This is an excerpt from Bob Lepine's blog on September 30:
"I'm afraid that in our desire to steer clear of legalism today, we have tuned out the call of Christ to holy, set apart living. We can and should celebrate our freedom in Christ. But we must remember, as Paul says in Galatians 5:13: 'do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.'
"Your friends, your co-workers, your children, and everyone with whom you come in contact today will be observing your conduct, your aim in life, your faith, your patience, your love, and your steadfastness. They will be looking carefully to see if your holiness and your willingness to serve others authenticates what you say you believe is true about Jesus and the gospel."
You may read the rest of Bob Lepine's post from September 30, 2009 on his blog. Please click on his name on my Blog Roll at the right to find his blog.
His thoughts reminded me of the apostle Paul's words to his friend and co-worker Titus: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:11-14).
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2 comments:
Bob Lepine is the host of the family-therapy radio show, right?
i think he's spot on. In our race to reject mistakes of past generations, it seems many people have mistakenly also rejected the need to be distinctive in one's belief, motives, attitudes, and behaviors. A life of discipleship should not be indistinguishable from the life of the unbeliever. Yet i fear many churches don't ask or expect congregants to live lives which bear much obvious difference from the lives of their neighbors or coworkers.
This may be a popular line to take and even effective at getting more people in the pews who otherwise wouldn't be there, but i don't think it's effective kingdom building. And there are still people who want to be taught how to live boldly distinctive lives. i hope church leaders aren't setting their standards too low.
Great comments, Guy. And yes, Bob Lepine is the co-host of the radio program FamilyLife Today. He always has some great insights.
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