What does "walk worthy of God" mean?

[Helen]

He that does not follow after me to death...is not worthy. Death and resurrection unto Life. If the Spirit is there and one is born again of God...God promises the He who begun a work will finish it. Philippians 1:28-29 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. [29] For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

You said - "It is an exhortation. "

Totally agree.
It is a call to "Come up Higher.."

Paul in all his writings is appealing always to them the be overcomers...
He is running that race, the race of the overcomer..coming to full maturity.
He hold this high vision before them over and over in every book he writes..
He preaches to the mature...we have mature and carnal christians, always have, always will.
Those who through love for Him, "love not their own life unto the death.
And we have those who do not want to pay any price..but just a ticket to heaven. And that is all they will have in their hand when standing before the Lord no fruits of love.

God bless... H

 

[Episkopos]

Our salvation is secure..( speaking of Christians) We cannot earn it. The blood of Jesus the Lamb...

Our condition .

Salvation is conditional. If it was only a free gift then why wouldn't God grant the same gift for every person ever born...seeing that God doesn't respect persons.

So then if salvation is conditional there is our part to do...to be faithful till the end.

If a man is married to the same woman and faithful to her for 50 years...but then decides to have an affair...does this not affect his record of faithfulness?

So then the truth is in righteousness. If a man can repent of evil and be saved at the end of his life...so also a man can repent of the good he has done by engaging in evil.

It has to work both ways...or else it is a man-centered doctrine whereby we only tolerate what is a good outcome for ourselves.

 

[marks]

How can logic express that a Christian who considers himself a goat and worthy of hell, is indeed (or most likely*) a sheep and a citizen of heaven?

1 John 5:13
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

I think God want's us to be confident in Him.

Much love!

 

[icxn]

1 John 5:13
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

I think God want's us to be confident in Him.

Much love!

Absolutely!

 

[Helen]

I can't think of a logical way to express my position. How can logic express that a Christian who considers himself a goat and worthy of hell, is indeed (or most likely*) a sheep and a citizen of heaven?

Surely we have the choice of saying what we deserve or what we feel, or saying about ourselves what God says about us?

Paul says- "Reckon yourselves dead indeed to sin...and alive to Him.."

Surely to say anything else about ourselves is either false humility , or down right disbelief , don't you think ?

 

[VictoryinJesus]

You said - "It is an exhortation. "

Totally agree.
It is a call to "Come up Higher.."

Paul in all his writings is appealing always to them the be overcomers...
He is running that race, the race of the overcomer..coming to full maturity.
He hold this high vision before them over and over in every book he writes..
He preaches to the mature...we have mature and carnal christians, always have, always will.
Those who through love for Him, "love not their own life unto the death.
And we have those who do not want to pay any price..but just a ticket to heaven. And that is all they will have in their hand when standing before the Lord no fruits of love.

God bless... H

Agree Paul was a masterbuilder in edification of the body (temple of God) that growth with Christ as the cornerstone. 1 Corinthians 3:10
[10] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

2 Corinthians 13:10-11
[10] Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. [11] Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.


Ephesians 4:16
[16] From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

 

[Episkopos]

The fear of the Lord remains the beginning of wisdom. That is if one understands what is at stake.

Half of the virgins are rejected in the parable of the 10 virgins. Being born again puts us in a race that half of us will succeed in to some measure. What of the many crying out Lord Lord....who were believers but acted with iniquity? Jesus wasn't lying when He said that the door and the way were narrow and that FEW will be able to enter into the kingdom life. It is the fear of the Lord that keeps us seeking. It is faith in God that keeps condemnation at bay.

Notice this...

Rom. 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Of a different lump?...no...the same lump.

Two people are walking...one is taken the other is left. (Again the 50% rate of rejection among believers)

How many more warnings do we need before we understand the perilous walk that is the fight of faith in this world? It is because people are spiritually asleep that they don't see the urgency of it.

Insurance or assurance peddling is for con men and salesmen. The only security we can know is under the shadow of His wings...by abiding in Christ...to walk as Jesus walked. When we walk in Him we are without spot or wrinkle and need not fear anything.

The truth is that having Jesus in us does not guarantee us a good ending...it is a HOPE of glory...not a fact. Half of us will proceed to glory. It is when we enter into HIM that we find salvation and the life that brings eternal honour and glory.

We are living in a time where this is not understood by the many. And these are precisely the people that need to turn from smugness to the fear of the Lord.

