The Christian Motive for Living

Psalm 4:5-8; Luke 4:4; John 6:35; Romans 12:1, 2; 13:12-14

GOLDEN TEXT: “Seek those things which are above.”—Colossians 3:1

UNQUESTIONABLY the motive back of everything which a Christian thinks, says and does, should be that of pleasing God and glorifying His holy name. This means all unselfish motive. As Christians, we do not view life and make plans for it with the thought of what might be to our advantage as human beings, but with the idea primarily of what we understand to be God’s will for us. In Jesus our pattern, we have this proper viewpoint exemplified. He said to His Father, “Lo, I come … to do Thy will, O God.”—Heb. 10:7

The several Scripture assignments for the lesson are all to the point, and set forth clearly the thought of living to please God and to be a blessing to others. Psalm 4:5 reads, “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.” Verse 7 reads, “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.” In these texts we have a beautiful couplet of thoughts. First, we are admonished to offer sacrifice. In the Gospel age, this implies the offering to God of all our earthly interests, a full devotion of everything to the service of God. The Christian’s real interest is not to be centered in the hoped-for increase of corn and wine—that is, material prosperity. Nevertheless, his joy is greater than: could possibly tome to those who seek pleasure in the abundance of earthly good things. The truthfulness of this has been proved in the life of every faithful follower of the Master.

Luke 4:4 is in line with this thought. The Christian’s life depends upon obedience to every word of God. He doesn’t live merely to enjoy material food, nor is his spiritual life as a new creature in Christ Jesus sustained by such. He lives to please God, and by pleasing God through obedience to His Word, he is assured of immortal life, as well as glory and honor in, the Kingdom.

Jesus tells us (John 6:35) that He is the “Bread of Life” and that those who believe on Him shall never hunger nor thirst. It is vitally important that we remember this. For more than eighteen hundred years the Israelites—some of them at least—tried to gain life simply upon the basis of obedience to God’s law. They all failed! We, too, would fail in our efforts to he wholly obedient to the Word of God, hence the necessity of accepting and appropriating to ourselves the provision of life that is in Christ Jesus, the Redeemer. Accepting Him, however, implies obedience to all of His teachings. It means to follow in His steps—those sacrificial steps which had been outlined for Him in the Old Testament. Yes, we need to believe, to trust in the merit of His sacrifice, and we also need to obey, which, in turn leads us to sacrifice.

This thought is further borne out in Romans 12:1,2. Here we are urged to present ourselves in sacrifice, with the assurance that even though we are imperfect by nature, our sacrifice will be acceptable through the merit of Jesus. We are not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We should determine, through a study of the Word, and by observing the example of Christ, what constitutes God’s will for us, and then we are to do it. For a Christian to follow the dictates of his own will would be disobedience to the terms of his consecration.

The last portion of Scripture assigned for this lesson (Rom. 13:12-14) seems very appropriate for our times. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand,” writes the apostle. How much more true is this today than when it was written. The night of sin extends over six thousand years. In Paul’s day it was two-thirds spent; now it is practically all spent. There remains, as it were, only the morning mists and fogs to obscure the rising Sun of Righteousness. But there is still time for Christians to prove faithful unto death. There is still time to cast off the works of darkness, and to put on the armor of light.

Paul uses the shortness of time as a reason for increased Christian effort. How appropriate! No matter what one may undertake to do, if he realizes that the “time is short” he throws himself more energetically into the task at hand. It is the same in the Christian life Now, more so than ever, the time is short furnishing added incentive to redouble our efforts. It has never been proper for a Christian to make selfish provision for the flesh, “to fulfill the lusts thereof”. (Rom. 13:14) His material needs are to be left in the Lord’s hands. How foolish it would be now, in view of the shortness of the time, for a Christian to become so over-charged with the affairs of this world as to jeopardize his heavenly interests.

And the time is short! There is every likelihood that many of us will not have an opportunity to live out our natural span of life, if we succeed in making our calling and election sure to a place in the heavenly phase of the Kingdom with Christ. How essential it is then that we keep well in mind the true motive that should be inspiring our lives. How unwise it would be, now that the fruition of our hopes is so near, to permit selfishness, or earthly gain, to turn us aside from the narrow way of sacrifice. How very vital to every Christian today are the words of our Golden Text, “Seek those things which are above”.

QUESTIONS:

What is the primary motive which inspires a Christian’s life?

What is the compensating portion for Christians who sacrifice earthly interests in the doing of God’s will?

What did the Apostle Paul mean by the statement, “The night is far spent”?

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