Mind of a Christian

A Christian Life is Not Easy

Christians have it easy. All we have to do is say "I believe in Jesus", and we'll be saved from hell. It doesn't matter if we're good people or absolute evil, because we're going to heaven anyway, so we can do whatever we want, right?

Well, no.

I want to make two points in regards to the Christian life: what you have to do to be saved, and what you have to do after you're saved.

Accepting Yeshua the Messiah as your Savior isn't "easy".

There's a scene in Family Guy where US special forces are raiding Osama Bin Laden's house. Right as they're about to shoot him, he yells, "I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior!" and bam! He goes to heaven. Accepting Yeshua the Messiah doesn't work like that.

Your heart must first be in the right place. You must be in the right mindset to be able to accept Yeshua. What mindset would that be? one might ask. It is the mindset of truly recognizing that you cannot save yourself spiritually on your own. Yeshua is the only path to salvation. Only He is capable of saving souls. In other words, you cannot accept Yeshua as your Savior with a prideful heart. Humble yourself.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves - it is the gift of God. It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2: 8-9 TLV)

Okay, so you can't save yourself, because only God can; only Yeshua can. But, if salvation is not based on deeds, then Christians can still get away with doing bad things and still go to heaven, right?

Yes, they still go to heaven. But, it's more complicated than that.

Salvation is not the final goal, but rather the beginning step in the Christian life.

Many people might convert to Christianity because they want to go to heaven. This isn't necessarily a bad motive. However, it is best that they should not convert for the sole purpose of saving their souls. This is because the Christian life doesn't end when you are saved. The end goal is not to go to heaven.

"Don't you know that in a stadium the runners all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win! Every competitor exercises self-control in all respects. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we do it to receive an imperishable crown. So I run in this way - not aimlessly. So I box in this way - not beating the air." (1 Corinthians 9: 24-26 TLV)

"Therefore, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also get rid of every weight and entangling sin. Let us run with endurance the race set before us, focusing on Yeshua, the initiator and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12: 1-2 TLV)  

The runners in this analogy aren't running to receive salvation as a prize. The "imperishable crown" (1 Corinthians 9: 25) is not the reward of heaven. It can't be - Paul is writing this letter to Christians living in Corinth. They are already saved. So what is the purpose of this analogy? What should Christians do to run in the race?

The answer is to serve God in restoring His kingdom by following His commandments.

This is not an easy task. This isn't coasting through life. This is running, and it's the type of running that gets us first place.

It's the type of running where you condition yourself and keep yourself healthy, spiritually. It's the type of running where you can't afford to skip too many leg days, or eat unclean foods all the time. It's the type of running that takes constant dedication and passion in reaching the goal.

Come to think about it, an proper athletic life is a great analogy for a proper spiritual life. Just change the physical things an athlete does to spiritual things that you should do, and you'll do well in serving God.

What I'm trying to get to is that Christians are held responsible for following God's commandments.

What happens if a Christian doesn't run the race? What if he chooses not to follow God's commandments?

Well, there are rewards and consequences for what we do in our lives.

"And I saw the dead - the great and the small - standing before the throne. The books were opened, and another book was opened - the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Sheol gave up the dead in them. Then they were each judged, each one of them, according to their deeds." (The Revelation 20: 12-13 TLV, emphasis added.)

Now, these verses aren't explicitly saying that you get punished for doing bad, but it still shows that you're held accountable for you deeds. If you did something that's unrighteous, or if you ignored to do a righteous thing, you may be withheld from rewards as punishment.

If you look at the parable with the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 (I showed the verses of the parable in the chapter "Should Do vs Actually Do"), Jesus told the goats who did nothing to serve Him to "go away... into the everlasting fire". That's quite the consequence of not doing your part as a servant of God.

Now, whether your salvation is revoked based on this is a different and highly contested point, but I will argue at some other time that your salvation does not get revoked based on Matthew 25.

You're held responsible for the things that you do, 'is all.

This isn't only for non-believers. This isn't only for Christians, either. Judgement applies to everyone.

This might seem like I'm saying "Follow God, or else you'll get punished!". It might seem very burdensome, or demanding, but don't worry! Just as races have a prize for the runner who pushes himself to do the best, God gives a reward to those who serve in restoring His kingdom.

I'll go over the rewards of all of this in a chapter soon ;)

For Christian readers, I hope that you may focus or continue to focus your lives into living like Christ, loving everyone and caring for them, however you may do it.

For non-Christian readers, I hope that I expressed this particular Christian perspective well. It's never my intent to forcibly convert you, but I want to say that for all the hardships and responsibilities in a Christian life, it's all worth it.

Comment below and share your thoughts on this!