Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

2 Corinthians 13:5

LANGUAGE & CONDUCT

When a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ in genuine repentance and faith they are saved by God’s grace. One of the first things that changes is their speech and conduct. James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” James continues in verse 5, “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!”

James 3:1-12 is all about the change in language and conduct of a Christian. A truly converted sinner will not use profanity and bad language. Their tongue now brings forth pure and clean speech. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

The Apostle Peter wrote, “For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it.” (1 Peter 3:10-11)

Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” We ought to be watchful and mindful of what we say and do.

Jesus gives us a warning about our conduct in Matthew 12:36-37, turn to that portion of Scripture in your Bible and read careful the words of Our Saviour. If we say an unclean word there should be a conviction and an instant recognition of our error. Colossians 4:5-6 says, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

A LOVE FOR THE WORD OF GOD

The Christian will love the Word of God. There will be a desire to read the Word of God and learn from it. John 14:23-24 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

A Christian will endeavor to read the Bible as often as he can. Psalm 1:2 says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Another verse in the Book of Psalms reads, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7).

God has given us His Word so we can know the difference between right and wrong. We can read God’s view on any given matter attaining to the Christian life by reading the Holy Bible and gleaning from the wisdom and truth therein.

The Bible has been given to us for our blessing and edification. We ought to read the Bible daily and grow in grace and knowledge of Scripture. Jesus said in Luke 11:28, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” God has given us the Scriptures not only to be read, but to be obeyed. The Word of God is for our direction and guidance.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” James writes, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22). Be doers of the Word of God. Scripture is for our edification and growth in grace. Scripture is a blessing. The Word of God is for our own good.

MODEST APPAREL

How we dress is very important. We make a big statement to the world by what we wear. That is why clothing and dress code is important to the Christian. The child of God will not dress like the world. Due to our salvation we live and behave differently from the world.

As a result of our salvation we live a moral and holy life. How we dress and live is a testimony to the world. Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.” Genesis 3:21 says, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” It is good and wholesome for us to be covered up.

We should not wear clothing and symbols that does not invite the Spirit of the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” This also goes for women to. If a man or a woman looks with lust at another person, they have committed the sin of sexual immorality. That is why it is very important we dress in an appropriate way that does not cause yourself or others to stumble. In 1 Timothy 2:9 Paul writes, “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments.”

Modesty in dress displays a modest and godly nature and heart. We are to profess godliness by the way we dress. For both men and women that means you should not dress in a way that causes others to lust. It is very important as a Christian that we dress in a way that shows godliness, modesty, worship to God and if married faithfulness to our spouse.

A LOVE FOR THE CHURCH

A true child of God will love his/her brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” The one who is born of God will love the people of God. This means the Christian enjoys the company of fellow believers.

The believer is most happy when in the presence of fellow saints. He desires a close fellowship with the Assembly of God’s people. The Christian will want to be an encouragement and blessing to the local assembly. The Christian will lovingly point out errors in the assembly and provide a biblical way forward so that the assembly will not fall into sin.

When pointing out error the Christian will do this for the well-being of the fellowship and show from Scripture the godly way forward. A truly saved Christian will not seek to destroy a local assembly of believers, but build the fellowship up. It is the desire of the Devil to come and destroy the assembly, the people of God. A Christian will desire to build up the assembly in righteousness and will desire to see the Lord add to the assembly.

SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD

Ephesians 5:19-21 says, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” In verse 18 of Ephesians 5 the Bible says to be “filled with the Spirit.” The Christian should be filled with the Holy Spirit meaning that the believer should delight in godliness.

Before salvation we were servants to self and to sinful desires and pleasures. We ought to have an agreeable Spirit when it comes to things of the Spirit. The Christian should fight against the flesh. There should be a daily battle against sin. Due to God’s grace poured out on His people we now love the things God loves and hate the things God hates, namely our own sin.

The enemy of the church is the Devil. The intention of the evil one is to destroy God’s people. One way he does this is by tempting us to sin and to fall back into our old ways of living. This is why it is important to put away and to reject the former things we once embraced as non-believers. Some examples of this would be unclean movies, books, television shows and the things of the world. It is a wise decision to cease from those things that does not invite the Spirit of the Lord.

We must be watchful to not allow anything unholy into our lives and homes. We should get rid of our Hollywood movies that promote a message that is not in keeping with Scripture. The Bible says in Proverbs 4:23, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible. We should consider how we spend our time. Do we spend our time in a constructive way that will benefit our soul and walk with God?

We ought to consider the company we keep. We may have to break friendships and links with people we once spent time with. For example, as a Christian we cannot socialise with people who are involved with sinfulness such as drunkenness, sexual immorality and night clubs. In some cases you will not have to end friendships with people, they will break away from you. As soon as they see a change in you and realise that you no longer have the same interests as they do the breakdown of friendship will soon come. One thing among many we will have to check is our music collection and what we listen to as Christians. We cannot please God with music that has fleshly lyrics such as some rock & roll and rap music.

We can remain friends with unbelievers, but we must not compromise our standing before God and the world. We ought to protect our testimony. It is of great importance that we are mindful of how we conduct ourselves around those who are not Christians. 1 Peter 2:12 says, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Christian people should seriously consider the things they do and view. Worldly and sinful music and entertainment has no place in the Christian home and life. Romans 6:20-21 says, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.” Consider this passage very carefully indeed. This is an important part of Holy Writ and should be taken to heart.

Before we were unconverted, we were slaves to sin. We sinned because we loved to sin. We rebelled because we loved to rebel. We followed our fleshly desires because we had pleasure in them. We obeyed the standards of the world because they pleased us. Romans 7:5 says, “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.” Now we have been changed by God’s grace and mercy, the former things should not give us any satisfaction or gratification in any way. We are new creations in Christ Jesus; saved for His glory and honour. This is how we ought to live.

We have been made free in Christ. Free from the bondage of sin. Free from the destructive vices of the devil, who wishes to destroy the body, mind and soul. The so-called “free society” that exists in the United Kingdom and many Western nations is not free by any stretch of the imagination. It is nothing but bondage, slavery and drudgery to the sinful desires of the flesh.

The Bible speaks about those who promise liberty, while they themselves are slaves of corruption. True freedom and real joy comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and obeying His commandments; for our enjoyment and well-being. If we want to have victory over sin and joy in the Christian life, then we must put the sinful desires of the flesh to death.