The Secret to a Genuine Christian Life

Revelation 2:1–5 KJV

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Introduction

What is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus was asked this once, and we all know what he said:

Matthew 22:37 KJV

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

As good independent separated fundamental Baptists, we’re all about doing—serving God in the ministry. The more ministries you are apart of, the more spiritual you are—or so it seems. It’s easy to feel like you’re a good Christian if you go to Sunday school, church, ride the bus for drop-offs, get off just in time for nursing home, and come back with only a couple of hours before attending Sunday evening service. And then after Sunday evening service, you come to Preacher’s Workshop. The ministry is always busy because there’s always something else to do for God.

Because we work so much, when we come to the Bible, sometimes we approach it with the same mindset. What does the Bible tell me to do? What commands has God given that I have to fulfill? In the middle of all this working, it’s very easy to think that our spirituality and approval before God comes from how much stuff we do and how many rules we follow.

The church at Ephesus was busy too. They were working hard with patience, enduring persecution, and calling out false teachers. There was never a moment of rest with how fervent they were for Christ. But something was missing. The church was on the brink of death.

How could you call such a busy church a dying church? Jesus himself says in verse five that if the church did not fix their problems soon, he would remove their candlestick; that is, he would remove their authority as a church. They might be a working assembly of Christians, but they would not be a church—the body through which God works in the world.

What was their problem? They had left their first love. They were so busy serving God that they forgot about the God they served. There was service for God, but there was no love for God.

I think all of us either are or were in that same place at some point in our lives. I’m going to church, I’m not living in known sin, I’m not rebelling against God, but I’m not happy. I’m doing all the right things, but something is missing.

This was my testimony for most of my life as a kid and teen. Sometimes I would be worried why I didn’t love God as much as I should. I would try to force myself to have some feeling that showed I really did love God and wasn’t just a complacent bum. Other times I would work hard and be the best I could in an attempt to prove something to God, myself, and everyone watching.

But you can never make yourself love God. No amount of doing is going to replace the sense that you aren’t a good enough Christian. No amount of trying is going to bring about the love for God that you know you should have.

Jesus gives three steps to the church at Ephesus for how they could return to their first love. You could say that these are the steps to a genuine Christian life. Not one where you’re trying to live up to some external standard, but one where service comes from the inside out.

1. Remember

If you used to have a real, fulfilling walk with God at some point in your life, remember what it was like. Or, if you’ve never had that, remember what things were like the first few days after salvation. Everything was fresh and exciting and you couldn’t wait to tell others about what had happened.

One of my earliest memories is telling my unsaved grandfather that I had just received Christ. I was a really shy kid, but I wanted to tell him. No one had to make me.

When you remember, an empty Christian life feels really dissatisfying. It leads you to the next step.

2. Repent

It’s important to realize that apathy is a sin.

Matthew 22:37 KJV

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.” That isn’t a suggestion. While our love for God will never be all that it should be, when you fall into that place of complacency like the Ephesians did, it it’s not just spiritually unhealthy—it’s a sin. Acknowledge it, repent of it, ask for forgiveness, and forsake it. Treat a lack of passion for Christ like any other sin. Fight aggressively against it.

3. Return

Jesus commands the Ephesians to “do the first works.” These are the most basic, fundamental actions of Christianity. Reading your Bible. Praying. Witnessing. And I think you could reduce it down even more. What is the most fundamental action of Christianity? Loving God.

Matthew 22:37 KJV

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Without a love for God, reading your Bible is a duty. Prayer is motivated by guilt. Witnessing lacks passion and, the entire time, we don’t really want to be there. You know how it is when you’re out door knocking and you’re praying as you knock that there’s no one home.

So here’s the question—how do you love God more?

Well, how do you love anyone more? The keys to any relationship are time and knowledge.

If I see some random guy on the street, I probably don’t care about him much. I hope he has a good day and I would intervene if he was in some danger. But I’m never going to think about him again. I am apathetic about this random guy. But if the next week I start a new job with that guy as my coworker, and I learn that his name is Bob and he has a wife and three kids and his house just burned down so he’s working two jobs to survive, and as I spend 40 hours a week working alongside him, I automatically start having more interest in Bob’s wellbeing. I’ll ask him how he’s doing. When I go home, I’ll pray for him.

He went from a random NPC on the street to a friend. What changed? I learned more about his life and I was around him a lot.

So the way to love God more is not to try harder. The key is to spend more time with him and learn more about him through Bible reading and careful study.

We can learn about God through three main ways: nature, our conscience, and the Bible. Nature and our conscience teach us the basics about God, but to really get to know him personally, we must be students of Scripture. This is where we behold his face, and by beholding his face, we are transformed.

2 Corinthians 3:12–18 KJV

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

There are many topics covered in this passage, but the main point is how we behold God’s image and are changed into his image through simply beholding him.

As we behold God’s glory in Scripture, we will be transformed into his image at a heart level, which will result in visible obedience to his commands.

Katherine Forster

I say it again—the way to love God more, to become more like Jesus, to obey his commands, is to learn about him. God’s nature is such that simply learning about him changes us at a foundational level. Learning transforms us by the renewing of our mind.

Once you have a real, genuine love for God, doing right will be a lot easier. Easy, no, but easier. It will flow from a genuine desire to serve and not the guilt of having to fulfill a certain duty. When we love God, we love his commands and want to keep them as a sign of appreciation.

Real love for God has nothing to prove and everything to repay.

While there are many more places I could go with this, the real key is simple. Don’t skim when you read your Bible. Don’t just come looking for rules. Don’t come just looking for verses to support things you believe. Come with a curiosity about God and his nature. When something doesn’t make sense, study it until it does. Every discovery deepens the relationship.

Hebrews 12:1–3 KJV

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Consider Christ and the work will never seem like a duty.