"Enoch walked with God, and he was not,for God took him." (Gen. 5:24 ESV)
"Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." (Gen. 6:9 ESV)
"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..."(Acts 13:36 ESV)
Jesus Prayed to the Father: "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." (John 17:4 ESV)
Paul the apostle wrote: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8 ESV)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1,2 ESV)
"Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." (Gen. 6:9 ESV)
"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..."(Acts 13:36 ESV)
Jesus Prayed to the Father: "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." (John 17:4 ESV)
Paul the apostle wrote: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8 ESV)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1,2 ESV)
Hi Sol,
ReplyDeleteThis is such an amazing issue you have brought out especially in our generation since "walking" is the big catch word that captivates our lives. It is such a metaphorical language to indicate how much we are in line with the Lord in terms of our mindset, lifestyle, life philosophy, some biblical ethical issues,issues related to some biblical truths or marks that identify us more with Christ etc.
your blog has pointed out such a great examples both from OT and NT (Enoch, David, Jesus and Paul). This life is a par excellence to be followed. But, Sol why do not you take us into a sort " life journey" along with these people on different issues that are relevant and challenging in our age. How can we learn from these people on some specific issues? what kind of hard decisions they make so that we can emulate them.
Normally, I appreciate your pure base on scripture on any topic you always discuss. So, wonderful and encouraging besides, it will help us to walk through the bible on those given topic.
nice job, Sol!
Coram Deo!
Thank you very much for your comment Dave.
ReplyDeleteI love the latin term you used at the end of your remarkable remarks on this little piece: "CORAM DEO".
I looked it up and discovered for the first time, the profound meaning as defined by R.C. Sproul; and I'm publishing it here in its entirety because it truely comliments the Scriptures mentioned in the article above. R.C. Sproul wrote:-
"This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one's entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.
To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze.
To be aware of the precence of God is also to be acutely aware of His sovereignty. The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He is indeed sovereign. When Saul was confronted by the refulgent glory of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate question was, "Who is it, Lord?" He wasn't sure who was speaking to him, but he knew that whomever it was, was certainly sovereign over him.
Living under divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission to sheer sovereignty that is motivated out of a fear of punishment. It involves recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God. Our lives are to be living sacrifices, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration and gratitude.
To live all of life coram Deo is to live a life of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God. A fragmented life is a llife of disintegradtion. It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction and chaos.
The christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the religious and the nonrelegious has failed to grasp the big idea. The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is relegious. To divide life between religious and the non religious is itself a sacrilege.
This means that if a person fulfils his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or homemaker coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who fulfills his vocation. It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God's call to be a shepherd as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kngship. It means Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father's carpenter shop as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Integrity is found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It is a life that is open before God. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the word of God.
Coram Deo...before the face of God. That's the big idea. Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles."
Coram Deo Dave!