Introduction
Below are some additional words I have, about living as a Christian.
Belief In Versus Belief On
Gradually, I've become increasingly aware of what living a Christian life entails. As far as I know, it definitely requires belief, not just in God, but on Him as well, and not just on Him, but on the Son, Jesus Christ, as well. To believe in something or someone can mean merely to have head knowledge about that person or thing, and/or to acknowledge its existence. That's an okay starting place, but we need to know that even the devil and his demons believe in God, yet they're forever opposed to Him. Therefore, we should do something more than they do, which would be to believe on God and Jesus. To believe on means to place active faith/trust in something or someone we believe in, to commit ourselves to it. A real Christian life is an active commitment, to try our best to give our all into serving God, and to serve the Body of Christ, all the other believers. The central part of this life should be the relationship between us and God, not the presence or absence of religious disciplines. To say that more plainly, true Christianity is a relationship, not a religion or denomination.
Church Attendance
Of course, I encourage church attendance, though, whether it be in a nondenominational or denominational church; in fact, we all should try to commit to a church, where we can get in regular touch with other believers, who can build us up spiritually, lovingly hold us accountable for when we sin (which happens to all of us even after receiving Christ), and to whom we can offer the same loving encouragement and accountability. I didn't really have opportunities to go to church, my first 2 1/2 years as a Christian, and so I felt largely detached most of the time. Somehow, though, I persevered in my faith, even though it should had been almost impossible; much as one lit coal easily loses its fire when apart from a group of other lit coals, we too can easily lose our fire for God when we remain apart from other believers. And believe me, my fire has burned inconsistently.
The Christian Life
Overall, the Christian life should be an adventure, a journey, of sorts, not a legalistic burden of trying to follow a bunch of rules that we'll end up breaking anyway. The Bible records the Pharisees' attempts to live strictly by a rule code, but Jesus condemned them for it. Biblical rules, known collectively as the Old Testament Law, are not an end to themselves, according to my understanding. Their purpose was to show that we need God, that we can't succeed in this life without Him. If we could keep all of the Law, all of the time, then we'd have no need for God, right? Well, we need Him. But how do we express that need to Him? How do we welcome Him into our lives? And how do we live our lives for Him? Why exactly should we commit to Him? To answer those, and for more information, I want to refer visitors to a Christian resource more qualified than I, also one of my favorites, GotQuestions.org. It's a site where anyone can find answers to hundreds, if not thousands, of questions there are regarding Christianity, God, the Bible, Christian life, sin, and much more, and for whoever visits, I think the Crucial Questions would be an appropriate starting place.
May God bless us all, and help us make the decision to live for Him, if
we haven't done so yet. That is my prayer for all of us.
In
Christ,
Anthony
Orginal Date: September 1, 2007
Last Updated:
December 29, 2007