Growth

Growing in the Christian life requires looking to God. Often people look to grow by looking at sin and then trying to avoid sin.

There is truth in the approach, but studying the problem does not help us as much to the solution as looking at God. If we look to God and learn about God and love God then we will make far more progress in faith than if we look at sin and try to avoid it.

Righteous living is very active in nature. This is also why looking to God is helpful. God is a God who acts.

Jesus' life was filled with righteous activity from start to finish. The need for the Christian to act is at least as important for righteousness as the avoidance of sin.

You see avoiding sin, without an active expression of love is meaningless. The bible says if we have all things, but lack love it is worthless.

Love is something which is active and must be expressed. We can avoid sin sitting in isolation in a room our who lives and the avoidance of sin is worthless without expressing love.

Love is active. We must go out and do. We must risk and be vulnerable. Love is more important for real righteousness than avoidance of sin.

Honest Living

To live honestly before God our works are done before God and not man. You see many times in life we are given a chance to do this or that good work in secret.

We have done the right thing in secret before God. And the temptation is to share the work before men.

You see we are called not to exalt ourselves in the world. Good works done in secret should often remain in secret. It is not always the case: there might be a reason to share, but more often the need to move a good work from secret to the public is a sign of sin.

Our works are before God. Only God matters. We should not value the praise of men, only God.

In fact often when we live well before God certain men will not like us. We are not above our master Jesus and many men did not like Jesus because of the way he lived. The bible assures us that it is normal for the world to find true religion unpleasant.

The world is judged simply by righteous living. The world views certain things as "impossible" and living by faith implicitly condemns the world when the "not possible" is fulfilled.