“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,”
Philippians 2:15
As we witness what appears to be the slow collapse of the culture around us, it is time for the church to be a city set on a hill. It is time for Christians to be salt and light. We do this not by following the world’s pattern of grasping for power, but by confronting the culture with the love of Christ. This means loving our enemies, blessing those who curse us, being meek and humble in heart, and being willing to be persecuted for His name’s sake.
Why would we do that? Because of the love of Jesus. We love our great Savior. And we have an earnest desire to see others come to salvation. We understand them because we once were like them. We, too, were lovers of self, unholy, ungrateful, and unloving. We know that the sexually immoral, the idolater, the adulterer, and those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9–10). More than that, we understand that such were some of us—but we were washed, we were sanctified. The wrath of God that stood over us because of our sins was borne by Christ on the cross as our Substitute. We have been justified in the name of Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11).
Jesus has blotted out our iniquities and removed our death sentence. What more could we need? What more could we want? What do we have to fear? Because of His great love for us, we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). We are no longer debtors to the flesh, to live according to its dictates (Rom. 8:12). By the Spirit, we resist our sinful desires because we have a greater love—Jesus Christ. The world lives according to the flesh, and those who live according to the flesh will die (Rom. 8:13). The wages of sin still hang over them. We cannot and will not participate in their ways. We will not return to bondage now that Christ has set us free. But we will call the lost world to salvation in Jesus, even if many in this world hate us for it. We will continue to point the way, because it is what they need more than anything.
Anchor For Today:
Let your light shine today so that others may see Christ.