integrity of the gospel

27 Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Philippians 1:27-30

The other evening my oldest son Bryan and I had an interesting conversation. He was sharing with me his disappointment with some of his Christian friends whose lives don't match up to the gospel they say they believe. In fact, the sin in their lives really discredits the message they preach. It sobered us both because we realize we're also capable of sinful failure and thus violating the integrity of our message.

The gospel is a holy message that should be represented by a holy life. It's the whole package. God didn't entrust the gospel message and the proclamation of this wonderful news to people who are not living right and don't intend to change. A changed life gives full credibility and integrity to the message that's preached, which then will produce change in someone else's life.

In Philippians 1:27-28, Paul underscored that the placesetting of the gospel is our lives. We are not the gospel, but we are to be clean vessels that the gospel is being served on. No one wants to eat food off dirty dishes. We want food served on clean plates.

We need to examine our lives. Are we clean? Are we good dishes for God to use? If he places us on his table of opportunity and people come by, will they want to send the food back because they look at us and say, “This isn't clean. I can't eat off this. I might get sick.” That's what happens when we don't pay attention to keeping our life clean.

The gospel calls for urgency both in dealing with sin in our lives and proclaiming the message. People are looking at us. They need to hear the truth, so we need to share it urgently.

The “good news” is not just a message we share—it's the life we live. Let's make sure our lives tell the truth about what we say. —Crawford W. Loritts livingalegacy.org

seeking: Father, what commitment to represent you can I make right now? How have you revealed my inability to truly present and live out your message?

responding: What areas of my life are not clean? • Do people see the gospel being lived out in my life? Why or why not?

Heavenly Father, I want others to see your gospel in my life. Help me to share the “good news” with love, boldness, and urgency.

following: People need to see the gospel as well as hear it.

our journey