A Christian’s Motivation for Living a Moral Lifestyle

Whether you are a professing Christian or not; I believe we can all agree that there are valid reasons for all mankind to set personal moral standards and strive to live by them.  However, the big question is: “Are there important motivating factors that are unique to Christianity?”

This article will hopefully help answer that question and also clarify for the reader:  1) the temporary benefits of morality for all mankind while living on this earth; 2) the motivating factors that both Christians and non-Christians have in common; and; 3) why it is so important that we understand these differences.

Let us begin by examining the outcome of living by moral standards that would be true for all peoples.  I don’t believe anyone can bring forth a good argument against the benefits of a life lived avoiding: lying, cheating, stealing, excessive drinking, promiscuity, self-centeredness, rage, gossip, and the like.  We all can admit that breaking certain rules can have negative effects.  Even violating the vehicle code section of the law, like breaking the speed limit or running a red light has the potential for profound negative consequences, i.e. receiving a hefty ticket or even being the cause of a head on collision which kills another person or ends one’s own life.  With that in mind, let us look at the list below.

Some Positive Outcomes of Living by Moral Standards which are true for ALL peoples:

• ·               You are more likely to avoid negative consequences
• ·               You will hurt less people
• ·               You will make the world a safer place to live and raise children
• ·               You will leave an honorable legacy to your children
• ·               You will live with less regrets for bad choices
• ·               You will have deeper and more meaningful relationships
• ·               You will need to apologize less
• ·              You may even save money by avoiding monetary penalties for violating the law of the land.

Pretty compelling reasons for a person to desire to set moral standards and to live by them, right? 

Now really examine the list.  What are the common threads running through it?  Well, there are two that we need to take special note of.  The first is that the good and positive outcomes are temporal in nature.  That is that they are of or relating to time as opposed to eternity.  In other words, they are related to life on earth.  The second thread is that they are all focused upon “You”.  Therefore, they are truths that can be used to promote and motivate both Christians and non-Christians to desire to live more morally upright lives so that they can experience the benefits for themselves, their families and their culture.

However, are they, in and of themselves, the primary factors that should help motivate a Christian to do so?  Why is this such an important question?

First, many people are confused about what true Christianity is.  Many people outside the church (and some inside the church) think that Christianity is a religion of do’s and don’ts.  They have no real concept that becoming a Christian is the result of a super natural act accomplished by God in the heart, soul and mind of a person that radically transforms everything about the person.  A true Christian, although still living in the world, is governed by a total different reality—a super natural reality, if you will.

And what does that mean.  It means that a true Christian’s reality is of or relating to an order of existence which is beyond the visible observable universe.  They are no longer strictly motivated by temporal things but they live with an eternal perspective and they have been given a higher reason for living a moral lifestyle—a reason that transcends the temporal benefits of doing so.

Therefore, a true Christian’s understanding of life is radically different from the world and the reasons they do, or do not do, certain things is radically different, as well.  This is where I feel much of the church is lacking in the attempts to promote morality to those inside the Church.

What should motivate a Christian to live by moral standards?

As followers of Christ, our motivation and desire for living and teaching other Christians to live moral lives should look very different from the world’s. The emphasis should not be what we have in common with the world, but those things that are unique to the reality of true Christianity. So, what are some of the Christian reasons or motivational truths for doing so?

Perhaps this table will help illustrate the motivating factors that we as Christians have in common with the world and those things that are unique to the Christians reality. This is, by no means, an exhaustive list—but I hope it helps us to think things through.

