Living the Christian Life

It is hard!.....and it is easy. It is hard to live the Christian life in some ways, because the standard is so high that we must watch constantly for a misstep. But it is easy in that when we do it right, things go better for us. But the answers to how to live it are given clearly in the New Testament. The teachings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give us a lot of insight into how to make our character what it should be. And the letters, starting with the book of Romans and going through Jude, give us much help in knowing what we are to be.

Picking one of the letters for a closer look, let us consider Ephesians. The first 3 chapters tell us a lot about what God has done for us. For example, Eph. 2:4 begins, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus...."

Beginning in chapter 4 and on through the end of the book in chapter 6, he tells us how we can be better people. Note 4:1, "..walk worthy of the calling with which you were called..."

4:22 "..put off , concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind..."

4:28 "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands..."

4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth...."

4:32 "And be kind to one another..."

5:15 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time..."

6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

If you read the whole book of Ephesians, one must be impressed with what God has done for us, and what we should do to live the Christian life. Thanks for reading!