Over the past months, I have been discussing how to live the Christian life. I want now to stop and summarize what we have seen so far. This is, thus, a review, a satellite picture of a portion of the Christian life. When you live the Christian life, what should it look like? What helps us live the life Christ calls us to live? So here goes.
- The Christian life requires a Christian. This is basic. To live the Christian life, you must first have the life of Christ in you. Unconverted people cannot live converted lives. Christ must change you. You must be a new creature in order to live a new life.
- The Christian life requires Christ. The Christian life is a life of “not I but Christ.” It is a life of being dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. The Christian who relies on his own strength will not live the Christian life. But the Christian who looks to Jesus and leans on Jesus and trusts in Jesus will find in Jesus the power to live for Jesus. In the Cross and Resurrection, God has done the work to make us righteous. He has cleansed us from all sin, crucified our sinful nature, and given us new life through the Spirit. Believe these truths from the heart. Rest in them and let them lead your life.
- The Christian life requires the Spirit. In Christ, God has come to dwell in you through His Spirit. It is His Spirit who convicts you of sin, judgment and righteousness. It is His Spirit who brings holiness. It is His Spirit who applies the power of Christ in your life. Let Him do so.
- The Christian life requires perseverance. We live in a fallen world, and those who are in Christ still fall, but when we fall, we confess our sin, we trust in the Cross of Christ to make us whole, and we get back up. We don’t quit. Ever.
- The Christian life requires desire. You cannot die to self unless you have a greater desire for Christ. The Christian life is not about forsaking our desires but about fulfilling a higher and deeper desire for Christ. You must have passion for Jesus if you are to live for Him successfully.
- The Christian life requires a church. God made His people to be a body in which each member needs the others. You need a church, and the church needs you. People who choose to live outside a Christ-honoring church are not living the Christian life. In fact, they cannot live it until they choose to participate with the body of Christ. Christians should grow in their relationship with God, but God designed them to do this within the context of a Biblical community.
- The Christian life requires the Scriptures. If you want a healthy soul, feed it healthy ideas. If you want to know God better, learn what He says. God’s words are in the Bible. Read it. Meditate on it. Listen to it. Take it to heart. Obey it. If you want to live the Christian life, the Bible is essential. It points you in the right direction. It centers your soul on Christ. Those who best live the Christian life spend significant time daily feeding their souls from the living word of God.
- The Christian life requires prayer. If you want to live the Christian life, you need to know God, and if you want to know God, you and He need to talk . . . intimate talk . . . soul talk. Not just “grant me these three requests” talk. You need to pour out your heart to God, and this heart-to-heart communication needs to happen daily. Indeed, it needs to happen as you live life, so that you talk with God from the heart throughout the day. The more you pray – real prayers, not just scripts – the closer your relationship with God grows, and as you draw near to God, He changes you, and you will see Him work through you. A Christian life without real prayer is not a Christian life.
All of the above represent a summary of the past several months blogs about how to walk with Christ. I felt it necessary to stop and recap before we move on, for we have so much more to address, and it is good from time to time to stop and bundle things up. If you want more details, go back and read the blogs, but even they are incomplete. There is so much more to the Christian life than can be written.
