Godly Character

Last time in Hebrews, we discussed the reality that what we believe should be seen in how we live.

This week, we’re going to look at three very specific areas of lifestyle that should be completely different from what the world would suggest is acceptable.

I understand the desire to fit in and be accepted. For some reason, many have concluded that if the Christian isn’t too different from the unbeliever, then we’ll have a better chance to share Christ’s love and present the gospel so others might be saved. That seems to be the opposite of what the Word presents. Interestingly, throughout the entirety of the Bible, it’s always about us being different, being unique, standing out as light in a dark world.

Some of what I’ll be sharing from God’s Word today may be hard to hear, but it is the truth from God’s Word. One reason it may be hard to hear is that it is so easy to be conditioned by the world and the god of this age. Another reason might be that it speaks directly to you or someone you know. Rather than shut me off, allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever work needs to be done.

Many people want to be saved from hell, yet not as many want to completely turn their lives over to God, Who causes them to live with Godly character.

The one who is truly a follower of Jesus Christ will be recognized by their Godly character.

Sexuality - 13.4

Today, the world promotes sexuality in ways which contradict God’s design . The believer in Jesus Christ knows the emptiness of that and how it dishonors God completely. The Christian ought to live out their sexuality in a God-honoring manner.

Hebrews 13:4 (NASB95)

Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

For those who get married, it is a good thing, since God created it in the beginning. For those who do get married, marriage is to be held in honor. Yet, not everyone gets married. Those who stay single and remain pure are not second class citizens.

There were those in Paul’s time, that actually taught that marriage should be forbidden, as we read in 1 Timothy 4.3. Some would suggest that there was no way that a person could truly serve God with the same devotion if they got married. Both of those would imply that God made a mistake in creating marriage. In fact, Jesus’ first miracle must have been a waste of time since it was at a marriage feast. Maybe all of the instructions throughout the Bible about marriage ought to be removed, if marriage is a mistake. Obviously, God established marriage, and speaks of it as being honorable. If God feels that way, the Christian ought to as well.

So, why does the Bible promote and honor marriage? The most obvious, and I believe, the first reason for marriage, is to have children. Interestingly, one can have children without being married, but that’s not how God designed it. A couple can also be married and not have any children. They’re still in an honorable marriage.

Marriage is also for companionship. The majority of couples who are married describe one of the main benefits and blessings of marriage as just being together with someone for whom you care deeply.

Marriage can be honored by the husband and wife honoring each other, rather than seeing what they can get out of the marriage. In all the instructions and guidelines in the Bible regarding marriage, it is always in the context of a man and woman. That is part of God’s perfect design and plan. Anything else is of the devil. We’ll see a little later on why I say this.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to talk about the aspect of sexuality. It’s frustrating to see how sex is used everywhere purely to grab people’s attention. It used to be car calendars with barely clad women. Now we see it in commercials for various shows; entire shows built around the unfaithfulness of individuals; shows focusing on sexuality in trying to find your perfect mate; it goes on and on. Satan has taken what God created as good and he has twisted and perverted it in his attack against God’s kingdom.

We read and hear of promotion and acceptance of sexual practices outside of marriage. It’s been compared to nothing more special than eating and sleeping. People are being encouraged to try more and more sexual activities outside of God’s guidelines; polygamy, polyamory, living together without the marriage commitment, men with men, women with women, etc. When anyone steps outside God’s standards for marriage, it falls under the category of fornicators and adulterers. And what does the Bible say about those who practice this? God will judge. This does not mean to deliberate and decide if a person is guilty or innocent. The meaning is that of a condemnation judgment.

It has been said, It is not possible to live and act against the moral grain of the universe established by God and not suffer terrible consequences. Here is where churches need to stand firm on the sanctity and purity of marriage.

