Christian Life

CHAPTER 1 CHRISTIAN LIFE “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). INTRODUCTION Life in Christ is the most wonderful thing that can exist; however, it is necessary to know it and learn to live it. Many people approach the church looking for the solution to their problems and in fact, it is precisely in the Church where they can find that solution to their difficulties; however, approaching the church is not the only thing that people should do, Christian life includes much more than attending church services. According to the author; in walking with Christ, sometimes one sees many people parading through the Church, they give their lives to Christ, they are baptized, and then when problems or difficulties come into their lives, they abandon his path. Perhaps they were not ready to serve God or, perhaps, they had not known the basics of Christianity. In this chapter —taken from the book The Christian Life, the student will learn the basics of Christian life and what it means to be a Christian. In addition, an analogy about the Christian race and what it entails to run it. On the other hand, what does God expect from his children. Finally, the reader will learn some practical tips for living the Christian life as God desires. I. UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN LIFE “Christian life” is the lifestyle adopted by the believer upon converting to Christ. It is also the way of living that Jesus taught and established through his apostles and the church that he founded. In other words, when someone is called by Christ, there is a conversion to a new life and a new system of being and belonging. The apostle Paul emphatically declares: “…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; …” (2 Cor. 5:17). With this in mind, it can be said that every person who has converted to Christ experiences a radical change of life which is manifested in their behavior and even in their every day jobs. See some examples: Peter and Andrew were the first that Jesus recruited to be his disciples, with such powerful words as: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). These were fishermen and when they were called by Jesus, they did not hesitate to leave their nets and follow the Master. From then on, they are seen walking close to Jesus, doing the things that Jesus does, and finally leading the Lord’s Church. James and John also, when they were called by Jesus, changed their life and their job. They were also fishermen, but when they were called, they left their nets and their father, and followed Jesus (Mt. 4:21-22). They understood that they were now beginning a new stage in their lives and that therefore, even their jobs would be changed to that of fishers of men. The fact that leaving the nets meant leaving the sustenance of their lives, the income from which they lived, represents that now they are entering a stage of dependence on Jesus and that they would have need for nothing. In addition, it also implied the connection to a new family, because by leaving their father, they were adopting the new family of Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector who left his job to follow Jesus (Mt. 9:9). Just like the fishermen, Matthew embarks on an unprecedented adventure, because now he would depend on what the Master could do for him; his work as a tax collector would be left in the past upon following Jesus. Finally, Paul was a Jew, zealous for the law, who persecuted the Church believing that he was doing good works; however, when he was confronted by Jesus, he changed his way of living. God dealt with him powerfully by leaving him blind, but when he received Christ and was baptized, he was healed and immediately preached Christ; and people were astonished to hear him (Read Acts 9). These examples clearly teach that everyone who is called by Jesus to follow and serve Him will have to leave or change something and start a new life. Therefore, the believer must learn to live this new life in Christ. II. ANALOGY OF THE CHRISTIAN RACE The best example to illustrate the Christian life is the race an athlete runs, if we take into consideration the words Paul says. According to the apostle, Christian life is considered a race, where all believers are runners (2 Tim. 4:7). According to this man of God, all those who give themselves to Christ enter a race that begins the day they are baptized and will end when the Lord decides to take them home; and everyone must run it (1 Cor. 9:24). From this analogy we can learn several things which are detailed below. 1. Races and their similarity with the Christian life In athletics there are several types of races and some of them that we must take into account are: middle- and long-distance races, obstacle courses, relay races, and cross-country races, among others. Some of the races that were practiced in biblical times as well as in modern times have a close relationship with the Christian life, let’s take a look at some of them. Long distance races. This type of race is one of the longest races that exists, since it consists of running distances between 5,000 meters and 42 kilometers; marathon-type races. This type of race can be associated with the Christian race, since it is neither short nor medium distance, but a long race that lasts a lifetime. In this sense, the believer must understand that Christianity is for life and not just for a few months or years; therefore, one must be a Christian until one’s death.