The apostle Paul urged the Christians in Corinth to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). It is only his imitation of Christ the apostle desired others duplicate. Christ is the ultimate example. Paul formerly persecuted the church, but his powerful conversion shows how one who was the chief of sinners could be saved by God’s mercy (1 Tim. 1:13-16). Paul’s life then became a pattern others could imitate (1 Tim. 1:16). Paul did not want others to commit the same sins of his former life; instead, he wanted others to adopt this mindset, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

Paul preached Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23), even though others thought the message was foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18). Festus called him crazy (Acts 26:24). But Paul spoke words of truth and reason (Acts 26:25). Paul knew that the gospel he preached was the power to salvation (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4). He spoke the truth in love for the souls of men (Eph. 4:15) even if those men responded by treating him as an enemy (Gal. 4:16).

In this way, Paul was like Christ and is an example to us. Paul’s life as a messenger of the gospel is one of sacrifice. He said, “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).

Paul did not just talk a good talk. He lived it. He could point to his own work ethic when he corrected those in Thessalonica who would not work (1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8). When he encouraged the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he spoke from experience (Acts 20:17-27). Acts 19 shows how he had much concern and sorrow when he began work in Ephesus. He “fought with beasts” there (1 Cor. 15:32). Yet, Paul served the Lord with all humility of mind (Acts 20:19). Paul again pointed to his own example in his final commission to those elders in Acts 20:32-35:

So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

What about you and me? Do we live a life that we would recommend others imitating? I’m not suggesting that we try to draw as much attention to ourselves as possible to get the praise of men (Mt. 6:1-7), but that we let our light shine (Mt. 5:16). Paul did not preach himself (2 Cor. 4:5). He did, however, truly live the Christian life. Those around him saw the genuineness of his faith by his life. If Paul were to talk to you today, he could likely encourage you to be an example as well, as he said to Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).

That we ought to tell the truth is one of the most basic ethics, universally understood. Often a child’s first pangs of conscience are about telling a lie. The Bible is explicit in man’s moral obligation to be truthful. Ephesians 4:25 commands, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.”

Humans lie (Num. 23:19), but God “never lies” (Titus 1:2). Biblical commands against lying are rooted in the character of God. God “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). It is against His nature. The Bible does not just say God will not lie, but that He cannot. Lying is contrary to His being; thus, it is impossible for Him (Heb. 6:18). God’s word is truth (Prov. 30:5; John 17:17). If we are image-bearers of God, then we should not lie, as Paul wrote, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:9, 10).

Enemies of God have deceitful tongues and lying lips (Ps. 120:2-4; Prov. 12:22). Thus, liars are followers of the devil. Jesus noted this in response to those who maligned Him as one born of fornication, saying they were of their father the devil (John 8:44). The devil is “the father of lies” in that he spoke the first lie, “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). Satan not only lied, but also slandered God’s character, as if God had only given the prohibition of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to hold humans back, instead of operating in their best interest (Gen. 3:5). False religion involves deceitful spirits and hypocritical men who speak lies (1 Tim. 4:1, 2). Lying tends to accompany other sins. The murderer, the adulterer, and the thief all lie to conceal their wrongdoing. Consider how Cain tried to lie to God in response in Genesis 4:9 regarding the whereabouts of his brother Abel. The first homicide was intertwined with the sin of lying.

The Lord not only hates “a lying tongue,” (Prov. 6:17) but also “a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” (Prov. 6:19). The law God spoke from Sinai proscribed bearing false witness (Exod. 20:16). Such was serious because it perverted judgment. Thus, the warning: “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right” (Exod. 23:6-8). Lying impairs the judge’s ability to render a fair judgment. In Deuteronomy 19:15-21, the Lord enacted laws to prevent false witnesses from condemning the innocent. At least two witnesses were required; additionally, if one was found to have borne false witness, then whatever penalty would have been executed on the accused would be exacted on the false witness.

While the focus of passages proscribing bearing false witness (such as Exodus 20:16; Deut. 19:18; Ps. 27:12; Prov. 14:5; 25:18) is a courtroom situation, God’s prohibition of lying is not limited to judicial testimony, but to everything we affirm. False charges and insinuations made in private conversations still harm others. Slander robs a man of his good name, which is more valuable than great riches of silver and gold (Prov. 22:1). The cowardly spread falsehoods in private about an individual they dislike but will never confront the individual nor make the same accusations in public under judicial oath. Let us determine to be honest people who speak the truth and thus be more like God.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). Today, we desperately need wisdom to discern what is true, right, and lasting. To start growing in wisdom, we must fear the Lord. Romans 3:18 well describes this generation: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” However, as Christians we stand apart with different values, fearing God and seeking to be more like Him as we are fitted for our eternal home. This can be challenging, but the good news is God has completely outfitted us for this, “according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). The Bible shows us when we are wrong, how to be right, and fully instructs us in living a righteous life, a life which pleases God and leads us to heaven (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

We must not trust ourselves nor follow our hearts as the world counsels us. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” When the prophet Jeremiah envisioned the disaster which God revealed would come upon Judah for their sins, he prayed, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). Instead of walking in our own way, we must shape our thinking into God’s way. We should trust that He knows better than we how to live (Proverbs 3:5-6). We must not allow the world to conform us into its mold, but instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

As we enter this battle for our minds, we take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). We ingest God’s word to grow spiritually as a baby ingest milk to grow physically (1 Peter 2:2). We must move on to solid food, the meat of the word, and have our senses exercised to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:12-14). We should keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of the heart proceeds all the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). We must think on that which good, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance—will then be produced in our lives as evidence of this spiritual growth (Galatians 5:22, 23).

