The Christian Life
The Christian life, in essence, is Christian theology, being lived out in every day life, in every area of life.
This is not to say that all Christians are to be missionaries, or pastors, or any other vocational minister. To be sure, "If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body" (1 Cor. 12:19-20). Every Christian is called to a specific aspect of Christian ministry (whether vocational or laity) and equipped with a specific spiritual gift or set of spiritual gifts.
But all Christians must have the personal aim, in whatever ministry to which they are called and for which they are equipped, "so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10).
The danger many Christians face in the realm of the Christian life is twofold:
The Bible clearly calls us to avoid living in these two extremes.
To be clear (contra View Two), the aim of the Christian life, for every Christian, is sanctification:
Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 11:1; Gal. 5:22-25; Eph. 4:1ff; Phil. 2:1-11ff; Col. 1:9-10;
1 Thess. 4:1-8; Titus 2:11-14, 3:8; 1 Pet. 1:22-23; 2 Pet. 3:11-14
But to be equally clear (contra View One), the means of sanctification, for every Christian, is not our own self-effort, but the Holy Spirit working in us:
Rom. 8:9-11, 22-30; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 3:5-6, 18, 12:9-10; Gal. 3:2-3;
Eph. 2:8-10, 6:10; Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; Jude 1:24-25
Obviously, on our part, we do exercise volition in living lives that are pleasing to Him. But in order for our volitional efforts to be fruitful, they can only be toward the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. If Christ our Lord, our founder and perfecter of the faith (Heb. 12:2), was led by the Spirit throughout His earthly ministry (Lk. 4:1, 14) and through that same Spirit offered Himself on the cross (Heb. 9:14), how can we who have sins and a sin nature (1 Jn. 1:8, 10; Rom. 6:12-13) expect to live any kind of fruitful life without also daily, at every point, yielding to that same Spirit's power in our lives?
It's a paradox to be sure; but it's a paradox to which God over and over again calls us in our Christian walk. We must find, as the Apostle Paul did, that as we "delight in the law of God" (Rom. 7:22), when living in our own strength (and trying to obey in the power of our own flesh) we will not be able to do what the law of Christ requires (Rom. 7:15): "For those who live according to the flesh [that is, according to self-effort; cf. Gal. 3:2-3 esp. NET], set their minds on the things of the flesh" and, "The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot" (Rom. 8:5, 7).
Whereas, if we live by means of the Spirit, daily, at every point, looking to Him as the source of our life in Christ, we will find that we are not in the flesh (Rom. 8:9) - we need not rely on our own human effort - and we will find that "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in [us], he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to [our] mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in [us]" (Rom. 8:9-11).
In other words, we are to live the Christian life of sanctification, by means of setting our minds on Christ, the victory He has already given us in His death and resurrection, and the ultimate redemption He will bring to our fleshly bodies at His return (Col. 3:1-4; Rom. 8:23-30; Phil. 3:20-4:1), and on the person and power of the Spirit, who Himself enables us to live such sanctified lives (2 Cor. 3:16-18).
This alone will accomplish the Christian life. This will accomplish in us our Christian theology being lived out in everyday life, in every area of life. As Christ Himself said: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me" (Jn. 15:4), so Paul himself demonstrated: "Him we proclaim...For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me" (Col. 1:28-29).
This then is the Christian life - focusing all our attentions and affections on who Christ is, what He has done, and what He promises to do yet still, relying on the Holy Spirit to then take and perform in us the work of sanctifying our thoughts and actions for so sweet a pardon as we received and so sweet a reward we've been promised at the end. This Spirit takes these wonderful, Christ-saturated thoughts and affections, and turns them into the good works which God has planned beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).
It is a paradox to be sure. But it avoids the two unbiblical approaches above. And it is the paradox to which Christ continually calls us.
This is not to say that all Christians are to be missionaries, or pastors, or any other vocational minister. To be sure, "If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body" (1 Cor. 12:19-20). Every Christian is called to a specific aspect of Christian ministry (whether vocational or laity) and equipped with a specific spiritual gift or set of spiritual gifts.
