Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27
Conduct yourself in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. We can mistakenly interpret this “worthy” as a reflection of our self worth. It reminds me of a line delivered by Anthony Hopkins out of the film, “Thor”.
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
-Odin
Sometimes we treat the gospel as something we can only hold once we are worthy of it. But the gospel is not a story of weak obtaining power. It is the story of power becoming weak. We have already received the gospel. Christ gifts it freely to us. So living in a manner worthy of the gospel, speaks to the transformation Jesus has on our lives. We are not worthy of the gospel, and that’s the point. Christ is worthy and He declares that we are worth His sacrifice. We don’t deserve salvation; this is why it’s called grace. It is this unmerited mercy that wraps us in righteousness and makes us holy before God. So do we live in a way that expresses a thankful and joyful life impacted by what Jesus has done for us?
Missionary stories from Honduras tell of men who would line up at the windows of the church because they drank at the bar the day before. They dare not walk in, for they felt the guilt of being unworthy. But this is a distortion of the gospel. They have misplaced the importance of His grace.
“You don’t need to get clean to take a bath”
-Mike Warnke
A manner worthy of the gospel is an attitude that does not hinder grace. We must live in way that receives and embraces our need for only Christ’s strength to restore us.
Rick Terletzky
Excerpt from "Philippians: Devotional Commentary"
©2019 Kingship
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