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How
To Live As A Christian!
Citizens of Heaven
by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
"Only let your
conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ."
Philippians 1:27
We find here a transition
in this letter, from a description of Paul himself and his condition, to an
appeal to the members of the church at Philippi, yet, like all these
movements of thought which are so characteristic of the writings of this
great Apostle, there is no sudden break, no abrupt difference; everything
always follows with a strange and wonderful logical sequence. But Paul
comes here to a practical exhortation and it is interesting to observe
exactly how he does so.
Paul, you remember, has
been reassuring the Philippians who are concerned and grieved about his
being in prison. He has shown them that what appeared to be so bad at first
has turned out, under Gods blessing, to be something wonderful. His
imprisonment has encouraged the preaching of Christ, and in this he
rejoices. Then we have been considering his philosophy of life and death
To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain
- and we have seen that he really does not know which of the two to
choose. If pressed, his own personal preference would be to say that he
would desire to depart and to be with Christ because it is far
better. Yet he knows that for the sake of the members of the
church at Philippi it is preferable that he should remain in order that he
may help them to understand the gospel still better, and that he may further
their joy and faith: that your rejoicing may be
more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
And then, in the light of
all that, the next thing, and in a sense the inevitable thing for him to
say, is, in effect, Only, whether I go or do not go, whether I am put death
or whether I am to live for a number of years, whatever may be my immediate
future, whatever may happen to me, whatever may happen to you, there is
only one thing that matters; whatever, says Paul, you may remember or
forget, hold on to this, and see that this is always true only
let your conversation [citizenship] be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ.
So here we come to the
realm of the practical, but we can never reiterate enough that these
practical exhortations in Pauls writings always come after a preliminary
announcement of doctrine. He never starts on the level of conduct,
there is always an introduction, a preliminary salutation. He insists on
painting in the background before he comes to the detail of his picture, and
he never makes an appeal like this without basing it firmly and solidly upon
the truth. And here is something very characteristic of him. He has not
only been describing his own view, he has also been suggesting to the
Philippians that this should be their view of life and of death too.
As we have seen, he does not claim that only he can say, To
me to live is Christ, and to die is gain; it is the normal
standard of the Christian, and it should be true of us all. Then, having
said that, he goes on, Only
therefore, that is the real force of the word, in view of this let
your conversation [citizenship] be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ. Having told them what their view
of life and death should be, he now tells them how to live in the meantime.
As Christian people we are not meant to be spending all our time in
contemplation of these exalted and glorious views. That is essential and we
must do it, but we do not stop there. We realize that having done that
we now go on to apply it in practice and in daily operation.
So here we have a perfect
illustration of the New Testament teaching with regard to conduct, and of
the whole New Testament outlook upon our behavior in this world. And it
always seems to me that the vital aspect of this matter is that we should
clearly understand the setting, and the order in which it is put. Pauls
concern is still about the gospel. That is the basis for the appeal which
he makes to these people, and of course, his reason for doing so is that he
knows full well that there is nothing that so thoroughly recommends the
gospel of Jesus Christ as a practical demonstration of Christian living.
That was true in the early days, and it is still true today. There can be
no doubt at all but that it was the behavior and the life lived by the
individual Christians that was most responsible for the spread of
Christianity in the first centuries.
We get accounts of that
in the book of Acts. We are told, there, that as a result of certain
persecutions Christian people were scattered abroad, and that wherever they
went, they spread the good news of the gospel by their lives and testimony.
And even secular and pagan historians bear eloquent testimony to the fact
that nothing more influenced the ancient world that the quality of life
which was being lived by these people. What John Wesley said of his early
Methodists could also be said of the first Christians: they not only died
well, they lived well also; and others observing all this were
impressed and constrained to ask questions. The fortitude of the early
Christians face to face with persecution and death was something that made a
profound impression upon that ancient world and they began to ask, What is
it these people have? What is it that enables them thus to live and die?
And by enquiring they were given the answer and thereby the gospel was
spread.
