Introduction
It is important to point out first that living out a Christian lifestyle is not what so many people perceive it to be. Many people through ignorance think it is a lifestyle chosen by those who are desperate, bored, and having nothing else to do with their lives. Indeed to live out a lifestyle of following Christ is not for the feeble, cowards, and for the people pleasers. The lifestyle is a life characterized by self-denial, discipline, and commitment.
But who is a Christian? The word Christian first appears in the Bible in Acts 11:26 which reads “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26b). The word Christian, therefore, was a word first used in Antioch to describe the disciples of Jesus who were living there. The word Christian is derived from the name “Christ” and is used for someone who is Christ-like. The disciples in Antioch had certain characteristics that made them stand out as the followers of Jesus. In essence, what this means is that even today there are certain characteristics that need to stand out in every Christian that are easily identifiable even without saying word, it is a lifestyle that can be deduced by just observing the kind of lifestyle that a person leads.
In contemporary society, the word Christian has been watered down so much to an extent that one only qualifies to be a Christian only by virtue that they go to church occasionally, have a baptismal name, and have Christian parents. This is not what is reflected in the Bible wherein many instances we see Jesus telling his listeners that to follow him should not be taken lightly and it should be a life that sometimes will attract persecution, hardship, and a lot of counting the cost.
For me there are certain salient features that a life of a Christian should have which I am going to discuss using the Holy Scriptures as the basis.
Faith
Before making the decision to follow Christ the first and the most important step is to have faith that God exists, to have faith that Jesus is His son who came and lived on earth, was crucified died, and shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and on the third day, he resurrected and ascended to heaven and will come back one day to pick those who are his. With this faith, a Christian can live a life that is pleasing to God because he/she is very much aware of His presence and is in the knowledge that ” without faith, it is hard to please God in any way” Hebrews10:23.
Obedience to the word of God
The Bible is the inherent word of God and forms the bedrock of the Christian faith. Without the Bible, it would be extremely difficult to know how to live as a Christian. The Bible is the manual for any person who wants to live a successful Christian life. Reading the Bible alone does not necessarily mean that one now is leaving the Christian life out rather, one needs to read and put what he/she reads into practice, the book of James explicitly states this where it says:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror” James 1:22-23.
Therefore reading the word of God and obeying it is very important and this shows whether one loves God or not.
Loving God with all our hearts
When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment he replied:
“ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself”. Luke 10:26-28.
The lifestyle of a Christian should be characterized by the love of God more than anything else. To God, this way means that one has to discard the notion that proclaiming to love God is not enough but obeying His words in actual sense is a show that one really loves God.
The other important aspect of a Christian is to “love thy neighbor as thy self”. One characteristic that a Christian should have is that one of love and compassion for others and especially for those who are lost. When one loves their neighbors, he/she is extending the love of God to them. In fact, the Bible is very clear on this issue where it says that it would be impossible to love God if we do not love our neighbors.
For me, these are the three main lifestyles that every Christian should possess, because they form the basis of Christianity without which that life is untenable.
Works Cited
Scriptures lifted from the New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.