An Explanation of the Christian Life

For the next six chapters, we are going to discuss the Christian Life.  I will spend extra time on this topic before we jump to the full development of Popular Christianity.  If we are to identify that which is counterfeit, we must know that which is true.  For this brief division of this book, we will be looking deeply into the book of Romans.

Romans is a wonderful book which holds within it all of the major doctrines of the Scriptures.  Luther said it is, “The chief part of the New Testament, and the perfect Gospel.”  Another individual said, “If the Bible were a ring, Romans would be the stone and chapter eight would be the sparkle on the stone.”  Graham Scroggie says, “Romans is the most complete and systematic of all the Epistles, and the praise of it from many quarters has not been exaggerated.”[1]

Paul wrote this book, under inspiration, to Christians in Rome, who included several of Jewish descent.  This is clearly scene when you read the dispensational portion in chapters nine through eleven.  Chapters nine through eleven are dealing with God’s people, the Nation of Israel.  The fact of Jewish Christians is also evidenced when you read chapter two.

In chapter one, the Gentile is shown to be guilty before God.  Chapter two reveals the Jew to be a sinner before God.  The first two chapters culminate in the universal condemnation of all before the holy God in chapter three.  Romans 3:10 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one…”  Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…”  Chapter 3:24 through the end of chapter 5 sets forth the immutable truth that justification is by faith and not by works.  God’s salvation is graciously given to man.  Man’s reception of this eternal life is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is the only way to have eternal life!

Please remember that the writer is speaking to many individuals who were attempting to have faith in Christ, yet they were trying to fulfill the works of the law at the same time.  This was part of their heritage and tradition, and it was difficult for them to stop attempting to work for their own salvation.  Today, there are individuals who perhaps follow Maslow’s theory of hierarchy, and they are attempting to gain a level of self-actualization through good deeds or hard work.  My friend, no matter how good you think you are, the Word of God is clear that we are all sinners under the condemning hand of a righteous God.  Your works will not get you to Heaven.  We are taught in Romans that justification comes by faith in the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ.

Chapters six through eight speak to Christian living inwardly.  Now that I am saved, am I free to sin?  How do I deal with sin in my life?  Is the Christian life a life to live for self or for the Saviour?  These chapter will be key in the next several lessons.  The key to understanding chapters six through eight is understanding that my position is fixed, but my daily practice needs attention.

Chapters nine through eleven address national Israel.  It is important to understand this because there are many who read the words  elect, election, and predestination in the Word of God; but they do not consider the context.  All of the election in chapters nine through eleven is election on a national level and not on an individual level.  Scroggie says, “What it is important to notice in this division of Romans’ is that the election spoken of is not of an individual but of a nation.”[2] The Children of Israel are still God’s people, and God will resume his working with them in a very evident way during the Tribulation.

Lastly, chapters twelve through sixteen deal with practical application of what they have been taught doctrinally.  For example, chapter twelve deals with surrender and gifts of the Spirit.  Chapter thirteen addresses our civic responsibilities.  Chapter fourteen and fifteen speak to our working with other Christian brethren.  Chapter sixteen teaches us what to do with those who cause divisions within the fold.

In all, the book of Romans is fantastic!  If we are learn how to live the Christian life, we must dig deep into this powerful message that was delivered by Phoebe to these Christians in Rome.  Our first point for exposition will be the Explanation of the Christian Life.

Have you ever been pushed to the limit in an athletic event?  For example, if you have ever run track, you will understand what I am about to say.  There are short distance runs, and then, there are long distance runs.  I was always chosen to run short distance runs when I was in high school.  There were some races, where I had to sprint one entire lap.  This was an all-out race, and you could not jog or go slow.  You did pace yourself as best as you could for the first three quarters of the race, but once you got to the last quarter, you were trying your hardest to make sure you gave all you had.  As I was rounding the last curve one day, I pushed; and I pushed.  I ran as hard with all that I had left in me, yet I felt as though I was not going very fast.  My legs were still moving, but they became numb.  All I knew to do was to keep kicking until I got through the finish line.  Later my coach told me that’s what they call, “when the bear jumps on your back.”  It is hard to explain unless you have experienced it.  It happens when you are fatigued, and you are trying extra hard to exert more energy.  The reason that I tell you this story is because this is how so many Christians are attempting to live their Christians lives.  They believe that if they do a little more, and if they go a little further they will be ok.  The truth of the matter is the Christian life is not a life that you live.  It is a life that Christ lives through you as you surrender to Him.

