Living Hope: Part 5 Living the Good Life

When you think of living the good life, what comes to mind?  For me, the good life might involve a hammock, a glorious view, and a cool summer breeze!  How ‘bout you?  When the Apostle Peter teaches about living good lives in his letter, he takes us in a different direction than we might be inclined to go.  He encourages us to live good lives, not for our joy, but for God’s glory!

Peter teaches that Christ-followers should live such good lives that we would inspire those who don’t yet believe to follow Jesus too. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.  1 Peter 2:12.  

At Watermark, we talk about that often!  In fact, we’ve put it on a wall in our entrance corridor - Make an impression and leave a mark for Jesus Christ.  And we can do that in part, by living good lives!  In fact, when we do, we offer lost people a glimpse of the living hope we have in Jesus Christ and the hope they can have too! 

In Part 5 of our Living Hope series, we unpacked three motivations for living good lives that glorify God!  One of those motivations is for the sake of lost people. (1 Peter 2:11-12)

The truth is lost people are watching you and me.  They see how we live our lives - the choices we make and the choices we don’t make.  We live in an age where our lives are much more exposed than they were even a generation ago.  People, including the lost, see what we post online; they see how we respond to other people’s posts; they see what we like, who we follow, the rhetoric we use and the topics we choose to engage in or not.  People know a lot about how we live our lives, good or not so good.

Lost people are looking for reasons to reject the gospel.  They’re searching for opportunities to marginalize Christ, Christianity and Christ-followers.  They often speak against our faith and values.  This is nothing new.  It was happening in Peter’s time in the first century and it’s happening in our time in the 21st century.

So, what is the silver bullet against these false accusations?  It’s pretty simple: Live good, honorable lives that point people to Christ.   And that kind of life involves steering clear of sinful, cultural desires and influences, or as Peter writes: abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.  1 Peter 2:11 But that’s not easy, as Peter notes; it is an internal war we battle daily!  Those sinful desires are constantly raging against us. 

When we’re steering clear of sin inwardly, we will be an inspiration to others outwardly!   We don’t just witness with our lips; we witness with our actions.  We back up our talk with our walk!   Our good works should always back up our good words!  Jesus said:  16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16. Peter echoes Jesus’ teaching! So, live the good life!  Not the good life that simply fills you with joy, but the honorable life that brings God glory and leads lost people to the living hope found in Jesus Christ.  For much more, including the other two motivations for living good lives, click on the link above. 

Watermark’s Worship Night is set for this Friday from 5:30-7:00 pm!  We’ll enjoy a light supper in the Bridge followed by baptism at 6:00 pm, then we’ll head to the worship center to continue our worship.  Childcare will be available for children 5 and under during the worship service.

If you would like to be baptized, or find out more about baptism, reach out to me at joel@mywatermark.org.  I would love to hear from you!  Don’t forget to bring your baby bottle banks Friday evening to support our local pregnancy centers in Statesville and Mooresville!

Take a look at all the important Watermark news and plan to plug in where you can.  Invite someone to join you this Friday and Sunday for worship too!

Many Blessings,

Joel