Managing a unique, distinctive, Christian lifestyle is not easy, but it is possible. We are living in a world full of turmoil. Will the economy collapse? Will a nuclear holocaust destroy our world? Will the nations keep their promises and pursue peaceful relationships? There is so much uncertainty—terrorism, crime, drug abuse, family breakups, child abductions and abuse, natural disasters, church and political scandals.
There is only one thing that is certain in our insecure world, and that is what God shares in His Word. Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35.
Well With Thee
Cultures come and go. Civilizations become extinct and largely forgotten. Men’s philosophies, customs, and lifestyles are constantly changing with the passing of time. Science is advancing so rapidly that within a few years that which is contemporary today will soon be out of date. In contrast, the Christian lifestyle that is based upon the Word of God never goes out of date. God’s principles transcend all times and cultures.
“Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest [that which] is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.” Deuteronomy 12:28. [Emphasis added.]
God has promised in His Word that we can certainly experience a successful Christian lifestyle in this contemporary world. God has provided a way in which we can look back over our lives with great satisfaction, free from regrets and guilt. This is what God offers to each of us. We can and must avoid the pitfalls and the sorrows, the heartache, grief, and bitterness that is generally associated with this modern world.
“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:7. [Emphasis added.]
Formula
What is the formula of success, happiness, and fulfillment? How, then, can we prosper? Some people think that if they had had better opportunities in life, then they would have had much more success. Others think that if they only had more capital, they would certainly prosper. Many so-called experts have theorized about these matters and have tried to offer solutions. Yet, God has always promised that the one who meditates on His Law and obeys it will be like a fruitful tree, flourishing beside a river, and “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Psalm 1:3.
You see, God offers to everyone true happiness and fulfillment in life when we follow His Word. Why? Because His Word teaches us to study and work hard, to be efficient with our time and money, and to be honest and respectful. These are the qualities that make us better fathers, mothers, employees, and people. God’s Word also gives us certain prohibitions, such as lying, stealing, cheating, drinking, and fighting—all of which are certainly destructive to those who do them, making it virtually impossible to have any lasting success in this life.
If we fail to bring our lives under the will of God, then we will not be in a position where God can bless us. The Bible is a record of great men and women of faith who were blessed because of their lifestyle. They chose to obey God and to enter into a special relationship with Him. True, lasting prosperity; real greatness; and true, worthwhile success in our lives, our homes, and our endeavors can be attributed only to the blessings of God.
Honor God
God has promised in His Word: “For them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30.
“In the history of Joseph, Daniel, and his fellows we see how the golden chain of truth may bind the youth to the throne of God. They could not be tempted to turn aside from their course of integrity. They valued the favor of God far above the favor and praise of princes, and God loved them, and spread His shield over them. Because of their faithful integrity, because of their determination to honor God above every human power, the Lord signally honored them before men. They were honored by the Lord God of hosts, whose power is over all the works of His hand in heaven above and the earth beneath.” My Life Today, 120.
The blessings of God come upon those who have become the object of God’s favor. And God’s favor and honor rest upon those men and women who pattern their lives after the standard of righteousness found in His Word.
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 14:34.
A Clash of Cultures
The apostle Paul is a notable example for us to study, because he did an incredible job in preserving his unique witness in the face of opposition and ridicule. He refused to be intimidated, and he maintained his integrity and fidelity to God.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.
In the Book of Acts, we find Paul at the Areopagus (Mars’ Hill) in the legendary city of Athens. Areopagus was the celebrated high court where matters of law, politics, and religion were decided. The elders of Athens who guided this court were responsible for shaping the culture and thinking of the people.
Speaking of Paul, we are told, in Acts 17:18–20: “Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, [is]? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.”
The Greeks based their pursuit for knowledge and their understanding of worldviews upon their own personal reasoning. Their views on the world, on social relations, religion, and norms of behavior came not from the revelation of God’s Word. As a result, many Greeks believed that the best way to achieve happiness and contentment was for the people to fulfill all their carnal pleasures, and, by doing so, they would achieve peace within. “Pleasure is good and right; not doing as you please is wrong,” they reasoned. “The God of the Bible is nothing; we are the gods that the people must look to,” some proclaimed.
Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher who lived about 370 years before Paul, held the view that the world was from eternity, and everything always was from eternity, and everything always was what it is now. This was, in essence, the doctrine of evolution. The immortality of the soul was another concept espoused by the Greeks.
These were the sentiments shared by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and many other carnal-minded Greek, philosophical “thinkers.” These ideas were the same old teachings that originated from Satan himself.
Tragically, these teachings have become the guiding policies in the world in which we live today. Humanism is the religion of our culture; it is an attempt to explain everything without any reference to God or to His Word. Our culture is permeated with these destructive ideas that run rampant in politics, education, and religion.
No Compromise
So how did Paul relate to the culture of his day?