But all Christians must have the personal aim, in whatever ministry to which they are called and for which they are equipped, "so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10).
The danger many Christians face in the realm of the Christian life is twofold:
- View One: "You are saved - now live the Christian life in your own strength."
- View Two: "You are saved - that's all that is needed for your Christian life."
The Bible clearly calls us to avoid living in these two extremes.
To be clear (contra View Two), the aim of the Christian life, for every Christian, is sanctification:
Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 11:1; Gal. 5:22-25; Eph. 4:1ff; Phil. 2:1-11ff; Col. 1:9-10;
1 Thess. 4:1-8; Titus 2:11-14, 3:8; 1 Pet. 1:22-23; 2 Pet. 3:11-14
But to be equally clear (contra View One), the means of sanctification, for every Christian, is not our own self-effort, but the Holy Spirit working in us:
Rom. 8:9-11, 22-30; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 3:5-6, 18, 12:9-10; Gal. 3:2-3;
Eph. 2:8-10, 6:10; Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; Jude 1:24-25
Obviously, on our part, we do exercise volition in living lives that are pleasing to Him. But in order for our volitional efforts to be fruitful, they can only be toward the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. If Christ our Lord, our founder and perfecter of the faith (Heb. 12:2), was led by the Spirit throughout His earthly ministry (Lk. 4:1, 14) and through that same Spirit offered Himself on the cross (Heb. 9:14), how can we who have sins and a sin nature (1 Jn. 1:8, 10; Rom. 6:12-13) expect to live any kind of fruitful life without also daily, at every point, yielding to that same Spirit's power in our lives?
It's a paradox to be sure; but it's a paradox to which God over and over again calls us in our Christian walk. We must find, as the Apostle Paul did, that as we "delight in the law of God" (Rom. 7:22), when living in our own strength (and trying to obey in the power of our own flesh) we will not be able to do what the law of Christ requires (Rom. 7:15): "For those who live according to the flesh [that is, according to self-effort; cf. Gal. 3:2-3 esp. NET], set their minds on the things of the flesh" and, "The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot" (Rom. 8:5, 7).
Whereas, if we live by means of the Spirit, daily, at every point, looking to Him as the source of our life in Christ, we will find that we are not in the flesh (Rom. 8:9) - we need not rely on our own human effort - and we will find that "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in [us], he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to [our] mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in [us]" (Rom. 8:9-11).
In other words, we are to live the Christian life of sanctification, by means of setting our minds on Christ, the victory He has already given us in His death and resurrection, and the ultimate redemption He will bring to our fleshly bodies at His return (Col. 3:1-4; Rom. 8:23-30; Phil. 3:20-4:1), and on the person and power of the Spirit, who Himself enables us to live such sanctified lives (2 Cor. 3:16-18).
This alone will accomplish the Christian life. This will accomplish in us our Christian theology being lived out in everyday life, in every area of life. As Christ Himself said: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me" (Jn. 15:4), so Paul himself demonstrated: "Him we proclaim...For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me" (Col. 1:28-29).
This then is the Christian life - focusing all our attentions and affections on who Christ is, what He has done, and what He promises to do yet still, relying on the Holy Spirit to then take and perform in us the work of sanctifying our thoughts and actions for so sweet a pardon as we received and so sweet a reward we've been promised at the end. This Spirit takes these wonderful, Christ-saturated thoughts and affections, and turns them into the good works which God has planned beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).
It is a paradox to be sure. But it avoids the two unbiblical approaches above. And it is the paradox to which Christ continually calls us.
While I intend to write a post or two on the blog about the intricacies of the Christian life experience, to get a pretty good synopsis of it it might be good to see a review I wrote concerning a book called Crazy Love (View One propagation). For all the popularity it had, that book was especially not helpful in giving a Biblically sound idea of what the Christian life is all about. I believe my review, in God's gracious providence, ended up not only being a Biblical critique of the wrong view of the Christian life - but it also ended up being (in a smaller portion) a positive statement of what the Christian life is and how it is supposed to be lived. And so at least for the interim, I recommend reading the review.