The Daily Word of Righteousness

Let Your Light So Shine

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Our good works are the behavior described by the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. They have to do with our pure love for God, particularly as our love is revealed in showing compassion and justice toward other people.

The miraculous change in the sinner who becomes a disciple of Jesus, his godly, sincere, upright, and holy behavior, is the Light, the expression of the Life of Christ. It is Christ in him revealing the Person, will, and way of God to the peoples of the earth.

Of all the means by which the saints light the world, the most important may be their godly character and behavior. Righteous and holy behavior that proceeds from the Divine Nature of Christ being created in us and working out through us is the law, the testimony of God, to the nations of the earth.

A godly, upright life, having been created so by the Virtue of God, is the clearest revelation of all to men and angels of the truth concerning God Almighty. If our goal is to lead people to God and keep them moving forward with God, there is no substitute for the example of a human being who is portraying in himself the pure and holy character that has been created by eternal Life working in him.

The effect of the other means of bearing witness to the Light is greatly weakened and sometimes destroyed altogether when unclean behavior is practiced by the believers in Christ. This is why a minister of the Gospel, although he may be gifted with an extraordinary ability to present the Word of God, will eventually prove to be a liability rather than an asset to the Kingdom of God if he is walking in self-centeredness and sin. People eventually see through a sinning ministry and they become cynical, as has happened today.

Although the Holy Spirit may use an ungodly minister to present the Word of the Gospel to multitudes of sinners, he will not be received of Christ in the Day of the Lord.

In order for the sinning Christian to continue with his testimony, for his "lampstand to be restored to its place," he must repent sincerely and renew his untarnished consecration to God's holy will.

The saint bears witness of Christ by teaching and living the standards of behavior presented in the Scriptures. To live according to the principles of the Scriptures is to conduct oneself in a godly manner, for this is what both the Old Testament and the New Testament command.

As we keep the words of Christ, practicing them as He gives us the ability, a transformation takes place in us. Christ is formed in us and dwells in us. Now we begin to act like Christ because we are becoming an inseparable part of Him.

First we keep the Word. Our godly behavior reminds mankind that there is a God in Heaven and that He is holy.

Then the Word begins to keep us. God becomes our salvation. We act righteously by nature—the Nature of Christ Jesus in us.

The nations are waiting to see the Nature of Christ in you and me. Let us not disappoint them. (from Behold My Servant!)