TOPIC #6: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

A. HOW DOES A PERSON BECOME A CHRISTIAN?

"Becoming a Christian" refers to the event which occurs whereby a person who is not a Christian is transformed into a Christian. When Jesus was conversing with Nicodemus, He referred to this event using the terms, "born again", "born of the Spirit", "born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:3,5,6,7,8) and commanded "You must be born again". Our first birth is when we are "born of the flesh", and the second birth is when we are "born of the Spirit". In the same way that our first birth took place in a moment of time, so our second birth takes place in a specific moment, when we pass from spiritual death to spiritual life, and from darkness to light. We can better understand spiritual rebirth from these two scriptures:

John 1:12 - "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (We are not children of God before we receive Jesus.)

Revelation 3:20 - Jesus says: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Receiving Him involves opening our spiritual "door" and inviting Him in.)

The event of receiving Jesus or becoming born again, has been much misunderstood, because it has become confused with an emotional experience which may or may not occur at the same time. Some have reacted to this and have emphasized the intellectual content of the faith. For them to "believe on His name" means to accept the truth of certain doctrines concerning Jesus. But the Hebrew concept of "name" includes the whole being, personality, and character of a person. To believe on the name of Jesus therefore means to respond with action consistent with all that He has revealed of Himself, as omnipotent Lord and merciful Saviour - righteous, holy, just, and good. If we believe that Jesus is our Lord, we must do everything exactly as He commands. When we respond with the obedience that befits His humble servants, our actions clearly show that we believe on His name, "Lord of all". He says that we are sinners, and so we confess our sins, in order to be cleansed of guilt (1 John 1:9). He says that as our Saviour, Jesus paid the penalty of death that we should pay for our sins, and our forgiveness is His free gift. He says we must open the door and receive Him, and so we do that. When we formally receive Jesus, only then do we receive His gift of forgiveness, because we cannot receive Jesus' gifts unless we receive Him. We receive Him by prayer, and the following one is recommended:

"Lord Jesus, I agree with You that I am a sinner and I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and invite You to come in. I receive You as my Saviour and Lord. I know that You have come in because You promised You would, and I trust Your promise (Rev. 3:20). Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life and make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen."

Jesus does not gradually come into our heart over a period of years. Since we cannot be born a Christian, and Jesus cannot come into our hearts unless we ask Him, it is actually possible that someone raised in a Christian home has not been born again. Likewise, a miraculous answer to a prayer of helpless desperation does not mean that God guarantees our salvation. We may have trusted God for physical deliverance, and not for eternal salvation.

One of the tests of our spiritual experience is whether we can explain how we became a Christian, so that another person can become a Christian too. Obviously it is possible for any one to receive Jesus, even one who was not born in a Christian home. Only when we know how we received Jesus will we be able to help anyone else receive Him too.

B. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A PERSON INVITES JESUS INTO HIS HEART?

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new". The decision to invite Jesus into one's heart as Savior and Lord should result in immediate, lasting changes in a person's outlook and lifestyle. Normally, the pattern that should emerge is that the person becomes involved in a church where he is nurtured along in his newfound faith, is taught to read and study the Bible, to pray, and to share his faith with others. His deepest desire is to live his life according to the principles of God's Word, and in obedience to the promptings of God's Spirit. This is the life of the disciple of Christ.

Spiritual growth is very important in a Christian's life, because salvation includes both an event and a continuing process. When we receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord, the event called justification occurs, whereby we are put right with God, or counted righteous in His sight. Following this event, the process of sanctification should ensue, whereby we become more holy and Christlike. This process continues for the rest of our life, until death, when the final event of salvation, glorification, occurs, whereby we receive the reward of our faith, eternal presence with Jesus in heaven.

