For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

        Colossians 1:9-10

For the Christian, it’s easy for us to discern what is evil and what is good. There are plenty of examples, out there, of lifestyles that are obviously contrary to the Word of God. But there are also those who claim the name of Jesus but, at the same time, seem to be missing something. Today, we are going to look at three possibilities for our lives and those around us. The primary goal is to make sure that we have truly surrendered our lives to Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and are now operating in a mode of pleasing God rather than mankind or the world. Once this is the reality in our lives, we can then begin to assess just exactly what is going on around us and look for ways to guide people to, or back to, the Savior. 

While, in the eyes of God, there are only two types of people, those who belong to Christ and those who do not (John 3:18), I believe that we can see three different types of people in our world today…all claiming the name of Jesus. Some are productive for the kingdom of God and exhibit traits consistent with a born again believer in Jesus Christ, others seem to have fallen into some sort of spiritual rut in which mediocrity is the name of the game, and still others display outward adornments of the Christian life but continue to live like the world, chasing everything that it has to offer. So for us, which is it, true, authentic, spiritual transformation that only comes through a born again salvation experience in Christ, mediocrity in our spiritual lives, or just faking it, living a pseudo-Christian life? How can we find out? Well, today’s passage can be used as a sort of template for evaluating our spiritual lives. Every question that we ask of ourselves, and perhaps others that we care about, will stem from the basic truths found in this passage. The idea is to answer each question from the heart. While we are not obligated to answer these questions with others, it would be extremely beneficial for us to do so in the presence of another Christian or small group for the sake of accountability, encouragement, and building Christian community. So here we go! 

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

        Colossians 1:9-10

Question #1: Are you filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and                   understanding?

Did you know that when you gave your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit of God came to live on the inside of you? It’s true! And because of the presence of God in your life, you can be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. While others may be wandering around wondering if they can ever know the will of God, the Bible speaks very clearly about the reality that, indeed, we can! Here’s some examples:

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove (know) what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

  Romans 12:2

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

    1 Corinthians 2:14-15

(I pray)…that He (God) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16,19

We can know and order our lives around the perfect will of God. There are two primary ways in which God reveals Himself to us and we must have both in our lives if we expect to “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” The first is the Spirit of God living within us (Acts 2:38). This receiving of God’s Spirt happens at conversion, when we surrender our lives to Christ. The second is the Bible, the very Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). The absence of the Spirit and/or the absence of regular Bible study and we will likely find ourselves operating apart from God’s filling. Are you being filled daily with the presence of God and His perfect will for your life?

Question #2: Are you living in a manner that is worthy of the Lord?

The word “worthy” is not an indication that we must work for our salvation. Eternal life comes as a gift, completely apart from works (Romans 6:23, Romans 3:28). “Worthy” means “a correct and appropriate response to God.” The word “walking,” in the New Testament, is referring to our lifestyle. So “walking in a manner worthy of the Lord” means correctly responding to Him on the basis of who He is and what He has done for us. There are at least two ways that we meet the criteria of “walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.”

The first is a lifestyle of pursuing Christ, not our own desires. Consider the words of Jesus: 

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

  Luke 9:23

We live in a world where some people believe that they can just go about their business, pursuing whatever it is that they want, and then ask God to follow around behind them and bless everything that they do. This is the complete opposite of what Jesus is saying in the above passage. The Christian life is a lifestyle of denying ourselves, taking up our cross (enduring any persecution that might come from following Christ), and following Jesus, not the other way around. Pursing Christ is the first characteristic of an authentic, Christian life.

Secondly, we are to live our lives for Him. Consider the following:

…and He (Christ) died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

        2 Corinthians 5:15

“They who live might no longer live for themselves” is a description of all born again believers in Jesus. We are spiritually alive in Christ therefore we are now living for Him rather than ourselves. Denying ourselves? Taking up our cross? Following Christ? Living for Him instead of ourselves? You can probably see why so many people reject the gospel and walk away or turn to a less demanding religious doctrine in which you can live however you want and still be in right relationship with God…which is a spiritual impossibility. Does your lifestyle reflect that of a life worthy of the Lord?

