Our natural desires are not compatible with the will of God for our life. Generally, the things that please us displease the Lord. We find it hard to deny ourselves of those things that bring us pleasure. But if we want to effectively live for Christ, we must put those deeds and desires to death. Not literally, of course, but virtually.
We can’t live for ourselves and effectively live for Christ at the same time. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit,” Jesus said (John 12:24, KJV). Similarly, it is only when we choose to die to ourselves that we can be fruitful for the Kingdom.
That this is true is evident in heaven’s mandate that all who accept Christ must be born again from above. No one can effectively life for Christ without this divine experience from above. Thereby, God puts a new spirit in us, one that enables us to do the things that please Him.
But being born again from above is not enough. We have no lack of those believers who have been born again but who persist to live a self-pleasing life. The Holy Spirit does not prevent us from living that compromising lifestyle. But He empowers our life so we don’t have to continue to live that way. It is our responsibility to mortify the deeds of our flesh through the help of the Holy Spirit.
To Be Fruitful or to Be Barren
The tendency of many who accept Christ is to try and continue living for themselves while trying to please God at the same time. But living to please yourself and God at the same time is not possible because these two agendas are diametrically opposed. “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another….” (Galatians 5:17, NASB).
These words from the pen of Paul the Apostle were addressed to the churches at Galatia. The point is that he was writing to believers. Every genuine believer, without exception, experiences this internal struggle between his flesh and the Spirit.
That’s why we can’t simply superimpose our newfound Christianity upon our existing lifestyle as many try to. No, the old man must be put to death before we can effectively live for Christ.
If you persist to live for yourself, you will be dead to the things of God. The result is that you will be spiritually barren. If you die to yourself, however, you will be alive to the things of God. Which of these two lifestyles characterize your life as a Christian?
A key word in the title of this post is the word “effectively.” I suppose every bona fide Christian lives for Christ to some degree. But I am talking about effectively living for Christ. Such a life is characterized by being fruitful for the Kingdom.
No Christian who lives a spiritually barren life is living an effective Christian life. All of us have some more dying to do. But the more we die to ourselves the more effectively we will live for Christ.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.