When a person invites Jesus into his heart, a gigantic spiritual struggle follows, since Satan seeks by any means to win back the soul he lost. In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9 and 18-23), Jesus tells us, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." Satan has a multitude of traps for new Christians to fall into. Some re-consider their decision, thinking that they couldn't have been so bad that they needed a Saviour. Others mistakenly think that because they did not have an emotional experience, or felt no different, that Jesus did not come in. Some falsely think Jesus leaves them when they sin. But the biggest pitfall of all is when a new Christian thinks that his salvation is complete when he has invited Jesus into his heart. He rests back on that false assumption, failing to enter into the continuing process, having no motivation to grow or to bear fruit. Jesus has not left him, nor has he stopped believing, but he is not a disciple.

A disciple is different from a believer in several ways. A believer asks Jesus to live in his heart as Saviour, but a disciple also asks Jesus to rule in his heart as Lord. A believer lives the Christian life to the best of his ability, but a disciple knows that only by the power of Christ's Spirit can we live the Christian life. The disciple surrenders to Jesus, and allows Him to live out His life through him. The believer thinks of his spiritual life as a concern secondary to other things in his life, but the disciple considers that living the surrendered life of obedience to Christ is the most important thing in his life.

One becomes a disciple, not by accident, but by deliberate choice. The motivation to become a disciple can only be supplied by God's Spirit working in our hearts, giving us a hunger for His Word, and for a deeper relationship with Jesus. A believer who desires God to make him a disciple could pray a simple prayer like this:

"Lord Jesus, it is the desire of my heart to grow to be more and more like You. I now surrender the control of my life to You, so that You can make me the kind of person You want me to be. Fill me, control me, and empower me with Your Holy Spirit. I purpose to seek Your will, and to follow it when You show me, wherever You may lead. Give me a deep hunger for Your Word. Amen."

A prayer like that should be prayed daily, as we daily surrender to Jesus. Review the material on "God the Holy Spirit" and "walking in the Spirit".

C. VICTORIOUS LIVING

A Christian may suffer from the problem of an "up and down" spiritual experience, rather than the ideal sustained growth pattern. He may feel that he is living in a spiritual wilderness, without the joy that he had when he first met the Lord. Or he may find that his Christian work is a burden that tires him out, rather than the blessing it once was. These are the symptoms of the defeated Christian life. To enter into the victorious Christian life, we must first be convinced that continuous victory is possible, and available to us from God. He wants the best for us. Secondly, we must understand that the fullness of salvation is found in deliverance from two things: (1) the sin-controlled life, and (2) the self-centered life.

1. Deal with the sin-controlled life

Remember that sin breaks our fellowship with God. Isaiah 59:2 tells us, "your iniquities have separated you from your God... that He will not hear". God utterly hates sin in any form. To deal with sin, we need to agree with God about it, see it as He sees it, hate it as He hates it, and turn our back on it, as He turned His back on Jesus when "He made Him... to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Instead, we pray, "Lord, bless this mess". We try to hold onto as much sin as we can and still retain the blessing of God. We should really be praying, "Lord, cleanse this mess."

Once we have faced our sin squarely before God, we can follow this 4-step procedure to gain victory:

(1) Confess all known sins, in prayer to God, including the sin of controlling our own lives.

(2) Claim our forgiveness in accordance with God's promise in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Thank God that He has forgiven and cleansed us.

(3) Make things right with those we have wronged, by making complete restitution in areas the Holy Spirit will show us. Follow the guidelines. Complete restitution is necessary for a clear conscience, and as evidence of true forsaking of sin.

(4) Reckon ourselves dead unto sin. Read all of Romans 6 to see how we die to sin when we die with Christ. Make this solemn declaration: "I who have died with Christ, now reckon myself to be dead unto sin, which has no more dominion over me. Shall I who died to sin live any longer therein? Certainly not!" Use this declaration to defeat temptation.

