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Walk as Jesus Did

As the Christian walk has been described as being on the narrow road that few find and leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14), it’s easy to picture him struggling to keep his balance on a tightrope while the will within and the winds without work to knock him off.  In Philippians 3:17-21, Paul gives us three ways to persevere to the safety at the other end of the narrow line.

I. 2 Timothy 1:5-7. We must keep our eyes on those who walk according to the example. Paul ventured to tell others to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1), and then the Hebrew writer tells of the great cloud of witnesses who had walked this walk before us (Hebrews 12:1-3).  Because that walk was difficult for them (Hebrews 11:33-38), we should learn from their example, just as Timothy did from the godly women that had walked the tightrope before him.

II. Judges 2:2-10. Beware of the many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Colossians 3:1-4 gives us the motivation to keep our balance on the tightrope: we died with Christ and so will be raised with Him.  Sometimes that which makes us fall are of our earthly nature and our selfish will that we haven’t yet put to death (Colossians 3:5-10), and sometimes the enemies are winds of the immoral culture or circumstances beyond our control. Our example to others watching how we walk is at stake.

III. Ephesians 4:11-16. Because our citizenship is in heaven and not of this world, we must walk in obedience as Jesus did (1 John 2:3-6). He left us an example that we might follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21-23), so we can fix our eyes on Him to persevere to the end of the tightrope.  He has given us in His church everything we need to attain unity and mature into the fullness of Him. He has given Himself and His Word as poles for balance as the whole body in fellowship helps each other reach the end.

Some on the tightrope are so concerned about their own balance that they’ve stopped helping others to step out onto it or their fellow walkers to keep their balance.  Working together using what Jesus has equipped us with, we can all reach the end safely.

 

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Let Them Save You

Idolatry.  That’s so Old Testament!  After all, no one today worships something they put before God … oh.  Well, maybe there’s money and materialism, success and sensuality, jobs and hobbies, food and entertainment.  Perhaps the list could even extend into all the negative ways we seek to escape the stress of life instead of putting our trust in God.

What’s the reason the cycle of sin in the time of Judges as well as now continues to repeat in God’s people?  What is it about idols that made them and us forsake God, so that they and us cry out for a deliverer?

I.  Judges 10:6-16.  God knew that mankind, if given the chance, would turn to other things than Him and so carved it into stone (Exodus 20).  The foundation of idolatry is covetousness (Colossians 3:5).  We are made in God’s image, but since we cannot control God, we strive to make God in ours.  Instead of taking joy in being God’s chosen people, we compromise to become like everyone else.  And then we become complacent because what we serve is not greater than ourselves.

II.  Romans 1:15-16.  How can the gospel break the cycle of sin.  Our world of relative morality works to make us believe that sin and judgment aren’t real and so paves the way for idolatry.  At times in Judges, God’s people would temporarily break the cycle by acknowledging their sin.  We must be convinced that repentance is essential (Romans 2:2-5), judgment is real (Romans 14:10-12), and that the gospel is the solution (Romans 6:1-11).

III.  Hebrews 7:22-25.  But unlike God’s people of the time of Judges who would fall back into sin and idolatry when the judge died (Judges 2:16-19), we have a Judge, the perfect deliverer, who always lives to intercede for us.  Therefore, once rescued from sin and death, we never need to go back into the life we once lived.

Christians, who know the power of the gospel, need to return to trusting God fully and not seek idols of their own fashioning.