How Shall We Then Live?...

"And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2, KJV).
"And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8, ESV).
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people [Israel] whom he has chosen as his heritage!" (Psalm 33:12, ESV).
"There is no accountability since God does not exist" (Psalm 10:4, HCSB).
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people" (Prov. 14:34, NIV).
"To this, you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21, NIV).


Note:  Christianity is composed of two things: orthodoxy or believing right, and orthopraxy or doing right. Orthodoxy has to do with ethics or right conduct, answering the question, "how shall we then live?"


My title was also the title of a book by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, of L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. It is a big issue of how believers should apply their faith and fulfill their marching orders. We are not meant to either flaunt it or privatize it, though our faith offends no one if we do keep it to ourselves. However, it's not a matter of personal preference to propagate our faith, or "shove it down other people's throats" as some call it--it's the Great Commission, mandated by our Lord Himself.

We are to live out our faith, and only those believers who desire to live it out and share their faith are obedient--the only way to keep it is to give it away! We are, in essence, to live forthright, honest, exemplary lives as proof of our profession, which is the reality of our faith. The faith we have is the faith we show! We must never lose focus of our first order of business (Job One), that we are here to make a contribution and fulfill God's will, and must heed the spiritual wake-up calls to read the signs of the times.

As American citizens, we have the awesome task of being witnesses in the midst of people who've already heard (territory Paul would've balked at entering, to sow where someone else had been). People already have preconceived notions of our faith and are prejudiced--we must be all the more ready to be "not ashamed" "in debt" and "ready" as Paul proclaimed in Romans 1. The door is indeed often closed and we must pray for the open door or opportunity to live out our faith as examples. Unfortunately, there's often just enough darkness not to see, and enough light to see, but only to the willing and obedient. That's the rub: man is by nature stubborn and in defiance of God's authority, especially in the political realm, which seems to be Satan's turf, and so it takes moral courage and grit.

The biggest error is to think we can usher in the kingdom and that America is somehow God's chosen nation. It's true that Governor William Bradford of Plymouth set out to "advance the kingdom of Christ," (cf. Jer. 29:7) but our nation has no right to usurp Israel's place in God's scheme of things and the overall plan for the ages. This is the church age and the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, and we are here primarily to save souls, not the nation.

But if Christians do get their so-called act together and repent, pray, and stand up for the truth, God will bless our nation and rebuke the devil's intervention, and may perhaps relent of His divine wrath, punishment, and even curse--yes, God can and does curse nations, even Israel (cf. Deut. 28). We can not call something crooked if we don't have an idea of what straight is. And we should never turn a deaf ear to the evil in the land and be too timid or inhibited to speak out about crimes against humanity or whatever form evil manifests.

But by and large, we can expect the blessing of God if we follow godly paths of righteousness in our nation; for the Word says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality and will bless us for the sake of His people. But we must also note that God has promised to bless those nations who bless Israel as God's chosen people, promising Abraham that He'll bless those who bless him. We cannot maintain an anti-Semitic attitude or policy and expect God's approbation--this doesn't mean whether they are right or wrong politically or morally!

Believers are called to rise to the occasion and stand up and be counted for the Lord, and that means taking stands for the truth and being loyal to God and even courageous to the point of civil disobedience and public stands when the state's policies are immoral, unethical, or unscriptural. We must maintain the highest standards of conduct and hold our government accountable and be equal to the challenge! Who knows, as it is written in Esther 4:14, maybe we were born for such a time as this?

We must be careful not to idolize our party (i.e., "my party, right or wrong!"), identity, candidate, or policies to the point of demanding our highest allegiance and unwavering devotion. God is not a member of a party since He cannot be limited or put in a box or labeled, and it is often the case that Christians deify their party or candidate at the expense of losing all sense of decency, morality, and even ethics. Remember, only God deserves our homage and ultimate loyalty; we only pledge allegiance to a nation "under God."

We must learn to draw the line and know where the limits are. Sometimes the law is in direct violation of divine principle, but we will never realize this if we are blinded by following party, person, or policy above God. Augustine of Hippo said something very noteworthy for our time: "An unjust law is no law at all." "Woe to those who decree unjust laws," (cf. Isaiah 10:1).    Remember the words of Scottish Presbyterian minister and author Samuel Rutherford, in his book, Lex Rex, (i.e., the law is the king), that delineated limits to the power of the king or any government as being subject to the rule of law--and this goes back to biblical precedent, not just democratic--this book upset the political landscape and applecart. In a similar vein, Will Durant, historian, said, "No society has been able to maintain morality without the aid of its religion."Also, Edmund Burke noted: "'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing."

Christians always reserve the right to peaceful protest and even defiance of evil law, and this is fully realized in the slogan of the Reformation: I dissent, I disagree, I protest, attributed to Martin Luther. In a crisis of evil, many ask, "Where's God?" but we should be asking, "Where's the church?" We must never forget that we have dual citizenship, our home is in heaven and we are only passing through with our spiritual green cards on a mission. God doesn't burden just one individual to change the world for Christ but will transform it through the corporate activity of the body of Christ and the church at large. One task of the church is to equip and help believers find their calling and gifting so this can be implemented. It's a shame when unbelievers lead the way and do what we should be doing by nature (cf. Romans 2:14-15).