 

[Hidden In Him]

To walk worthy...is simply put ...to live worthy of who we are in Christ.
You see this in Eph 5....walk or live as children of light.
In Eph2:10...we are saved unto holiness of life in good works that were ORDAINED that we should walk in them.
Following the first Exodus, Israel's failure to be a worthy example failed Deut4. -7
In the new exodus real Christians are led by the Spirity to mortify sin and live for God.

Thanks for the response, Anthony. My next question for those who take this position has been the following: The verses in the OP are a command to walk worthy of God; an imperative. If they were already children of light and worthiness has already been imputed to them, why give them a command that made it sound as if they still needed to accomplish something that Christ had already accomplished on their behalf?

 

[icxn]

Surely we have the choice of saying what we deserve or what we feel, or saying about ourselves what God says about us?
Paul says- "Reckon yourselves dead indeed to sin...and alive to Him.."

Surely to say anything else about ourselves is either false humility, or down right disbelief, don't you think?

I still think that logic cannot describe the work of humility. Which is why I'm going to quote one more story, if you don't mind:

St Anthony (quoted earlier) at some point in his life time thought to himself “I wonder with whose spiritual achievements my spiritual life can be compared with”. God, however, in order to humble his thought revealed to him in a dream that superior to him was a shoe-maker who had a store in the back streets of Alexandria.
Once it was daybreak, the saint took his staff and headed off to the city. He wanted to meet in person this famed shoe-maker and see his virtues. With great difficulty he discovered his store, sat down at the counter and began asking about his life.
The man was simple and didn’t even occur to him who this elderly monk was that had come so unexpectedly into his store querying him. The man, while continuing to work and without taking his eyes off the shoes he was working on replied gently;
“Elder, I don’t know if I have ever done anything good. Every morning after waking up, I pray and then I start work. First, I think to myself how every person in this city, from the smallest to the greatest will be saved, and only I will be condemned due to my countless transgressions.
And in the evening when I go to sleep I have the same thoughts.
The Elder rose with wonder and embraced and kissed him and said with emotion:
“You, my brother, like a good merchant, have gained the priceless pearl without toil. I have grown old in the desert, sweated and toiled but have not reached your level of humility.”​

How can the thinking of this shoe maker be false humility or disbelief? Such a person will never pass judgment on anyone, he will not get angry at anyone - considering himself worthy of every mistreatment - he will not be concerned with worldly things, he will have a contrite heart (which God does not despise as Psalm 51 says), he will constantly pray for mercy and many other things. See how many good things come from this virtue? As Christ said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

 

[Hidden In Him]

I can give my ideas on this, not much more than that.

To me walking worthy of God, it's the idea of not selling myself short from what God has done, and what He's given to me, and Who He is in my life.

For instance . . . I worry about how I'm going to cover the coming massive shortfall, yet God had promised me that He'll be the One to take care of it, and I can leave it up to Him. Worthy of God is to be the one who doesn't worry, instead, who enjoys God's provision even though it is yet unseen.

Worthy of God to me means to not condemn myself, just as God doesn't condemn me. To give to others the love and forgiveness that God gives to me.

Good question! Going to be mulling this one over!

Much love!
Mark

I like this answer Marks, only I would attribute these things to trusting in His provision rather than walking worthy of Him. As I said in one of my posts on Page 1, I think the expression applies specifically to those who do not deny Him before men, and therefore walk worthy to reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

 

[Hidden In Him]

It is ours (Christ's and us). If it weren't so, why does St Paul say "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest?"

This is an excellent verse, icxn. I doubt anyone will respond to it.

 

[Episkopos]

This is an excellent verse, icxn. I doubt anyone will respond to it.

Delusion says...I don't need to labour to enter the rest of God...because I already have that by my opinion.

 

[icxn]

This is an excellent verse, icxn. I doubt anyone will respond to it.

It's 'your' verse from not long ago.

:-)

 

[Hidden In Him]

HIH:

Paul speaks not in terms of a command to walk worthily of God in Christ, as per your verses you quoted. No, Paul is saying since we know the truth of the gospel and the hope in salvation, and we are in Christ, he then hopes that we walk, and should walk, worthily and fitting for a saint, a representative of God. The expression 'walk' as a biblical term, comes from the Hebrew OT and always means one's personal spiritual conduct in life.

If we say we are in Christ, and know the truth of the gospel, then we should pray through Christ to know the will of God the Almighty, all the time! This is our walk that starts out as baby and uncoordinated steps and becomes as a mature walker with fast coordinated and sturdy strides, always wanting to know more of God and his will. We breathe it. It is our daily habit and a vital part of our life here on earth. Now we do this alone, although we have our Lord in (our) mind that is always there to instruct and make our walk 'better' and 'smoother.'