We learn several things about the Christian life in this book.  I will seek to only give you three.  I do not believe that the importance of these three things can be fully comprehended.  These areas are foundational to Christian living.  We will look at faith, freedom, and future in this chapter.

The Christian Life is a Life of Faith

As we look into the book of Romans and the Word of God, we learn that the Christian life is a life of faith.  J. Hudson Taylor said, “Not a great faith we need, but faith in a great God.”  Another anonymous individual said, “Little faith will bring your soul to Heaven, but great faith will bring Heaven to your soul.”  We must acknowledge this matter of faith to be central to the Christian Life.  Notice the following verses from Romans:

• “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:17 Notice the phrase “faith to faith.”  While the first faith speaks to our salvation, the second faith addresses daily faith in the life of the believer.  Faith did not and should not stop the day we trust Christ as Saviour, but it must continue and grow from that point onward.  Sorenson says, “There is saving faith, and living by faith – “faith to faith.”  It is the same for both Jew and gentile.”[3]
• “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference…” – Romans 3:22
• “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” – Romans 4:5
• “Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.” – Romans 4:9
• “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” – Romans 4:13
• Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all…” – Romans 4:16
• “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God…” – Romans 4:20
• “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” – Romans 5:1

There are many more Scriptures in the Word of God about faith.  Suffice it to say, that “faith is the victory” that allows justification.  It is the victory that overcomes the world!  If we are to live effective Christian lives, then we must choose to live by faith.  C.H. Spurgeon said, “Faith is the Samsonian lock of the Christian; cut it off, and you may put out his eyes.”

Spurgeon also said, “Look at the faith of the master mariner!  He looses his cable, he stream away from the land.  For days, weeks, even months, he sees neither sail nor shore, yet on he goes day and night without fear, till one morning he finds himself exactly opposite the desired haven toward which he has been steering.

How has he found his way over the trackless deep?  He has trusted his compass, his nautical almanac, his glasses, and the heavenly bodies; and obeying their guidance, without sighting land, he has steered so accurately that he has not changed a point to enter port.  It is a wonderful thing….It is glorious to be so far out on the ocean of Divine love, believing in God, and steering for Heaven straight away, by the direction of the Word of God.”[4]

I read the story once of a man named Henry Manning.  He was the author of a book called Faith in God.  There came a time in his life where he was going through a very difficult time.  As he was walking one day, he decided to enter a small bookstore and request a copy of his own book.  He did not inform the clerk that he was the author of the book he was requesting.  The clerk called to a young man in the storage room and asked that he look for the book entitled Faith in God. From the storage room, the young man yelled back, “Manning’s Faith in God is all gone.”  This response answered Henry Manning’s problem.  Many Christians walk around defeated because they have never realized that the Christian Life is a life of faith.

The Christian Life is a Life of Freedom

This is where there seems to be some confusion.  The Christian Life is a life of absolute freedom.  In some of the following chapters we will discuss this freedom in greater depth.  Notice some of these verses:

• “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” – Romans 6:18
• “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” – Romans 6:22
• “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:2
• “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” – Galatians 5:1

There are many who look at the Christian life as a life of bondage from doing pleasure-filling sin.  Maybe they feel forced, but we should not feel forced to live the Christian life.  The individual who is truly born again understands what it is to have a new life within him.  What we have gained in Jesus Christ is greater than what Adam and Eve had while in their perfection.  The Christian does not need to be forced to serve, but rather there is a new desire that wants to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.  To the Jew who read this, they had to have taken a breath of fresh air.  For so long, they were working to attempt to gain merit with God, but in Christ they were made free from that bondage.  They no longer had to force themselves to accomplish traditional legal matters for salvation.

