The Christian Life # 1

Question: What advice do you give for having a consistent and abundant Christian life?

The Bible gives us seven steps to an abundant Christian life:

First, begin right. John 1:12 tells us what a right beginning is: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." Receive Christ as your Saviour who died for your sin. Trust the whole matter of your forgiveness to Him. Rest upon the fact that He has paid the full penalty for your sin. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Take Him as your Deliverer who will save you from the power of sin, who will give life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins. Don't try to save yourself from the power of sin; trust Him to do it. Take Him as your  Master. Don't seek to guide your own life. Surrender unconditionally to His Lordship over you. The life of entire surrender is a joyous life all along the way. If you have never before received Christ as your Saviour and surrendered you life to Him, and if you wish to make a success of the Christian life, get alone with God and say, "All for Jesus."

Second, confess Christ openly before men. "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10). The life of confession is the life of full salvation.

Third, study the Word. "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). The Word of God is the soul's food. It is the nourishment of the new life. A person who neglects the Word cannot make much of a success of the Christian life. All who do well in the Christian life are great feeders on the Word of God.

Fourth, "pray without ceasing" ( Thessalonians 5:17). The one who wants to succeed in the Christian life must lead a life of prayer. This is easy enough if you just begin to do it.

Have set times for prayer. The rule of David and Daniel, three times a day, is a good rule. David wrote, "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (Psalm 55:17). The book of Daniel records, "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed [which decreed that no one could pray to any god or man except the king of Persia], he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days" (Daniel 6:10). Begin the day with thanksgiving and prayer - thanksgiving for the definite mercies of the past, and prayer for the definite needs of the present day. Stop in the midst of the bustle and worry and temptation of the day for thanksgiving and prayer. Close the day with thanksgiving and prayer.

Then there should be special prayer in special temptation - when we see the temptation approaching. Keep looking to God. It is not necessary that we be on our knees all the time. However, the heart should be on its knees all the time.

~R. A. Torry~

(continued with # 2