Living The True Christian Life

Lately, I have been contemplating and mulling over a few different topics. One of them is this: Why is it that men and women aren’t living the way that they should be? I see Christians all the time that live like hypocrites (no offense). They go to church, Bible studies, Christian conferences or retreats and spout Bible verses at others like a water fountain.

But later, I might see some of them surrounded by non-Christian friends, criticizing other people behind their backs, swearing or talking about some sin, crime or offense that they had committed recently.
many times I see this and think: “How can you call yourself a true Christian? Why aren’t people living out the Bible verses they read and recite every day? Are we not the hands and feet of Christ? Shouldn’t we be echoing the words of God through our actions, not just our words?"

However, I know that not everyone is perfect. I myself often have trouble resisting the temptation to do the wrong thing even when I know what is right. Even so, this is no excuse! These verses say that there are other people out in the world that look to us Christians as examples on how to live a righteous life. Looking at us, they must be thinking, if even the Christians aren’t living right, then why should I?

I especially felt I should write on this topic after listening to a podcast of a sermon given at The Father’s House church here in Rochester, NY. Pastor Pierre talked about that week’s theme verse from the Bible. It says:

“Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master's Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don't even have to say anything anymore—you're the message!” (1 Thessalonians 1: 7-8, The Message)

This passage talks about how true Christians shouldn’t need to spread the message themselves across the world; their lives should speak out for them! We are the message! We should be echoing God’s words by how we live out our daily lives instead of giving into the temptations of the world.

I also listened to another podcast sermon from The Father’s House on purity as well. The guest speaker started off by talking about pigs and how this animal is so unclean that God forbid the Jews from ever eating or even touching them and then the speaker gave the audience a few reasons why this occurred.
In the Old Testament it says:

“And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.” (Leviticus 11: 7-8, English Standard Version)

By the time he finished giving his “pig fun facts,” I felt like I never wanted to eat bacon or pork ever again. That’s how dirty pigs are. They eat garbage and any other nasty thing one could think of and roll around all day in the mud. Yet we still eat their meat. The speaker also mentioned that pigs have way more bacteria in their meat than cows or any other meat animal do, just because of their gross, disgusting lifestyle. Nasty!
The Bible story he used to get his message across is that of the man possessed by a legion of spirits, or demons as depicted in the gospel of Mark:

“They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.”
(Mark 5:1-20, NIV)

In order for the man to be delivered of his demons, Jesus had to send the demons somewhere else. The only creatures unclean enough to contain all these demons were pigs. Also, notice that after the pigs were possessed, they couldn’t be rid of the demons by being cleansed or blessed by a Rabbi or something. Their unclean nature had to be drowned from them in a lake and be killed. 

This story is relevant to us and our own sin nature. We can’t get rid of the stench of sin by taking a shower or doing good deeds, we must be washed in the supernatural blood of Christ and be forgiven of our sins by the only One capable of doing so: God. Our sinful nature must be “killed” by the repentance of our sins and turn our lives around to begin living righteously. We are as unclean as pigs. Yes, us! We are born into a sinful world and from birth, we become more and more sinful and corrupted by evil as we grow older. We can be distracted from God’s plan for our lives by other things of this world. We allow these things to get in between us and God and we are blinded by our own sin. I think that this is what God meant when He gave us the commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) God didn’t mean for us to be drawn away from Him by becoming attached and devoted to temporary things of this world. He wanted to have a loving, honest relationship with him, uninhibited by sin.

Your “idols” might be things like: money, television, books, work, friends, family, cars, music, school, a significant other, travel, fame, an illness, etc. It doesn’t have to be a carved or graven image to count as an idol. It only has to become more imortant than spending time in God's presence. Anything can become a diversion from our true calling set before us by God.

What we need now is to depend on God to help us in our daily lives to resist these temptations and distractions and ask him to help us keep our gaze fixed on Him, to never let anything cloud our vision of what we are supposed to do with our lives. I hope that you will see the truth of this message and work harder to live like Christ called us to live: set apart, holy and devoted to God’s purpose. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NKJV) If we are living for God, things in our lives will begin coming together the way that they’re supposed to be. It might not always be the way we expected, but then, we can never truly see the full portrait of how our lives are supposed to play out; only God can know that for sure.


God, I want to pray every day for people that I might know or hear about who aren’t living the way they should (including myself). I ask God that He would clear away the dust and shadows that cloud their vision, that they might see the beautiful future that God has in store just for them, should they accept it. I pray that they would find strength today and every day afterwards to be able to stand firm in what they believe and become an example for others that are watching them as an example. I pray that they wouldn’t be afraid to admit that they are a Christian and that yes, they believe in Jesus on faith, not only by what they can sense with their human senses. Also, I hope that they choose commit their lives to living the right way instead of giving into the influence of their peers and those around them that might think that they are weird or inferior by doing so. I also ask God to bring many people into their lives that can serve as an encouragement to them when they feel down and that can keep them accountable to their actions. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN!

May your own life begin to reflect the glorious light of Christ through your actions

so that all may see and glorify the Father in heaven!

God Bless You!