TEXTS:         Genesis 6:5-9. ⁵ The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷ So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them." ⁸ But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. ⁹ This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

 

INTRODUCTION

The topic, Living for Christ in a Godless Age, is a divine call to the consciousness of who we are in the world. Men, by divine providence, are leaders, influencers, mentors, examples and pathfinders to our families. God said of Abraham, not Sarah, For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. (Gen. 18:19). Also, when God was to visit the iniquity of failed parenthood in the house of Eli in 1Sam. 3, God made no reference to Eli's wife. Getting Church men to consider such a topic is not only pertinent but strategic. Jesus Christ said that although we are in the world, we are not of the world (John 17:16). The moment we forget who we are, Whose we are, and who we are meant to be (the salt of the earth and the light of the world- Matt. 5:13-16), we tend to blend with our society.

 

Our background biblical text, Genesis 6:5-9, presents to us, a generation that knew not God and a man, Noah, who refused to blend with his generation, and so received favour from the LORD. Verses 8-9 says; But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord...Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Another man like him in the Old Testament was Lot, whose society was also so sinful that God had to come down with judgement (Genesis 19). Describing what it was like for these men to live faithfully in their ungodly generations, the Bibles says; and...Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men, for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard. (2Pet. 2:7-8). Celebration of sin and depravity did not start with our generation. If these men could stand in their times, God expects nothing less from us today.

 

RELATIVE EXPLANATION OF THE TOPIC

For better understanding, the topic; Living for Christ in a Godless Age, is broken into the following-

 

►Living for Christ─ Living for Christ (God) implies dedicating our lives to pleasing God in every way. It means making Jesus Christ, not only SAVIOUR but LORD (Master) of our lives. To live for Christ, we must submit our ALL to Him- our time, talents, gifts, resources, will, etc.- and become in His hands as the clay is in the hands of the potter. Paul was one man who lived for Christ; this is his confession: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:20).

 

►Godless Age─ Age refers to a generation. People of any age are those who were born and live at the same time for at least a period of thirty years. Major cultural changes usually take a minimum of about thirty years to observably occur; e.g. changes in common dress style, general language and slangs, attitude/character, values, architectural designs, aggregate acquisition of knowledge, etc. A godless age, therefore, is any generation that develops in the above mentioned areas and more without God; any generation that demonstrates a rejection of God's righteous standards in these areas and more is a godless generation. Who would have thought, about forty years ago, that refined immorality (e.g. BigBrotherNaija) will be so accepted and celebrated in our society in this generation? It was unthinkable.

 

NOAH'S GENERATION VERSUS THIS GENERATION

The generation of Noah obviously qualifies to be described as godless. God Himself confirmed it when the Bible recorded; The Lord saw how great, man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.... (Gen. 6:5-7). Comparing the generation of Noah with our own generation, does the 21st Century generation also qualify to be described as godless? The answer is certainly in the affirmative. To say that all the evils of Noah's generation that attracted God's judgement have been surpassed by this generation will not in any way amount to exaggeration. Perhaps, the only justifiable reason this generation has not been judged is that we are under grace now. The Apostle Paul appropriately describes how this age has rejected God, and the consequences in Rom. 1:26-32; For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

 

The sad reality is that many Christians are already caught-up in the vices that have marked this godless generation. In some parts of the Christian world, homosexuality, lesbianism, same-sex marriage and transgenderism are not only condoned but celebrated. They are ordained into the Priesthood and even made Bishops. Many among the congregations are filled with all manner of unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, ungrateful, etc. This is why there are crises/problems in most churches, and with all the revival programmes, people are hardly ever revived. This is also why the impact of the Church of this generation on transforming the society is so negligible. This meditation is important to every Church man today because the best positioned groups in the Church to combat these evil trends are the men. While some Christian men are not involved in all these, they are not speaking out against them as evil. Rom. 1:32 says that such men will receive same judgement as those involved.

 

THE MAN-NOAH-AND HIS ATTRIBUTES

The man, Noah, could be seen in the following light as he was presented in the Scriptures (Gen. 6:9):

 

►Noah was a righteous man- He was a man of right standing with God. He was full of good thoughts, words and deeds/actions. He was not enslaved by the power of sin, lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life. He lived to please God by showing that he feared God reverently.

