Paul said in Philippians 1 that his only desire was that either through his life or by his death that his body might honor Christ. This is not an extreme response to Christ; this is a right response and the only true response to the grace we have been given in the gospel. 

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV) 

Love is the central and overarching principle of Christianity, so we must be mindful of it in all other things we do. Since love is such an important part of Christianity and walking in the Spirit, we must be very careful to define it biblically and correctly right from the start. 

Paul tells the church in Corinth that since we have been chosen by God, we must come out from among them and be separate for the glory of God. Worshiping the Lord and living lives that bring God glory is the highest purpose of our lives as Christians. 

“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice Yes, and I will rejoice,  for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

So often when we think of sin, we think of things we think of as wrong or things our culture says is wrong. But the true standard for holiness comes from God and we can find this standard in the scriptures. True Christians often lacerate their souls because our culture, and sometimes even church culture, tells us something is acceptable that the Word of God and the Spirit of God living within us is telling us is not. 

An often-overlooked attribute in church leadership is gentleness. We talk about it, and we know it's biblical, but in practice sometimes we don’t walk it out, because we are much too busy doing the work of the Lord to take the time necessary to model the character of God.

Gentleness is fruit and evidence that the Spirit of God lives in you (Galatians 5:22-23). As ministers of the Lord, we must be gentle and caring when serving the people God has entrusted to us.

Jesus as revealed in Scripture is the final word and God’s final revelation to us. To look beyond Christ is saying what he has accomplished isn’t enough. The fulfillment of all Scripture, all law, all prophecy and our salvation is found in him alone.

The idea of us living holy lives doesn’t mean we are holy like God is holy or that we will ever be or ever could be. What it does mean is that in regeneration we are changed and that in view of God’s holiness we strive to live a life of holiness in honor of and in service of him. 

“Now Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

In his Chronicles of Narnia book Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis further explored questions of faith, as well as God’s calling, through two recurring characters: Aslan the lion and the girl Lucy.

As pastors, evangelists, and Christian ministers of any kind we all need to be encouraged in the Lord. But vague stock encouragement isn’t what we need when we are discouraged and weary. We must be encouraged in the truth of God’s Word. If the encouragement we want isn’t rooted in the truth of God’s Word it isn’t really being encouraged in the Lord.