27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ

The first thing Paul asks of us is to remember who we are. And he says we should behave as citizens of Christ. This type of language might make a few of you uncomfortable. He is not saying go out and establish some kind of Christian Theocracy in the name of God. The Kingdom of Christ has already been established by the work of Christ. He is telling us to reveal that we are citizens of that kingdom by how we act.

What does that mean. You reveal who you are by your style of life. On facebook a few weeks ago Yvonne Potts declared that her husband had become an American – he actually preferred American Football to soccer.

To live as a citizen of the United States is to love hamburgers, open roads and football. What does it mean to live as a citizen worthy of the Gospel?

1. Be of One Mind

I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel

First, it means that we live in community. But notice what he says. He does not say agree with each other. He says be of one mind. He is still talking about our identity at this point. Our identity is that we are in Christ. Therefore by definition, if I am in Christ and you are in Christ then we are in community together.

He is not saying, come on let’s all just get along. He is saying, be of one mind. Pursue the same dream, take the same path. Be one in mind and that will lead you to being one in community.

I went to Vanderbilt at a time when multi-culturalism was all the rage. Every class and every dialogue was about people from different cultures getting together and celebrating their differences. All the extra money went toward building African student centers, Asian Student centers, etc. It is not a bad idea, but it didn’t work. Why not? They wanted us to gather around the idea of gathering. No one was motivated.

Years later I was a campus minister at Delta State University, the most conservative campus on earth. No one was talking about diversity or multiculturalism. But while teaching a bible study I noticed something, on the front row I had representatives of 4 continents: South America, North America, Europe and Africa all in one room to hear the words of Jesus.

1. Don’t be Afraid

28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Because we are in Christ we have nothing to fear. Death has been defeated, we live in the one who has arisen from the grave. The joy that Christians have displayed in the face of death has been a constant signal that the reign of the world is on a timer. It will not last forever. They can kill our bodies but they can not stop our Spirit.

Spartacus – 1000 Roman slaves revolted and tried to earn their freedom. The rebellion was quashed by a Centurion named Cassus. He had no idea what Spartacus looked like, so he stood in front of the slaves and called out – I will spare each of you the humiliation and pain of death by crucifixion if you will deliver to me either the dead body or living person of the slave Spartacus. Just as Spartacus was about to step forward he heard a voice, someone standing near him stepped forward and said “I am Spartacus.”

Cassus could and would crucify them all, but he knew his time was up. In a thousand years the name Spartacus would inspire bravery, and no one would remember Cassus.