Your Daily Devotional for June 30, 2006

 

June 30, 2006

 

Living an Approved Life

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

 

Philippians 1:10-11

 

Back in the mid 80s and early 90s, there were a lot of books on excellence. Sports teams adopted that motto and began striving toward excellence. In verse 10, we see that God wants us to approve things that are excellent. The word approve means “to test with the sense of approval or to assay material.”

 

Just as the California gold miners in the 1800s took their rock of gold to the assayer and he would determine the value of it, so the Bible says that we are to have that same spiritual exercise. We are to approve things that are excellent. In this ever-changing culture, we must constantly examine the decisions we make.

 

We must also be careful in the exercise of our individual soul-liberty. Yes, we have liberty to enjoy stuff in this life, but we need to understand that as the culture changes, the Word of God does not change. The standard for approval is still at the same level as it was 2000 years ago.

 

God didn’t say to just make sure things are good. He didn’t even say to make sure that they are better than most things. He said to prove that which is excellent. We need to ask God to show us what is excellent, and what is just good.

 

There are definite things shown in the Scriptures that are right and wrong, but you are going to find that there are some things that the Bible doesn’t discuss. We need to discern these things. We need to sit down and prove whether these things are excellent. We shouldn’t want to live as close to the world as we can.

 

How can you know what is excellent? Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Take whatever you are contemplating and put it through this list and see if it passes God’s spiritual test of excellence.

 

We must live an excellent life in order to be ready when Jesus comes! Sincere, in verse 10, means “examine by holding to the sun.” In Bible days, when shoppers would consider a vessel to buy, they would hold that vessel up to the sun. The sun would shine through and show any flaws or cracks, thus lowering the value of the vessel. The Bible says that we should prove things that are excellent so we can be a vessel of honor, void of cracks or flaws, unto God when He returns.

 

If God were to return right now, would He find you doing excellent things? There will be no excuse when we see Him! Why not start aiming for the excellent things instead of the okay things? Determine right now that you are going to prove everything that you do to make sure that it is excellent.

 

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