Walking Worthy of God's Person

“As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” (1Th 2:11-12 AV)

 That is a precise and beautiful phrase.  Paul’s desire for the church of the Thessalonians is that they walk worthy of God.  Paul uses a similar expression in Ephesians.   “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” (Eph 4:1 AV)  In this use, Paul is exhorting a church to walk worthy of a position or name.  They are to live up to that which God requires of them.  In the use of the phrase above, it is the very presence of God.  Now, I know what you might be thinking.  How can anyone walk worthy of the presence of God?  No one can.  We are all sinners in the worst possible way.  How can anyone walk worthy of the presence of a holy God who does not dwell with unrighteousness (Ps 5:4,5)?  The moment we sin in any way, which is pretty much non-stop, we are no longer walking worthy?  Or can we?  If it was not possible, then Paul would not have mentioned it.  Therefore, we should walk worthy of the presence of God.  But how?

We think of worthiness like a uniform one puts on.  It reminds me of a skit that Harvey Korman and Tim Conway performed in the Carol Burnett show.  It was always a great laugh watching them work a skit because Tim could get Harvey to lose it.  In this particular skit, Tim plays an officer who is drumming a soldier played by Harvey out of the corp.  The skit is set back pre-WWI.  As Tim enters, he calls his disgraced soldier to attention.  As the skit goes, the officer is laying out all the charges leveled against this soldier and tries to remove items from his uniform.  He is only moderately successful.  As he struggles to remove badges, patches, cords, and other accessories, the officer is losing much more from his own uniform.  By the end of the skit the soldier pretty much still has all his uniform while the officer is reduced to slacks and shirt. In exasperation, the officer gives up and walks off stage.  The intimation to the skit is as long as the soldier’s uniform remains, he continues to serve in the corps.  This is how we see the phrase above.  Walking worthy means to wear the uniform.

However, as part of his personal testimony before salvation, Paul made the following statement.  “Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Php 3:6 AV)  When Paul is claiming to be blameless, he is not claiming perfection.  The law was more than rules for living.  The law also contained provisions for failure.  When the Jewish worshipper fell short of the law of righteousness, he offered sacrifice and made atonement for that sin.  There was confession and the death of a sacrifice.  Blameless does not mean sinless perfection.  What blamelessness means is correct in the law.  The same is true of the New Testament believer.  We are not perfect.  Practically speaking, we will not live perfectly sinless.  There will always be choices we should not make.  Walking worthy of the presence of God means we confess and forsake that which offends Him.  This, everyone can do.  The question is, do we wish to?  Do we really love the LORD with our whole heart, mind, soul, and body?  Or, are we carnal and only go so far as to repent from sin in general and accept Christ so that we do not suffer eternal hellfire?  Walking worthy of God is walking right with God.  This we are commanded to do.