Motivation for a Moral Life	Non-Christians	Christian
The desire to bring honor to the family name.	X	X
Loyalty to self and family	X	X
The better good of Self, Family, and Culture.	X	X
The desire to not suffer the negative consequences associated with immoral behavior	X	X
To please self and others by making wise and good choices	X	X
Have less regrets	X	X
The reality that Christ is present at all times.		X
Higher Loyalty to Christ than to family or self.		X
Does not want to bring dishonor to the name of Christ by the way they live		X
Belief that they are not living for themselves, but are representatives and ambassadors of Christ		X
The desire that Christ’s honor, power and reality be magnified by the way in which they live and the choices they make.		X
To personally experience the joy, happiness, and peace that comes with avoiding the things that would go against God’s moral standards for all of His creatures		X
The desire to please God.  Not out of fear of punishment or out of desire for personal temporal rewards but out love.		X
Understands the difference between temporal good and eternal value.		X

In the above, note the things that we have in common and the things that are unique to a Christian reality.  If you are a professing Christian, how many factors can you identify with as highly motivating factors for living a moral lifestyle?

The following came to mind as I was pondering this topic and I will share the results of that pondering with the reader..

First, I want to examine an often-used quote (which, by the way, is very similar to Bill Hybels book entitled, “Who You are When No One’s Looking”). The quote I am referring to is: “The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching.” Here is the problem I see with this statement.

The truth is that there is not a single moment in our life where there is no one watching. Yes, I am aware that in that statement the term “no one” means no human being. However, when it is used inside the church as an attempt to promote and motivate Christians, it tends to eclipse what should be emphasized and that is that for the Christian we are never alone. A less confusing and a more motivating statement would be, “The true test of a Christian man is that whether he is being observed by people or in the privacy of his own room, he is always intimately aware of the presence of Christ.” Living in that reality should be all the motivation we need to adhere to a moral standard of living. My fear is that most professing Christians do not live in that reality and that is why they struggle so.

Secondly, as Christian’s (Followers of Christ) we represent Him. We are to be His ambassadors to a lost and dying world. We are not living for ourselves. We are living for Him. Our motivation for living by moral standards and principals should be born out of an overwhelming desire that our lives do not in any way bring dis-honor to His name. Christian, ask yourself—Do you care about that? Do you care about that more than you care about avoiding negative consequences or thinking of yourself as a man of character because you are moral even when “no-one” is watching?

Thirdly, loyalty is a powerful motivating factor which can even make people willing to die for their country. For Christians, loyalty (which is interwoven with love) for and towards our Savior and King should be one of the highest motivating factors for living a life of obedience to the moral standards outlined for us by Him.

In conclusion, if you are a professing Christian and are not motivated by the following:

· A deep, intimate, abiding relationship with Christ
· An unswerving loyalty and love for Him above everything else
· A desire to live a life that will NOT bring dis-honor to His name;
· An uncompromising preoccupation with His Glory;
· A genuine love for others, both inside and outside the church;
· and, an awareness of the reality of His presence every moment of your life;

Then, my friend, I believe that you have a much bigger issue to wrestle with than setting personal moral standards and living by them.


__________________________________________________________________________

Old Adam put in a better dress

(Thomas Watson, "A New Creature")

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom
 of God unless he is born again." John 3:3

Natural honesty, moral virtue, prudence, justice, liberality,
temperance--these are not the new birth. These make a
glorious show in the eye of the world—but differ as much
from the new birth, as a stick differs from a star! Morality
indeed is commendable, and it would be well if there were
more of it. Yet morality is but nature at its best; it does not
amount to saving grace. There is nothing of Christ in morality.
That fruit is sour--which does not grow on the root of Christ!

Heat water to the highest degree--and you still cannot
make wine out of it; it is water still. Just so, let morality
be raised to the highest, it is nature still; it is but old
Adam put in a better dress.

Moral virtue may exist with the hatred of godliness.
A moral man hates holiness--as much as he does vice!
"You must be born again." John 3:7

He Knows Our Sorrows

"I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."
John 14:18

  

Blessed Jesus! How Your presence
  sanctifies trial,

takes loneliness from the chamber of sickness,
and the sting from the chamber of death!

     

Bright and Morning Star! precious at all times,
You are never so precious as in "the dark and
cloudy day!"