 

►Blameless among the people of his time- He was so different in the midst of the depravity of his age that even sinners found him blameless. It is important for us to be mindful of people's testimonies about us (even Jesus was. Matt. 16:13-16). Who people know us to be can make or mar our mission and the mission of the body of Christ that we represent.

 

►He walked with God- Beyond being righteous, he was holy. He enjoyed intimate relationship with God so much that God, could communicate with him on His intended plan to destroy the world, and as well give him instructions on how to be saved with his household.

 

LIVING FOR CHRIST TODAY

To live for Christ today is to grow in the faith we have found in Him in the midst of the corruption in our age. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Tit. 2:11-12). The Bible teaches that the Christian life is one of constant growth. When you were born again, you were born into God’s family. It is God’s purpose that you will grow into full stature and become mature in Christ. It would be against the law of God and nature if you were to remain a baby and thus become a spiritual dwarf. In 2 Peter 3:18, the Bible teaches that we are to grow. It implies steady development, constant enlargement, increasing in Godly wisdom. Apostle Paul lamented about those among the brethren who were already caught-up in the web of the vices of this godless age, and have become content with hiding in the Church. He said; For many walk, of whom I have told you often...that they are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. (Phil 3:18-19). To live for Christ, we must imitate Him, let His mind be in us and seek to grow steadily in Him.

 

To live for Christ in this godless age, we need to grow properly. Certain practices must be observed for good spiritual health. Below are some of them:

►Read your Bible daily- Do not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy your conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart. It comforts, guides, corrects, encourages, empowers – all we need is in the Word of God.

►Learn the secret of prayer- Prayer is communicating with God and we are expected to grow in the art. Every prayer that you pray will be answered. Sometimes that answer may be “Yes” and sometimes “No,” and sometimes it is “Wait,” but nevertheless it will be answered.

►Rely constantly on the Holy Spirit- We know that the Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8), and what a comfort that should be to us, even when we are weak. Depend on Him in the place of prayers and let Him lead you in all of life's decisions.

►Attend Church and fellowship regularly- The visible Church is Christ’s organization on earth. Christians need one another, we need to gather together to worship God and nothing can take the place of Church and fellowship attendance.

►Be a witnessing Christian- We witness in two ways: by life and by word – and the two, where possible, should go hand in hand. A non-witnessing Christian may have been lost without realizing it. You are saved to minister to others.

►Let love be the ruling principle of your life- Jesus said to those who followed Him, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another” (John 13:35). The greatest demonstration of the fact that we are Christians is that we love one another. Love is one language the deaf can hear, one object the blind can see, and it should not be based on gender, tribe, class, status, etc.

►Be an obedient Christian- Let Christ have first place in all the areas of your life. Sacrifices are acceptable when obedience to God and constituted authorities is not undermined. It was for this that Saul was rejected. Obedience requires humility.

►Learn how to handle temptation- Temptation is not sin. It is yielding that is sin. Let Christ through the Holy Spirit do the fighting for you. But you must avoid all appearances of evil (1Thess. 5:22). Avoid compromising situations that are capable of destroying trust among the brethren, but especially, in your marriage.

►Be a wholesome Christian- Our lives and appearances should commend the Gospel and make it attractive to others. Do not misrepresent Christ or the Gospel.

►Live above your circumstances- Don’t let your circumstances get you down. Learn to live graciously within and above them, realizing the Lord Himself is with you. He has promised never to leave nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5).

Ref:     https://billygrahamlibrary.org/10-guidelines-for-christian-living/

 

CONCLUSION

The call today is for Christian men, household leaders and elders in the Church of God, to resist the urge to fit in but embrace the challenge to stand out. They must go further to ensure that they bequeath these virtues to the children and posterity. As we approach the end of all things, succeeding generations are more likely to grow deeper into ungodliness. The Church and faithful believers will continue to be tormented in their righteous souls (as it was with Noah and Lot in their generations) by the increasingly godless generations. This is why Jesus Christ warned; And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (Matt 24:12-13). Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. (2 Pet. 3:17). If these men could stand in their time, God expects no less from us today. In every generation, God does not leave Himself without witnesses (Acts 17:14). Dare to be counted among God's witnesses in this godless generation, and like Noah, you will obtain favour that will endure even after you have gone.

By:Rt. Rev. Kingsley C. Obuh, Lord Bishop Diocese of Asaba (Anglican Communion)