I Just Want to be Worthy!

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word worthy to mean “having worth or value; having sufficient worth or importance.”[1]  All too often men are evaluating themselves to determine if they are “worthy” of one thing or another and when it comes to being worthy of God’s love we often give ourselves a failing grade.  Many men are using the wrong standards to determine what is worthy and what is unworthy.  When it comes to God and how He determines our worthiness it is not based on what the world considers worthy or to be admired; it is not based on what we can do for ourselves but what God has already done for us.  While sin has made us unworthy, Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate price to make us worthy.  One of Satan’s greatest lies is when he whispers in a man’s ear and tells him how unworthy he is when it comes to God’s love and grace.  Too many are buying Satan’s lies and they have deemed themselves unworthy of receiving what God so freely and readily offers. 

     First let’s understand how the world viewed Jesus.  Mark 14:64b-65 tells us “They all condemned him as worthy of death. ⁶⁵Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.”  The Son of God is worthy of death?  Only because He was taking yours and my place He was labeled as you and I would be labeled without Him, worthy of death.  “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”[2]  1 John 2:2 says “He Himself is the propitiation (complete and total payment) for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.”[3]  So clearly Jesus has made us worthy if we enter into a personal relationship with Him.  Any hope of holiness and righteousness are dependent completely and solely on a personal relationship with Him.  

     Paul gives us some very sound guidance when he says “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.  Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those oppose you. This is the sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God.”[4]  So part of us being worthy is to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of what Jesus has done for us.  Brothers we are to conduct ourselves this way all the time not just when we know someone is looking.  For men to be successful in accomplishing this objective, we have to lift each other up and support one another in living our faith in all circumstances as a demonstration of the confidence we have in our salvation.  Our daily lives should be our greatest testimony of our assurance of God’s promise of eternal life with Him. 

     So how will we know if we are accomplishing this objective?  Colossians 1:10-13 tells us “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For He has rescued us from the domination of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”[5]  First and foremost, this passage tells us if we are living a life worthy of Jesus we will bear fruit.  Secondly, if we grow in our knowledge of God we will gain strength, power, energy and endurance to support our efforts to bear fruit. Always remembering we must demonstrate thanks to our Heavenly Father for providing His Son to pay our sin debt and through a personal relationship with Jesus, He makes us a promise of an inheritance of eternal life with Him.  These are the things God’s men do to demonstrate what it really means to be worthy. 

     Revelations 5:11-13 says “Then I looked and heard the voices of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.  They encircled the throne and living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’  Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them singing: To him that sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”[6] So you want to be worthy?  It all begins with a personal relationship with the Lamb that was slain to pay our sin debt and it is demonstrated to the men around us by the fruit that we bear.  Grow in your knowledge of God by being a student of His word.  Develop your prayer life to the point that it is an integral part of your daily routine. Fellowship with God’s men so that you can develop a strong support system that reinforces the fact that Jesus has made you worthy.  These things will not only make you feel worthy but will help you help other men find the one and only true way to find what it means to be worthy – Jesus Christ!