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 the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Philippians 1:27-30

For the Christian, worthiness is not a matter of earning God’s favor, that is a gift freely given; instead, we must hold ourselves to a certain standard. Our conduct must by worthy of the salvation we have been given.

This is freedom, not oppression. Because we freely chose to join our lives to Jesus, we freely chose to become people worthy of his name and do things worthy of his cause.

Sometimes, our righteous conduct will bring us trouble, but that is only temporary. We have eternal life as a reward for worthy conduct.

Ethan Kirl