“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge.” — 2 Peter 1:5
The other day, I got into a brief discussion on the use of cuss and swear words among Christians. I was trying to make the argument that Christians need to avoid such things as filthy language. The gentleman on the other end was trying to defend his use of such words as you’d find getting censored on public TV.
He made one particular point from a moment in his past when a newcomer, not a Christian, came into their youth group and dropped a word that many or most of us would never use. A few of the others in his youth group heard it and were shocked that he used such a lude word. The man I talked with, a young adult at that time, came to the young man’s aid and said he didn’t care what the new guy said. He was just glad the new guy was there, and he dropped his own use of another cuss word in his sentence.
I’m not writing today to talk about whether or not Christians should use cuss words. That’s for another time. This time, I want to discuss what we expect of the world around us. And I want to ask us one good question.
“Why do we expect the unsaved world to happily and willingly live their lives according to our Christian standards?”
We have a good understanding of scripture. We can very likely take you to a chapter and verse or verses to talk about why we hold the standards that we do. But we also hold the Bible to a much higher level of respect and authority than the world does. Rather than leading them to Christ and letting the Holy Spirit change them, we instead try to change their outward appearances and actions, hoping that the inward change would come later, which has never been known to work.
(When it comes to politics and the government trying to push certain agendas, vote your conscience based on biblical and scriptural values. I’m not saying keep your mouth shut. Certainly say your piece and vote for what you believe to be right and Godly.)
2 Peter 1:5-7 gives us a good list of things to add to our lives as Christians. Titus 1, 1 Timothy 3, and Galatians 5 also gives us lists of things that should be evident in the life of a Christian. But these are things for Christians to work out and make evident in our lives. These lists of Godly attributes are not for the unsaved and un-Christian people. 2 Peter tells us to “…add to your faith…” (KJV). You’ve got to have the faith to begin with. Galatians 5:22-23 talks about “The Fruit of the Spirit”, things that become visible in the lives of those whom God has control of. 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 both talk about qualifications for spiritual leaders within the church body, and you can’t become a true leader in the church body if you’re not a part of the body to begin with.
Scripture does tell us in many places to live holy and (relatively) sinless lives. We’ll never reach perfection, but we should try to come close. My point for today is that we need to keep our focus straight on the right target. Don’t try to conform an unbeliever to biblical and Christian standards of living. God will work that out after his salvation. We need to show them the love of God and the change that can and will come about at the point of salvation.
So how do you react when someone who doesn’t know Christ drops an F-bomb? How do you respond when a visitor forgets to silence his phone and someone calls him in the middle of a church service? What goes through your mind when you see people in provocative outfits walking through the stores? Do you automatically condemn them because, “You’re a sinner!”? Or do you remember that you were once just like them? If it hadn’t been for Christ’s change in you, you’d be just like those people? Do you remember who you were before Christ? Do you know where you’d be without Him? Do you Remember that God can make the same change in the lives of those around you?
After all that, remember this. We don’t change people. God changes people. Bring them to Christ and let Him make the necessary changes.
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