Do you know why people say there are “too many hypocrites” in the church? #1 – Because there are. #2 – Because many “professed believers” do not “walk worthy” of their calling. Walk” refers to our living; to deport oneself – deportment. “Worthy” means appropriately; deservingly; comparable; suiting. And our “vocation” is our calling, invitation. We are called to salvation – Romans 8:28-30. Vs. 28 says we are “the called according to his purpose.” “Called” here is the same word as in Ephesians 4:1. Vs. 29 presents  biblical predestination. God knew (knows) who will be saved. This is foreknowledge (a knowing beforehand). He has “predestinated” (predetermined) that all who are saved should be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. We should live like Him. And vs. 30 tells us that He knows who will be saved. He has said they should be like Jesus. And, He has called them (us) to Himself. Who can be saved? “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord . . . ” How? By the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Someone hears a Gospel message, or is witnessed to, and the Spirit convicts their heart of their lost condition. God is calling them to salvation. Now, back to Ephesians 4:1: “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” We have already seen that Romans 8:29 reveals that vocation – Christ likeness! And here we see that this call to the believer to live like Jesus is to be carried out in our daily living. “Walk” means to walk around; to walk about. It speaks of our Christian deportment. When we do not walk in that manner, we may excuse it in a brother or sister in Christ, and we may try to justify the failure in our own lives, but the instruction still stands. Paul did not say, “Walk worthy if you feel like it.” Or, “Walk worthy when you are at church.” He didn’t even say, “Walk worthy unless the crowd is opposed to it or the times are difficult.” And the excuse, “Well, I’m just a sinner saved by grace” is invalid. Look at the difference in the “old you” and the “new you.” Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us about the “old” man. II Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that we are new creatures and Christ “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” And God has even made it possible to live for Him by a strong influence. Look at John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.” Most believers are missing the fullness and joy of eternal life because they fail to understand the purpose of it. Many believe the purpose of eternal life is: 1) To keep us out of hell. (That is not the purpose; it is the result.); 2) To cause us to live forever; 3) To allow us to live in Heaven; 4) That it is beneficial only for and relegated to the time after death. Question: When do you have eternal life -- now, or in the future? NOW! John 17:3 – “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.” “Know” here means to have a personal and true knowledge of the One known, and to be influenced by that knowledge; to allow one’s self to be determined thereby. See what Jesus is saying in John 17:3 and in relation to our understanding of the word “know.”

John

17:3 -- Harris Translation/Expansion

“And this is life eternal -- as to its character, nature, and divine purpose, that they (the saved ones) might know Thee -- God, the Father, the only true God -- with a personal and true knowledge and an intimate and active relation so that knowledge has an influence upon them (the believing ones) to the degree that they allow their lives to be determined or directed thereby. Also, that they might have the same type of knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son, whom Thou hast sent.”

Having our lives determined, or directed by God means having a daily walk with Him like Enoch in Hebrews 11:5. If you walk with God, you will please Him. God wants, more than anything else, for us to walk with Him. When I speak of walking with God, I’m not talking about merely coming to church occasionally. We live in His presence. We don’t just “come” into His presence. Many people act differently when they “go to church,” but our walk with God at church and outside of the church house should not be any different. We are to be walking with God every day. Well, how do you walk with God? What kind of walk pleases Him?

  I.  IT IS A WALK (LIFE) OF FAITH.

 II.  IT IS A WALK (LIFE) OF FELLOWSHIP.

III. IT IS A WALK (LIFE) OF FAITHFULNESS.

IV.  IT IS A WALK (LIFE) OF FRUITFULNESS.