An Essential Truth for Everyday Living
Many people misunderstand the essence of the Christian life. They believe that they are to live by good works. That is only partly true, and it can lead people in the wrong way. Paul makes it clear that we are to live every day in the same way we received Christ Jesus the Lord.(Colossians 2:6) Let's consider what this means. It could change your life dramatically.
We receive Christ, when we see our sins, and we know we are powerless to save ourselves from those sins. We repent of our sins, because we see they are separating us from God. Then, we surrender to Jesus by putting our faith in Christ, as our Lord and Savior.(Ephesians 2:8,9) We realize that Jesus died for us and rose again, so that he could pay for our sins and die in our place. Therefore, He is the only one who could forgive us, and He is Lord, so we must follow Him completely. When that happens, He saves us freely by His grace.
If we are to live like that every day, what does that mean? It means that we can't live for Christ and follow Him in our own power any more than we can save ourselves from our sins. We realize we must repent of any sins and confess them, since they will damage our daily relationship with Jesus. Then, we ask Him to show us what He wants us to do. That is living by faith in Christ, not in ourselves. We do what He says in the power of the Spirit, since we can't do it ourselves. Then, we keep listening to the Spirit and living by trusting Christ all day long every day. That is living by grace through faith.
If we miss this truth, we might think that all we have to do as a Christian is go to church and choose what we like to do. We might choose things that we can do on our own. That is not trusting Christ at all. It is a religion of good works. That is not at all what Christ wants us to do. We never grow that way, and His will is never done that way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Thessalonians 1-3.
We receive Christ, when we see our sins, and we know we are powerless to save ourselves from those sins. We repent of our sins, because we see they are separating us from God. Then, we surrender to Jesus by putting our faith in Christ, as our Lord and Savior.(Ephesians 2:8,9) We realize that Jesus died for us and rose again, so that he could pay for our sins and die in our place. Therefore, He is the only one who could forgive us, and He is Lord, so we must follow Him completely. When that happens, He saves us freely by His grace.
If we are to live like that every day, what does that mean? It means that we can't live for Christ and follow Him in our own power any more than we can save ourselves from our sins. We realize we must repent of any sins and confess them, since they will damage our daily relationship with Jesus. Then, we ask Him to show us what He wants us to do. That is living by faith in Christ, not in ourselves. We do what He says in the power of the Spirit, since we can't do it ourselves. Then, we keep listening to the Spirit and living by trusting Christ all day long every day. That is living by grace through faith.
If we miss this truth, we might think that all we have to do as a Christian is go to church and choose what we like to do. We might choose things that we can do on our own. That is not trusting Christ at all. It is a religion of good works. That is not at all what Christ wants us to do. We never grow that way, and His will is never done that way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Thessalonians 1-3.