Objective of this lesson: to affirm again that from the beginning of Christianity assuming the Christian life meant assuming responsibility.
What does Christian existence 'look like'? That is a relevant question! Too often people are 'converted to Christ' with no accurate concept of what a life living for Christ 'looks like.' This problem does not deal with a 21st century need--it deals with an every century need.
Stress that a person converted to Jesus Christ does not just 'know and understand' by some mysterious, intuitive process what a Christian's life 'looks like.' The transformation of lifestyle does not 'just happen.' The transformation that occurs in forgiveness has its origin in the acts of God--atonement, redemption, sanctification, justification. The transformation that occurs in lifestyle has its origin in the commitment of the converted person.
Consider the first century gentile world [the world of the majority of people in the first century]. The only religions that many of those people knew were the religions of idolatry. Consider the religions of idolatry as contrasted to Christianity. The definition of what was moral differed. The definition of what was ethical differed. Values, standards, and priorities differed. The basic concepts of the nature and concerns of deity differed. The concepts of spirituality differed.
For a former idol worshipper, the Christian lifestyle included new and different concepts of good and evil, of right and wrong, of what was moral and immoral, and of what was understood to be good.
For example, in some forms of idolatry getting drunk was morally good. In some forms of idolatry, promiscuous sexual intercourse was morally good. In some forms of idolatry, deception, stealing, and the negative emotions surrounding anger were right.
The concept that people originally came from God and were originally made in God's image was a foreign concept to many. The meaning of that concept regarding the treatment of other humans was strange. The concept of being kind to enemies was ridiculous. Compassion, forgiveness, kindness, self-control, and gentleness were qualities of weakness. In the Roman world, a person sought power. To make things happen the way one desired for things to happen evidenced strength--so seek, gain, and exercise control!
Often the new understanding of 'good' was considered as weakness in society's mainstream. Society often had no respect for the morality or ethics of the Christian's new lifestyle. Often becoming a Christian meant assuming lifestyle commitments that were not respected in mainstream society.
Christianity was a 'new religion.' It was less than 100 years old throughout the first century. By contrast, many common forms of idolatry were hundreds of years old. Many of them were rooted in ancient religions. For those living in gentile societies, people knew what it 'looked like' to live a life devoted to the gods. They had little or no idea of what it 'looked like' to be led by Jesus Christ. To be baptized into Christ with no concept of how to live for Christ was spiritually disastrous. To be Christian by birth into Christ but idolatrous in lifestyle was a major contradiction! How were such persons to be blessed by God? How were unconverted people to realize the distinction between being Christ's disciple and living the lifestyle of the person who worshipped idols?
Stress three understandings:
(1) Christianity was a 'new' religion in the first century world.
(2) Many people converted to Christ did not know what a Christian lifestyle 'looked like.'
(3) Christians needed to realize conversion to Christ meant adopting and developing a new way to live.
Before you become highly critical of first century persons who were baptized but continued the lifestyle of idol worshippers, consider the situation in our culture. Is there any difference in the way Christians dress and the way others dress? Talk in conversation? Have acceptable and unacceptable words in their vocabulary? Do Christians have affairs? Are Christians promiscuous? Do Christian lie or cheat? Do Christians get drunk or high? Do Christians abuse family members? Do Christians develop instability in their homes? Are Christians' actions governed by anger?
Stress the fact that many Christians today are slow to realize that belonging to Christ involves living for standards and values unknown to those who do not know Christ. Being a Christian is far more than church identity or church attendance.
Is the primary difference between following Jesus Christ and living a life void of Christ's influence (1) baptism and (2) 'going to church' habits?
Stress that conversion to Christ involves more than baptism and going to church. Those involvements include such things as compassion, forgiveness of others, continual repentance as one grows in Christ, love, and proper treatment of people.
Two observations: (1) discipleship in Christ is a growth process; (2) growth is measured from your starting point, not someone else's starting point. Christians long have encouraged hypocrisy by seeking to establish a set of criteria or standards to measure faithfulness. All of us will be saved somewhere on our growth curve. What we do is important. Who we are in Christ Jesus is equally important. To God, repentance is extremely important.
