Cal Ripken, Jr, has been nicknamed the “Iron Man of Baseball.” On September 6, 1995, he broke the record of 2,130 consecutive games in which he played. That is something like 13+ years without missing a game. But there were occasions when that consecutive streak was in danger. For example in June 1993, he was involved in a bench-clearing brawl, and he twisted his knee. When he woke up the next morning, he couldn’t put any weight on that leg. He told his wife that he might not be able to play that night. Just before he left for the ball park, his wife, Kelly, said, “Maybe you could just play one inning and then come out.” Cal snapped back, “No! Either I play the whole game or I don’t play at all.” That night Cal played the full nine innings. Cal Ripken, played in 99.2% of every game during that streak. At some point in the second half of his career, someone called him “the iron man of baseball.” Cal liked the title, and he committed himself to walk worthy of the idea. In the pursuit of any high objective, we face the temptation to lower our standards, just to get by. We may be tempted to play just one inning in order to say that we were in that game. But for people worthy of worthy titles, there can be no compromise or devaluing of the title.
You might say that in verse 12 we have the summary of the whole law of Christian conduct. This little book of I Thessalonians has a bunch of pithy, concise, practical exhortations: “Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing, quench not the Spirit,” and so on. But verse 12 is the mountain peak, whose snows eventually fill a hundred different streams. If we walk worthy of God, then we won’t need to be exhorted to “rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing,” and to “quench not the Spirit.”
Tonight we’re going to make a quick topical study of the subject of the WORTHY WALK. The Apostle Paul makes this kind of statement several times with slight variations, but they all come back to the highest of all the Alps: “Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
First, let’s turn to Colossians 1:10 – “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.”
Walk worthy of the Lord.
There is little doubt about the Divine Person of I Thessalonians 2:12. That verse is either talking about God, the Father, or God, the Trinity. But Colossians 1:10 just says, “Lord,” and that opens the door to some easy-going debate. Are we talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, or the entire God-head once again? For the purpose of the exhortation, it really doesn’t matter that much. Christ Jesus is the embodiment of deity while residing in a human body. We can see, hear and almost touch the Lord Jesus in the pages of the Word of God, and we can see how He handled some very human situations and problems. He puts flesh and bones in and on the divine way of behaving in a sin-cursed world, never swerving over the line and straying from the Father.
For example, Leviticus 11:45 says, “I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” The Lord Jesus never ceased for a moment from being absolutely and perfectly holy.
The point is this: you and I have the responsibility to walk worthy of THIS Lord. “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” – Jeremiah 9:23-24. John tells us in his gospel that Jesus is the light of the world. And then in his first epistle he teaches us that we must walk in His light. When the Bible says, “Walk worthy of God,” it is telling us to follow His DIVINE example.
In Philippians 1:27 Paul goes on to exhort us to walk WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL.
It is not in those exact words, but that is the intent: “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” This exhortation covers the same ground but in a different light. Christians should have a take-home gospel – perhaps we could say “a facial gospel.” The “good news” isn’t something that a plastic faced, talking head can report on the nightly news. The “good news” isn’t an intellectual principle like a math equation that makes us feel good when we begin to understand each of the component parts. What is the gospel? It begins with “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” But it then goes on to reveal how “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.”
“Walking worthy of the gospel” is living one’s new life as if there really has been a new birth. The gospel includes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus up there on the cross. And now, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Last Sunday we sang, “Christ liveth in me.” – it is a wonderful hymn, one which always blesses me. But it should also exhort us with that blessing – Christ should be seen in me. If He is living in me, then He should be seen in me.
We all know that Christians can revert to the flesh and live like the lost man for periods of time. And that is the reason for Paul’s exhortations: But remember Who it is Who has saved you, and remember too the price which was paid. That is at the heart of “walking working of the gospel.”
And why? I’ve been saved from my sin now. I’m on my way to Heaven; there is no way for me to be lost. We should walk worthy of the gospel for Jesus’ sake, for our own sake, and for the sake of the neighbor who still needs that gospel.
Ephesians 4:1 takes these exhortations another step, telling us to walk WORTHY OF OUR CALLING.
“I therefore, the prisoner of Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” For clarity, you need to know that the word “vocation” is “klesis” and only once is it translated this way. 90.9% of the time “klesis” is translated “calling.” “I … beseech you that ye walk worthy of the CALLING wherewith ye are called.”
It is through this calling that the Gospel actually became the gospel or “good news” to us. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” – Romans 8:28-30. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” – II Timothy 1:8-9. “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” – Hebrews 3:1. The “calling” to which these and a dozen other verses refer is not the presentation of the gospel. This calling is that still small voice, spiritual and irresistible in nature, which brings the sinner under the blessing of salvation. The United States Ambassador to Japan might have the responsibility to walk worthy of his calling as an ambassador, but the call of God to salvation is infinitely higher.
I Corinthians 7:15 says that God has called us to peace – walk worthy of your calling. I Peter 2:9 says what God called us out of darkness into His light – walk worthy of your calling. “God has not called us according to our works, but according to own purpose and grace” – walk worthy of your calling. We have been called into His kingdom and glory – walk worthy of your calling. We have been called unto holiness – walk worthy of your calling.
Let’s say that you are getting married in thirty days. Marriage is something that should change your life and your life style. But it would be wise if you started making some of those changes right now, even before the “I do’s”. You should stop dating and giving presents to your old boy-friends or former girl-friends. You should stop spending money like there is no tomorrow, because there are going to be a lot of tomorrows, and you are responsible for them. You should stop living on the edge of disaster and practice a more conservative life style. You’ve been called unto marriage and heaven on earth, so start living like it. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
Let’s close with one more.
We should walk WORTHILY AS SAINTS – Romans 16:1-2.
“I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.” Paul said in effect, “I expect you to treat my Christian friend with all the love and courtesy that should be found in the saints of God.”.
And what exactly is a saint of God? It is someone who has been born again by the Spirit of God. It is someone who has been separated from sin unto the Lord, practically as well as spiritually. A saint is someone who is true to the Spirit of God within him.
And in this case, he is talking about the way that saints should express the love of the Lord. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Let me close with another illustration from the world of sports. Harold Reynolds used to be a second baseman for the Seattle Mariners. He once wrote that when he was growing up in Corvallis, Oregon his hero was a basketball player named Gus Williams. “I thought that he was cool, and I wanted to be just like him. For example he tied his shoes behind his ankles, instead of on top, so I tied my shoes that way. He wore the number 10 and so that was always my number. He wore one wrist band, so I wore one wrist band. Then one day I got really, really sick and I thought that I was going to die. And it occurred to me that it wasn’t my sports hero, Gus Williams who came to my room and took care of me. It was my mother. That’s when I began to learn the difference between heros and role models. I stopped looking at athletic accomplishment to determine who I wanted to pattern my life after. In stead, I tried to emulate people with strong character who were doing things of lasting importance.”
We should strive to walk worthy of the LORD, and not to set our sights one inch lower than Him. Amen?