The Christian Process

Becoming a Christian is the beginning of a process, not the end. We are told this in Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”  This is something we must constantly work on with the Holy Spirit’s help. We must listen to that still, small voice in our hearts and follow His directions. We know that we continue to sin, and that we must continue to ask forgiveness, but we also need to work towards change too. By reading God’s word, we can allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us to work on areas of our lives where we need to change.

Sometimes we get lazy and we excuse, accept or ignore our sins. We compare ourselves with others who are worse and think we don't need to change. We must realize that we can change with Christ's strength (Philippians 4:13). It requires saying "no" to the wrong attitudes and behavior (Titus 2:11-12). In Colossians, we are given rules for Holy living which again, describe the process of how we take off our old self and put on the new self. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:8-10. This is not a one time deal, it is a continuous process of growing in our faith, of becoming more Christ-like. What a beautiful way to witness to non-believers and non-Christians. Just work towards being the best example of a Christian that you can possibly be.

We must ask God which sins we need to work on and do something about it! The New Testament contains hundreds of commands on how Christians should live based on the example that Christ showed us during his earthly life. All of these commands fit under the heading of love, for God IS love. Everything he commands is an expression of love. For me, a good starting place in identifying which sins I need to work on, is to focus on the two greatest Commandments. If I follow these, then most other commands involving right living, fall into place. Jesus told us the greatest commandments, and they are LOVE. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40. Another example is the instruction to love in John, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35:

In the process of becoming a Christian, we must strengthen our commitment toward being compassionate to all of God's people. Our love of God and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us motivates us to show and live our faith, and love for others.

All Scripture references are from the New International Version.