Being a Christian starts with coming to Christ where one is. There is no spiritual development chart that declares a person 'should be here' in 12 months or 18 months or 3 years. Growth rates vary from person to person, from background to background. The issue is not 'how fast are you growing.' The issue is 'are you growing.' That is one of the reasons we as Christians are to be encouragers, not judges.
Consider Paul's challenges and encouragement to the gentile Christians at Colosse regarding what it meant to be created in the image of Christ. Please note that there would be a visible change. This admonition was given to all who were resurrected in Christ. Under consideration are those who believe in Jesus' resurrection and have been baptized because they repented. (1) Seek the values of the enthroned Jesus Christ. (2) Focus thoughts on the standards of the resurrected Jesus who is with God. (3) Considering the redemption, atonement, and justification they received in Christ, this was a reasonable request. When God looked at them, He saw His perfect sacrifice, Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus returns, he will be unashamed to present them to God.
Stress changes would be visible in those gentile Christians. Conversion to Christ meant their lives had a new focus. Considering God's blessings flowing from His forgiveness, it was reasonable for their lives to have a new focus.
(4) There are some things that must not characterize the lives of men and women who have been resurrected with Jesus Christ--sexual immorality [in every form], anti-God behavior, violent emotions, and greed. (5) Such things represented the emotions and values of people who worshipped idols, not people who were resurrected with Christ. In fact, these things were characteristic of their lives before they knew Christ.
Stress the way they lived as Christians could not be characterized by the standards and values of their past Christless existence.
(6) Just as physical existence ceased when Jesus was raised from the dead, they were to desire the death of every deed, every emotion, and every desire that characterized their idolatrous lifestyle. It literally was a transition from one existence to another! It was a conscious abandoning of all qualities that characterized idolatrous existence--anger, wrath, contempt for people, and language that abused others. (7) They, instead, became compassionate people of honesty.
The resurrected Christ no longer lived by the limitations of physical existence. Those who were raised with Christ no longer lived by the limitations of a Christless existence. Ungodly desires no longer controlled the nature and direction of their lives. Only godly desires were allowed to guide and direct who they were and what the lived for.
Why? Resurrection with Christ involved becoming an entirely different person. Resurrection in Christ meant for them, just as him, that they became a new self. This new self was created in the image of the one who made their new existence possible. That which governed their behavior as this new self were not feelings generated by ungodly, negative emotions, but a true knowledge that produced understanding rather than reactions.
Just as Jesus' resurrection involved (1) being a different person and (2) having a different existence, their resurrection with Christ meant they, too, (1) were different persons and (2) had a different existence. They were to be 100% committed to this 'new self' existence.
This renewal in Christ [this beginning again] was not limited to a select few. It was available to anyone who had the courage to be resurrected with Christ. Christ was adequate for the renewal of anyone--regardless of their past.
Stress this 'new self' existence in Christ is available to anyone--regardless of past existence, ancestry, education, or success.
Note: resurrection/renewal in Christ involves the responsibility to change. One must live like a person who belongs to the Jesus who was raised from the dead.
Stress a desire to change was a significant reason for conversion. A man or woman accepts Christ to reflect Christ in his or her life.
For Thought and Discussion
Sexual immorality, promise breaking, lying, contempt, drunkenness, stealing, and such like things were seen as desirable and honorable in some forms of idolatry. Thus the standards produced by the morals and ethics of idolatrous lifestyles were in contrast with those of Christian lifestyles.
If our dress, speech, and humor is the same, if we follow the same sexual standards, get drunk or high, lie and cheat, have the same vocabulary, abuse, and seek escape in the same manner that people who do not know God and Christ live, in what way does being in Christ change who we are and how we live?
At its core, this discussion must include this fact: every person who comes to Christ begins where he or she is in life. The issue is not the rate of growth [it is not a comparative matter] but the reality of growth [change is occurring; transformation is happening].
At the core of the discussion should be this understanding: Jesus' resurrection involved a transformation from one form of existence to another. In the same way, 'new self' existence involves a transformation from one form of existence to another.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 8
