Lesson 16

LIFE AS A CHRISTIAN

King James Version (KJV)

When you become a Christian, you enter into new relationships. You become a child of God. You become a citizen in the kingdom of Christ. You become a member of the body of Christ. You may be surprised to know that you even become a saint and a priest. These new relationships may cause you to change or even reject some of your old relationships. In this lesson we will consider implications of being a Christian in a world that often finds being a Christian unreasonable, amusing, wasteful of time, or even threatening to society.

1. The Christian as a New Creature

Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest court of the Jews during the Roman occupation of Israel. He perceived that Jesus was a teacher who had come from God. One evening he visited Jesus. Jesus told him, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3). Nicodemus was puzzled. "How could a person who is grown re-enter his mother's womb and be born again?" he wondered. Jesus clarified the matter for him. To be born again is to undergo a spiritual rebirth in water, it is a rebirth that is absolutely necessary to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

Just as a newborn infant leaves the confinement of its mother's womb and enters a new world, you, too, enter a new world when you are born again. The new birth occurs when you are baptized in water and your past sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16). Baptism puts you into Christ (Gal. 3:27) where you are His true disciple and submit to His authority. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17). Also, know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4).

Among the old things that have passed away is the self-centered, sinful life. One of the characteristics of a new creature in Christ is that, that ye put off, concerning your former manner of living, the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that ye put on that new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph 4:22-24). Paul goes on to give specific examples that are both negative and positive: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you (Eph 4:31-32).

Surprisingly, the process called the new birth can also be viewed as a violent death. With reference to the new world that opens up in Christ, it is a birth, but with reference to the old world of sin that has been left behind, it is a crucifixion: knowing this: that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin (Rom 6:6-7). By abandoning a life of sin in favor of a life of righteousness, Christians set themselves apart for God's service. To sanctify a thing is to set the thing apart for special use or service. Therefore, the life of a Christian is one of sanctification. Since the words "saint" and "sanctify" come from the same root word, we understand why the New Testament repeatedly applies the term "saints" to Christians, as in Rom. 1:7 and 2 Cor. 13:13.

The righteous living so characteristic of the new birth is closely related to the idea of Christians being priests. Disciples of Christ form a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) and a kingdom of priests (Rev. 1:6). Just as priests under the law of Moses were required to offer the bodies of animals as sacrifices, so Christians in their role as priests must offer bodies, too--not the bodies of animals but their own: TI beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom 12:1-2).

2. The Christian as a Citizen in the Kingdom

a. Christ is the King

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem. They asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matt. 2:2). This was not the first time Jesus had been called a king. About 700 years earlier Isaiah had prophesied about His birth and had foretold His position of divine authority: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon His Kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this (Isa 9:6-7). Jesus admitted to Pilate that the very reason He was born was to be king (John 18:37).

b. His Kingdom Began on Pentecost

During His ministry Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom, often doing so in the simple stories called parables (Matt. 13). Whenever Jesus spoke about the coming of the kingdom, he referred to it as being in the near future. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" He told the people of Galilee as He began His ministry (Matt. 4:15-17). He taught His disciples to pray to the Father, "Thy kingdom come" (Matt. 6:10). Late in His ministry, He announced, "Verily I say unto you, that there are some of them that stand here who shall not taste of death till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 9:1). Even on the occasion when Jesus returned to heaven, His apostles were asking when the kingdom would come (Acts 1:6). Jesus did not give them a specific date but told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from heaven (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). It was about a week later, on the day of Pentecost, when they received the power Jesus had promised and began to preach. This day marks the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. From this point onward the Bible refers to the kingdom of Christ as already existing and Christ Himself ruling with all authority at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:20-23).

c. Citizens are Law-Abiding

When you are born again, you enter the kingdom of Christ: He hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13-14). In so doing you acquire a heavenly citizenship (Phil. 3:20).

