Salvation Summaries

If you are a Christian, do you want to know how you should live (at least according to the book of Romans)?  I will use a brief story to show you why you may need to live differently, and then provide details as to how.

Four years ago, when our oldest son was in 8th grade, we watched him play in an out-of-town basketball game.  During the game, the referees were not that good, and some of the parents from the Christian school where our son attended let the referees know that. On one particularly bad call, which was against a player on the other team, these same parents did not object to the call; in fact, they didn’t say anything.

A parent of the home team, who was sitting at the scorer’s table keeping books for her team, strongly disagreed with the call (I had assumed at the time that it was her son who had been called for a foul).  She then became quite upset at the Christian parents, and yelled at them to point out their inconsistency. I don’t remember her exact words, but they were something to the effect of, “how can you agree with that call?” And then she blurted out, “you’re supposed to be Christians!”

Clearly, non-Christians pay attention to how Christians behave, and expect them to act differently. When they don’t, all Christians can be painted with a broad brush and viewed as hypocrites.  

How should a Christian live?

Simply put, a Christian should live differently than a non-Christian (and a number of them do). Christians should live differently because of the spiritual changes that have taken place within them (see my last post for details), and from learning what God expects of them as a Christian.

From the book of Romans, I’ve detailed seven ways in which a Christian should live.

1. You are to live by faith.

Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Paul tells us (Christians) that we are to live by faith. Notice that he doesn’t say all you need is to have faith (with no requirement to live by it).  Also, he doesn’t qualify his statement with exceptions on when, or where, you live by faith. For example, he doesn’t say that your faith should be personal and lived out at home, but not at work. This is an “out” some politicians and others use, saying they don’t want to force their Christian views on others, and instead wish to keep it private. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. The Bible is clear – you either have faith, or your don’t.  And Paul is clear – if you have faith, you are to live by it, which means wherever you are, whatever you are doing, and whenever it is (day or night). In short, you are to live by your faith each day, and all day. Why? Because it is who you are. And if you are ashamed of your faith and being a “Christian,” the Bible is clear about this too – Jesus will be ashamed of you.

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”).   

Matthew 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Now, some of you may agree with this, but rightly ask, “so what is faith?”  Good question.  I’ve answered this in my posts on Hebrews, and I’ll answer it again here using verses from Hebrews and Romans. However, to not bog down the flow of this section, I’m going to place my comments on faith at the end of this post, so feel free to review them if you want to know what faith means.

The bottom line though, is that every Christian who has faith should live by their faith. Everything they say and do should be a reflection of their faith in the Lord.  I must admit, while I know that I need to live by my faith, I’m not sure I’m practically living by my faith according to Romans.

2. You should seek to perform good deeds, for you will be judged by them.  In addition, good deeds help prove to you that you are a Christian. 

While it’s true that a person is saved by faith, and thus will go to heaven upon death, God judges each person according to their deeds. The Bible doesn’t specify how this affects our standing or position in heaven, but it must to some extent.

Romans 2:6-10 6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

In addition, the Bible is clear that simply saying you are a Christian does not make you one.  The only sure way test to know whether you are truly a Christian is if you can say that you know the Lord; that you have a relationship with Him.  If you know Him, He will know you.

Matthew 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

3. You are to stop sinning (to the extent possible), for you have died to sin. 

Everyone sins, this is true. But Christians are expected to sin less, for a spiritual change has taken place within them to help them accomplish this.  When you, as a Christian, are united with Christ, you are united with Him in his death and resurrection. Just as He died because of the sins placed upon Him, you are to die to your former, sinful way of life. And just as He was raised to life, you are to live a new life; one that bears much fruit for Him.  As a result, there is a mental change that takes place in a person, to one that seeks to sin less, and a spiritual change (receive God’s Holy Spirit), which helps a person live in a way that pleases God.

Romans 6:17-18 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 

Romans 7:4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 

4. You are to have a different mindset than non-Christians.  

When a person becomes a Christian, a spiritual change takes place within them that frees them from being a slave to sin (or controlled by their sinful nature).  In turn, that person becomes controlled by the Holy Spirit, which now lives within them. As a result, as a Christian, you are to think about the Holy Spirit, pray to the Holy Spirit, and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on how to live.