Other people's sins may cause us to lose our peace and joy also, if our reaction to them is sinful. If someone hurts us, and we hold it against them, then we allow a root of bitterness to grow up in our life. We can forgive other people, whether or not they ask for forgiveness, or confess it to us, simply by covenanting with God to release that person from our judgement, and asking God to repay ("Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord" - Romans 12:19). A similar course can be followed when we discover that we have taken up the offense of someone dear to us who has been hurt. The root of bitterness that grows up in such a case is just as real. Another aspect of the effect of other people's sins on us, is that when someone we respect falls from grace and does something we always considered to be wrong, we may be in danger of changing our mind about whether such actions are wrong. In effect, we may try to justify our friend's actions as being right under the circumstances. The proper action in such cases is to make a very careful distinction between the person and the sin. We know that God loves sinners, but hates their sin. We must learn how to do the same, for we are all sinners. Therefore it is possible to continue to love and respect a person, while at the same time disagreeing with their action, and maintaining our standards of right and wrong. To do otherwise means taking on God, for every time we are reminded that such activity is wrong, we will be personally threatened, because our views are contrary to God's.

(a) Restitution

It often happens that when we have confessed our sin to God, we still do not have peace or a clear conscience over it. It may be that God is asking us to make restitution, or make good the wrong we have done, by apologizing, acknowledging our guilt, and seeking forgiveness, or by paying for, returning, or replacing a lost, stolen or broken object. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus makes clear the direct link between our relationship to God and to our fellow man, insofar as God cannot receive our worship until we have made it right with those we have wronged.

(b) Restitution has several purposes

(1) Restitution demonstrates our obedience to God. When God convicts us of sin, we must deal with it fully, including restitution if required, before we can expect God to bless us further. Commit ourselves to making restitution whenever needed, and obeying God.

(2) Restitution brings love and joy. There should be more love between us and the party wronged after restitution. Full joy comes when restitution is full and complete.

(3) Restitution is God's way of blessing us and others. To avoid it being curse or a burden, we should never attempt it until we are sure it will bring a blessing. Sometimes the one we have wronged is looking for a way to obey God himself. Our example may free him to face his own needs honestly. When we make our first move, God may likewise convict him of sin, but that is God's work, never ours.

(c) Guidelines for making restitution

(1) Wait for God to prepare the way. The right timing allows God to prepare the other party to receive us. Sometimes immediate action is right, but often God needs to show us when the right time is.

(2) Restitution is always one-sided. We are going to the other person to take 100% of the blame for our own wrong attitudes and actions. Even if we think the other person was mostly to blame, our own wrong responses to his actions are totally our own responsibility. There is always something we can acknowledge our blame in. Our restitution must never imply that the other person was wrong.

(3) Restitution is never conditional. The type of restitution that says, "Please forgive me if I hurt you," will never make things right because it is not a clear acknowledgement of guilt. We must be prepared to make a clear confession of guilt or offense before we can expect God's blessing. We should say: "God has convicted me of (this sin). I was wrong. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

(4) We are not guaranteed the "right" response. The other person may not want to forgive us, or may try to make out that there was no offense. The important thing is that we have done our part. Leave the rest to God. Some people have never learned to forgive, or they may be balancing their own guilt against our blame. Forgiving would upset that.

(5) Restitution should not further spread an offense. Sinful thoughts about another should never be confessed to anyone but God, if the other party knows nothing about it. If we have shared these thoughts with a third party, we let him know that we have cleared this up with God. Sins affecting us and another person, should be dealt with privately, not publicly. Sins affecting a large group need to be dealt with within that group. Don't spread the sin.

(6) Restitution should be made in person, or second-best, by telephone. Letters are least desirable, because they do not give the other person an easy opportunity to say "I forgive you", which is as important for them to say as for us to hear. An exception to this advice is in the case if immorality, where we should consult our spiritual adviser on how to avoid further entanglement while attempting to make restitution.

(7) God provides the resources to make restitution. Don't hold out on making it right because it would be too costly. A clear conscience is worth any price. If God has put it in our heart, He will assuredly also provide what we need to carry it out.

