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“Christ’s Offer Now Deals Us Contending Truth! "(C.O.N.D.U.C.T)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

SCRIPTURE:
"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God.” (Philippians 1:27-28, NIV)

Approach Question:
How do you conduct yourself in life?

OBSERVATION/INTERPRETATION:

I asked myself what could ‘whatever happens’ refer to?
It came to my mind that it may refer to what is happening with Paul in prison or it may refer to whatever happens to the saints in Christ in their life. Whatever the reason is, there is a command to follow:

'conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. '

INTERPRETATIONS:
I asked myself the significance of Paul saying 'in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ?'

To answer that, I asked myself what is the 'Gospel of Christ?'

What came to my mind was understanding the role of man-God.

Man and God were together.

Man sinned and rebelled from God.

When that happened, a huge chasm was created separating man from God because God in His Holiness cannot allow sin to enter into His presence.

Through the ages, man has tried to do everything he could to reach God mostly through his good works but everything he did was as filthy rags to God and did not create a bridge to reach God. Whatever he does falls down the chasm.

Finally, God in His love knowing the state of mankind from the beginning took the role of reconciliation upon Himself. He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ into the world so man can be reconciled to God if man would be willing to walk on the bridge to God. 

Jesus Christ became that bridge that connected the huge chasm separating man from God. Now man could walk over the bridge and reach God. To be able to get access to the bridge, man had to acknowledge that he cannot ever reach God by his own good works and his ways. No matter what he does, he will always fall until He looks to the cross of Jesus Christ.

It is at the cross that man realizes while he was yet a sinner Christ Jesus died on the cross to save him.

Man had to accept the free price that was paid for him as God's gift of grace. Those who looked to the cross were covered in Christ's blood which became the only way that man could have entrance to the bridge and reach God. Looking to the cross meant confessing their sins and repenting of their sins asking Christ's forgiveness and Christ's cleansing blood to cover them and wash them whiter than snow.

Now with Jesus in man's life, the good works that come out of him are a result of the Holy Spirit working in his life. Now man in gratitude to God cannot help but serve the Lord in love and devotion.

Even when man messes up, the Lord's forgiveness and blood is there to cover him when he looks to Jesus. Now man is free and can be with God as His Salvation.

For me that is the Gospel in a nutshell which can be summarized by John 3:16.

OBSERVATION:
I asked myself why does Paul tell them to 'conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?'

The answer is reflected in the ‘if-then’ or ‘cause-effect’ relationship:

If (you conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ)
then,
Whether (I come and see you) or (I only hear about you in my absence),

I will know that you stand firm in one spirit,
contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel
without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself why is that significant?

Paul makes the saints in Christ know regardless of the senses he uses such as seeing or hearing, if they are conducting themselves in the right way, he will know about three things occurring in their lives as a starting point:
               Standing firm in one spirit.
               Contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.
               Not being frightened in any way by those who oppose them.

These things in effect would show them ‘being saved by God’ while those who oppose them ‘being destroyed’.

Interpretations/Application:

I asked myself what does it mean ‘to stand firm in one spirit’?
I realized it means being united in the faith following the same Gospel of Christ. This meant for me, even when people claim to be a particular denomination, the denomination should not be the focal point of the Gospel. Rather Jesus Christ should be the focal point for the Gospel to be seen and heard in our lives. For the Good News is Jesus Christ. Once that is realized there should be no compromise or budging but standing firm in one spirit.

It was interesting to realize that ‘you’ was used 7 times, once as 'yourself'. I saw the ‘you’ representing the community of believers receiving the command and it’s outcome if followed. Paul was addressing the community of believers with his letter rather than an individual person. This meant as a community they were to stand firm in one spirit. But it could also be taken for each believer who follows the command.

I asked myself what does it mean ‘contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel?’
What came to my mind was boxing. When you are a boxer contending for a championship, there is preparation involved before the match. When match time comes you still contend for that championship which involves putting yourself on the frontlines against your opponent. There are times that the contender will fall but gets up again. There are punches exchanged back and forth too. At times, there is a knockout during the contending part.

What does it have to do with contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel?
The analogy is not complete but the boxer can be seen as the Christian who contends for the faith of the Gospel. The opponent can be Satan using the forms of  pantheism, relativism, pluralism, nilhism, existentialism, determinism, and other kinds of 'isms' and oppositions such as temptations to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you fight those opponents views whether they are your professors non-biblical views, your friends views, views of evolution, atheism, etc, there will be times you will take punches that will hurt and also bring you down. They could be mostly figurative punches but not always.

But with Jesus Christ on your side, if you keep focused on Him and the community of believers He has given you to be at your ring side, you will get up to contend. You cannot do it on your own as a lone-ranger Christian. If you try to defeat Satan on your own without help, you yourself could get knocked out. That will not be a pleasant sight.

The key is contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel where ‘one man’ could refer to the help taken from the community of believers in Christ. For that to happen, we cannot be a lone-ranger.
 

Interpretation/Application:

I asked myself what does it mean ‘not being frightened anyway by those who oppose you?’
I learned it means not giving up or throwing in the towel while contending for the faith of the Gospel. It also means not letting any kind of fright stop us whether it be ridicule from our professors, family members, ridicule from our peers, etc when we stand for the Gospel even if they are hurting punches of persecution, prosecution, etc.

The effect of doing it is two-fold:
            Those opposing us will know that their way of living can lead to destruction!
            Our way of living in Christ can lead to Salvation from God.

IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
I learned the purpose of today's devotional was for me to conduct myself in a way worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ so others can come to know Jesus by the way I live my life.

Sadly, as I have lived my life, there have been times people have said, "And you are supposed to be a Christian, if that's what being a Christian is about, I don't want to have anything to do with you or this Jesus you follow." If people accuse me this way for speaking out against sin in word and deed, I don't have a problem with that. But, if it is because of my selfish conduct, I have a problem with that. I am not where I want to be in my walk with Jesus or where I should be when it comes to my walk with Jesus Christ. If anything, even after all these years, there are tears and fears, that my conduct at times has been detrimental to my peers. I have exhibited qualities of critical attitude and rebellion multiple times. I realize how easy it is to follow the ways of the dark side that seem so alluring at times. I learned a lot by watching, 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith' which I have reviewed in detail for the entertainment section of the paper. But, I did not need Star Wars to reveal to me about my conduct.

The Word of God shows me how frail and weak I am without the Gospel of Jesus Christ directing my conduct. It is when I am focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ is when I have peace, joy, humility, courage, and so on. The Fruit of the Spirit is seen in my life when I let Jesus transform me by His grace. His grace not only justifies and saves me but it sanctifies me too. Where I have faltered is not in the JUSTIFIED BY GRACE part, for I know my Salvation is secure in Christ by His grace. Where I falter is in the SANCTIFICATION part but that's why it is called SANCTIFICATION for it is a process. The Lord Jesus is reminding me though my conduct is not always something that the Lord is proud of, He is sanctifying me daily by His grace and not leaving me to where I am. Even in my sin, He loves me too much to leave me there. Through pruning and at times cutting which can be like a knife of fire, Jesus is making me all He wants me to be so my conducts reflects me being a child of the Most High! Praise the Lord! I am once again reminded by the Community Bible Time that Pastor Ridge did and the sermon Pastor Mike gave regarding pruning from John 15.

I am a very sensitive person by nature and have felt very guilty when Jesus is spoken badly because of my attitude and conduct. There is an element of shame involved too that I let my Lord and Savior down and also kept others from Him because of my attitudes. When I don't walk in the Spirit, I fulfill the lust of the flesh and all the flesh wants for me. I give into my human nature and all rationalizations seem wonderful but that's how Satan works as an angel of light to deceive and destruct. That is why it is so important for me to 'abide in Christ'

I also realized conducting myself in a manner worthy of the Gospel does not mean that I remain silent when injustice is happening in word and deed but I do speak out against sin. A lot of times Christians think all we should do is love instead of speaking out against sin in love. I believe we need to speak out against sin in word and deed but in a right way.

I am reminded constantly, "Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians)

Thanks be to God, it is 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord' (Zechariah)

The Lord Jesus lifts me up even when I conduct myself in a manner unbecoming of a follower of Christ. I thank Jesus so much for that.  When I mess up, Jesus is not there to condemn me as Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery but to point my wrong to me in a loving way using His Word and mostly my precious wife Chandraleela who sees my weaknesses and strengths everyday.

I thank the Lord Jesus for the lessons, He has taught me and bringing to my attention. Conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not anything I can do on my own. How can selfish beings by nature do unselfish things except for the GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST being imparted in a person's life to transform them by His justification and sanctification. In His promises will I rest knowing my Savior and Lord is Mighty to Save and will lift me up.

Though I fall because of sin, Christ you make me win. Sending support from your kin. In sin, I will not remain there, for my sins you bear. Now, I am not my own, you Oh Lord have shown! Bought with the cleansing Blood, to take away sin's flood! Oh my, Lamb of God. To you I nod! Your blood washes me clean! Upon you I lean!  One day, all that you want, I will be. For you paid the Ultimate ransom for me! So Father God, I can come to thee!

Praise the Lord!

"There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, for the life giving Spirit has freed us from the power of sin and death" (Romans 8:1)

I ask you now dear friends, how do you C.O.N.D.U.C.T yourself in life?
Dear friends, I learned that as saints in Christ Jesus, we ought to conduct ourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ so those around us (Christians or pre-Christians) whether they see us or hear about us can know that we stand firm in one spirit, contend as one man for the faith of the Gospel, and not being frightened by those who oppose us whether it be in school, in the workplace, or in the home!

Then everyone will see that the Gospel is worthy to be followed and that is because of the reality in Jesus Christ and our lives individually and corporately reflect the Spirit of Jesus Christ in us.

By the way we live in front of our professors, peers, parents, etc will show others that there is destruction involved for their lives spiritually without Jesus Christ and there is Salvation involved in people’s lives who have Christ with them.

May we not let opposition stop us from the way we conduct our lives for the sake of the Gospel! Amen!

"Christ’s Offer Now Deals Us Contending Truth! "(C.O.N.D.U.C.T)/"How do you C.O.N.D.U.C.T yourself in life?"

PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, thank you so much for offering us deliverance with contending Truth. We Oh Lord need your help to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel so that people around us can see or hear that we have stood firm in the spirit, contending as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened by those that oppose us. In this way, we thank you that those who do oppose the Gospel can know that they are in danger of destruction but those who are with you are saved by God. Use us as your vessels wherever we are. And Lord, when we do fall and mess up, please help us to get up and go on. We thank you for being there as our Good Shepherd. When we get dirty, you clean us up, when we are bruised you can heal those wounds for you heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds. Thank you so much Jesus for your Word. Help us to live for you faithfully. I thank you Jesus. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

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