“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, [Ye] men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, to the unknown god. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” Acts 17:22–24.
Paul, though being courteous, did not compromise his beliefs or the message. He told them the world did not always exist from eternity, because the true God made the heavens and the earth. The creation account was contrary to what many Greeks had always been taught.
“Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” Verses 25, 26.
Paul told the men of Athens that humans are created beings, countering the Greek thought that men were gods. He explained further that God had made of one blood, meaning Adam, all the nations of men. That one statement destroyed the Greek notion that they were an elite, intellectually superior nation and that all their neighbors were inherently ignorant and barbaric.
The Romans and the Jews shared the similar belief that they were the exclusive people of God. Paul plainly declared, both by word and through the life that he lived, that all men and women have a common origin in God, and that He is in control of man. Paul is a great example of one who stood alone against the prevailing influences and beliefs of his days.
Theologian to Philosopher
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” Verses 27, 28.
Paul now becomes a philosopher to them instead of a theologian. Born in Tarsus, a city heavily influenced by Greek culture, Paul, too, was well studied in many of the historical teachings of philosophy and was very familiar with them. In fact, he used them against the men of Athens. He appealed to their conscience and revealed to them a knowledge of the true and living God, who alone is to be the object of their admiration. He laid a foundation and instructed them in the primary principle of all true religion, that there is one God, Creator of heaven and earth, and we must look to Him.
“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Verses 29–31.
Paul told them that it is meaningless to think of the Creator, the original Source of Life, as like unto gold, silver, and stone. An all-powerful God is infinitely more excellent than the workings of man’s hands. On the contrary, we are the workings of God’s hands, created and formed by Him.
He then charged these so-called wise philosophers with ignorance and blindness, and extended unto them an invitation to repent. Amazing! How many of us today would have the moral boldness to stand up against the modern-day philosophers?
Paul also cautioned about personal accountability to God and that we would each have to answer for the way we have lived—a strange new concept they had never considered—and that the judgment would be through Jesus, the One that God had raised from the dead.
And so it is today; Satan is causing the church and the world to look to everything except the true God of heaven. He wants us to look to men who claim to have special knowledge or divine authority by placing our own salvation into their hands. For others, the enemy has placed a fair front upon the “pleasures of sin for a season,” and thereby he binds up the masses for destruction. Hebrews 11:25.
Selfish Isolation
One of the most dangerous injuries inflicted upon the Christian is a lifestyle that is self-absorbed, self-important, self-centered, and self-satisfied. When we isolate ourselves from the world completely and live a cloistered life, our spiritual life dies. On the other hand, when we routinely witness to others, we gain strength for ourselves.
“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.” Verses 16, 17.
We can learn from Paul that the Christian is not to be swept away by the teaching, the beliefs, the culture, and the fashions of the world. But, rather, we are called to be an effective, living witness to the world. We must stay active and be constantly engaging people in our modern-day Areopagus.
When Paul saw the prevailing attitude of the people in his day, his spirit was stirred within him. Is our spirit being stirred today, or have God’s professed people been “in the Church” for so long that we have developed a lifestyle with no witness? Have our church services become places where members are, quite honestly, merely preaching to themselves? Have we developed a lifestyle where we are just comfortable living, learning, and sharing the Gospel only in the confines of the church? In the example given to us by Paul at Areopagus, we should also welcome the opportunity to meet people where they live, work, and interact, in order to share our unique message.
We cannot always live our lives on the defensive. God also requires that we take the battle into new territories. We must initiate the warfare against the enemy and look for opportunities to introduce the Gospel.
“While partial inactivity has come upon the church, Satan and his hosts are intensely active. The professed Christian churches are not converting the world; for they are themselves corrupted with selfishness and pride, and need to feel the converting power of God in their midst before they can lead others to a purer or higher standard.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 65.
Hour of Judgment
As Seventh-day Adventists, we must be conscious of the time in which we are living. We are living in the judgment hour. The lifestyle that we are living will come up for review in the highest court of the universe. Our mission is to bring our lives into line and harmony with God’s Word and to persuade others to do the same. If we continue down the road of selfish isolationism, thinking that everything is all right when we hide our unique witness, we will not be recognized by Christ in the day of judgment.
“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33. [Emphasis added.] Denying the work of evangelism is denying the name of Christ.
“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear you again on this [matter]. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” Verses 32–34. Some mocked, some wanted to hear him again, and some joined him.
And so it is today; the world continues to mock those who live a distinctive Christian lifestyle. A life that is under the will of God challenges the belief systems of the world. Yet the message of Jesus Christ—the tremendous advantages and benefits that come from Him and the prospects of eternal life—is still held out for all to enjoy. The promise given to us is that our efforts to live for God will not be in vain. “Certain men clave unto him” means that Paul’s life bore fruit. The lifestyle we live is a powerful testimony for or against the truth through which people will either reject or embrace eternal life.
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11.