NB: God did something about evil--He made you! Our mission to counter social injustice has not been rescinded. Note the words of a famous Christian philosopher, dramatist, theologian, and journalist--known as the "prince of paradox": "What's wrong with the world? I am. Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton." The words of John Donne come to mind: "Don't ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." We must turn our creeds into deeds, thus proving our testimony by actions, which can speak louder than words--true faith always expresses itself!

We must expose, openly declare, and wave our Christian colors and not permit evil to win by default. We must also learn not to just bemoan evil, but to challenge ourselves to see the possibility of good beyond the gray clouds. Evil always presents an opportunity for good, because that's why it exists as the counter and contrast of good, which we can then highlight and see clearly in juxtaposition.

Thus, Christians have a Second Great Commission, to heal and preserve society, and we must pay our dues, living up to our faith and being worthy of the name of Christ, touching the world for our Savior, all in order that no one will have anything bad to say about us, and we can win them over by our witness.

 
Even though Francis Schaeffer wrote a book by this title too, showing its importance, the question we all must answer: "How shall we live in light of eternity?" Jesus didn't tell us to close shop and stop working to wait till He comes but Matthew Henry said that we should live each day as if it's our last! Jesus told us to occupy till [He] comes and be ready! But we are to be ready and watch for Christ's coming and live our life to have maximum impact on eternity. We aren't seeking to be remembered but to be obedient.


We see eternal results in everything; all we do strikes a chord that will vibrate for eternity. Everything will either be rewarded or not, and in time we can be disciplined for what we do if not in God's will. Paul said that to him "to die is gain" not as a death wish but he meant that he saw eternity in a better light than imagined ("what no human mind has conceived"). He only said this because he had a clear concept of heaven with no misconceptions or delusions to live the good life.

Living in light of eternity inspires us to do good deeds and to have a good testimony to the world at large so they get saved as a result. It helps us in our trials, seeing that they are only temporal and serve an eternal purpose. In short, we become purpose-driven. We prove and validate our faith by our deeds--the faith we have is the faith we show and authenticate. The more we see Jesus coming soon, the more eager we will be to show our faith also because we will see the urgency of the Great Commission relative to our personal lives. 

Thus, we will want to pass it on and become contagious Christians. We will be eager to make others ready and to stop living for the moment and the here and now. What we look forward to affects our worldview and how we interpret life in general. When the "Desire of all nations" comes at His Parousia, we will be transformed to become like Him, but we can have a taste of the good things to come now: "Taste and see that the LORD is good." But now we can see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living (cf. Psalm 27:13, KJV).

We are simply pilgrims, aliens, foreigners, and even strangers in this life and to the world, and passing through, not meant to make ourselves at home here--we don't belong here! But God has a place for us in His plan. God has an eternal purpose for our lives that He will fulfill and not give up on us. We are on a spiritual journey too, growing in our relationship with Christ--Reality 101. We should not cling to our mundane lives but see that our spiritual lives take precedence; however, we do not live with our heads in the clouds nor on cloud nine. What matters is how our relationship with Christ is growing. It is wrong to think that we should live as if we go around once and should grab all the gusto we can. We must have an eternal bucket list that involves our beatific vision of God in glory.

Having a true focus on Christ, keeping our eyes on Jesus orients our life and sets the priorities to have spiritual value. However, we ought not to be so heavenly-minded we are no earthly good. We must not be known as mere secluded saints but actively involved in the real world. We can enjoy this life, but without sin, and thank God for the blessings that it gives to all in common grace. We can enjoy life to the max as Jesus promised: "I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full [more abundant life]" (John 10:10, NIV). On the other hand, we ought not to "love the world nor the things of the world" because the more we do, the less room we'll have in our hearts to satisfy our spiritual appetites to enjoy all the good things He gives us richly as a blessing for stewardship (cf 1 Tim. 6:17).

The good life has universally been defined as an ethical one: our duty to God and mankind. We do this by loving God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves as exemplified in the parable of the Good Samaritan. "Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8, HCSB). This is achieved by a true sense of "oughtness." Knowing and believing right doctrine or having one's thinking straightened out is orthodoxy while living right and practicing what one believes and applying it is orthopraxy--both are necessary for the good life (which is not achieving the American dream!).

In the final analysis, when our lives are given their final audit and we go one-on-one with our Maker to face God in the Bema or Judgment Seat, we must ask ourselves whether we are faithful stewards to the blessings God has given us and whether we used them to have an impact. We all will pass on some legacy and people will tend to judge our lives, but what matters most is what Christ sees in us. He isn't going to ask us about our achievements but our obedience and we will realize that success doesn't matter to God because it belongs to Him anyway (cf. Deut. 8:18), but what matters is our call to faithfulness. Praise the Lord, life is good! Soli Deo Gloria!