It has been the same
throughout the centuries and, surely, if it was ever true, it is true
at the present time. People are constantly telling us that they have
ceased to be interested in abstract teaching, and mere theory. They tell us
they have no time theology and dogma and all these things, but they are
interested in life and in living. They are facing problems and troubles
themselves, and there is a unique opportunity at this present time for
Christian people to spread and preach the good news of this gospel and to
act as witnesses. And the most effective manner of doing that is just to
live the Christian life, for it is obvious that other ideas and philosophies
are breaking down around us. Men and women are most certainly unhappy, and
there are those who would have us believe that at the present time there
seems to be a wistful turning back to the Church and a looking at the gospel
in sheer desperation. People are asking whether that old gospel has, after
all, something to offer us, and whether it is, perhaps, the way out of our
troubles. Well, if that is true, then surely there is nothing more
important than that we should so represent the gospel as to make it
attractive to others and win them from their present opposition; and the
way, above all others, in which to do that, is to obey this exhortation of
the Apostle.
Let us, then, see how he
approaches it. This is his method. First, he puts conduct second to
doctrine: conduct is the outcome of certain things that have been
believed. The New Testament, in other words, is never interested in conduct
and behavior in itself. I can go further and say that the New Testament
does not make an appeal for good behavior to anybody but to Christian
people. The New Testament is not interested, as such, in the morality of
the world. It tells us quite plainly that you can expect nothing from
the world but sin, and that in its fallen condition it is incapable of
anything else. In Titus 3:3 Paul tells us that we were all once like
that: For we ourselves were sometimes foolish,
disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice
and envy, hateful, and hating one another. As the Psalmist
says, we were shapen in iniquity (Ps.
51:5); this is true of every natural person. Thus there is nothing,
according to the New Testament, that is so fatuous and utterly futile, as to
turn to such people and appeal to them live the Christian life. They cannot
do it, the Christian life is impossible to the non-Christian and the
New Testament announces that everywhere. The truth is that it only has one
message for people like that the message of repentance. The New Testament
approaches such people and shows them that they are under the wrath of God,
and makes them see themselves condemned and in a desperately hopeless
condition. It then offers them the gospel of salvation and, when they have
believed it, it indicates to them the kind of life they should live. It is
no use approaching a man and saying to him, Only
let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
unless such a man believes the gospel of Jesus Christ; that is why Paul has
told the Christian view of life and death before he comes to this
exhortation. That, then, is the first principle. Christian conduct and
behavior are only possible on the basis of Christian doctrine.
Let me now put it in the
form of some other negatives in order to make my meaning plain. There is
nothing quite so foreign to the New Testament teaching as to regard the
Christian appeal for ethics and conduct as a catalogue of negative
prohibitions. I sometimes think there is nothing that does such grievous
harm to the gospel as those people who give the impression that the
Christian life is merely a collection of prohibitions, restrictions and
restraints. That impression has been given far too often and we have known
people who have watched the lives of certain Christians and then have
described Christianity, and Christian men and women, as the people who do
not do certain things. Now there is an element of truth in this, but if
we give the impression that we are merely people who refrain from certain
actions, we are being false to this exhortation of the Apostle.
Let me go further and say
that it is not merely a moral code or law. The New Testament appeal
for ethics and conduct has that essential point of difference from the Ten
Commandments and the moral laws that were given in the Old Testament. Do
not misunderstand me. I am not saying that the Christian gospel has
abrogated the Ten Commandments, but that it puts them in a different way.
The Ten Commandments were a law, a moral code. The Children of Israel were
told, thou shalt and thou shalt not. This is the characteristic of law; it
does not so much reason with us as just tell us what or what not to do.
The New Testament,
however, puts the whole appeal on the very highest plane. If I may use such
a term, the New Testaments appeal for conduct is a more intelligent
appeal. It makes it inevitable; it does not merely legislate and command.
It makes a series of statements, it lays down its doctrine, and then says, In
the light of that...; Therefore...;
Only.... There is nothing, let me
emphasize again, that is further removed from the New Testament method than
to be interested in conduct as something in and of itself. The New
Testament never isolates conduct, and it is never interested in it for
its own sake. Conduct, according to the New Testament, is the outcome of
life, and it must never be thought of as something which we can separate
for the action of life.
