Living a life in plain sight
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Living in plain sight!
Living in plain sight!
We are not called to be undercover Christians, we are called light and light is not to be hidden. So, we are to live our Christian life in plain sight.
In the midst of perverse generation, let our light shine (Php2:15; Mt5:16)
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
We are called to let our light shine in a particular way, blameless, harmless and in some versions it says innocent or pure, and we will get more into that in a few minutes. Think about what Jesus said:
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Let our light shine in a particular way with a particular purpose.
In our study passage for this series (Php2:12-15) we are given direction, hope and a warning.
Direction given (Php2:12)
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
what is the direction? - work out your salvation
Hope given (Php2:13)
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
What is the hope? - it is God’s work in you!
Warning given (Php2:14)
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
What is the warning given? - do it without grumbling or disputing
And a goal given and that is our focus tonight (Php2:15)
And now our focus passage for tonight coupled with a few other passages along the way.
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
That we would be children of God without fault!
In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation we are to be light, living in plain sight as children of God, not just children of God but children of God without fault!
We are to be a shining light, living a life in plain sight, being children of God without fault, being blameless, harmless, innocent, pure. All, so that, the world will see the light of Christ in us and through us!
Tonight awe are looking at the who, what, why and how of being blameless and harmless as we live life in plain sight.
The What, How and Why of Blameless
The What, How and Why of Blameless
Who, what, where, when, how and why are some basic investigative questions. and right now we are going to focus on the word blameless and the scripture on the why how and why.
(Insert blameless from Greek picture here)
Blameless: The definition (adj) meaning innocent of wrong doing (Oxford dictionary); in Strong’s it says deserving no censure, free from fault or defect.
Blameless does not mean perfection, for if we thought so, we would be lying to ourselves (1Jn1:8-10; Rom3:23)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
We all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God (Rom3:23). So, to be blameless is to live in a manner, in such a way, that even those who oppose us have nothing bad to say.
Paul calls to live blameless other places too (Tit2:7-8)
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
Why live like this? So nothing can hurt our witness (exampled Mt23:3)
3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
We need to be transparent, we need to be consistent, we need to be people who do what we say and do what we do in accordance to the scripture.
If we say one thing and do another it will be apparent and it will not shine a good light on Jesus. we should live in such a way that we have not glaring faults for that which would discount our message that we have been charged and equipped with to share with others.
How to live blameless, or to be blameless
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Practice what you preach
Work out your own salvation (Php2:12)
If there is a problem with someone, work it out (Mt5:23-24)
Practice gentleness, patience and humility (Gal6:1; 2Tim2:24-26)
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Practice what you preach
Work out your own salvation (Php2:12)
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
We have looked ta this verse many times over, if we want to practice what we preach we need to work out our own salvation personally first. We need to know where we stand and how we stand there
Practice what you preach
Work out your own salvation (Php2:12)
If there is a problem with someone, work it out (Mt5:23-24)
mt5:23-24
23 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Practice gentleness, patience and humility (Gal6:1; 2Tim2:24-26)
Self examination is important when we want to practice what we preach. For we all fall short at times, and when we find there is problem we need to promptly admit it, confess it, deal with it.
Practice what you preach
Work out your own salvation (Php2:12)
If there is a problem with someone, work it out (Mt5:23-24)
Practice gentleness, patience and humility (Gal6:1; 2Tim2:24-26)
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
We can be people who practice what we preach when we come with the spirit of gentleness. But the other passage mentioned 2Tim2:24-26 we should look at too.
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
So to practice what we preach according to these verses what are we to do? -
Not be quarrelsome
Be kind, ready to teach
Be patient when wronged
Be gentle in correction with a purpose in mind
Escape, freedom, release from captivity
We cannot do that, practice what we preach if we are hypocrites, if we have blaring faults before us.So we need to be without fault and should be considered harmless.
