[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″]I live in the Los Angeles area. In Los Angeles, we have a section of the downtown area known as the L. A. Fashion District. In the Fashion District are hundreds of stores which sell known and unknown brands of clothing, which range from modest to expensive prices.[/x_custom_headline]
In many of these clothing stores there are counterfeits of the famous name brands. If you ever shop there you must understand that excellent things are of the highest quality and not made from imitation leather, imitation jewels, or cheap fabrics. And excellent things most certainly are not peddled by street vendors! In addition, you must also understand that excellent things, or genuine things, are going to cost a whole lot more than the counterfeits.
With that in mind just think of the great value of a pure, unadulterated Christian living in the last days.
[x_blockquote cite=”Philippians 1:10 KJV” type=”left”]“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;”[/x_blockquote]
The unbelievers are always watching our life. What we approve or sanction in our lives provides them with insight into the Christian lifestyle. This is why we cannot approve or sanction anything and everything that comes along. We can only sanction what is excellent.
Things that are excellent are things that operate within the boundaries of the scriptures, not according to the whims of the ever changing culture around us. Therefore if we allow or “approve” of things in our life that contradict or violate the Bible, then our witness to the world, as well as our example to other believers, has become polluted. This is certainly not the love of God in demonstration.
When your words and conduct are in opposition to the Bible then you are approving of things that are despicable and repulsive. How you live not only matters for your own personal benefit, but for the benefit of other believers who are using you for their example, (whether you want them to or not), not to mention your testimony in front of the world.
Because a lot of Christians are happy where they are in their lives, they have stopped themselves from pursuing a life that is excellent.
Excellence requires us to be totally committed to God’s holy standards, and never compromising in the face of changes in cultural situations.
Something else we find in the verse above is the instructions to have a lifestyle that is sincere. The word sincere means: to be judged by the sun; to test for genuineness. This means to be tested by being held up to the light. We test our true spiritual condition by holding ourselves up to the light of God’s Word for examination.
You need to be genuine in your Christian life and testimony. You need to be pure in your walk with the Lord. Far too much of the world is being mixed into the lives of Christians, which is preventing them from passing the test of purity and genuineness.
Hypocrites can fool others, but the light of the Word of God discerns their thoughts and intentions (see Hebrews 4:12).
If you are indeed a sincere Christian then you will live what you speak. You won’t be a phony. You won’t be a Christian at church and something else away from church. If you are “sincere,” then you will be for real no matter where you are, and no matter who you are with.
The next thing we find in Philippians 1:10 is that we are to be without “offense.”
This means that we are not to cause a stumbling block to others, whether they are sinners or saints. In other words, there should be nothing about our lives that would cause anyone else to stumble, ever. This is proof that you are growing in love, growing in the Word, and walking in the Spirit in your daily life.
Now let’s examine this next verse in the Philippians chapter one.
[x_blockquote cite=”Philippians 1: 11 KJV” type=”left”]“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”[/x_blockquote]
This means that there is a production of righteousness that manifests in our lives. But righteous fruit can only grow from a righteous tree. And notice that this all comes by Jesus Christ. So then if you are not growing, you are disconnecting yourself from your relationship with Him.
Far too many believers do not understand that they are new creations in Christ Jesus, and that the “old man” has passed away (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). The reason Christians fail to live a righteous lifestyle as they should is a lack of revelation of who they are in Christ Jesus.
[x_blockquote cite=”1 Corinthians 15:34 KJV” type=”left”]“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”[/x_blockquote]
You must become established in the fact that you have been made in right-standing with God. When you do, it will stop sin in your life. So be filled with the fruits of righteousness. It will deeply impact your life, and everyone else’s who is witnessing the Lord operating in you. Decide today to make counterfeit Christian living a thing of the past in your life.