When someone claims to be a Christian and lives an immoral life, not following the guidelines and commands of God’s Word, their testimony about Christ is destroyed. My friends, my spirit grieves when I hear of people who state that they are Christians, yet practice that which is totally contradictory to what the Bible’s teachings are on sexuality. I often hear that Christians are narrow-minded and hateful when we point out what God’s standards are and what is wrong and what is right. My friends, those who are promoting the wrong perspective of sexuality are the ones who are being hateful, for they are misleading others straight into hell. Even Paul speaks to this in Ephesians 5.3 “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints . . .”

The one who is truly a follower of Jesus Christ will be recognized by their Godly character. This can be seen our our pure character within marriage.

Satisfaction - 13.5-6

The world also encourages people to never be satisfied with what you have. Rather, they instruct people on how to have it all, or at least a lot more. They suggest that dissatisfaction is a great motivational tool to get you to pursue more. Throughout the Bible, we are told that money and possessions are temporary and are like rust or clothing being eaten by moths. The Christian learns that as they choose to be satisfied with what God provides, there is a genuine contentment.

Hebrews 13:5–6 (NASB95)

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”

Wanting what you do not have is really the biblical word of covetousness. That word is kissing cousins to the word greed. The story is told that When John D. Rockefeller was a young man, a friend reportedly asked him how much money he wanted. “A million dollars,” he replied. After he had earned a million dollars, the friend asked him again how much money he wanted. The answer this time was, “Another million.”

I’ve heard it said by many wise people that the more you have, the more you’ll want. Because what you have will never keep up with what you want.

Understand that no where does the Bible condemn money; rather, it is the love of money. This covers riches of any kind, not just currency. When a person has a hungering and a love for money, it takes away from a pure love of God, and even resembles a distrust in what God has done and will do. Where is a person’s ultimate trust if they’re always chasing after money? Where are they experiencing security—in God or in wealth?

Please don’t leave today and think I’m against money. It is a tool which God enables us to use for His glory. There are many people throughout the Bible who were very wealthy. There are many people who we know who are very wealthy and they choose to use that money for God’s glory. However, we cannot place our hope and trust in money, for that would be not trusting in God.

So what’s the answer? Be content with what you have. My wife’s ancestors came over to the US with only the clothes on their back and some hard red turkey winter wheat. They were grateful for what they had and trusted God to provide for their needs. Many of the readers of the book of Hebrews had lost the majority of what they used to own. Some of them thought it wasn’t worth losing their material possessions just because they wanted to follow Jesus. So rather than turning their lives completely to Jesus, they chose to go after stuff. My friends, true contentment comes from God, not what we own.

My friends, losing stuff or not having things, is certainly a setback. But if all that you have belongs to God, and you’ve recognized that, then your trust can fully be on God. If your focus is on the financial and material, then your service to the Lord is not going to have much of a positive effect for His glory. I love what Paul says to Timothy in I Timothy 6.6-8 “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”

My friends, God is good no matter how much you have or don’t have materially. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. And the reality is that if we have anything whatsoever, it’s more than we deserve. We also need to get off this notion that we all should have the same amount as others or a fairness or an equitable amount. Let’s face it; not everyone knows how to handle their finances. One person having far more than I do is not a sign that God loves me less. God knows what each person can work with or needs to work with.

But there’s something that we often overlook. That is the fact that our true wealth, our true riches, are found in Jesus Christ. Our true wealth comes in having that personal relationship and daily fellowship with Jesus Christ. We have it all, at that point. The unbeliever who has all kinds of wealth actually has nothing. Material goods will be gone, but the last part of verse 6 reminds us that the Lord will never leave us.

The one who is truly a follower of Jesus Christ will be recognized by their Godly character. That can be seen in what you are loving and pursuing.

Steadiness - 13.7-9

Society tells us that we need to adjust to fit in with where society is currently. We shouldn’t bother with absolutes, but have a willingness to be flexible and readjust our thinking to what those in power tell us to think. In this way, everyone gets along. The Bible instead tells us to hold tightly to the absolute truths of God’s Word and His ways. Truth does not change because someone else said they have a new idea that could change the world. Christians understand what it means to be steadfast in their thinking.