There is, furthermore,
something else which to me is tremendously important, especially at a time
like this. The New Testament on the whole does not give us a detailed
list of rules and regulations. Rather, it gives us a great principle
and asks us to apply and live it. Now that is, in a sense, the difference
between the Old and the New. But, someone may ask, are there not
particular injunctions laid down in the New Testament epistles? Dont the
epistles tell the members of the churches not to steal, not to purloin and
avoid being jealous and envious? Yes, but I think it is important that we
would observe the way in which the Apostle does that. He never does
it in the form of a series of rules and regulations, that is the Old
Testament way; what the Apostle does is to give his principle and then put
the whole question in the light of his great doctrine. In the light of all
this, or in view of this, he says, can you not see how utterly
incompatible it is for you to lie, or steal, or rob? It is the
principle that he enforces, and he asks us as intelligent people to
grasp that and to put it into practice.
And this is precisely what
he does in our present text. Whether I come to you again or not, says the
Apostle, whatever may be the immediate future, whatever may lie ahead of me,
this is the one thing I ask you to remember Only
let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Jesus Christ.'
Now in a sense the whole of the New Testament appeal for conduct and
behavior is in that phrase. And we can also put it like this: our
conduct is to be something that is worthy of the gospel. If I want to
know what I am to do as a Christian, well I do not face a daily list of
rules and regulations, which I can carry about and tick off one after
another. Not at all! It is rather a general appeal to me to be worthy
of the gospel, to live in conformity with the gospel, to live a life that
matches the gospel.
Now it is generally agreed
that the translation in the Authorized Version is not the best, and yet
there is something about the word becometh
that surely does suggest a very profound truth to us. The word is one that
would be used of dress and clothing. In the matter of clothing, there are
certain things which are becoming and certain things which are not. There
are certain things, for instance, which are very becoming in a young person,
but which are not becoming in someone older. That is the sort of idea the
Apostle has in mind. There are also certain things that are becoming with
other things, they dont match, and if want to be dressed in an appropriate
manner we must make sure that our dress, as well as being good and beautiful
in and of itself, also conforms to the overall effect. In a sense that is
what the Apostle means here. Beloved Philippians, he says to them, let your
conduct be such that it is fitting, that it is becoming
to the character that you claim for yourselves as Christian people; let
it match the thing that you are claiming for yourselves. Let it suit
the designation you have taken upon yourselves, let it conform to the
kind of person that you say you are, and that other people think you are.
There, then, is the
general principle. But the Apostle divides this up into two sections
and I really only want to give you headings at this point.
How, then, am I to live as a Christian?
asks someone. Well, the Apostle answers first of all by saying this:
behave as colonists, or as citizens of heaven. Now the Authorized
translation, conversation, is
certainly not the best here. Today we use the word conversation to mean
talk, or speech, and only that, but when the Authorized translation was made
in the seventeenth century the word meant general behavior. So the Apostle
is really saying, let your whole life and behavior be as becomes the gospel
of Jesus Christ. But this word goes even further than that, and here the
authorities are agreed that perhaps the best way of translating the phrase
would be, Behave worthily as citizens of the gospel of Jesus Christ;
or alternatively, Act your part as citizens in a manner worthy of the
gospel of Jesus Christ; Perform your duty as citizens. It
does not matter which of these you choose; this is certainly the idea that
was in the mind of the Apostle. As Christians we have to realize that we
are citizens of a different kingdom. I suppose it was natural that the
Apostle should use that figure in writing here to the members of the
Philippian church. Philippi was a Roman colony. The center and
seat of government was in Rome, it was the capital city. But the Emperor
has planted a number of colonies throughout that ancient world and Philippe
was one of them. There were people living in Philippi who were Roman
citizens, who claimed the privileges of a Roman Citizen, and who
were not under the local law, but under that of Rome. In Acts 16,
you remember, Paul claims his right as a citizen of Rome.