   

The bitterness of sorrow is well worth enduring,
to have Your promised consolations. How well
qualified, Man of Sorrows, to be my Comforter!
How well fitted to dry my tears, You who shed
so many Yourself! What are . . .

    
my tears,
my sorrows,
my crosses,
my losses,

     
compared with Yours, who shed first Your tears,
and then Your blood for me!

   

Mine are all deserved, and infinitely more than
deserved. How different, O Spotless Lamb of God,
are those pangs which rent Your guiltless bosom!

How sweet those comforts You have promised to the
comfortless, when I think of them as flowing from . . .

an Almighty Fellow Sufferer;
a Brother born for adversity;
the Friend that sticks closer than any brother;

one who can say, with all the refined sympathies of a
holy exalted human nature, "I know your sorrows!"

My soul! calm your griefs! There is not a sorrow
you can experience, but Jesus, in the treasury of
grace, has an exact corresponding solace: "In the
multitude of the sorrows I have in my heart, Your
comforts delight my soul!"

Excerpt from (John MacDuff, "The Faithful Promiser")

Hyperbole?

hy·per·bo·le:  exaggeration: deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect.

I recently heard a pastor make a statement in a video message that had me actually say out loud, "What did he just say?"  I could not believe what I was hearing.  In fact, overall, the video message was more akin to that of a "Shock Jock" (a DJ or radio host who uses provocative language and broadcasts his or her extreme views) than of a mature man of God.

He actually said,  "Let this be a church populated by the unconverted dressing immodestly".

Really?  Let's leave out the "dressing immodestly" part of the statement and address the "populated with unconverted".   Isn't that what most seeker friendly churches, that water down the gospel, are populated with?  Is not the church to be populated with God's people who gather to worship Him?  Of course, there are unconverted people there; but, do we really want the church to be populated with the unconverted?  Of course not.  In fact, the unconverted should be very uncomfortable at church, regardless of how they are dressed-even when the Christians are loving to them.

So, why did he make that statement?  I say it was because he didn't want to be accused of being a conservative, legalist.  However, was it a biblically correct statement?  Oh, you say, it was simply hyperbole--he was simply exaggerating to make a point that we should not judge how the unconverted dress when they attend our church .

I would say, if that is what he meant, then that is what he should have said.  If this was hyperbole; it is at best, inappropriate and at worse, dangerous, confusing and misleading.

I could go on and on about this particular video address; but, will save my full review for another time.  I think church leaders should spend a little more time in really listening to messages and being more discerning in which ones they use to "teach" their people.

  Needless to say, I was disappointed.  This same pastor actually stated, that the "mature" should be corrected if they dress immodestly.  I ask you, "If one is indeed mature in the faith; would they still be dressing immodestly?"   Additionally, this pastor did not use the word, "most" when talking about groups of people.  He did not say "most" young ladies don't understand; he said, "young ladies in particular simply don't have a clue"  He did not say "most" men; he simply said "men...young and old".

On a side note:  Is Esther really a good role model for modesty?  I think not; but, that's just me. I would rather think that Queen Vashti is a role model for modesty.  Of course, some of you might think that the Queen should have submitted to her husbands drunken request that she be paraded in front of the Kings men while they were all "three sheets to the wind".

Basically, the video painted all men "young and old" to be weak, lust-filled, leches who can't control themselves and all women to be mindless shop-alcoholic "fashionista's".

Conclusion:  The message was both verbally, audibly and visually manipulative.  The background music was even hauntingly similar to that of the soundtrack to the original motion picture "the Exorcist".  If I had heard this message and was a young woman who was new in the faith, I would actually be afraid to attend any gatherings (church or non-church) where men are present, unless I was clad in a burqa.  But, then again, I might still be concerned that my eyelashes were too long and that I was blinking them to often and would only feel safe around men if I had on a pair of dark sunglasses, as well.  Oh Hyperbole!  What a powerful and manipulative form of speech.

Amen!

