You Are the Fifth Gospel: The Serious Call to a Holy Life
The Fifth Gospel
As a Christian, your life in the world matters. Every Christian is called to live as a reflection of who God is and what God is like. And because the natural inclination of sinful man is to live apart from and in opposition to their Creator God, you may be the only Christian they meet.
The Bible says that no one seeks for God of their own nature (Romans 3:11) so you are the closest example of Christ an unbeliever will meet.
The Bible contains four gospels that portray the life and person of Jesus Christ. You are the fifth gospel, a walking Bible; you may be the only gospel the world ever reads. Do you live your life this way? Can the world see that Christ is your treasure?
The Will of God
This is one of the clear implications of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5 (ESV). Paul has called them to walk in a way to “please God” and that they do so “more and more,” (v.1). God is only pleased with the Christian because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them. The Father’s pleasure in the Son is yours by faith.
So, what is God’s will for you? 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” God’s desire for you is that in your life you walk like Christ. Holiness is the proper nature of a Christian as heat is the nature of fire. This is what sanctification means.
We are holy in Christ (justification) so we live holy in Christ (sanctification). God’s will for you is that you would be an imitator of Him in all of life (Ephesians 5:1).
Unbelievers do not know God and so they live in a constant disconnect from Him in life. Their bodies are mastered by their own sin, enslaved to Satan, and following the course of the world (Ephesians 2:1-3). But Christians are those who must “know how to control [their] body in holiness and honor,” (1 Thessalonians 4:5).
Living Life Coram Deo
One of the most gripping realities in all the world is that your entire life is before the face of God, or Coram Deo. All you do is before God. There are no secrets, there are no hidden areas, there is no meaningless part of your life as a Christian.
The truth of Christianity must flood your entire life. When we are aware that God’s will for us is our sanctification, our lives will take on a new flavor of living.
Would you like to increase your holiness? Do you desire more Christ-likeness? Live life knowing that all of your life is before the face of God.
When we remember that all of our life is before God’s eyes, there are no small things in life. Nothing is meaningless, nothing is mundane, nothing is for nothing. So then, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God as before the face of God.
