Many Christians try to live a life on Sundays to go to Church and live a life thats completely different in week days. What does bible instruct us to live as a weekday christian.
World around us Week Days
James 4:4 (NIV) ‘You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. '
James starts with the word “adulterous people” because our attitude is different one day vs other, it changes as we go over each day.
He points a very strong word - “that friendship with the world means enmity against God?” , But we live in the world how can we live a life without this friendship ?
Why did God say “anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. '” ?, it’s because if we love the world our holiness with God is lost, once we are unholy we cannot get closer to God
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15-17 NIV
Warning - Don’t love the world or anything in the world
Troubles
... lust of the flesh (our self desires, satan - spirit of lies )
... lust of the eyes (attraction to the beauty of the world, satan - spirit of deception )
... pride of life (once you achieve you take credit to boast on that, satan - spirit of proudness )
How does this become practically possible to fight the 3 temptations ? Answer to that is in Romans 6
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:11-14 NIV
Reckon - Come to the reconciliation that “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” the body is a where Christ is living and sin cannot enter it
Resist - still the 3 temptation will come - submit to God and resist that, the words say James 4:7 - “submit yourself .. to God..resist the devil, he will flee away”
Surrender - submitting to God Rom 6:13-14“but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life…For sin shall no longer be your master”
Walking as a Week Day Christian
Ephesians 2:10 - ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. '
Since he has created us we live a Godly life as per Christ in this world - This is where we have our responsibility to Walk according to his will. Mans responsibility - it’s his conscious responsibility to do actions.
How do you live in this world where we are filled with Christians and Non-Christian's, 1 Peter 2 :11 to 24 outlines how we should live our life’s
1) Live like a Foreigner / Exiles in the world
1 Peter 2:11 (NIV) - 'Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. '
If you visit to another place thats not your home, mostly we don’t do anything thats out of the way to get into trouble. Its the same way Paul asks us to life in the world.
Our life in the world is temporary. our work, our thoughts / actions have to be aligned to the eternal life above.
Satan uses the desires of the world to woo us down to be attracted to world. Thats where we have to overcome those desires by applying the principle of RECON / RESIST and SURRENDER
We will have a constant struggle in the world to live, The good news — A Christian does not struggle towards a possible victory, but he proceeds from a victory already won! Hallelujah!
Blessings we get for following this Word
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV) - 'Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. '
We may be accused of “doing wrong”, Sometimes you wonder why some people hate you without any reason.
Blessing for us will be on the “Day when we stand in front of God” - All these people who accused us will testify and Glorify God. This is the greatest blessing we can get from God.
Mostly we get blessing only for us, but when we live this life our actions edify God.
2) Submitting to every Human Authority
1 Peter 2:13-14 (NIV) - 'Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. '
Submit to all human authority, people at work, our elected official's.
Many times we may be in odds to the people who are elected, we may oppose their ideas, still we are called to Submit to them.
Blessings we get for following this Word
1 Peter 2:15 (NIV) - 'For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. '
By submitting to the authority, we follow what God’s will is in our life.
God will never allow us to suffer or get to wrong path when we do any, if at all we get to any suffering, we suffer for the sake of Righteousness and the blessings are countless
Since we are Ephesians 2:10 - ‘For we are God’s handiwork..” We full fill the word “by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. “
3) Live as free People
1 Peter 2:16 (NIV) - 'Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. '
When Paul says “Live as free People” - have a life cleansed by God every day. Life free from sins.
Once we live that life, there is a spiritual pride that creeps in us and warning for us is “but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil”
Blessings we get for following this Word
We are slaves of God “live as God’s slaves.”
We follow the orders of Master, we are being honoured to be Slaves of God who become worthy in God’s eye Luke 17:10 'So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” '
4) Respect for everyone
1 Peter 2:17 (NIV) - 'Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. '
God asks us to show respect to every one, when he says everyone it means people who are above our age and below our age
The words we speak should be good, nothing bad should come from our mouth.
Blessings we get for following this Word
Love of God comes to us to show the “love the family of believers” We inhibit the fear of God in us by following his words
5) Submit to Masters
1 Peter 2:18 (NIV) - 'Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. '
The word says, we have to submit to the Masters (our employers) or people whom are our managers at work with “Reverent fear of God”
Many times we show that kind of a respect only for people who are Just to us, but the word goes to say show that kind of fear “to those who are harsh” We are to treat our masters who are considerate and harsh equally.
Blessings we get for following this Word
1 Peter 2:19 (NIV) - 'For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. '
When we show the “reverent fear of God” to a master who is harsh, we suffer and we suffer for unjust reasons.
These suffering is a “Commendable” in God’s eye. We suffer for God’s righteous cause. We live a life where God gives a testimony of our life’s to other. Thats the greatest blessing we can get from God. Job was a example of this in front of God. 1 Peter 2:20 (NIV) - 'But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. '
So Summary, Don’t live a christian life only in Sundays, lets turn the week days to strive living a Godly life. Some of these 5 principles outlined is difficult to follow, but we can do this with the help of God as we RECON / RESIST and SURRENDER.
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