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Jesus made it plain that just claiming to be God's person is not sufficient (Matt. 7:21). Nominal Christians will be disappointed in the day of judgement. To be saved, we must truly be his disciple (John 8:31). The Christian life consists of a number of ingredients, all of which are important.
* The Christian life is a life of faith. "Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto God" (Heb. 11:6). Unless we have genuine faith in Christ we will die in our sins (John 8:24). Christians " walk by faith, not by sight" (II Cor. 5:7).
* It is a life surrendered to Christ. No man becomes a Christian until he confesses that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9). That he is our Lord implies that we are his servants. We live so that "Christ shall be magnified in (our bodies), whether by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:20-21). Paul declared that "Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20).
* It is a life spent following Christ. Jesus said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). Christ left us an example that we should "follow his steps" (I Pet. 2:21).
* It is a life devoted to the worship and service of God. We "offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe" (Heb. 12:28). Paul said, "I serve (God) in my spirit in the gospel of his Son" (Rom. 1:9).
* It is a life lived as a member of Christ's church, his spiritual kingdom. God adds to His church all that he saves (Acts 2:47). Paul reminded Timothy of proper behavior in the house of God which is the church of the living God (I Tim. 3:15). The one Lord has but one church (Eph. 4:4). We are expected to "grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love" (Eph. 4:15-16). In the church, we worship and serve God. We love his church and support her with our time, our energy and our resources.
* The Christian life is one of self-denial. Remember the Lord said that to be his disciples we must first deny ourselves (Matt. 16:24). We are to have the mind of Christ who gladly emptied himself of his exalted position in heaven to become man and a servant of humanity (Phil. 2:5-8). Like Paul, we should view the loss of worldly honor and position as nothing, if we can gain Christ (Phil. 3:7-8). We are assured that if we lose our live for the sake of Christ and his gospel, we will find it with our Father in heaven (Mark. 8:35). If for Christ, we leave our home, our family, our brethren we shall receive a hundredfold now in this time...with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30).
* Our life in Christ is one of service to humanity. Christianity is the religion of the Good Samaritan
(Luke 10:30-37). We are to work that which is good toward all men, especially those of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). We are to help bear the burdens of those are struggling in life and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:1-2). This service extends beyond those with material problems. There are orphans and the aged, those with disabilities and emotional problems. By our good works we demonstrate our faith (Jas. 2:18).
* Christianity is a life of sharing the faith with others. The Master's parting command was that we preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15-16). The Judean disciples went every where preaching the word (Acts 8:4). Like leaven in meal, the gospel spreads from the Christian to his neighbor (Matt. 13:33).
* It is a life spent growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ (II Pet. 3:18). Every Christian should has as his or her goal to grow in the faith so he can teach the gospel to others (Heb. 5:12-14). To do this requires serious reading and study in the Book of God.
* A Christian spends his or her life striving to keep himself morally pure and ethically upright. When the grace of God...appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (he) instructed us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly lives (Tit. 2:11-12). God has not left us to do this on our own strength. In his mercy He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit which strengthens with power us in the inner man (Eph. 3:16).
* As followers of Christ we also oppose the evil that seeks to corrupt and destroy mankind and to defeat the will of God. We have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, we reprove them (Eph. 5:11). As good soldiers, we fight the good fight of the faith as we lay hold on eternal life (I Tim. 6:12). The enemies we face are both moral and spiritual.
* The Christian life is lived in hope of an eternity spent in heaven with the Father, Son and Spirit. If this life were the sum total of things, it would be easy for some to grow discouraged. Evil abounds. Sickness, suffering and death are before us all. But in our darkest moments, we know that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and that he is coming again to take us to his Father's house (John 14:1-3). Paul writes, "For in hope were we saved... Bu if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Rom. 8:24). Every day we are "looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:13).
Such are the primary ingredients of living the Christian life. They are good for self-examination. JHW
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