2. Deal with the self-centered life

The first concern in the victorious Christian life is dealing with the sin-controlled life. All sin in our lives must go, so that we are cleansed temples for the Holy Spirit to inhabit. But trying to conquer sin in our lives is hopeless without dealing with the root of sin -- SELF.

When we asked Jesus to come into our heart as Saviour and Lord, we surrendered the control of our life to Him. The process of surrender must be continual, or else our self will quickly take control again, and we will sin and experience the defeated life. Jesus cannot be our Lord if our self is reigning as king. Self is deeper than sin and is the cause of our sin. We may confess our sin all we like, but if we fail to die to self, that self will continue to produce sin. It's as hopeless as trying to kill a dandelion by cutting off its leaves. As long as even a part of the root is left in the ground, it will produce more leaves. Self is the root and sin is the leaves. Sinful character traits and attitudes are only leaves on the dandelion root of self. Evidence of the power of self to deceive us is seen, for example, in the various character traits we use to protect our fragile ego, which, by nature, finds it very painful to be proven wrong, or come up second best. So, we find it hard to admit to ourselves or others that we were wrong; we don't like to apologize; we don't like our mistakes to be advertised; we like to justify our foolish or erroneous remarks or actions; we're afraid of what others might think of us; we become impatient when others don't co-operate with our schedule; we criticize others to make ourselves look better; we lose our temper when we're losing an argument, so that our opponent will back off and we will still win. (See a more complete list). Dealing with these traits one by one is not enough. They are all sinful leaves on the root of self which must die. What is dead feels no pain.

When we receive Jesus, a union takes place between us and Him. Just as Jesus was crucified, so, by our union with Him, "our old man (self) was crucified with Him " (Romans 6:6). Therefore, when we are born again, our new position in Christ is that our self is put to death and Christ rules in us. But Scripture makes it clear that dying to self is a progressive process that must be continued daily, since self can never be completely killed or eradicated.

Dying to self is commanded in several Scriptures: "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin" (Romans 6:11); "put to death your members" (Colossians 3:5); "put off the old man" (Ephesians 4:22 and Colossians 3:9); "they have crucified the flesh" (Galatians 5:24 and 2:20). The uniform message is: "you are dead in Christ; therefore die." Dying to self does not destroy the real person, but rather deals with what pollutes and destroys the real person in Christ. That selfish, sinful nature contaminates us and prevents Christ's victorious life to be evidenced in us, until it is reckoned (counted) as dead.

a. How can we make death to self a reality in our life?

A three-pronged attack will work:

(1) Agree with God that our self-life deserves to die. Study the lists of traits for evidence that self is still alive and kicking in us. Let the Holy Spirit shine His searchlight on every area of our life.

(2) Surrender our entire self-life for God to crucify with Jesus (not just individual traits). Self is no longer to reign. "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin" (Romans 6:11).

(3) Thank God for delivering us from self-centeredness, as a first step of faith. We know this deliverance is His will, and "if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (and) we have the petitions that we have asked of Him" (1 John 5:14-15).

To live the victorious Christian life, we must deal not only with the sin-controlled life, but also with the self-centered life. Unless we seek to kill the dandelion root of self, it will continue to produce leaves of sin. Following is a list of "leaves", sinful actions and character traits that give us evidence of deeper trouble with the root, self.

b. Traits of the self-centered life:

A secret spirit of pride - an exalted feeling because of our success, position, training, appearance, natural gifts or abilities; an important, independent spirit; stiffness and preciseness.

Carnal fear - being afraid of what others may think of us; shrinking from our duty (especially by those of wealth or position); reasoning around our cross; fearfulness that someone will offend and drive away some prominent person; compromising our principles to stay on someone's good side.

A jealous disposition - a secret spirit of envy; an unpleasant sensation when another is prosperous or successful; a disposition to speak of the faults and failings of those more talented and appreciated than ourselves, instead of their gifts and virtues, in order to make ourselves look better, more discerning, or sophisticated.

