I was thinking today of how I could share the basics the Christian life. Three words came to my mind, which I will share with you today.
Believe The Christian life begins when one believes in Jesus Christ. This does not mean that one believes about Jesus .i.e., that Jesus is alive and at work in the world, but He has nothing to do with one's life. Christian belief is a surrender of one's mind, heart and body to Jesus. In the New Testament, believers are shown as workers for the Kingdom. Their belief in Jesus led them to serve Him no matter what the rest of the world thought about them. After his conversion to Christ, the apostle Paul began to witness about Him to Jews and gentiles alike. Though he had tried to destroy Christian work, after he met Jesus on the Damascus Road, Paul became of the chief witnesses about Jesus to the world. His belief in Jesus led to Christian service. What has your belief in Jesus led you to do for His kingdom's work? We are not saved by our service, but we are saved to serve. Behave Our belief in Jesus makes a difference in our behavior. This does not mean that we will be sinless, but that our belief in Jesus makes a difference in our behavior. None of us behaves perfectly, But our behavior will reflect the presence of Jesus in our lives. Matthew 5:16 reminds us of the importance of this: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." If we want our lights to shine before people, we will be careful how we relate to people. We will be careful how we treat people. Does your behavior, to and before, people reflect Christ to them? Belong We are all saved individually, but we are not saved to be stick only to ourselves. When Jesus began His ministry, He called disciples to follow Him and to serve Him. Acts two and four reveal to us that Christ's followers were melded together to witness and to serve. Early Christians served together to serve Christ. The world needs to see Christian people, not just organized together, but the world needs to see us serving together in love for Christ, and for people. They should not be sidelined by our feuds, but they need to be included by our love and concern. As Christ's followers we belong to Him and to each other as His church. We are called together in His love to serve Him. Well, these are the "Three B's" of the Christian faith that came to my mind today. We are all called to believe, behave and belong. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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