Are you Living For God Or Man? If your life played before you like a movie, what would it portray? Would it attest to a life dedicated to the Lord, or would it project something utterly different? Every believer should periodically evaluate their faith to see if they are living for God or Man. This is a timely and important question because we are seeing more Christians abandon the faith and conform to this world. The compromising Christian uses many excuses, among them is pragmatism and pressures of life which force them to make decisions counter to scripture. As the world coerces many to conform to its ways, and Christians are increasingly persecuted for their faith (whether soft or hard persecution), we see weak Christians fall away from the faith.
The non-believer observes the behavior or Christians to determine whether this faith is truly worth accepting, and unfortunately, they see “believers” acting in ways that are not different than theirs. 1 Thessalonians 4:1 states: As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. The Apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians about the manner in which they should live for God, and in the following verses, 2-8, he simply reminds them of what he had taught them. Here is what Paul says:
2.For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
The key here is two primary points: 1) Living for God – based on the instructions provided, and 2) If we do not follow God, we are grieving/disobeying the Holy Spirit.
We are witnessing a demise of society due to the dissolution of traditional values and the abandonment of the faith by Christians. Our focus today is not the unsaved, as we don’t expect for them to uphold our Judeo-Christian values. It’s the Christians whom we are concerned about because they have diluting the Word of God and absorbed a secular worldview in various assortments which distorts their faith. Churches have a greater guilt in this transformation. Pastor are preaching a false faith, one that is based on moral relativism – accommodating contemporary world views, mysticism and occultism. The fundamentals of the faith are rejected for the sake of making sure people feel good. As Christians, we must draw the line in the sand, me must make our line of demarcation. We cannot cross the line and become a part of the secular mindset or attempt to live in two worlds. We cannot be both Christians and pagans.
Now, reverting to the first verse, are we living for God or Man? Let’s look at a few examples Jesus gave about this topic.
In Matthew 6:2 Jesus speaks about giving to the needy: He states:
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
In Matthew 6:5, Jesus speaks about prayer and how not to show off to others. He states:
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
In Matthew 6:16, Jesus speaks about fasting and once again not showing off to others “how holy you are”. He states:
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
All three examples portray actions done to receive recognition, to boost the ego, to make people accept and honor the person for their actions and to elevate their pride. In all examples, Christ ends the statement by saying “they have received their reward in full”. Their reward is given by people, not by God. Their actions are done only to receive recognition and sense of acceptance by society.
To put this into perspective, we see churches today teaching a message to please the audience, not God. Weekly sermons are based on what makes people happy in order to increase numbers and offerings at church. The same applies to so called Christians. They bow to the ways of this world, whatever the new trend may be, so that they may be accepted and praised by the public. However, in both cases, whether it be the church leadership or church members, Christians are failing God. They are worried about backlash from society, not the backlash from God. It’s valid to ask are they living for God or Man?
Our message today is to encourage everyone to love the Lord, honor God and do what God has called us to do. We must stand for the faith and not be ashamed of Jesus. We must live our faith without buckling to pressures from work, family members, friends, etc. Stand strong and live with boldness in Jesus. Above all, ask yourself are you living for God or Man? If the answer is for God then do what God has called you to do which is the proclaim the Gospel and serve in the Church. If you are reading this Bible study and decided to give your life to the Lord, please pray this prayer: Lord Jesus I know that I am sinner and I ask you forgive me of my sins. I believe that you were crucified for my sins and through your blood I have redemption and salvation. Please come into my heart and I receive you as my God. I pray in Jesus name. AMEN
