God Honoring Behavior (Part 8)

Verse of the day: Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Again, the Apostle Paul, on the basis of love without hypocrisy admonishes the church to be of one mind. Throughout the New Testament we see the command to be in unity. Division within the body of Christ is one of the most effective and destructive devices the devils use to hinder the spreading of the Gospel; and sadly, too many Christians fall into the trap because of pride, selfishness, and worldly ambitions. The admonition to “be of the same mind toward one another” is directing us to want for one another what we want for ourselves; to love our neighbor as ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 1, Philippians 2 and 3, and 1 Peter 3, we are told to speak the same thing, in order that there is no division among us, that we be joined together, having the same love, having compassion for one another, being courteous, and loving each other as brothers in Christ. One way to accomplish that is to not be so mindful of worldly gain and attaining worldly goals; going after those things that are not God’s will for us or in His plans for our lives. When we love the things of the world, the love of the Father is not in us; and we chase after those things that are temporary and have no eternal value (1 Jn 2:15-17). We are to live in humility, even as Jesus did when He was here among us (Phil 2:5-8). In the beginning of this chapter the Apostle reminded us not to think more of ourselves than we should (v. 3); and in Philippians 2:3 he reminded us that we are to think of others as being better than ourselves, and not be conceited or as he states it here, “Do not be wise in your own opinion”. Too often, our pride and desire to be someone that we are not, or our desire to advance and seem like we know something no one else does, causes us to value our opinion over everyone else’s and stand on that opinion, even if it causes unnecessary offense or division. This is the very thing that God despises; for He tells us that one who causes discord amongst the brethren is an abomination to Him (Pro 6:19). The bottom line is that humility must be the foundation for our attitude within the family of God. We must not think of ourselves too highly because it is the grace of God that has given us eternal life. Nothing, in and of ourselves, earned us the right to be part of God’s family. We are adopted into His family because of Jesus’ sacrifice, and His righteousness. We have no righteousness or holiness of our own that we can claim as the reason for elevating ourselves above anyone else. We who are born again are all sinners saved by grace. We are saints because we have trusted in the finished work of Jesus, and His blood was the price that was paid for our redemption. His blood washed us and made us pure, and has wiped the slate clean in respect to the sin-debt we owed. Therefore, let us strive to be humble and be united in humility (Phil 2:1-4); forsaking the world, and following after that which will promote, together, the furtherance of the Gospel.

Jesus, our God and Savior, humbled Himself, even unto death, for us. Today, He calls us to be a part of His family, and He extends an invitation to accept His free gift of salvation (Ro 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Ro 10:13).