Question #3: Are you seeking to please God in all respects in the way you live your life?

This is perhaps the most direct of all of the questions. Is it your desire to please God with your lifestyle or are you doing life on your own terms, making yourself happy in everything that you do? That’s a pretty straightforward question for all of us. But the reality is that an authentic, born again, relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ will always yield a change of heart, mind, attitudes, priorities, and lifestyle. No life change? Then there has probably been no spiritual transformation and consequently, probably no salvation. A desire to please God in all aspects is a basic characteristic of the Christian life. If you really don’t care what God thinks then how could you possibly think that you have undergone spiritual salvation? Consider the following:

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk (live) and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.

      1 Thessalonians 4:1

Our lifestyles are usually an indication of where we really stand in the area of following Christ and pleasing God. But pleasing God means that we have to stop trying to please those around us. Consider what Paul said, after his conversion, about trying to please other people:

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

    Galatians 1:10

We cannot make it our goal to please mankind and follow Christ at the same time. The world will ask of us things with which we simply cannot partner. Simple enough! Is it your heart’s desire to please God in ever aspect of your life?

Question #4: Are you bearing fruit for the kingdom of God (using your spiritual gifts)?

Are you plugged into a local church and are you using your spiritual gifts for the kingdom of God or are you building your own earthly kingdom? (Matthew 6:19-21) Consider the following:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Do you know what you spiritual gift(s) are? Did you know that you have a spiritual gift(s)? At conversion, we receive salvation, the Holy Spirit, and God gives us a gift or gifts that we are to use in the church and for the kingdom of God. Take a look at that list above. These are not all of the gifts but these are just some of the gifts that God gives to individual believers and He does so as He sees fit. If you need help identifying your spiritual gift or gifts, contact a local pastor or trusted Christian friend and ask them to help you discern what your gift is and then pursue God’s leading in the using of that gift. Consider the words Jesus:

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 

  John 15:5,8,16

Using our gifts and bearing fruit for the kingdom is as natural to the Christian as is breathing. “Are you bearing fruit in every good work?”

Question #5: Are you growing spiritually (increasing in the knowledge of God)?

Physical strength doesn’t just happen nor does athletic performance. It take discipline, a desire to excel, and a lot of time spent working toward your goals. Our spiritual lives are no different. Are you currently receiving biblical instruction through a small group, discipleship class, preaching from the pulpit, or through your own study? The truth is…you need all of these outlets for Bible study. It begins with our own time spent in God’s Word but then it needs to expand into Christian community as well. Regular preaching and teaching of God’s Word will insulate you from the world and all of its trappings, lies, and bad advice. Walking in the power of the Spirit, pursuing a life of following Christ, pleasing the Lord, and spending regular time in God’s Word are all essential if we are to make a difference for eternity in the lives of those around us. Consider the two sets of marching orders for the church, given to us by Christ:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

  Mark 16:15-16

Preaching the gospel to all creation and making disciples (followers of Jesus) of all nations is our primary responsibility as born again believers in Jesus. But in order to fulfill these commands, we have to be maturing and growing in our walk with Christ. Consider the following:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

          Ephesians 4:11-13

This is not religion rather it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As believers, we operate in the power of the Spirit of God living within us and order our lifestyles around those things that are pleasing to God. Are you growing in your walk with Christ and “increasing in the knowledge of God?” 

Being a Christian doesn’t mean that you’re perfect but it does mean that you have undergone a life change, having been saved, born again, and now you have the Spirit of God living within your heart. And it is the Spirit of God that prompts us to live our lives for the kingdom and for eternity rather than the futility of chasing after all of the things of the world. So how did you do? Is it authentic, Christian, transformation, mediocrity, or the pseudo-Christian life? Why not give your life to Christ today or, if needed, rededicate your life to Him? You’ll be glad you did and you can get on the road to an abundant, eternal life with Christ, far superior to anything that the world has to offer!

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

John 3:3

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” 

      John 3:16-18

…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

  Romans 10:9-10