ARTICLES: God's "How To" for Christian Living
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Introduction
Introduction
This is probably the most important question any believer can ask. What does God want me to do? How do I walk in a way that is well-pleasing to Him, My Glorious Savior? How? Christianity has suggested all kinds of things live out our relationship with God over the millenium but since she is still looking, they must not for the most part have worked. The past has come up with all kinds of “How To’s” for living the Christian life. One preacher sums up “How To’s” for Christian living with the acronym APTAT: ADMIT without Christ we can do nothing. PRAY, asking God for what we want. TRUST by picking a promise from Bible. ACT the miracle. THANK God for the good that comes through this process.
One reformed preacher
Of course, this says everything without actually saying anything, doesn’t it? What, actually, is Christ going to do through us when we admit we are nothing? And when we pray, what, actually, are we supposed to pray about and ask for? And what promises in the Bible are we to actually trust in? Are we to trust any promise ever given to anyone in the Bible going back to Adam and claim it for ourselves? Or are there specific promises for us today? If so what, actually, are those? And what, actually, are we doing when we obey God’s instructions and Act out the miracle? What are those instructions, and where do we find them? And what, actually, does thanking God for the good that comes out of this process mean? What if we can’t see any good? What if everything we see is just plain bad? What then?
One common
Historic Christianity’s “How To’s” for living the Christian Life don’t really go to the root question, the most fundamental question of all: How do I know what God’s Will is for today and, therefore, how I am to walk in a way that pleases Him? We are told to surrender to the Lord and abide in Christ, but how exactly do we do that? We are told to remove all hindrances from our relationship with God by confessing ALL our sins? But is this even possible? And if it isn’t, does that mean we can never really have an unhindered relationship with God? We are told that the key is “repentance from the heart?” But when, exactly, do we actually do that? Is it when we have a strong enough emotional feeling? Is it after we have shed a certain number of tears? Then it is true repentance from the heart? And, of course, we told to pray, asking God for what we want. But what, actually, are we to pray about and ask for? We need to just claim the promises God has made in the Bible. That sounds easy enough, not to mention fun, but what, exactly, are the promises we claim for ourselves today? Can we lay claim to any promise God has ever made to anyone going all the way back to Adam and Eve? Or are their specific promises God has made to us for today? If so, what are those exactly?
Of course, we are told to hear God’s still, small voice from within. But how do we know when God is really speaking, and how do we actually hear it? We are told that we need to operate on the basis of the Truth and do everything out of Love. But what exactly is God’s Truth for today, and where do we find it? And just what exactly does acting in Love mean? We are told we must renew our minds and transform out thinking. But just what are we to renew our minds and transform our thinking with, exactly? We are told to “live out the teachings of Jesus.” But what are those teachings? The teachings of lowly Jesus during His earthly ministry under the Law? Or the teachings of the Risen Lord Jesus during His heavenly ministry under Grace? Or some combination thereof?
The “How To’s” for Christian Living given to us from Historical Christianity may be good for preaching homilies, filling books and presenting at conferences, but they don’t really explain “How To” live unto God today in a way that please Him. I am told that there are 10s or thousands of Christian Living books are the market today and millions more have been written over the past 2,000 years. Why do they keep writing them? Because they don’t work. They don’t really tell us how to walk with the Lord today. They don’t actually tell us “How To” live the Christian Life. So let’s throw all of these man-made systems of Christian living away and go back to the Bible itself, especially one verse in particular written by the Apostle Paul.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
This isn’t a verse typically found in Bible Verse Memory Packets, and it wasn’t one of the verses I memorized in Awana years ago, but as far as living the Christian life goes, it is one of the most important Bible verses of all because it not only tells us “what to do” today, but also tells us “how to do” it. What are we as believers to be doing today? The things we have learned from Paul. Why do we do them? Because we received them from Paul. How do we do them? The way we have heard and seen Paul do them. Paul wrote to the Philippians that the way we walk in a way that is well-pleasing to God today is by doing what Paul did.
Not long ago there was a popular youth movement with the acronym WWJD. The way to successful Christian living was to make your decisions by asking: What Would Jesus Do? These youth were told to make decisions according to what Jesus would have done in His earthly ministry on behalf of the nation Israel as recorded in the Gospel Accounts and do likewise. But is this good a good acronym for us today now that the Jesus has Risen and is dispensing His Grace from the heavenlies on behalf of the Body of Christ?
According to our verse, a more scriptural acronym for today would be WWPD—What Would Paul Do? Or perhaps, WWTRCD—What Would The Risen Christ Do? Why has historic Christianity needed to write millions of books explaining how to live the Christian life without ever succeeding? Because they have ignored WWPD and WWTRCD. Historic Christianity, going all the way back to the days of Paul himself, has rejected Paul’s distinct apostleship: The Preaching of Jesus Christ According to the Revelation of the Mystery. When they discarded that, they discarded what God is doing today and along with that the walk that pleases Him. To fill the void, they replaced God’s Truth for today as revealed to and through the Apostle Paul with the traditions of men in all its various ignorances.
This isn’t the only time that Paul tells us that in order to follow Christ today we must follow Paul. A few verses earlier in Philippians he writes:
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Such is the state of Historic Christianity.
For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
This is the requirments to be a “Timothy,” a God approved pastor-teacher today. The sole job of Timothy, and of all “Timothy’s” since is to make us remember Paul’s ways in Christ, the pathway he walked in the Risen Christ, which He had taught to everyone everywhere in every assembly.
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
What brings praise from Paul and God is when we remember the Body of Faith God gave to Paul and he gave to us, and that we have been delivered to () because when we follow Paul, we follow Paul’s Gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the Revelation of the Mystery, and when we do that we follow Christ ().
For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
2 Thess. 3:7
For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,
2 Tim. 3:
Today the only way to follow God is to follow the Risen Christ, and the only way to follow the Risen Christ is by following His unique and distinct apostle, the Apostle Paul.
Connect the dots: Let’s make this as plain as possible. If the pastor/teacher you are following is not doing that, then he is not following Paul; and if he is not following Paul, then he is not following Christ; and if he is not following Christ, then he is not following God and neither are you.