What Does The Bible Teach About The Christian Way of Life?
What is the Christian's purpose on earth? Every believer in Jesus Christ should ask himself this question, "after salvation, what?" If you say, "to work for Jesus," then you don't have very much knowledge of the Word of God.
Eternal salvation becomes an accomplished fact at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ. Heaven is absolutely guaranteed for anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. But the quality of the believer's life on earth depends on him carrying out the plan of God after salvation. Impact and blessings in time and eternity depend on fulfilling God's plan in time. Therefore, the question becomes emphatic. What is God's plan for the Christian after the point of personal faith in Christ? God freely gives "all things" after providing salvation (Romans 8:32). What are these things that God provides?
The simplest answer is this: He provides Bible doctrine for His people to learn. The Bible reveals God's purpose and plan. Only through growing in knowledge concerning God can anyone appreciate, love, and worship Him. As Christians we are commanded to "change our thinking" with divine viewpoint thinking so God's gracious purpose can be fulfilled in and through our lives. (Romans 12:2; Eph 1:18; 4:22-24).
God's purpose for the Christian calls for spiritual growth. II Peter 3:18, "But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....." II Timothy 2:15, "Study to show yourself approved of God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The Christian is kept alive on earth to fulfill his destiny, which is to become a spiritually mature believer, a spiritual winner. ".....a mature person to the measure of the maturity which belongs to the fullness of Christ." (Eph 4:13-16). Each believer's life becomes a unique expression of the glory of God in both time and eternity (Rom 8:29-30; 9:23-24), but only the spiritually mature believer's life glorifies God by receiving the highest and best that God has prepared for him (Rom 6:1-2a; I John 1:5-2:6). Divine blessings that the Christian can understand and experience and the overt manifestations of the Christian way of life only comes as a result of spiritual growth. And the Bible teaches that the only means of spiritual growth is the believer's consistent RECEPTION (hearing & listening), RETENTION (learning), and RECALL (application) of Bible doctrine in the filling or controlling mininstry of the Holy Spirit through all the circumstances of life.
Bible doctrine is the content of the Word of God which God designed to be communicated to the believer in Jesus Christ so that it will become the measure of his thinking, and the source of his mental attitude (Rom 12:3; II Tim 3:16-17; Phil 2:5; Heb 4:16;). The importance of Bible doctrine can never be overestimated. In fact, God places His own Word above everything else, even His own name: Psalm 138:2 tells us that "God has magnified (lifted up) His Word above His name."
His Word reveals His nature and His essence. Only the Scriptures allow us to get a glimpse of God's absolute character and to love the revealed member of the Godhead, Jesus Christ (John 1:18). The Bible is absolute truth, the thinking of Jesus Christ (Phil 2:5). I Peter 1:8 tells us that "Though we have not seen Him, we love Him." But this only occurs when we begin to understand His thinking and His viewpoint.
Understanding God's Word is the root of all Christian virtue. It causes the transformation of the believer's life, beginning with the inner person, the soul (Rom 12:2). The Christian's persistent learning and application of Bible doctrine in the filling or controlling ministry of the Holy Spirit enlarges his capacities for life, for love, for service, for blessings, and for happiness (II Corinthians 9:7-8). God's "greater grace" fills up the mature believer's greater capacities "to all the fullness of God." (James 4:6; Eph 3:19). In blessing the believer, God is glorified (Eph 1:3).
Therefore, the Christian life has a very high and elevated purpose here on earth. To bring glory to Jesus Christ and be a testimony to everyone around. And this is only possible when the believer places himself under the consistent learning and application of Bible doctrine in the filling or controlling ministry of the Holy Spirit. If every believer would make his objective to accomplish this, most of the problems within our communities, cities, states and our nation would begin to deteriorate. They would not cease, because Satan will remain the ruler of this world until Jesus Christ returns to set up His Kingdom, but the problems would become more manageable.
Therefore, I challenge you to place your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, if you haven't already; then to place yourself under the consistent ministry of the Word of God, either under a pastor-teacher who teaches the Word, or by listenting to Bible tapes. But keep as your number one priority in the Christian life, the learning of Bible doctrine in the filling of the Holy Spirit. It is only when you do this that you can fulfill the purpose of God in your life.