Some time ago there was a young woman under great distress of soul; she came to a very pious Christian man, who said “My dear girl, you must go home and pray.”
Well I thought within myself, that is not the Bible way at all. It never says, “Go home and pray.”
The poor girl went home; she did pray, and she still continued in distress. Said he, “You must wait, you must read the Scriptures and study them.”

That is not the Bible way; that is not exalting Christ; I find a great many preachers are preaching that kind of doctrine. They tell a poor convinced sinner, “You must go home and pray, and read the Scriptures; you must attend the ministry;” and so on.

Works, works, works -- instead of “By grace are ye saved through faith.”

If a penitent should come and ask me, “What must I do to be saved?” I would say, “Christ must save you -- believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I would neither direct to prayer, nor reading of the Scriptures nor attending God’s house; but simply direct to faith, naked faith on God’s gospel.

Not that I despise prayer -- that must come after faith. Not that I speak a word against the searching of the Scriptures -- that is an infallible mark of God’s children. Not that I find fault with attendance on God’s word -- God forbid! I love to see people there. But none of those things are the way of salvation.

It is nowhere written -- "He that attendeth chapel shall be saved,” or, “He that readeth the Bible shall be saved.” Nor do I read -- “He that prayeth and is baptised shall be saved;” but, “He that believeth,” -- he that has a naked faith on the “Man Christ Jesus,” -- on his Godhead, on his manhood, is delivered from sin. To preach that faith alone saves, is to preach God’s truth.

Nor will I for one moment concede to any man the name of a gospel minister, if he preaches anything as the plan of salvation except faith in Jesus Christ, faith, faith, nothing but faith in his name.

But we are, most of us, very much muddled in our ideas. We get so much work stored into our brain, such an idea of merit and of doing, wrought into our hearts, that it is almost impossible for us to preach justification by faith clearly and fully; and when we do, our people won’t receive it. We tell them, “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” But they have a notion that faith is something so wonderful, so mysterious, that it is quite impossible that without doing something else they can ever get it.

Spurgeon

A Prerequisite to Christian Counseling?

As I was thinking about the amount of time spent by elders, and lay people for that matter, in counseling Christians; the thought entered my mind as to whether or not those seeking counseling spend much time in communion with God.  I think it is easy for those of us who counsel to begin to think that people need us in order to grow in grace.  It somehow feeds our own need to be needed.  I think one of the main reasons is that we (modern Christians) spend little to no time in communion with God.

Would it be unkind to have a prerequisite established before counseling is offered?  And what would that prerequisite be?  J.C. Ryle has some suggestions:

Regular and habitual communion with the Lord Jesus, is absolutely essential to growth in grace! I mean that daily habit of communion between the believer and his Savior, which can only be carried on by faith, prayer and meditation.

 

It is a habit, I fear, of which many believers know little. It is possible to have "union" with Christ--and yet to have little "communion" with Him.  Communion implies a habit of daily application for things needed, and of daily pouring out and unburdening our hearts and minds. It is getting close to Him and laying hold on Him with confidence--as a loving, personal Friend.

 

Now I believe that no man will ever grow in grace, who does not know something experimentally of the habit of communion. We must seek to have personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus, and to deal with Him as a man deals with a loving friend. We must realize what it is . . .

  to turn to Him first in every need,

  to talk to Him about every difficulty,

  to consult Him about every step,

  to spread before Him all our sorrows,

  to get Him to share in all our joys,

  to do all as in His sight, and

  to go through every day leaning on, and looking to Him!

So there you have it--your prerequisite.  Before a person can seek counseling they must first say honestly that they have:

turned to Him first in every need,
talked to Him about every difficulty,
consulted Him about every step,
spread before Him all our sorrows,
get Him to share in all our joys,
do all as in His sight, and
go through every day leaning on, and looking to Him!

What do you think might happen if all those who requested counseling were told that they must first do all of the above for an entire month, before they would receive counseling?   I think there would be a drastic reduction in counseling requests!