The what, How and Why of Harmless
The what, How and Why of Harmless
Harmless what a great word isn’t it? As Christians who are living life in plain sight we are to be harmless, not ones who pose a threat.
akeraios: unmixed, pure
Original Word: ἀκέραιος, ον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: akeraios
Phonetic Spelling: (ak-er'-ah-yos)
Definition: unmixed, pure
Usage: (lit: unmixed) simple, unsophisticated, sincere, blameless
Harmless: Akeraios meaning without mixture of evil, free from guile, innocent, simple.
-If we are to be free from evil, guile, to be innocent and simple then we would be free from any taint or suspicion of any evil, or duplicity (saying one thing and doing another; aka hypocrisy).
Harmless as exampled by Christ’s words (Mt10:16)
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
We should never be seen as a threat to people who would bring harm or violence upon them.
Why should we be harmless and without fault? May we look at Paul’s words to Titus, I believe we may have looked previously, but hey, it fits perfectly right here too.
Harmless, without fault as exampled by Paul’s words (Tit2:7-8)
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
Now here are some things to consider things that in the name of Jesus have been carried to extreme that are not living a life in plain sight that is blameless and harmless.
Pro-life protests that lead to violence or intimidation
Economic blackmail (banning, boycotting) in effort to force a change
Protests at military funerals
How do you think these things make Christians look? Do they attract or distract people from Christ?
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Biblical Suggestions in being harmless
Paul’s instruction - Give no offence: (2Cor6:3)
Paul’s direction: give regard to honorable things (2Cor8:21)
In our conduct do not blaspheme God (Rom2:23-24)
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Biblical Suggestions in being harmless
Paul’s instruction - Give no offence: (2Cor6:3)
2COr6:3
3 giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,
In our conduct do not blaspheme God (Rom2:23-24)
We are to have the kind of attitude that Paul and the apostles had, they were determined to give no cause for offence for a purpose, what was the purpose? - so ministry would not be discredited.
Biblical Suggestions in being harmless
Paul’s instruction - Give no offence: (2Cor6:3)
Paul’s direction: give regard to honorable things (2Cor8:21)
21 for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
We need to not be offensive, we need to be honorable, to give regard for honorable things not only in the sight of the Lord, but who else? - sight of men, now that is living a life that is in plain sight and is shining a light!
Paul in writing to the Romans speaks of blasphemy God because they break the law but demand the law of others, they were not practicing what they were preaching. How we approach people (without offence) how we deal with people (with gentleness and respect) is a direct reflection of what people will see of our Lord since we are His light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
(Illustration, what kind of witness are we; Waitress on Sunday with Church crowd)
Are we the kind of witness that is gentle, respectful, that is blameless and harmless? What about attentive and generous? It is often said that church people are the cheapest and most demanding people to serve, should that be the way that it is?
How can we be, or should be harmless
How we act, react, repay is important (Rom12:17-21)
Follow Jesus instructions (Lk6:27-36)
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you
Bless those who curse you
Offer up your other cheek
Know and follow the Golden Rule
love the unlovable
Be merciful just as the Father is!
It takes effort, it takes diligence, it takes patience and it takes the power of the Holy Spirit coupled with the Word of God to do these things. The end result when we do, when we apply, well here is our verse again.
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Children of God without fault, or let me give you another version so can add another word in there
15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
Children of God above reproach!
Living your life in plain sight
live out your working our your own salvation
Have proper balance of fear and trembling (fear, reverence of Lord)
Live it out without grumbling, murmuring, complaining or disputing
Do it under the power of God working in you
So that, you can be blameless and harmless able to shine the light of Christ!
(Invitation slide- Apply)
It may not be easy to live as children of God without fault but we are commanded to di it and if we are commanded we are commanded to apply and we are equipped to do it, and if that is so, then we know it is good and pleasing unto God.
So go forth and apply living our our life in plain sight, blameless and harmless!
(invitation slide 2) prayer (exit slides)