Romans 8:5-9 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

5. You are to let God transform you by changing the way you think.

Similar to above, as a Christian, you are to let, or allow, God to continually change your thinking, for only by this can you know what His will is for you in your life.  To do this, you need to submit yourself to God, as your Lord, and be willing to do whatever He wants you to do.

Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice– the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. (NLT))

6.  You are not to be worldly.  

The same verse above that talks about allowing God to transform your mind tells you not to be worldly. Sadly, in my opinion, this is where many Christians fail.  The worldly influence upon every one of us – from movies and TV shows to universities and schools – is both subtle and intense, and avoiding it takes a good deal of effort and determination.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God– this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… 

7.  Romans chapters 12-15 contain a laundry list of other things you should do or not do as a Christian: 

• Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
• Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
• Honor one another above yourselves.
• Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
• Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
• Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
• Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
• Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
• Live in harmony with one another.
• Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
• Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
• Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
• If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 
• Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 
• The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 
• Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 
• Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
• Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Among the do’s and don’ts in the list, there are two sets of verses I want to highlight.

The first one is something high school and college students, and those in the media (including Hollywood) may want to pay special attention to. It shows that Christians are to not get drunk, or participate in orgies or sexual immorality (which includes homosexuality). Rather, Christians are called to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which are sinful, and to think and do things that please the Lord, who is without sin.

Romans 13:12-14 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

The second one is essentially a motto that all Christians should seek to live by, and it is to live for the Lord rather than yourself.

For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:7-8)

Conclusion

Simply put, a Christian should live differently than a non-Christian. Unfortunately, we see too many Christians who appear to act and live the same way they did before, or in ways that do not differ from non-Christians.

When a person becomes a Christian, or saved, several spiritual changes take place (see my last post for details), which help that person act differently. Even with this, I believe a Christian needs to understand how he (or she) is to act differently, and know what God expects from that person as a Christian. I’ve attempted to identify these in this post.

If I were to sum up how a Christian should live, it would be this: you no longer live for yourself, but for the Lord who died for you.  Effort and sacrifices will be required to do this, for living the Christian life is not easy. For more information on how a Christian should live, please see my next post on 1 John.

FAITH

Hebrews 11 provides a general definition for faith. Using the New Living Translation, faith is “the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.”

It’s important to note from this verse that faith is not a “wishy-washy” attitude of simply hoping for something, and if it doesn’t work out then you simply say, “well, I’m not too surprised.”  Rather, faith is confidence in something, and that something is what God has promised in the Bible. It is confidence in something that may not happen now, or tomorrow, or for many years.  But there is more to faith than this.

Faith is similar to believing in something, and with respect to the Christian religion, it is believing in God (including Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit). Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

This verse also shows that faith does not exist on its own.  “Coming” to God, or Jesus, is associated with faith, as is a belief that God rewards those who seek Him. Thus, a person with faith is someone who earnestly seeks God and/or Jesus (or “comes” to Jesus), and believes that he or she will be rewarded in some manner for doing so.

Further, faith appears to be something we receive from God, rather than something we develop on our own. In the following verse, we see that everything that does not come from faith is sin.  If we are sinners, which we are, then we can’t create our own faith; rather, it must come from someone without sin.  Romans 14:23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

In addition, Hebrews 11:6 shows us that without faith, you cannot please God. This goes against the view in our society that God loves everyone, and He accepts everyone regardless of what they say, do, and their sexual orientation. This is not what the Bible says. If you have faith in yourself but not in God, you cannot please Him.  In fact, the Bible says that you are hostile to God, and an enemy of His.

Let me conclude my comments about faith by making an observation of the people in Hebrews 11 that are touted as having faith. The observation is this: faith does not exist on its own; it leads to, or results in, something, and that is obedience. We see this in the following verses: 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did…; 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family..; 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went…

In summary, faith is having a convicted belief in God (which includes God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and His promises in the Bible that apply to mankind, including you. A person with faith is someone who believes that God exists, and earnestly seeks God. To become saved, a person must have faith in the One who died for our sins, and that is Jesus Christ. Because of our sinful nature, faith is not something we can generate on our own; rather, it is something we receive from God, and only by having faith in God can we please Him.  Faith results in obedience and good deeds. For more on what faith means, please see my posts on Hebrews.