Living Worthy
Walking worthy before the Lord is not earning our salvation but rather showing our gratitude for our salvation. When our practice matches our profession we show the outside world what Christ did on the inside of our lives (Ephesians 2:8-10).
EPHESIANS 4:1-6
“1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
OUR CALLING
- Our calling is to be born again (John 3:3) and live like a disciple of Christ (Matthew 6:24).
- Disciples of Christ are to live as holy people- inside and out (Ephesians 1:1).
- The saints of God are to be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
- In other words, our calling is to be God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), living just like Jesus in this world (1 John 4:17)!
FIVE WAYS TO LIVE WORTHY OF GOD’S CALLING
- BE HUMBLE: Humility is having the right mindset of who you are and who you are not in life. Believe you are who God’s said you are and that you can do all that God said you can do. Avoid pride’s two manifestations; self-adornment (look at me) and self-abasement (woe is me). (Proverbs 3:34 & 1 Peter 5:5-7)
- BE GENTLE (MEEK): Meekness is not weakness, but strength under control. We should only exert the level of emotion and boldness needed for each situation. Jesus knew when to be bold and when to be quiet- Jesus never responded to people without filtering His emotions through the will of the Father. (Matthew 11:29,12:20 & John 5:19)
- BE PATIENT (LONG SUFFERING): Long-suffering is the choice to be kind and loving even when people inconvenience you, misunderstand you, hurt you and disrupt your day. We’re not called to be doormats, but we’re not supposed to be quick to anger either. Our level of patience shows our level of trust in God (Proverbs 16:32 & 2 Peter 3:9)
- BEAR WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR IN LOVE (FORBEARANCE): Forbearance to forgive people and drop your offense before they ask for forgiveness. This doesn’t mean we avoid confrontation, but even in those times we do it without bitterness (Proverbs 19:11 & Matthew 18:21-22).
- BE UNIFIED: Unity is being in line with God’s vision for the church under godly leadership, disunity is going against the vision of the church and bringing division. Godly leaders should be followed and replicated so we can be disciples that make disciples of the nations (Proverbs 6:16-19, Matthew 28:18-20 & Hebrews 13:17).
Living worthy of our calling shows the world that God is working in us to bring His kingdom through us!