Why Are You a Christian?

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Living by the principles of the bible as best you know them, is the best way to live.
Those principles will teach you to love.
To Love God and love others.
To be a better spouse and parent.
To respect your body as the temple of the Lord and to take care of it.
To respect ourselves as children of the most high God.
To respect the resources of the earth and the animals on the planet entrusted to our care.
To be honest in our business dealings with others.
To be a better employee/employer.
To be altruistic to the poor and needy among us.
To be kind and caring to all we meet and interact with.

To not live by the principles of God is embrace the consequences of living a shallow, self-centered, meaningless life.

Amanah,

Praise the Lord! I agree with the overall premise of your post. However, I want to stress something that I didn’t see mentioned.

Here’s a truth that many of us know, but we forget it… living by “biblical principles” do not and cannot save you. For example, a deeply “religious” person can live by “biblical principles” and not actually have a relationship with Christ. All the things you listed are wonderful things. But I think choosing to live by biblical principles is spiritual blood poison. Why? Because it’s typically rooted in several very deadly motivations:

- To become a better person.
- To improve the relationships around us.
- To gain prosperity and blessing.
- To be “holier” than the church down the road or the neighbor next door.
- To attempt to improve a circumstance that is out of your control.
- And perhaps the worst one of all… To go to Heaven.

None of the things above are saving motivators. Yes, they are all “positive” things… but they will land a person in Hell as quickly as any sin or rebellion. Why? It is because they are the essence of legalism.

Here are some truths that often shock believers when they realize them:

- The Father DOESN’T desire you to become a better you.
- The relationships around you are secondary to the Father’s plan for you.
- The Father DOESN’T always desire earthly prosperity for His children.
- The Father DOESN’T have a “holier-o-meter” whereby one is found holier than another.
- The Father wants you to surrender to His will in all things, realizing that there is NOTHING you can do to change various circumstances but to hold to His hand.
- The Father DOESN’T want you to live “biblical principles” in order to simply “go to Heaven”.

The Father’s single purpose and desire is to see those whom He has chosen become conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In this we become His children. You see… any denomination can outline religious principles based upon the Bible and therefore call them “biblical principles”. But those principles are always interpreted according to that denomination. If we live by the “biblical principles” as interpreted by our church or denomination… we become conformed into the image of our church or denomination… not the image of Jesus. God doesn’t desire us to live by biblical principles or standards; nor does the Father desire us to find our spiritual identities in them. There is only one standard and one principle: Jesus. Jesus is the standard… we are to be Christlike in all things. The principle whereby we achieve this is “oneness” with God through the Holy Spirit. Being “born again” involves regeneration, a change of nature. Regeneration is new life. Regeneration is becoming a new creature. This is because once the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us, Christ is in us, and we in Him. This is a spiritual “oneness” wherein we become one with God, in Christ, through the Spirit. Yes, God desires us to be “one” with Him, that He might manifest Jesus in us, by conforming us into the image of Jesus Himself.

This transformation alone is God’s goal for each and every one of us…not the living by principles. Because living by principles does not and cannot change your nature. Think about it… being conformed into the likeness of Jesus, having the mind of Christ, will we not automatically live out what were listed above as principles? Of course. Now, instead of being a checklist of principles to live by (a law) those things are something that naturally emanates from us (fruit).

Everything, including Heaven, is the result of this transformation. Allow the very person of Christ to completely possess you and permeate your very being. So don’t loose sight and seek to be a “better” anything by living in accordance to various principles, standards, or “spiritual laws”. Simply… be Jesus.