Men not only develop reputations among other men, but they also develop a reputation with the Lord. A wise individual seeks “favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Fortunately, the path to favour in the sight of God follows the same course as that of finding favour in the sight of the right kind of men. According to Proverbs 3:1-3, these elements include remembrance of God’s law, keeping the commandments, and forsaking not mercy and truth. Before dismissing the importance of this dual favour amongst both God and man, consider that the scriptures inform us that the Lord Jesus increased in wisdom leading to an increase in “favour with God and man.”
Once Judas Iscariot determined to betray the Lord, the earthly ministry of Christ hastened toward the time of His crucifixion. As the time of His death drew near, the Lord Jesus took the disciples to Gethsemane so that He could spend time praying. He asked them to watch while He went to the Father in prayer; however, when the Lord returned from prayer, He found the disciples asleep. He woke them and rebuked Peter saying, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” What a horrible rebuke as Peter, along with the others, realized that he had failed this one simple request! After everything that the Lord had done for the disciples, they could not force themselves to watch for one hour. In like manner, many believers are going to find out the consequences at the judgment seat of Christ of failing to watch for the Lord.
Some Bible teachers have suggested that there are specific times of the day in which believers ought to go to the Lord in prayer. In Psalm 5:3, David vowed to present his prayers before the Lord in the morning. In the 88th psalm, the psalmist acknowledged that he prayed to the Lord day and night (Psalm 88:1). Of course, many know about the pattern followed by Daniel, even in the face of persecution, when he sought the Lord three times a day (Daniel 6:10). From these passages, one might suggest that there are specific times of prayer, but according to 1 Thessalonians 5:17, believers are to pray without ceasing. In other words, believers ought to always be in a constant state of prayer before the Lord.
The 2,000-year history of the church reveals that there have been teachers and whole religions who have rejected the biblical teaching of the coexistence of a Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Others have accepted their existence but rejected the fact that these three are one with each being fully God (1 John 5:7). Some have simply been unable to comprehend or unwilling to accept that God could exist as one God in three persons. Regardless of man’s intellectual inadequacies, the Bible reveals that each member of the Godhead works together on our behalf in prayer. The Lord told us that every believer should pray to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus (John 15:16). The prayers are directed toward the Father with the Son acting as the mediator (Hebrews 7:25). The book of Romans further reveals that the Spirit of God makes intercession for us in our prayers (Romans 8:26).
God is love, but that does not mean that everything that people love is of God. Today’s verse warns believers not to love the world or the things that are in the world. God’s people are repeatedly admonished about this because believers are prone to love things and people contrary to the will of God. The Christian’s heroes are generally no different than the world's heroes. We have many Bible examples of men who loved those of whom God disapproved. Samson exemplified this in his love for Delilah (Judges 16:4). Amnon had an unrighteous love for his sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1). Solomon failed in this area by loving “many strange women” (1 Kings 11:1). Demas left the ministry because he “loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Unfortunately, the heart of a believer can be drawn to love things and people displeasing to the Lord. It is always important to consider the object of our love and refuse to make excuses when we know better.
Why should we forgive others? At first glance, we might think we should do so out of the goodness of our heart. Yet, there must be a deeper and more foundational reason for our forgiveness. Fundamentally, our forgiveness should be centered upon the Lord and His forgiveness toward us. Read Ephesians 4:32 above again. What should motivate our complete forgiveness of others? Is it not because we have been completely forgiven by the Lord? Look closely and you will see that God forgave us “for Christ’s sake.” If God forgave you for the sake of His Son, should this not also be the basis of our forgiveness of others? John confirmed this foundational truth of God’s forgiveness in his first epistle when he said, “. . . your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). When we forgive others, we do so “for Christ’s sake.” Forgiving others because you have been forgiven illustrates God's mercy to others.
The believer’s relationship with God is twofold consisting of a positional relationship and one of practice. Positionally, the believer enjoys Christ’s imputed righteousness (Romans 4:6-8). In this position, the believer has been forgiven of all trespasses (past, present, and future) (Colossians 2:13). John confirmed this truth as he wrote to believers saying that their sins were already forgiven (1 John 2:12). Because of God's complete forgiveness, sins can never and will never affect a man’s position in Christ. However, man must also consider his practice (his daily walk before the Lord).The sins that cannot harm a man’s position in Christ can adversely hinder his fellowship with the Lord. Though all our sins are forgiven, we still should daily confess our sins to the Lord in order to keep our fellowship right (1 John 1:9).
Biblical terminology is very important. For example, ignorance of Bible vocabulary has led people to believe that flattery is considerate if it makes others feel good. Yet, the picture presented by scripture is contrary to this line of thinking. Flattery harms both the giver and the recipient. According to scripture, “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). While we have been led to believe flattery edifies, in reality, it destroys. This truth is confirmed in Proverbs 29:5 where the Bible says, “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.” Even the flatterer is harmed by his flattery: “He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail” (Job 17:5). Without a doubt, flattery harms all those involved.
This world, though it consistently fails to recognize and know the Lord, should consistently recognize Christ's conversation through the life of the believer. Our conversation should always match, or become, the gospel of Christ and the new life that we have in Him. Our conversation should be holy because the Lord is holy (1 Peter 1:15). In 2 Peter 3:11, we learn that the dissolving of this world ought to cause us to walk “in all holy conversation and godliness.” In other words, our practical Christian life should resemble the change inside of us that took place at salvation. Others should see the Lord Jesus Christ in our actions and in our way of life.
Our heartfelt giving of thanks should always coincide with our prayers to God. Today's passage from Philippians confirms this truth, as do a host of other passages (Daniel 6:10; Ephesians 1:16; Colossians 1:3; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 2:1). However, an unthankful spirit always affects one's prayer life eventually developing into a vicious repetitive cycle. A lack of prayer instills a lack of thankfulness. Those who fail to be thankful, fail to cultivate a consistent prayer life. Fortunately, this lack of thankfulness exposes our true problem which is a heart lacking humility. As our heart fills with pride, we fail to realize the goodness of God and our need to continually seek His face with this spirit of thankfulness. The solution involves conditioning ourselves to have a prayer life consisting of a genuine time of thanksgiving. True thankfulness should eliminate many of the prayers consisting of nothing but self-serving desires.
