it because the Jesus who died for us expects us to live for him.
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“May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1Thes 3:13).
Why is it important to live a godly life? Here are a few reasons.
God said so: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1Pet 1:15-16) and “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). He commands that we be imitators of his holiness. He has set us apart for himself; he expects that we will come out and be separate, to cease to live like the people around us.
To make the gospel attractive: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16). So many people have closed their ears to the gospel because of the behavior of alleged Christians. May that never be said of us. Instead, let us live in a way that will “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10).
Out of love for Jesus: “If you love me, keep my commands. .... Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me” (John 14:15, 21). It’s been said that obedience is God’s love language, and that’s probably true, but Jesus says more than that. Obedience isn’t just how you love him; it is the sign that you love Jesus. Don’t tell him that you love him; show him.
As a response to God’s mercy: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Rom 12:1). The only sensible response to what God has done for us is to give ourselves to him, body and soul. And he wants the whole person. A sacrifice was the dedication of an entire animal to God. He wants us to be living sacrifices; he wants all of us, but he wants our life, not our death. This is real worship. If we do not do this, God isn’t interested in anything else. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1Sam 15:22).
We associate worship with music. And God calls for and deserves that:
I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, LORD, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life ... (Psalm 101:1-2)
But the worship God most desires is obedience given in response to who he is and what he has done. Telling the truth when it would be easier to lie, helping someone when it would be easier to pretend you didn't see — this is the worship God desires.
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“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thes 1:3).
Christianity 101 was about what we believe, why, and what difference it should make. In this series I want to double down on that last part. God forbid that anyone should think it only matters what we believe and not how we live! If we really believe what we say we believe, it should spur us on to a godly life.
All of this flows out of the doctrine of creation. We are created in the image of God to reflect him to the world around us. That is why we’re here, and we are most fully human when we live out that purpose.
That doctrine also tells us God knows how he made us and what makes us truly thrive. God’s rules are not “loud music annoys me” but “look both ways before crossing the street.” They are not meant to be meddlesome but protective, so we should embrace them as a gift from a loving God.
This is not going to be a treatment of Christian ethics. There are lots of good books on that subject already. If you want to learn about just war, reproductive technologies, or capital punishment, read one of those. I will be focusing on the life the world needs to see us live day in and day out.
This is also not going to cover every biblical command. You know not to lie, steal or commit murder. I want to remind us of the commands we like to forget or look at where the commands go farther than we sometimes realize.
Because God does care how we live. And because the people around us need to see that the gospel we proclaim really does make a difference in our lives.
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