And so he makes that
appeal as a basis for his ethic for behavior. Christian people, he
says, you must regard yourselves in this world as but colonists. You
are here in this world, it is true, but you are citizens of the kingdom
of heaven, just as the Romans in Philippi are living in Philippi while
belonging to Rome. The colonist does not really belong to the colony in
which he lives; he belongs to the land from which he has gone forth,
that is his homeland and country. He just lives in the colony for the time
being and he is doing certain things there. Now that is how the Apostle
would have us view the whole question of conduct in this world of time.
We are to regard ourselves as citizens of a heavenly kingdom; we do not
belong to this world and to its order. The first thing we must remember
is that we are unique, distinct and separate people. In writing to
Titus, Paul says that our Lord died in order that
he might... purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:14). Purify
unto himself, draw out unto himself, set apart for himself; we are his
special people.
Again, in writing to the
Galatians, Paul refers to the death of Christ as something which has
delivered us out of this present evil world
(1:4). Indeed, this idea runs everywhere throughout the New Testament. It
would have us see that to become Christians means that we have been put
into a separate position and that we are now distinct from the world that
does not believe in Christ. Now this is surely the very best
definition of the Christian life. The Christian is not a man of the
world who just adds something on to his life or tries to make himself a
little bit different. The first thing about him, according to this
doctrine, is that he is separated and essentially different. He is a
colonist in a strange land, he belongs to a particular order, and to a
different society. Indeed, he is man who is under an entirely different
jurisdiction.
Now you see the great
appeal that this makes to us in the matter of conduct. As citizens of our
own countries, we surely know something about this. We know what it is to
go to other lands and to take a pride in our country and to feel that the
honor of that country perhaps rests upon us; and that is the kind of appeal
that the Apostle is making to the church at Philippi. You remember the
great word that was sent out by Lord Nelson on the morning of Trafalgar
England expects every man will do his duty. He did not so much give
detailed rules and regulations as say, in effect, The one thing you have to
remember throughout this day is that England is expecting certain things of
you. Let that guide and rule you, and then you will never falter or fail,
for you will do all for the honor of you country. And that is exactly what
the Apostle says at this point. Let your citizenship be something that
governs you, rules you and controls you.
In other words, we are to
realize, as Christian people, that the honor of the homeland is in our
hands, so that when we ask the questions: What am I to do as a
Christian? How am I to live as a Christian?,
we do not want to be given a list of rules and regulations. The name of
God, the name of Christ, the very reputation of heaven, as it were, is in
our hands. Therefore we must live a life as citizens that is always
mindful of that fact. The Apostle Peter puts it still more explicitly. In
1Peter 2:11-12, he makes the same appeal to the people to who he wrote: Dearly
beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the
Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by
your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of
visitation.
That is the same idea, strangers
and pilgrims you do not belong to this life and world now
you have become Christians. There was time when you were not a people of
God but that is what you are now. You used to be a kind of rabble, but you
are now citizens of a new kingdom, and therefore, because of that,
this world is a strange world to you. You are in it but not of it,
you belong to that other realm, and you are to live in this world as
strangers and pilgrims.
So, says Paul in this
passage, exercise your citizenship, remember that you belong to the
kingdom of heaven. Do not regard yourself as belonging to this world,
do not be ruled by its outlook, do not be governed by its tastes
and interests. Of course, this is the most difficult thing of all to
do with the newspapers, the radio and the films and all these things around
us. The world is influencing us on all sides, but the call to you to me is
to remind yourselves every day of our lives: I do not belong to it. I
am a stranger. I belong to another kingdom, I am a citizen of the kingdom
of God.
Pauls second appeal
is for me to exercise my citizenship in a manner which is worthy of the
gospel. Only let your conversation be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ. This means that I am to live in
a way which will make everybody who sees me know whose is the doctrine which
I hold, and what this doctrine is. It is the gospel that has enabled me to
understand the sinfulness, the hatefulness, and the evil of sin. That is
the first difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. The
non-Christian is not aware that there is much wrong with him. He may
sometimes think he is a fool when he does something that causes him pain,
but he does not see anything essentially wrong in the way of the world, and
he is enjoying it for that reason. But the man who believes the gospel sees
that the whole world is lying under the wicked one.
