BASIC BIBLE STUDIES

# 030

 

The Christian Life

 

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

 

As a result of appropriating the saving grace of God to one's life through faith in Christ, repentance of all sin, confession of faith in Christ, and baptism into the death of Christ (Romans 6:3-4), at which point all of one's sins are washed away (Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5b), a person enters a state of justification (right standing) with God (Romans 5:1-2).  At the same time, he receives the gift of God's Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and is added to the church, the aggregate body of all who have been saved from their sins through obedience to the gospel (Acts 2:47).  As a member of the church and with God's Spirit dwelling in him, how is such a person to live day by day?  After all, a great change has taken place in a redeemed person's standing before God, and that change should be reflected in the everyday life of that person.  There is a difference between a Christian and a non-Christian! 

 

As a redeemed child of God, a Christian is "a new creation/creature" (II Corinthians 5:17).  His words, deeds, actions, and attitudes are to demonstrate that new relationship.  He is not to "continue in sin," for "how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2).  Having become God's child, a Christian is to live "in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).  This "newness of life" is reflected in a number of ways.

 

The holy God is now the object of the Christian's supreme love (Matthew 22:37-38), and the kingdom of God and His righteousness is a Christian's top priority (Matthew 6:33). Worship--both private and corporate--is eagerly and earnestly engaged in by a faithful child of God (John 4:24; Matthew 6:5-6; Acts 20:7; Hebrews 10:25).

 

A redeemed child of God abstains from every form of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22) and does not engage in "the works of the flesh...which are these: adultery, fornication, [moral] uncleanness, licentiousness ("if it feels good, do it," hf), idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contention, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies (false teachings and practices, hf), envy, murder, drunkenness, revelry, and the like...[because] those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21).  Rather, the child of God, having received God's Spirit (Galatians 4:6; Acts 2:38), keeps himself "filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), and allows the Spirit to produce in his life the beautiful and multi-faceted "fruit of the Sprit [which] is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control"  (Galatians 5:22-23).

 

The Christian life was not meant to be lived in isolation from the rest of the world--in a cave or conclave or monastery--but in the milieu of humanity, with Christians  being "blameless and harmless, children of God without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom [they] shine as lights in the world..."  (Philippians 2:15).  As Edwin Jones recently wrote: "Daily life is the arena for effective Christ-likeness," and it is in this arena that all Christians are to be "the fragrance (aroma) of Christ" (II Corinthians 2:15).

 

Beginning at home as husbands, wives, and parents, Christians are to practice the principles of Christ.  God's law regarding marriage, divorce, and remarriage is to be honored (Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:1-9; Romans 7:2-3; Hebrews 13:4).  Parents, and especially fathers, are to bring their children up "in the training and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).  The home is the bulwark and backbone of civilization, and without strong, God-fearing homes where God's Word is honored there is no solution to the moral degradation that is currently destroying the very fabric of America! 

 

In one's work, recreation, business transactions, and  social interaction with others, a Christian is to be honest, upright, dependable, and fair, always practicing "the golden rule" (Matthew 7:12).  A Christian is to "aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind [his] own business, and to work with [his] own hands...[to] walk properly toward those who are outsiders" (I Thessalonians 4:11-12).  He is to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" (I Timothy 2:2).  He is to be a law-abiding citizen (Romans 13:1-7).  He is to "pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

 

Over the years, a number of Biblical passages pertaining to a truly Christian life have become indelibly impressed upon my mind and memory--some from childhood.  As I complete this Study I will list some of these passages in the hope that you, the reader, will take the time to turn to them in your Bible, absorb their message, and let them shape your life.  They serve as reliable guideposts along the journey of life, leading eventually to eternal life in heaven.  They are: Matthew 5:3-14; Matthew 6:31-34; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 6:46; John 13:35; Acts 2:42; Acts 20:24; Romans 12; I Corinthians 13; I Corinthians 15:58; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 4:17-24; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 1:21; Philippians 3:7-11; Colossians 3:1-4; I Thessalonians 5:16-22; I Timothy 2:1-4; II Timothy 4:6-8; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 4:15-16; Hebrews 10:19-25; Hebrews 12:1-2; James 1:21-27; II Peter 1:5-11; I John 4:7-8; Revelation 14:13.

 

If this essay has blessed you, feel free to forward it to others who may benefit from it.

 

Hugh Fulford