So what does it look like to live a “christian” life. One thing that you can expect is that everyone christian and non christian alike will be more than willing to point out how a christian should and shouldn’t live.
Likely Advice From Christians
You will likely directed to go to church and to read your bible. These are two really good pieces of advice. It is always positive to interact with other christians to learn from one another, to discuss what is being learned, and how God is working in our lives. Encouragement from other believers in hard times and good time cause growth and strength in our lives of faith. As far as reading the bible, God has very successfully protected the bible through the history of the world. It is both the most loved and hated book of all time. It is the most published book of all times. It is translated into more languages than any other book. He has protected it for you and I, that we can know him through studying it’s pages.
Pray, talk with God. He has given us direct access to Himself. Jesus teaches that we can speak with Him directly Just as Jesus can. Tell Him of your struggles. Thank Him for the blessing that He brings into your life. Ask Him to meet your needs.
There will be other advice that will come from well meaning christians but not really rooted in the truths passed on to us through the word of God. Dos and don’ts that are considered to be the way of the “good” Christian life, but can be a trap pulling us away from God. Beware of religious activity, the High Priests of Jesus’ day were highly moral men, following God’s law to the letter, but missing the spirit of God when He walked among them. The same danger exists for the God fearing person today, be spirit led! Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that the day will come that we worship God in Spirit… That day is now!
Likely Advice From Non-Christians
Believe it or not there will be many unbelievers who will be more than willing to lead you in the way that a christian should go. I found it very interesting as a new believer how many people that would not be caught dead in a church would very readily tell me that “hey christians can’t do that,” or, “a good christian person would always do…”
Unbelievers will be the most ready to offer opinions of where you can go, what you can do, and how you can act. Live in faith, in the Spirit. Listening to God as you read His word.
Important for the Christian
First the christian life is a living relationship with God himself. He said in the word of God that He will send the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us in all truth. I believe that He will make Himself known to us and guide our lives in the way that He wants us to live. I find that in our intellectual age, we tend to fear the spiritual world but to be a christian is to live in the spiritual world. The bible teaches us that the spirit of God indwells (Jn 16:13) believers, which means that we can be lead by the Spirit at all times. That makes the christian life a spiritual life. We can live in faith knowing that God will lead us, guiding our lives to be pleasing to Him.
There is no set of rules to live by to be pleasing to God. Jesus when asked which of the commandments was the greatest replied, “The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself.” These two thoughts sum up the way that God would have us to live. (Romans 1:17) There are well meaning people who will give you a set of standards to live by as a christian. Please know that the bible teaches that just as we are saved completely by faith so we can live only completely by faith. There is no recipe to live by but faith in God. The trick is to do what you do by faith and let God teach you and lead you. There will be people that God may put into your life to lead you along the way, but make sure that what they are telling you matches your understanding of the word of God. Faith is the beginning of our spiritual lives, and faith will take us trough to the end of this life.