Love of human praise - a secret desire to be noticed or given credit; enjoyment of praise or flattery; feeling badly when we weren't thanked; drawing attention to ourselves and our accomplishments in conversation; liking to be at the head of things.

A dishonest, deceitful disposition - evading the truth; covering up our real faults; leaving a better impression of ourselves than is strictly true; false humility; exaggeration; straining the truth.

Anger or impatience - (which we justify by calling it righteous indignation or nervousness); a touchy, sensitive spirit; resentment or retaliation when disapproved of or contradicted; a desire to throw sharp, heated, or barbed comments; becoming provoked over people, animals, or objects that will not co-operate with our desires; losing our temper when we've run out of arguments, so that our opponent will back off and we'll still win; unexpressed stirrings of envy, jealousy, revenge, bitterness, or anger.

Self-will - a stubborn, unteachable spirit; an arguing, talkative spirit; harsh, sarcastic expressions; an unyielding, headstrong disposition; a driving, commanding spirit; criticizing and picking flaws when set aside and not noticed; a peevish, fretful spirit; loving to be coaxed and humoured; becoming miffed when we cannot have our own way, when others do better than us, when taken to task by someone in authority, when not put first, when not appreciated, or when others are advanced over us; sulking when slighted, imposed upon, insulted.

Stinginess - falling out with others over trifles; giving as little as possible; taking the best and leaving the rest for others; seeking the easiest tasks; love of money; love of ease.

Self-justification - desiring always to be right, and finding it painful to be proven wrong; feeling sore at losing a contest, game, argument, or election; being embarrassed when others point out our mistakes; being unable to say "I was wrong, please forgive me"; immediately blaming another when we are accused; excusing our own erroneous actions while magnifying the faults of others; rationalizing our failures by pointing to unfavourable circumstances when it was really our fault; believing that no-one can do it as well as we can; desiring the last word.

If we recognize in this list some traits of our self-centered life, then we ask God to show us others, and expose the self for what it really is. Pray like this:

"Lord, by the illumination of Your Holy Spirit, I have seen these evidences of the self-centered life in me. I surrender my self-life for You to crucify with Jesus. Thank You for delivering me from self-centeredness. I reckon my self dead unto sin. Amen."

D. THE OBEDIENT CHRISTIAN IN ACTION

Our goal as Christians is to live a Christ-honouring life that progresses to maturity, fruitfulness, and commitment. The Wheel Illustration* shows the basic truths about a balanced and effective Christian life.

Christ the Center: Just as the driving force in a wheel comes from the hub, so the power to live the Christian life comes from Jesus Christ, the Center. He lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit, whose expressed purpose is to glorify Christ.

Obedience to Christ: The rim represents the Christian responding to Christ's lordship, through wholehearted daily obedience to Him.

The Word: The spokes show the means by which Christ's power becomes operative in our life. We maintain personal contact with God through the vertical spokes -- the Word and Prayer. The Word is our spiritual food, and our sword for spiritual battle. It is the foundational spoke for effective Christian living.

Prayer: Opposite the Word is the spoke representing prayer. Through prayer we have direct communication with our heavenly Father, and receive provision for our needs. As we pray, we show our dependence and trust in Him.

Fellowship: The horizontal spokes concern our relationship to people -- believers, through Christian fellowship; and unbelievers, through witnessing. Fellowship centered around the Lord Jesus Christ, provides the mutual encouragement, admonition, and stimulation we need.

Witnessing: The first three spokes prepare us for passing on to others all we have received from the Lord. This is accomplished through witnessing, sharing our experience of Christ, and declaring and explaining the gospel, God's power to save.

I. THE WORD

The importance of the Word of God in our lives as believers, and the ways to engraft it into our lives are shown by The Hand Illustration*:

Hearing God's Word from pastors and teachers gives us insight into others' study of Scripture, and stimulates our own hunger for the Word.

Reading God's Word gives us an overall picture of the Bible, and shows us God's will as revealed there. Daily Bible reading programs are available to take us through the Bible systematically several chapters a day.