Bless you,

APAK

Greetings, APAK. As I have been posting, I believe the expression refers to not denying Him before men. I believe 2 Timothy 2:12 is a command rather than a hope, or a mere suggestion, because it carries very serious weight on the eternal fate of the believer.

Let me ask this directly to you, @VictoryinJesus, and @"ByGrace", since I'm not sure I've ever asked any of you this directly before: What happens to the believer who denies Christ, and denounces Him before men in order to avoid persecution? Has he personally done something that disqualifies him from spending eternity with the Lord?

 

[Hidden In Him]

It's 'your' verse from not long ago.

:)

LoL! I may be showing signs of my age. Maybe it's time to face reality...

 

[icxn]

LoL! I may be showing signs of my age. Maybe it's time to face reality...

I'm guessing you forgot?

 

[VictoryinJesus]

It is ours (Christ's and us). If it weren't so, why does St Paul say "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest?"

We are called to be obedient unto death, even death of the cross. So how can we continue to speak of what has passed away when all things have been made new? It makes no sense to say He adds to our righteousness when we are called to die to self. It makes no sense the constant yearning and crying for man to be given some small morsel of glory he can hang on to past death; when God has already said we came into this world naked and can take nothing out. Yet God calls His own to leave the world taking nothing out. If we are looking for some validation of man then no doubt we will find it. Yet again, we take nothing out when we leave this world. Galatians 5:11
[11] And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

What is the offense of the cross we are to bear? How is it connected to circumcision? Is not the offense of the cross is the power is of God and not of the weak power of man: including the building up of the house(habitation) of God, and circumcision of the heart, the circumcision and temple made without hands. It is God’s righteousness planted and not our own. It is not God adding to our righteousness when we are called to death unto Life in Christ.

The offense is that the power of cross is foolishness to those who perish.
John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

To say He ‘sometimes...maybe’ leads the sheep He calls by name out ... is implying not all things are possible for God.

Colossians 1:29
[29] Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Again...if man is searching for how he can labour to hold on to his own, rather than ceasing from all labour and entering into His rest, so that the power of God Rest upon the weak...man will find what he looks for and will keep his life instead of losing it.

 

[Helen]

Thanks for the response, Anthony. My next question for those who take this position has been the following: The verses in the OP are a command to walk worthy of God; an imperative. If they were already children of light and worthiness has already been imputed to them, why give them a command that made it sound as if they still needed to accomplish something that Christ had already accomplished on their behalf?

Ummm I think many of us here have already answer why.
Maybe you just don't like the answer! ;)

I have a son-in-law who keeps repeating the same question because he wants a different answers .

When a officer wants the best from his troops he tells them in no uncertain terms. Paul was doing the same..we are called to excellence.
Paul yells at us to do it, because he knows the wailing we will do if we do not end up as an overcomer as in Rev 3.

What other answer are you looking for?

Now we are on post #55 or something...why don't YOU tell us what YOU think he is saying ....and why. Okay. :)

( then I can tell you that you are wrong )

 

[Hidden In Him]

Our spiritual walk..condition, and our salvation in Christ Jesus are two different things..yet again and again the are mixed together...and it brings condemnation and fear on people. Some pastors 'control' by mixing the two and beating up the flock with it...

It can indeed have the effect of causing some to fear, Helen. But the opposite causes many to walk negligently before God, as icxn was saying, and I frankly see the latter as being the far more spiritually destructive of the two. As I have been discussing with Him, scripture commands that we are to labor to enter into Him. It does not simply happen. It happens through prayer and engaging in the things of the Spirit. I know when I am walking in Him and when I am walking in the flesh, or even worse, being influenced by an unclean spirit to get into wrath and anger towards fellow Christians... We must labor to enter into His rest and abide in the Spirit, or these commands would be irrelevant to the believer.

I believe my salvation is secure, but that's because I have no intentions of denying Him before men. But the parable of the sower suggests that there would be many who received the word, yet withered away when persecution came. I think there are many places where believers are warned that the Lord will not overlook such things, no matter how much faith they put in Christ.

 

[Hidden In Him]

We are called to be obedient unto death, even death of the cross. So how can we continue to speak of what has passed away when all things have been made new?

Victory, you make it sound as if a believer no longer has the freewill to deny Christ once he has been saved... but then maybe that's what you actually believe. Is it? I didn't know that you were Calvinist. If you are, forgive me.