The process of the obtaining of this freedom will be discussed in greater length in the next few chapters.  For now, please understand that we are not living under the Law.  We do not have to live with a guilty conscience that binds us.  We do not have to live under any kind of mental bondage.  We are free from the power and the penalty of sin.  In Christ, we are free!  So many confuse this absolute freedom with a license to sin or live worldly.  This is not the case and Paul will address this later in chapter 6:1 – 2.

The Christian Life is a Life Lived for the Future

Lastly, the Christian Life is a life that the individual lives with the future in mind.  As Paul is writing to these individuals, he gives them a glimpse of what the future holds in Romans 8:11 – 30.  Consider this passage:

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

You can tell when someone is living the Biblical Christian life by what or Who they are living for in their life.  C.S. Lewis said, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.”  He also said, “Aim at Heaven and you’ll get “earth” thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.”  The Christian Life according to the Word of God is a life that is lived with all eyes upon Jesus Christ.

While so many within the “Fundamental” realm are bickering over nonsense, this world is still in dire need of what we have!  It is a continual frustration and struggle for me personally.  To watch those who are Independent Baptist take on each other as if they were mortal enemies is nauseating to say the least.  Recently, my pastor and I were together on a trip.  At the location we were at, we heard one Independent Baptist criticize another Independent Baptist.  After leaving that place, I asked my pastor his thoughts.  He said, “Bro. Fernandez, that is why we are INDEPENDENT.  What one pastor does at the church God has placed him is between him and God.“  There is a lot of wisdom in those statements.

So what is the problem?  The problem is that many Christians have lost sight of Jesus Christ. May I say that we need a greater emphasis on “Looking unto Jesus”! Today, so many are concerned with “the other Christian” rather than the Saviour they are serving.  How is it possible to use the Sermon on the Mount to attack churches?  Is that not a contradiction in itself? Well, one individual recently did this on a popular social networking site.  Stop looking at the churches, the money, and definitely stop looking at the NEED around the world; and start looking at Jesus.  When our eyes are where they need to be all other things come into view as they SHOULD.  Our view of Christ will cause us to have the right view of everything else, including the apparent NEED of the souls of men!

In addition, we are not the judges.  God is the judge.  We will stand accountable for ourselves and not for what is done in the other location.  To look at a ministry or a Christian and cast judgment is not our portion nor our privilege!

Lastly, true unity is found in the Person of Jesus Christ. I am definitely not for the “NEW AGE MOVEMENT.”  God is not in everything, and God is NOT everything, but I do believe in unity of each local New Testament Church, as well as unity through fellowship with other churches of like faith.  This unity is found in the Person of Christ!  It is impossible to truly know this unity unless our eyes are upon Him rather than what other churches do or do not do.  So, “Take the High Road.”  Whether you put your eyes upon Christ now or not, you WILL be forced to do so one day when He returns, for every eye shall see Him.  It will be much better if we remember now that the Christian Life is a life that is lived for the future, namely for Jesus Christ.

A.W. Tozer said of our Saviour, “I believe that Christ died for me because it is incredible; I believe that he rose from the dead because it is impossible.”[5] Gordon said, “Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that man can understand.”[6] If this is the Savior we claim in our Christian lives, then let’s look to Him and live with Him in view!

[2] Ibid., p. 143

[3] Robert Sorenson, Understanding the Bible (Minnesota: Northstar Ministries), 627.

[4] Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Springs in the Valley (California: Cowman Publications), 338 – 339.

[5] A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy (New York: Harper & Row Publishers), 27.

[6] S.D. Gordon, Nelson’s Complete Book Of Stories, Illustrations, & Quotes (Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers), 477.