A wise life involves following the word of God and growing in the way just described. How sad it is to see individuals foolishly go through life wasting their energies on that which is fleeting (Proverbs 1:22). How sad to see people who claim to be Christian remain spiritually immature babies instead of growing to be more like God (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:11, 12). Seek God’s word (Psalm 119:1-3). Keep it close to your heart (Psalm 119:11). It will help in the battle of life. “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints” (Proverbs 2:6-8).

The apostle Peter wrote, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). False teachers can be cunning. Some have vivid imaginations. They can fabricate elaborate tales. Peter warned of false prophets who lead their followers to destruction by their imaginative heresies (2 Pet. 2:1-3). However, the imaginations of men are not the source of the account of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Honest men, such as Peter, witnessed these events.

Later in this passage, Peter noted the divine origin of the Scriptures: “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:19-21).

The prophecy of the Old Testament was made more sure by the miraculous confirmations God performed when the salvation of Christ was inaugurated. God’s voice was heard from heaven confirming that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Peter said, “For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Pet. 1:17, 18). Remember Matthew 17:1-7 records how Peter was there as Jesus was transfigured on the mountain. He saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Peter’s suggestion to make three tabernacles, one for each of them, was met with the Father’s response, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Mt. 17:5). Thus, Jesus has fulfilled and superseded the Old Testament law (Moses) and prophets (Elijah). These two men represented the law and the prophets, a frequently used designation of the Old Testament (Mt. 7:12; 11:13; 22:40; Lk. 16:16; Jn. 1:45; Acts 13:15; 24:14; Rom. 3:21). Jesus is the fulfillment, Who gives us understanding of the law and the prophets (Lk. 24:44-46). In his first epistle, Peter mentioned how the prophets of old spoke of the grace that would come through the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Pet. 1:10-12).

Peter himself was writing his epistles by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the apostles the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth (Jn. 16:13). Peter received the same divine guidance as did the inspired men of old (2 Pet. 1:20-21). Over the course of 1,600 years, God used over forty individuals from different cultures, with vastly different circumstances, speaking different languages to write one unified message. God is really the one author behind the Bible. We should pay attention to the Bible as we would take notice of a bright light shining in the dark (2 Pet. 1:19).

The opening chapters of the New Testament record both John the Baptist and Jesus in their public ministries preaching the kingdom of heaven was near (Mt. 3:2; 4:17). Jesus said it would come in the lifetimes of some who heard Him speak, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mk. 9:1). The kingdom would result in Heaven’s will being done on earth (Mt. 6:10). The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used in Matthew, perhaps, because the Jewish audience was accustomed to having a substituted word for “God.” It was God’s kingdom that Jesus preached was near (Mk. 1:14, 15). God is in heaven, and we are on earth (Ecc. 5:2; Mt. 6:9).

The kingdom would come to earth, but it would not be an earthly, political type of kingdom (Jn. 18:36). The kingdom is a spiritual realm into which the saved are transferred (Col. 1:13). It is a spiritual kingdom in which Christ reigns in the hearts of those who submit to His will (Lk. 17:20-21). Jesus taught many parables of the kingdom in which He likened it to earthly episodes for illustrative purposes (Mt. 13; 20:1-16; 22:1-14; 25). We do not easily grasp spiritual truths. Those who heard Jesus often misunderstood Him because they had earthly/physical preconceptions about the kingdom or took His language too literally. In His preaching, Jesus was preparing people for the impending kingdom.

A dream king Nebuchadnezzar had centuries before revealed God’s kingdom would be set up in the days of the Roman kings (Dan. 2). The Roman Caesars were in power when Jesus lived as a human on the earth, died, and rose again to sit on His throne as King of Kings (Lk. 3:1; 20:25; 23:2; Jn. 19:12-15; Acts 2:30-36; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:9-14). Jesus promised to build His church and told Peter about the “keys of the kingdom” in the same brief statement (Mt. 16:17-19). The church and the kingdom are often used interchangeably. Power that Jesus said would accompany His kingdom came on Pentecost day following the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:1-4). Those who responded positively to the preaching of the apostles—particularly the inspired instructions of Peter recorded in the biblical text—through repentance and baptism were added to the church (Acts 2:38, 41, 47). The kingdom came with power. Peter, with the keys of the kingdom, opened the door for people to access this kingdom when he said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38).

Those in the church are in the kingdom. The saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae (Col. 1:2) had been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of God’s Son (Col. 1:13). When John wrote to persecuted Christians in the seven churches of Asia Minor, he referred to himself as their brother in the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:9). Christians are fellow citizens (Eph. 2:19) of this holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).

The proper response to hearing the kingdom of God preached is to be baptized (Acts 8:12). When one is baptized into Christ, a new birth occurs. In John 3:5-7, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” This is the way to enter the kingdom of God—the church.

Christ’s kingdom has come. It was established on earth nearly two thousand years ago. It is the church of Christ. John prepared the way for its reception. Jesus preached about it, then died, and rose again to establish it. Are you in the kingdom?