Kingdoms have laws, and good citizens are law-abiding. The kingdom of Christ is no exception. Loyal citizens obey t he law of Christ. They do not practice evil deeds (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21) but practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). They focus their attention on heavenly things rather than earthly things (Col. 3:1-2).

d. Citizens Honor their King

Good kings win the respect and adoration of their citizens. In his vision of heaven John saw the heavenly beings worshipping Christ and praising Him for the sacrificial death He suffered when He was on earth: And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and blessing" (Rev 5:11-12).

On earth the disciples of Christ also worship the King. This is done in assemblies or churches made up of disciples who live in the same city or area (1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Thes. 1:1). In conformance with the practice of the disciples in the first century, Christians assemble on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) to break and eat unleavened bread and drink the fruit of the vine. The bread is a memorial to Christ's broken body, which was pierced by the nails that fastened Him to the cross and by the spear of the Roman soldier who made sure He was dead. The fruit of the vine is a memorial to Christ's blood that flowed from His wounds (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-29).

Christians also worship by praising God and Christ in song (Eph. 5:18-21; Col. 3:16) and in prayer (Acts 2:42; Rom. 12;12; Phil. 4:6; 1 Thes. 5:17). To take care of the financial needs of a local church, the disciples who form the assembly make contributions. This also is done on the first day of the week while the Christians are assembled. As an example, in 1 Cor. 16:1-2, Paul told the church in Corinth to take up a collection on the first day of every week to build up a fund for poor saints. The contributions are to be made willingly, cheerfully, and with forethought (2 Cor. 9:7).

Christians worship by teaching the word of God and Christ (2 Tim. 2:2, 4:2). If they are faithful to their duty, they steadfastly follow the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42), who as ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20) were guided by the Holy Spirit to speak the truth (John 14:26; 16:13). One of the apostles wrote: We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby we know the Spirit of truth, and the spirit of error (1 John 4:6). God does not want His children to go beyond the word He has revealed (1 Cor. 4:6; Gal. 1:6-9; 2 John 9).

3. The Christian as a Branch in the Vine

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus ate supper with His apostles. At one point in His conversation with them, He compared Himself to a grape vine and His disciples to branches on the vine; God is the vinedresser, the one who takes care of the vine (John 15:1-8). Jesus said there are two kinds of branches--those that bear fruit and those that do not. In either case, one thing is clear. No branch has a chance of being productive unless it is an integral part of the vine (John 15:4-5).

The vinedresser examines the vine and its branches to learn which branches are productive and which are not. If a branch is not producing, the vinedresser cuts it from the vine (John 15:2). All such branches dry up and eventually are gathered together and burned (John 15:6). The vinedresser carefully tends the remaining branches. He prunes them to make them even more productive (John 15:2). A fruitful vine brings praise to the vinedresser (John 15:8).

Through this comparison Jesus teaches disciples that (1) unless they are productive, they will be separated from Christ and therefore perish, (2) unless they remain faithful to Christ's word, He will not provide the spiritual nourishment they need, (3) they should expect times of trial (pruning) to make them better disciples, and (4) by being productive they glorify God.

Disciples of Christ are productive when they take care of fellow-disciples who are hungry, thirsty, in need of shelter, in need of clothing, sick, or in prison for the cause of Christ (Matt. 25:31-46). They are productive when they teach others to become disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). They are productive when they cultivate moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Pet. 1:5-8).

4. Conclusion

The New Testament compares Christians to a number of familiar things. Becoming a Christian is like being born. The new child of God drinks the milk of God's word and thus grows and matures (1 Pet. 2:2). Being a Christian is like being a citizen in a kingdom in which he honors the king and respects the laws the king issues. Being a Christian is like being a branch in a grape vine. The branch must be productive or else be cut from the vine and burned. In your own personal study of the Bible, you will also find it profitable to explore the idea of Christians being members of the body of Christ (Eph. 5:28-30; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:20-23), of Christians forming a temple in which the Spirit of God lives (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and of Christians equipping themselves as soldiers to fight against sin and the spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:10-17).