It is the Christian alone who sees that the whole world is desperately
wicked, and under the wrath and condemnation of God. He believes that God
made the world perfect so he asks, Why is it that the world is as it is?
And he sees that the only answer is that sin has come in, and he hates this
thing that has ruined life and the world and insulted God the sinfulness
of sin. How am to live in this world? Well, first, I am to do so
realizing that I am sinful, seeing the ugliness, the foulness and enormity
of sin.
The next thing
Christians believe is that in spite of sin and mans rebellion and
unworthiness, God, with his great and everlasting love, sent his only
begotten Son into this world. They believe that the Son came and
endured so much, indeed even staggered with that cross upon his holy
shoulders, was nailed to it and suffered agonies, and died in shame and
ignominy. And why did he do all this? The answer comes back from a
thousand places in the New Testament that we might be forgiven and that
we might be redeemed and rescued. And not only that we might be
forgiven but also that he might separate unto himself a
peculiar [special] people. I believe that Christ died to make
atonement for my sin. I see that it is the only way I can be delivered out
of the condemnation in which this world is involved: sin is to terrible that
nothing but death could deliver me. I see that in order that I may become a
citizen of the kingdom and a child of God, he had to suffer. And if
I believe all that, I am to live in such a way that I proclaim it. My
conduct is to match the doctrine of the cross and the atonement.
What else? The
Christian also believes the doctrine of the rebirth and the new nature,
which tells me that by the power of God, through the Holy Spirit, in Christ
I become a new man; I have a new life;
old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new (2 Cor. 5:17). If I claim that, then I must live as
one who has a new nature, altogether different from the other, with a
different outlook, different tastes, different interests and desires. So let
your conversation be as becometh the doctrine that preaches
regeneration and the new birth.
Then Christians believe,
too, in the power and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Paul puts it
like this: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ Why? For it is the power of
God unto salvation' (Romans 1:16). It is not only the power that
can deliver us from the guilt of sin, but that which can also
deliver us from the power of sin, so that I claim that as a Christian
I have a power which enables me to overcome sin, to live above it
and to defy it. Only let your
conversation be as becometh a Christian that preaches a doctrine
like that. Peter tells us that all things that appertain unto life and
godliness are given us (2 Pet. 1:3), and we are to exemplify that in our
lives.
But, lastly, the
gospel teaches me about the kingdom which cannot be moved and
shaken. The gospel, as we have seen in these studies, holds before me a
blessed hope. It makes me say, For to me to live
is Christ, and to die is gain. This means, to be with him, to
enter into that kingdom; it means that there is a glory awaiting me. If I
say I believe all that, then how am I to live as a
Christian? Every man, says
John, that hath this hope in him purifieth
himself, even as he is pure (1 John 3:3).
Now that is the way the
New Testament appeals to us to live the Christian life. It does not
put us under rules and regulations , or merely say that we ought to be
living this kind of life because it is better than any other. Rather, it
comes with its own inevitable logic and reasons. You say you are a
Christian, you say you believe the gospel of Christ, very well, all I ask of
you is to live your life in the way that is becoming to that gospel.
All I say is, if you believe in the fact of sin, show that you hate it; if
you believe in the death of Christ, then demonstrate it. If you
believe in the rebirth and power of the Holy Spirit, let it be evident
to all that this is a fact; if you really say you believe in that glory
that is to come, well do you not think that it is only reasonable and
logical that you should be setting your affection there and not here,
and that you should be gazing on those things rather than on these?
Should you not rather be hasting on to it and purifying yourself
and doing your utmost to be ready for it? Only exercise our
citizenship in a manner that shall be worthy of the gospel of Christ.
My dear friends, I say
again that this is our unique opportunity at this time. That is what we
stand for in a world that is so largely non-Christian. The way to convince
the world of the truth of that gospel is to let them see that it makes a
difference, that it is a power, that we are not mere theorists
and philosophers but that we preach the power of God. And we
prove that there is power in the gospel by showing what we are in work,
in business, in profession and in the home. Wherever
we are, whatever we are, only let our citizenship be worthy of the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
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