How would you define being a “christian”?  This might seem rhetoric, right?  A christian is someone who believes in Christ, not so.

In theory, this is correct, but in practice, it entails so much more than simply “believing with your heart and confessing Jesus as Lord and that God raised Him from the dead…” (Paraphrase).  This is obviously a good start and lays the foundation for our faith.

A christian or believer should be a follower of Christ and by “follower”, I mean the following:

  1. we should willfully submit to Christ with our whole being, and
  2. place our trust and faith in Him for salvation, then
  3. dying to self, daily even after having laid down the old sinful life
  4. acknowledge our shortcomings and imperfections each and every day, while
  5. we seek His perfect will for our lives, and continually
  6. consult Him in our ongoing decision making, and above all
  7. make Him known to others

Let us break it down:

1. We should willfully submit to Christ with our whole being

What does this mean?  Does it mean we should give in to Him and let Him have His own way, just because He can? If it is against your free will, then absolutely NOT! He would not expect you to.  Yes, we were created with a free will, whether you want to believe it or not.  For this reason, He will not force you to do anything against your will.  The reason being this.  He was God in the flesh, during His time on earth, knowing what our deepest struggles are, and because God is love, by implication you are given a choice to love Him back or should you decide you would rather not; He will respect your decision.

Question?

Why then would you want to submit to Christ if you can make your own decisions, choosing to do this or that, or go this way or that way, and not forced to do anything you do not like?  This is the challenging part.  You would want to submit to Jesus because He loves you and has this perfect plan for you, right? Perhaps this would be true in a perfect world, you might think. 

This life is full of challenges, trials and tribulations and more often than not, things do not quite work out the way we want and this is the whole point.  Submitting to Him, allows God to work His way into your life, bit by bit, little by little, because He knows best.  No one said life would be perfect, but it would make sense, because He gives purpose to our lives, regardless of our circumstances.

2. Placing our trust and faith in Him for salvation

Why do we need faith or salvation, for that matter?  Well, without faith unto salvation, we are not able to please God and meet His standards of righteousness and we can definitely not become who He intended for us to be – His children, who love Him for the gift of life, He has granted us.  If we had the ability to do good and live righteously without God, none of what I am writing here would be necessary.  On the other hand, if we could save ourselves, Jesus would not have had to die a gruesome death.

The reality is this.  No one is good nor righteous.  Not one.  We are born in sin and inherently selfish.  Just look at a two-year-old child who would lie to her parents, when asked if she did it, by shaking her head and denying it was she, who kicked the dog.  Then, we as human beings, usually, think of our best interest and ourselves first. 

Question?
What does it take to trust the Lord Jesus?

Faith.  The conviction of things not seen.  The assurance of things hoped for.  Yes, we should hope in the Lord, knowing that He will not disappoint for He is good and righteous and our faith in Him, is reckoned unto us as righteousness.

3. Dying to self daily even after having laid down the old sinful life

Jesus died once for all.  He was the perfect sacrifice, without blame, who laid down His life for us so that we could reconcile with God, for what happened because of the fall of man, when they disobeyed the Lord.  Because we are still in the flesh, even if we lay down the old life, when we come to faith, we are tempted each day, because of this fallen world. 

For this reason, we need to make an effort on a daily basis to deny self and conscientiously die to ourself.  This is necessary or else we will find ourselves giving in to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the (boastful) pride of life.  Unfortunately, we are not strong enough to stand up against the temptations this world has to offer, on a silver platter, mind you.

Question?

Does denying oneself, take away the pleasures this life has to offer?

I believe one can be absolutely fulfilled in Christ and as a result enjoy life to its fullest without having to give into the temptations of the world.  The answer lies here, in that we should consider Christ, first.  If He is our all in all, our everything, He will become more, so that we may become less.  That is, if you are happy with the idea of putting your selfish desires aside for the sake of Him who saved you from certain death…

4. Acknowledge our shortcomings and imperfections each and every day

This is very difficult to do, if one has trouble dying to self.  It is one thing to say sorry for an “honest” mistake you have made.  A once-off apology, because you do not get it wrong very often, or so you think… We should get into the habit of saying sorry, because we are bound to say or do something contrary to God’s Word, perhaps even while reading this article…  Is this a sign of weakness?  Absolutely not!  In no way does this reflect a weak character, but rather a meek (calm) spirit. 

