Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees because they did not practice what they preached (Matthew 23:3).  The result of their lack of obedience, while telling everyone how great the Law was, was that the label “hypocrite” was attached to them.  There are very few things worse spiritually than to be marked as a hypocrite.  Hypocrites in the church not only dishonor God (Romans 2:23), they do great damage to the cause of Christ, stopping the advancement of the gospel.

For the gospel to thrive in a given area, the people of God must live by it.  Paul serves as a great example of this for all of us.

Philippians 1:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul’s goal in life was to live for Jesus and to, one way or the other, honor Him.  If it took him dying for the cause of Christ, he was ready to do it.  He once told brethren in Caesarea, while staying at the house of Philip, to stop crying for him because he was ready, not only to be imprisoned, but also to die (Acts 21:13).

If Paul lived, escaping his ordeal as a prisoner at Rome, he was ready to honor Christ by his life.  Living for Jesus can at times be harder than dying for Him.  We can only wonder how Paul’s family took his obedience to the gospel of Christ.  Were his parents still living?  We do not know.  If so, they surely were committed to the Law of Moses.  They may have written Paul off, wanting nothing to do with him because of his newly found religious views.  Many believe that Paul’s family was a part of what he counted loss for the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:7-8).  While we cannot be sure about Paul’s family situation, we do know that Paul was willing to give anything up for Christ because He was the center of his life.

Jesus should be the center of all of our lives.  Only then will we be effective in advancing the gospel.  We must walk worthy of our vocation (Ephesians 4:1).  Jesus tells us to let our light shine so that the world may see our good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:14-16).  We can only do this by making sure we apply the principles of the gospel to our daily living.  This was the constant exhortation of Paul to the saints.

Philippians 2:14-15 (ESV)
¹⁴  Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵  that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Living by the gospel benefits both us and the church.  When we do so, others see Christ in us, which allows us to teach and advance the gospel, and helps us to avoid disgracing the body of Christ, which benefits our Lord’s cause in itself.  Meanwhile, we are blessed as individual Christians with all spiritual blessings now, and a home in heaven after a while.  Let us all do our best to advance the gospel of Christ, not just by preaching and defending it, but by living it.  The only one who loses when we do that is the devil.      

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.