Worthy of the Gospel

In Philippians 1:27 the apostle Paul exhorts us to conduct ourselves “worthy of the gospel of Christ". How are we to understand the idea of living in a manner "worthy" of the Gospel? Can we earn favor with God by somehow being worthy? Can we, through our efforts, achieve right standing with God and a place in His saving work? No! Not at all. As D. A. Carson points out in his book Basics for Believers, this  “does not suggest we should try harder in order to secure something, but argues that because something has already been secured for us we should try harder out of gratitude and out of frank recognition that this is what the gospel has saved us for" (underlines mine).

Here's an analogy that might be helpful:  I am not faithful to my wife in order to achieve or attain to a spousal relationship with her, but because we have already entered into a spousal relationship. I want my character and manner of life to be consistent with and reflect the reality of the relationship that already exists between us. I want to honor that relationship and I want to honor her. So, for me to live in a manner worthy of our marriage means that I conduct myself in a way consistent with the expectations of the marriage covenant that unites us.

Similarly, we should strive to live in a way that displays the reality of our relationship with Jesus faithfully. Let us pray for grace upon grace to live in such a way that the Gospel of Christ will be shown by us as well as heard by us.

Grace and peace,
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