This is probably the hardest thing to do.  To acknowledge that we are far from perfect and a “work in progress”.  God is continuously chipping away at His work of art.  He originally created us in His image, after all.  This does not take away that when Adam and Eve sinned against God through their disobedience, they broke fellowship with the Lord.  This started a downward spiral for man, as people would rise against one another and make war against each other.  They even created their own image of God to please them, instead of them pleasing the Lord through obedience.

Question?
How often should we then say sorry and ask for forgiveness?

There is no recipe for this.  God knows your thoughts, desires and the intentions of your heart.  He created you after all.  The heart is where it all starts.  We can almost say the heart has its own “brain”.  If your motives are just, God sees that.  If you have a hidden agenda, God knows about it.  If you have insincere thoughts, these are not hidden from Him. 

Has God pressed something on your heart?  Do you feel convicted and not sure where it comes from?  This is the Spirit of God telling you to repent and turn away from whatever is causing you to sin.  It takes a true man (or woman) of God to say sorry, ask for forgiveness and strive to live a holy life.

5. We seek His perfect will for our lives continually

It is written, “Seek and you shall find.  Knock and it will be opened for you” and “whatever you ask in His Name you will receive.”  How do we respond to this?  Well, with more questions, just like in the Jewish culture.  As long as you do not circumvent the initial question.

What do you seek for?  Where do you knock? What do you ask for in His Name?

Just as Jesus did the will of the Father, we too should do His will.  Even though Jesus was God incarnate, i.e. in the flesh, as His Son, He still acknowledged God the Father in everything He said and did.  He sought His perfect will, knowing He (Jesus) would die on the cross and even though He knew, He still asked if the there was another way, if the cup would pass Him by, and yet He accepted His fate.  Does this mean He did not have a free will? Not in the least.  He chose to accept the Father’s will that He would be “led like a sheep to slaughter”.

Are you willing to accept the Lord’s will for your life, even if things turn out much different than you expected?  Perhaps the next paragraph will help you with this challenge.

6. Consult Him in our ongoing decision making

Earlier we mentioned that our free will allow us to freely decide.  We can make choices to our hearts’ content and God will not necessarily interfere, nor intervene.  Why would we consult Him and acknowledge Him in our normal day-to-day decision making regarding the simpler things in life?  The answer to this is very simple.  In doing that, we train our mind and our heart to tune in and become receptive to His Spirit who is our mediator and intercedes for us.

This brings us to that “gut feel” we talk about so often, or the urge to do something you feel has to be done.  Others call it a sixth sense.  I call it the still, small voice.  The whisper among the stormy winds.  A peace you experience about a certain matter.  It could be a conviction.  Whatever you call it, know this.  If you approach His throne of grace, consulting Him about every choice you need to make, He will give you guidance, more often than not. 

Question?
What if I seek His guidance and He does not respond?

My answer would be this.  As Daniel’s friends relied on the Lord to come to their rescue, they vowed that even if He did not save them, they would still not bow the knee to the king.  Sometimes God does not give you a clear answer, allowing you to practice your free will or even bear the consequences of some else’s actions, but the very fact that you acknowledged Him and waited on Him, showed your obedience to Him and this is all He asks for.

As we bring this article to a close and address, in our view, the crux of the matter, we pray that the Lord will open up your heart and mind to the understanding of His Word.  The big question arises. How do we make Him known?  The Lord’s instruction was for us to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, wasn’t it?  How do we make this practical?  Is there another way to make Him known?  Surely, every believer as part of the body has a function, right?

You can make Him known simply through being a living testimony, as people will know you by your fruits and as a result see the difference in your life.  Does this mean you should not preach the gospel if you are perhaps too shy?  Not at all.  We should sow a word in season, when the opportunity presents itself, yet you should meet people where they are, in loving kindness and with compassion, while showing empathy for their situation.

The biggest mistake one can make is to justify your actions, having given others your version of the truth, pleading that their blood is not on your hands, yet you become an obstacle,  a stumbling block for them on their way to the Lord, because you wanted to convert that person so badly. 

Plant the seed today, allow someone else to water it tomorrow or the next day and God will ultimately cause growth.  Only God can change a person’s heart, should they allow Him to, off course.  All we have to do is introduce people to the Lord, His Spirit will do the rest and prepare them for the work the Lord is about to begin in their lives.

May the power of the Holy Spirit lead you into all truth.  May the Lord of heaven and earth make Himself known to you.  Submit yourself to Christ, place your trust in Him, die to self daily and acknowledge your shortcomings.  Seek His perfect will and acknowledge Him in everything you do.  Make Him known to the world and He will make you known to the Father.  Shalom

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