Attaining a Holy Lifestyle, Part 2

The Christian Lifestyle - Attaining a Holy Lifestyle - Part 2 Paul told the Roman Christians, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," and then later added, "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." We are not to continue living by the pattern of this world. We must reject the fleshly sins common to humanity. But how can we become different? We must have our minds renewed. We must not allow thoughts of how to gratify the flesh. Our thought life is crucial to changing our behavior. Let me begin by reviewing the previous two lessons. In our first lesson, we made these four points. Holiness is primarily separation of our lives to the service of God. Having been set apart to the Holy One, holiness then requires separation from all sin and evil. We are positionally sanctified (declared holy as saints) at salvation. We are progressively sanctified (in our daily living) throughout our Christian lives. Now here are three points from our second lesson. We can never achieve holiness by our own efforts. By His Spirit, God gives us everything we need to be holy. We must receive and apply His gifts which include Scripture, prayer, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and fellowship in His church. Today we will discuss how our thinking must be transformed. We will look at two passages, Ephesians 4:17-24 and Romans 6:1-14. Look them up and read them. In Ephesians 4:17-19, Paul describes how ones thinking forms the worldly lifestyle. Read the passage carefully following the logic with the words "because" and "due." Hardened hearts due to willful rejection of God results in ignorance of His truth. This ignorance of God and His truth results in a darkened understanding. With a darkened understanding, one reasons with faulty data resulting in futile thinking. This futile thinking has practical consequences. There is a loss of sensitivity where no value is given to human life. This results in street violence, abortion, child abuse, and war. Futile thinking also causes one to be given to sensuality, doing what feels good but never being satisfied. Put briefly, rebellious hearts produce futile thinking which produces faulty living, the worldly lifestyle. Next in verses 20-24, Paul shares how thinking forms the Christian lifestyle. This formation begins by choosing to know Jesus Christ and receiving salvation in Him by faith. Once we come to faith, we must be taught the truth of Jesus through the Scriptures. We next learn new attitudes. Put off (reject) old worldly thought patterns and the resulting behaviors. Be made new in the attitude of your mind and bear the fruit of a new identity. Put on this new self, this new identity, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, living in imitation of God. This new way of thinking produces the Christian lifestyle. Continue reading Ephesians 4:25-5:10 for more details. This new thinking requires more than just new knowledge and sound reasoning. While they are needed, they are not enough to change us. We must possess the new identity, a whole new self-concept that guides our choices. In Romans 6, Paul speaks of developing this new self-concept. It again starts with the right knowledge. In verse 2, he says, "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" We have been united to Jesus in His death. "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." We are now free from sin unless we give it power. We now share the resurrection life of Jesus. This was all taught to us when we were baptized. Verses 3-4 say, "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." This knowledge is foundational. How are we to respond to it? Verse 11 gives the next step. "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Count yourself, consider yourself, reckon yourself, think of yourself in a new way. Go beyond knowing the facts and form a new idea of who you now are in Christ. As sinners, we learn to accept sinful ways. Sinners sin. But now I am in Christ by faith. I must no longer see myself as a sinner. That is the old man, the old identity. I am now dead to sin. Sin no longer has authority over me. Jesus is my Lord. While I am not sinless in this life, I now have freedom in Christ to not sin. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Sin no longer fits in my life. It should no longer feel right if I sin. I see my sin as unacceptable, contrary to who I now am in Christ. For example, when my grandfather finished a day in an anthracite coal mine, he would go to the bar and then come home drunk, a mean drunk. When my dad was nine, Grandpa put his faith in Christ and was saved. He once went back to the bar but realized he no longer belonged there. I never saw him drunk. He had a new self-concept. This is my new self-concept, how I count, consider, reckon myself. I am alive to God in Christ. I belong to God and am holy through Jesus. Christ lives in me. The Holy Spirit dwells in me. I love, serve, give, worship, pray, and put family first because of who I am in Christ. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:24, I must "put on the new self." I am God's obedient child and His heir. I am forgiven, cleansed, redeemed, justified, sanctified, and set free in Christ. Paul gives us one more step in Romans 6:12-14. Christians must put this right thinking into practice. You have been enabled to choose. You were once a slave to sin. Though you can still choose to sin, you can now choose otherwise enabled by the Spirit. Do not make yourself available to sin. As Romans 13:14 says, "Do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Instead flee any situation that could bring you down. Do instead offer yourself to God as an instrument of His righteousness. Do not leave a spiritual vacuum in your life. Replace sinful behaviors with activities that honor God and serve Him and others. Right thinking that comes from really knowing Jesus produces the Christian lifestyle. We must fill our minds with the truth of who we are in Christ by faith. We must develop a new self-concept by relying on the Spirit: I am united with Christ, dead to sin and alive to God. We must choose daily to act according to the will of God, setting ourselves apart, including every part of the body and mind, to the service and worship of God. It all starts by turning from our sinful self to God and putting our faith in Jesus, in His death as our substitute and in His resurrection to be our Savior. Have you started the journey of walking with God?