“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12
When God saves a lost sinner, that person has a whole new
life. They are “translated” or transferred from the power of darkness which had
them spiritually blinded to Jesus, His light, and His power. Colossians 1:13 “Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son:” The word “kingdom” here is not heaven itself but
rather “the sovereignty, royal power, dominion of God or Christ” Vines
goes on to say, “denoting the territory or people over whom a king rules”.
The transfer here is like unto Enoch who was taken from the earth and moved to
where God moved him without death. While Enoch was transferred body, soul, and
spirit, it is our spirit being quickened by God and us given a new nature
allowing us to walk in a new nature by being born again, anew by God. It is our
new ability to see those things of God, and our ability to walk to please God
because now light has come and we are now responsible to walk in that light or
in godliness. All things become new in our new birth; old things of that
darkness are passed away. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.” He is new because God has translated him in His light
that enables him to see, and that carries the responsibility to walk anew. 2
Corinthians 5:15 “And that he died for all, that they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose
again.” You are not your own, but you have been bought by the death,
burial, resurrection, and blood of Jesus, or you have been redeemed. Jesus now
owns you and you belong to Him, to live, walk, and have your whole being of
life living for Him, walking godly in this world. Our new goal in life is to
walk in our new life not pleasing ourselves, family, or worldliness, but God. “That
ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every
good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” Colossians 1:10 While
none of us are ever going to accomplish a full and perfect walk, it is our goal
as being God’s children. We have no excuse not to fully walk in full godliness
in this world. When we are judged by Jesus Christ, our judgment will not be
for our sins, because Jesus has paid them in full. Our judgment will
be for our walk of godliness, our understanding and walk in the scriptures. If
we are walking correctly by the scriptures, we will not be walking in
wordlessness as those who cannot see. They (the lost) have no responsibility to
walk in godliness because they are dead to godliness. God said of the believer,
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot
serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13 You cannot serve God and Satan, you
cannot live in the new light and old darkness, because they do not mix and one
will cause you to hate the other. There is no compromise, one (the world) is
darkness and the other (light) is godliness, and (darkness) hates the light of
righteousness. Don’t mistake worldly moral goodness with godliness, they are as
different and light and darkness. Moral values on this earth are not godliness,
while moral values can be linked to godliness the moral values of this world
differs from godliness. Today good moral values in this world are to accept abortion
as a good moral valve, homosexuality as good, among other things that are
ungodly. None of these are acceptable as godliness no matter what the world believes.
As Christians we must separate the two, because accepting worldly goodness is
to deny godliness. This is what God means when He said, “…Ye cannot serve
God and mammon.” One will cause you to deny and even hate the other. Jesus
went on to say if you “…will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution.” If we walk in godliness, we will suffer persecution for our spiritual
walk. Because we will not agree with worldly morals but walk in godliness. We
are not to hate those that oppresses us for being Christians, but we are not to
give into their sinfulness, understanding that God opposes their sinfulness,
and our agreeing with them appears that God aproves. The Lord reminds us, “This
I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. If
we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16, 25 Living
in the Spirit is living in the Truth of the scriptures, and if we do our walk
in this world will be in the Spirit.
