Jesus said that we must let our light shine before men (Matthew 5:16).  We do that, at least in part, by living a morally upright life, something of which we should never be ashamed.  In our last blog, I wrote about not being ashamed to live a pure life, refraining from the sin of sexual immorality.  But, there is more to living right before God than avoiding fornication.  We must apply God’s moral standard in every walk of life, and we must never apologize for it.

God has a moral law concerning how we dress.  The way people dress today epitomizes the moral decay of the world.  There is almost no limit to how little people wear in public anymore.  The shorter, tighter, and more revealing an outfit is, the better.  People have lost the ability to blush in this immodest world in which we live.  But, as Solomon once said, there is nothing new under the sun.  Jeremiah described some of his days as follows:

Jeremiah 6:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD.

This accurately describes our society today.  Nevertheless, we must not be ashamed to dress modestly amid such ungodliness.  If someone asks us why we dress the way we do, we will gladly tell them that we are taught to do so by the gospel of our loving Savior (1 Timothy 2:9).

God has a moral standard concerning how we talk.  Paul said, “Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up…” (Ephesians 4:29).  Everywhere we turn we hear corrupt communication.  People cuss so much they do not even realize that they are doing it.  It is hard to find decent television shows that are not filled with bad language.  Everyone from politicians to parents, and even preachers, when they are not in the pulpit, use corrupt communication in the form of cussing.  Young people, I am talking about preteens, and old people alike are in the habit of cussing.  It is just ridiculous.  As Christians, we must make it a point to use speech that gives grace to those who hear.  We have to be different even in the language that we use, and once again, we should never be ashamed about it.  Having our speech seasoned with salt is a part of living according to the high moral standards of Christ (Colossians 4:6).

God’s moral standard includes soberness.  We live in a nation of drunks.  I think more people drink alcohol than those who cuss, though drinking and cussing generally go hand in hand.  It is amazing to me how many so-called reputable personalities on T.V. freely talk about their drunken escapades.  No one seems to think that there is anything wrong with getting drunk; no one except God. He condemns drunkenness in His Word over and over again.  Drunkenness is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:21) and referred to as unrighteousness that will keep people out of the kingdom of heaven.  (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  As God’s children, striving to be holy like Him (1 Peter 1:14-16), we should despise drunkenness and never be ashamed about it.

Let us live lives that are pure and undefiled before God (James 1:27).  To do that we must not be ashamed of the moral standard of Christ.  Living by it will make us peculiar in the eyes of some people in the world.  They may mock our lifestyle, but they can never take away our hope.  Let us live the way God commands us and say with Paul, “in nothing shall I be ashamed.” 

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