Living A Holy Life

2 Timothy 1:8-9 "So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time," God's purpose for us is far greater than just keeping us out of Hell. He didn't save us to just go back to business as usual. He saved us and called us to live a holy life. A life that is set apart for God's use, with His mark upon it. People should be able to tell that we belong to Him by the way we talk and live. I Peter 1:3 tells us that He gave us “everything that we need for life and godliness”. Our Scripture for today in verse 7 tells us that “we were not given a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and of self-discipline.” The King James Version uses the word fear rather than timidity. We are to have fear in the sense of awe and reverence toward God, but the sense here is cowardice, of being ashamed of our position in Christ, to keep it hidden. We are told that after Pentecost that the disciples acted and spoke boldly about Jesus. We need to be about the same kind of boldness in our own lives. If we have habits and speech patterns that would cast a bad reflection on Christ - than we need to do what is necessary to make the changes in our lives no matter how radical, they might be. Whether the pastor ever sees or hears is irrelevant, we are all accountable to Christ. He is the one we need to impress.