The Call to Excellence!

The Call to Excellence!
Brad Reiches
Sep 19 2007 10:28AM

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
GodThoughtsWired!

"The Call to Excellence!"

"Excel still more...Excel still more."

1 Thessalonians 4:1, 10

Excellent:  OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD.

Christians are called to live "outstandingly good" lives.  No, I didn't say perfect, that's why Christ died, but willing and committed.  Indeed, "Commitment to Excellence" should be the motto of every Bible-believing Christian.*  God expects our behavior to be "excellent" (see 1 Peter 2:12).  along with "moral excellence" (see 2 Peter 1:5).  In fact, living lives of "excellence" is so important to God that He tells us to meditate on it!  "Let your mind dwell on these things" (see Philippians 4:8).

The false teachings of "grace" arising from much of today's visible Church has all but crippled the witness of biblical Christianity.  The fear of offense has rendered much of today's Church impotent, weak, and unattractive to most.  The absence of truth and the "whole gospel" has resulted in churches filled with people in bondage who think they are saved but are not (see Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11; 2 Peter 2:19; Matthew 7:21-23).  We have sown the wind...and reaped the whirlwind (see Hosea 8:7).

Nevertheless, God is excellent and He calls us to be like Him (see Psalm 150:2; 2 Peter 1:3).

*Bible-believing Christian.  Isn't that a comical phrase?  As if to say there were "non-Bible-believing" Christians.  Well, it would be funny...if it weren't so tragic.  In today's world there are myriads of people who call themselves "Christians" who do not believe in the Bible as "inspired by God, inerrant and infallible as originally given."  And thus, I'm consistently reminded of the words of Jesus, "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord,' 'Lord,'..."

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