What is the Christian life supposed to be like?

Answer

The Christian life is meant to be a life lived by faith. It is through faith that we enter into the Christian life, and it is through faith that we live it out. When we embark on the Christian journey by seeking Christ’s forgiveness for our sins, we realize that what we desire can only be attained through faith. We cannot earn our way to heaven because no amount of effort on our part would suffice. Those who think they can achieve eternal life by following a set of rules and regulations— a list of do’s and don’ts— are contradicting what the Bible clearly states. “But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is clear, for, ‘The just shall live by faith’” «But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. », (Galatians 3:11). The Pharisees in Jesus’ time rejected Christ because He revealed to them this very truth, that all their good deeds were worthless and that only faith in their Messiah could save them.

In Romans 1, Paul declares that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power that delivers us, with the gospel being the joyful news that all who believe in Him will receive eternal life. As we step into the Christian life by having faith in this good news, our faith flourishes as we learn more and more about the God who rescued us. The gospel of Christ unveils God to us as we strive to draw nearer to Him each day. Romans 1:17 states, “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.’” Therefore, a crucial aspect of the Christian life involves dedicated reading and study of the Word, coupled with prayers for insight, wisdom, and for a deeper, more intimate connection with God through the Holy Spirit.

The Christian life is also meant to be a life of self-denial in orderIn order to live a life by faith, Paul told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” «I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. », (Galatians 2:20). Being crucified with Christ means that we consider our old nature as having been nailed to the cross and we choose to live in the new nature, which is Christ’s «Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. », (2 Corinthians 5:17). He who loved us and died for us now lives in us, and the life we live is by faith in Him. Living the Christian life means sacrificing our own desires, ambitions, and glories and replacing them with those of Christ. We can only do this by His power through the faith that He gives us by His grace. Part of the Christian life is praying to that end.

The Christian life is also supposed to persevere to the end. Hebrews 10:38-39 addresses this issue by quoting from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk: “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” God is not pleased with one who “draws back” from Him after making a commitment, but those who live by faith will never draw back, because they are kept by the Holy Spirit who assures us that we will continue with Christ until the end (Ephesians 1:13-14). The writer of Hebrews goes on to verify this truth in verse 39: “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving.

of the soul.” The genuine believer is someone who believes until the end.

Therefore, the Christian existence is one led by faith in the God who rescued us, enables us, secures us for paradise, and by whose strength we are preserved eternally. The everyday life of faith is one that develops and fortifies as we pursue God in His Word and through prayer, and as we join with other Christians whose aim of resembling Christ is akin to ours.