Hebrews 13:7–9 (NASB95)

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

For those who had and have come from a rules and regulations idea about following God, it can sometimes be difficult to understand that those things have no merit in our salvation. Belonging to Jesus Christ and living for Him comes from the inside, not the outside. Thus, it was important that they people would remember those who had taught them the Word of God as it should be. Just as their lives pointed to Jesus, so should those of the Hebrew Christians reading this, as well as us today.

We’ve talked often about the importance of right biblical doctrine. One reason for that is seen in how Satan will use certain people to teach beliefs that are not biblical, even though they may sound spiritual. Those rules always seem to be changing and being adjusted. As a result of the abuse and misuse of God’s Word, the character of those who follow falsehood is not at all godly.

One of the more frustrating aspects of this is seen in how some of these false teachers are actually quite likable and appealing to people. I’ve heard some people when confronted, that they find it hard to believe that these teachers would be misleading them. My friends, we base truth not on personality but on God’s Word. The Bible does not change because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The book of Galatians is an excellent letter which deals with false teachers and has some very pointed and condemning things to say about those who would mislead.

What was being taught that was to be guarded against? Varied and strange teachings. Based upon the context of the whole book, we could most likely assume that it was about some of the Jewish beliefs that had become part of their tradition. One thing which is mentioned is that of foods. Why does the author call them varied and strange if they were probably nothing new and were most likely known? Because they were in contrast to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. They had nothing to do with a person’s salvation.

MacArthur comments: The worst false teachers are those who go under the guise of orthodoxy. An avowed liberal, cultist, or atheist is easily seen for what he is. Satan’s best workers are the deceptive ones, who know they will get a better hearing from God’s people if their heresy is coated with biblical ideas.

Consider the reality that Satan doesn’t need to do anything to the unbeliever since they’re already in his camp. He’s going after the church, trying to cripple our testimony to the unsaved. So what can we do as Christians? We reject any and all forms of legalism.

For people who’ve been given lists of do’s and don’ts, this is difficult to step away from. Yet, in Christ, we are free, not only from sin, but free from rules and regulations that merely give a semblance of spirituality, but do nothing for our freedom. The writer of Hebrews actually says that those teachings were worthless; through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. Whenever people state that a person should be concerned about the spiritual legality of what you eat, they are actually fighting against the gospel of grace through Jesus Christ. Listen to what Paul says in I Timothy 4.1-5 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

We are strengthened by grace. It is quite clear that the external rules and regulations do not save: Romans 14.17 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

And for anyone who tries to teach otherwise, Paul speaks to that in Colossians 2.16 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—”

For someone to claim to be a Christian, yet hold onto the law and to that which contradicts the totality of the Bible, their testimony has been sadly harmed. The one who is truly a follower of Jesus Christ will be recognized by their Godly character. This will be seen in how we hold unswervingly to the Word of God.

Summary

We wonder how doctrine fits into our lives, yet the Bible makes it quite clear. Right biblical doctrine will have a positive impact on how we live our lives. And if we live our lives with Godly character, the world will see and will have to recognize that we are different. There will be unbelievers who will falsely accuse us and will reject the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. However, there will also be unbelievers that will see how we live what we believe and they will come to a point where they will want to follow the Savior.

What about when a person has already failed in one of these areas? Maybe we should ask the question, can God forgive us and give us a brand new start? Yes, he most definitely can. We see time and time again, how when a person comes to the Lord with a genuinely repentant heart and does not continue to compound sin upon sin in rebellion against God, that God will recognize that humility and exalt the person in just the way He wants to do. There is still the opportunity to be a wonderful testimony to the world for Jesus Christ.

The one who is truly a follower of Jesus Christ will be recognized by their Godly character.