To Live Is Christ

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21

To live is Christ, what does that mean? In the simplest of explanations, to live is Christ is to live for Christ. For that to happen you need Christ to abide in you, seven days a week. This requires accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. This means recognizing your sin and need for a Savior. It is our faith that Jesus is the Son of God, who died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected on the third day which saves us from our sin.

Do you want to accept Jesus as Lord? Pray, “God, I know I am a sinner, and I am asking you to forgive me of my sins. I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I believe His death, burial, and resurrection provided forgiveness of my sins. Thank you Lord for saving me! Have your way with me LORD, in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!”

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

We have accepted Jesus as our Savior, now comes the question, how to live for Christ? Well, certainly not in our own strength. To live for Christ means everything we do points others to Christ. We should bring the glory to Jesus by the way we live, spreading the knowledge, gospel, and truth of the Word of God. Our daily “selfie” should reflect the mirror image of Jesus. Simply put, the world will ask you to compromise, for business reasons, or to satisfy a big donor, or to just fit in, but the Word tells us to be “separate” from the world. Have faith, God will supply your needs!

Think it is hard to live for Christ in this modern world, read 2 Corinthians 11:25-30. This passage describes the many ways Paul was physically abused to live for Christ. He could have easily slipped over to the dark side and hated his enemies. He chose to stay focused on his God given purpose, and we must do the same. We can disagree with our fellow man and the sins of the world in a way that honors God. It is frightening to see members of the “community” spewing vitriol and falling for satan’s favorite tool, hatred for their fellow man!

Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them (1 John 3:15).

What does our heart reflect to others when we disagree with another, or another’s viewpoint? Do we write people off and say bad things about them? How do we react when someone pours over every word we say or write, hoping to find an opportunity in the minutia? Do we pray for those people or choose to hate them, or do we just shut down? We can’t be distracted from God’s purpose for our lives!

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for anything good (Titus 1:15-16).

God takes this Christian thing very seriously. There are a lot of good people, even well-educated people interpreting God’s Higher ways. They say, “God is love, and a loving God accepts all people, their habits, and the things they do.” God does love all people, but He is just, and His Word promises a day of judgement. When we give our lives to Jesus, we repent of our worldly ways, and turn the opposite direction. It is foolish to believe God’s system has evolved to a “more worldly point of view.”

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts (Ephesians 4:18).

To live for Christ is more than a daily or weekly checklist. Went to church Sunday. Check. Read my Bible Monday thru Friday. Check. Said a prayer for a sick person. Check. Even went to church on Wednesday night. Double-check! These are all great things, and we should do them, but Jesus wants to have a real relationship that comes to life in all aspects of your life. This is illustrated in how we respond to adversity.

But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you (Luke 6:27-28).

The Greek word for bless is eulegeo, which translated can mean “pray for.” This is very hard, and I cannot do it in my strength, we must allow God to guide us through the Holy Spirit. We can all share stories of friends, or family, which have turned their backs, or cursed us. The gut reaction is to respond in kind and defend ourselves. To live for Christ means we pray for them.

To live for Christ means we should imitate the example of Jesus. Jesus did not agree with sin, and on many occasions pointed it out to the offenders. He did this to save them from eternal damnation! He was not reckless with words, just lovingly direct.

To be honest, I would much rather talk about beautiful birds bumping into my window, the deer at my farm, or these new shoes I’ve discovered, but God has a greater purpose with my life. How about you? Is there someone you know who needs to see Jesus at work in the world.

You see, to live is Christ, and to die is gain!