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Walk Worthy of God |
Dear Brethren,
Many Church brethren are being asked
to make the biggest decision of their lives, for which some are very little prepared.
When we raise our children, little by little we entrust them with more and more
responsibility so that as they grow up they will learn to make wise and prudent
decisions. But, all too frequently members in God’s Church have been treated as
though they were continually babes in Christ. Some brethren were more than willing
to let their minister make all their decisions for them. Those who do not learn to
make their own moral and ethical decisions and judgments do not mature spiritually as they
should. A serious problem arises when there are disputing ministers vying for the endorsement of the ill prepared members.
The brethren should be better equipped than they are to handle the great spiritual battle that is now being waged
for their heart, mind, and pocket-book. At some point in our lives, God will hold
us responsible for the choices we’ve made and the actions we’ve taken. God says,
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” (Hosea 4:6)
How can we gain the kind of Godly knowledge and spiritual maturity that will allow us to walk worthy of God?
How do we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ and the apostles? [We] are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner stone.” (Ephesians 2:20) For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1Corinthians 3:11)
How do we mature? How do we grow? How do we build? Knowing the Bible – the Word of God – is where we
begin to learn to build – and, not only knowing the Bible, but also knowing how to apply
its principles, examples, and standards in our lives. In the New Testament we
find letters written to the early Christian congregations. Those epistles contain
the values and judgments that each of us must come to master. The Church brethren
are to build and grow (2 Peter 3:18). Parents make decisions for a child when he is
not able to make them for himself. But adults must learn to take ownership of their
faith and be spiritually mature enough to make Godly decisions they can stand by, and walk worthy of God.
In 1 Corinthians 5 for example, Paul instructed the entire congregation to handle a particular problem. If Paul had done
like so many congregations today and handled the situation himself, or just let the
local minister handle it – the brethren would not have learned to discern spiritual
concepts. The Corinthian brethren would have remained babes in the faith.
Remaining babes in the faith is not what God expects of us. When each member of that
Corinthian congregation had to decide for himself what the sin was, they then realized
that their sinning brother was in danger of losing his salvation. They then knew
that they had to present the sinner with an ultimatum to stop sinning or leave the
congregation. At that point, they had ownership, not only of the problem, but they began to have ownership of their own faith.
The sinning brother was saved, and we’ve been given the case history so that we can learn how the process worked. But
Paul is not always going to be available to give us the guidelines to handle every offense
that occurs. That is why we've been given the Scriptures. They contain a
wealth of instruction that must be internalized so that we are able to make Godly, mature
decisions, and walk worthy of God. You know how we exhorted and comforted
and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy
of God, who hath called you unto His Kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
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Sermon: "Walk Worthy of God"
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