Studying God's Word leads us into personal discoveries of God's truths. Using such guides as Scripture Union's "Daily Notes" or "Daily Bread" is helpful. Self-guided study might follow the pattern of asking oneself if, in the passage, there are any (1) examples to follow, (2) errors to avoid, (3) commands to obey, (4) sins to forsake, (5) promises to claim. Writing down these discoveries helps us to organize and remember them better, and focuses the study.

Memorizing God's Word enables us to have the sword of the Spirit ready at all times to overcome Satan and temptation, or to use in witnessing and in encouraging others. The "Topical Memory System" recommends learning two verses a week, repeating each verse once a day for six weeks, until it is overlearned.

Meditating on God's Word is the thumb of the Word Hand, because it is used in conjunction with the other four methods. Meditating on the Word of God means thinking of its meaning and application to our lives, and engrafting God's Word into our lives, so that when we have decisions to make, the knowledge of God's will is readily available, and our lives are gradually transformed to conform with the Word.

II. PRAYER

There are at least four kinds of prayer, which can most easily be remembered by the acronym ACTS: Adoration (praise), Confession (of sin), Thanksgiving (for God's graciousness), and Supplication (making requests for self and others).

The Christian's devotional life -- The experience of millions of Christian disciples shows conclusively that it is impossible to grow and become like Christ unless we spend time alone with God in prayer and reading of the Scripture. Methods are always secondary to the main purpose, and just doing certain things will not guarantee spiritual growth. The important thing is to approach our relationship with God with a servant's heart, saying, "Lord, what will You have me do?" Time alone with the Lord should be a joy, rather than a burden. If the Church is the Bride of Christ, we should seek a relationship with Jesus that is higher and better than that of a husband and wife. No such relationship can grow without spending time together.

1. Decide on a specific time each day to spend with the Lord. Because the purpose is to surrender the day to the Lordship of Jesus, the best time is in the morning, unless it is absolutely impossible.

2. Decide on a specific place where we will be undisturbed. Likely we will have to explain to the rest of our family, what it is we are doing, and why we need to be undisturbed.

3. Promise God that we will take this time with Him daily, as a first call on our time. The promise, or vow, is important, because we need to develop responsibility and discipline, in order to be a disciple. God keeps His promises to us, and so we need to learn how to keep our promises to Him. Naturally, He'll give us grace to do this.

4. Begin our time with God by making contact with Him (a worship attitude). Praise Him, by telling Him how great we think He is (adoration). Then ask Him to cleanse our heart (confession), to fill us with His Spirit, and to open our eyes, so that we can hear Him speak to us, and see new truths from Scripture.

5. As we make our requests known to God (supplication), remember to thank God for the answer (thanksgiving). Also remember that prayer is intended to be two-way. Listening to God in a quiet, waiting attitude is important so that God can speak to us in His still small voice. God also speaks to us by His Word, and we should incorporate reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on God's word into our quiet time.

Consider this quiet time as a daily appointment with God. So often our days go wrong because they start wrong. The daily quiet time is one of the most important of the means of grace, whereby God's power flows to us. The objective is for the personality of Christ to be formed in us, and the fruit of the Spirit to be seen in us, so that through us, Christ may be formed in others.

III. FELLOWSHIP

When God adopts us as His sons, we become part of His family. The expression of our "family" life is fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. We cannot be Christians alone.

IV. WITNESSING

When God has given us salvation in Christ, the most unselfish thing we can do is to tell others how they can be born again too. People relate best to our personal story, rather than bald theology. It is helpful, in preparing to witness, to write out our own testimony, thinking through what God has done in our life. It should be personal, brief, and focus on Christ, and what He has done for us. We can touch on what we were like before we asked Jesus into our life, how we trusted Him, and what has happened since. We should try to make it clear from our description how someone else could receive Christ in the same way. We can supplement our testimony with booklets designed for sharing our faith, like "The Four Spiritual Laws" (available from Christian bookstores).