There’s someone out there that needs to hear this word today - that despite the pressures pushing against you, despite the temptations you face, and despite the tides of “do what feels good” culture, it is possible for you to choose a path of righteousness.
Here’s a teaching clip from Pastor Phil to lend some context:
“It is possible to live a righteous, Godly life in the middle of horrible wickedness.” - Phil Byars
We live in a culture steeped with the influence of the enemy. In a post-truth atmosphere, the “norm” is to live according to self-constructed ethics under the banners of, “Do what’s right for you”, or “Live your truth”. Being daily immersed in this societal trajectory can (and should) make believers feel alienated in the midst of a people who do not call Jesus Lord. We feel like fish swimming upstream; everyone is going one way, and we’re going in the complete opposite. In these moments, it’s easy to make bad trades. It’s easy to compromise and assimilate to the world’s moral barometer. It’s easy to succumb to the pressure we feel.
Believer, the message for you is this: You have been freed from slavery to sin (Romans 8:1-2). You have been liberated from the oppressive cycle of choosing to please self rather than pleasing God. Because you are “in Christ”, God has perpetually provided a path of righteousness for you to choose in every critical moment of temptation. God has given you the dignity and enabling grace to choose what is right. That should breathe hope into our tired souls.
Noah’s life, as Pastor Phil disclosed, proves that it is possible to live a life characterized by righteousness even when the world is charging headlong in another direction. Even without the indwelling Holy Spirit, Noah’s testimony tumbles down through generations to speak this truth into our very souls: “Choosing righteousness is always possible.” There’s no doubt, we are broken and sinful people. So was Noah. Even his obedience was imperfect, as is ours. But because we are redeemed, we have confidence that God is gradually changing our affections and desires to choose Him more than we choose ourselves.
So, in the moments when the pressures swell and the temptations rage, here are 4 provisions from Scripture to strengthen your resolve:
GOD PROVIDES A PATH
1 Corinthians 10:13 (AMP)
“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].”
Next time you are faced with temptation to sin, look for the path of righteousness. This passage promises that it is available to you. There may be an earthly cost to taking it, but it is there, and it leads to greater joy than sin can offer.
Genesis 4:6-7 (AMP)
“And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed? If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.”
God, in His grace, reminded Cain (and reminds us) that we have a standing invitation to choose righteousness - even while standing on sin’s doorstep. He has given us gracious dignity to choose humility and step on to the path of righteousness, wherever we find ourselves. You are not a victim to your temptation.
GOD PROVIDED HIS SON
1 Peter 2:24 (AMP)
“He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.”
Jesus’ atoning death on the cross not only paid for our sins (past, present, and future), but also opened the possibility for us to put our sin to death and choose righteousness instead. May we walk in it.
Jude 24-25 (AMP)
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling or falling into sin, and to present you unblemished [blameless and faultless] in the presence of His glory with triumphant joy and unspeakable delight, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Jesus can keep us from falling into sin if we rely on Him. One day, He will present us, His bride, faultless and purified before The Father. He has been, is, and forever will be our hope of choosing righteousness.
GOD PROVIDES HIS SPIRIT
Philippians 2:13 (AMP)
“For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”Romans 8:13
“…for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.”
Jesus has given us His Spirit to practically work in us, prompting and enabling us to choose righteousness.
GOD PROVIDES A PLATFORM
John 17:11, 14-15 (AMP)
“I am no longer in the world; yet they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are…I have given to them Your word [the message You gave Me]; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and do not belong to the world, just as I am not of the world and do not belong to it. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them and protect them from the evil one.”
Philippians 2:14-16 (AMP)
“Do everything without murmuring or questioning [the providence of God], so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness], holding out and offering to everyone the word of life...”
God’s design is for us to live in the middle of a broken world as exiles - those that don’t fit in - while we invite others to one day enjoy the infinitely better country God has prepared for those that love Him. Each choice we make to take the path of righteousness serves as a lighthouse, illuminating a better way to navigate a fallen world. The way we live matters for those outside ourselves.
In Jeremiah 6, God reveals His desire for His people:
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the roads and look; ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’”
Tired Christian, it’s hard to walk differently. It’s hard to go against the grain. But take courage, because the path of righteousness is available to you. And it’s tried and true. It’s been trodden by millions of saints before you. It is good. It leads to rest. Choose it today.