“Is the world crucified to you or does it fascinate you?”
― Leonard Ravenhill
Christians are disciples. Aliens in a dark world. They are called to follow Jesus against the grain, upstream—to be in, but not of the world. We have the same calling and mandate that first-century Christians did when they started the world on fire. Shouldn’t that somehow make us look different than the world? If I believed that, wouldn’t it affect my choices of clothing and entertainment? What about my job or vacation choices?
When processing what it means to glorify God these days with my whole life, I find it best to start with the basics. How did Jesus instruct his disciples to live? What does the rest of the NT say marks a disciple? That is, a Christian. We can’t take the name of Christ without living as he commanded. It is not legalism to obey our King. Pray with me for Christians to wake up to the realities of what it means to follow Christ.
Here are some questions to help us put Christianity into its radical perspective…
- Do I love and serve the God of the Bible, regardless of who he is, or the comfortable American god?
- Am I able to talk to someone about who God is or his attributes according to Scripture?
- Is the Bible, the Word of God, the foundation for my beliefs?
- Are my lifestyle, decisions, and actions glorifying to God?
- Do my media habits, money, time, priorities, and beliefs display my Christian values to the world?
- If asked, would a visitor or friend say that my number one priority in life is obeying Jesus and teaching others to obey him; that my life was spent as a sacrificial offering to God?
- Are their elements of my life that I would be embarrassed to participate in with Jesus?
- Are there things I love and participate in that directly contradict Scripture?
- What idolatries am I currently fighting?
- Do I delight in watching/participating in things that God hates?
- Am I characterized by repentance and humility?
- On what trajectory is my life headed?
- Am I on a narrow difficult path or am I on the wide road and serving Christ is pretty easy and multitudes of people agree with me?
- Have I committed to…
- following Christ to the cross (my death)?
- putting away childish things?
- moving from immaturity to maturity?
- desiring solid food of the Word, instead of milk?
- loving sound doctrine instead of being blown by every wind of false teaching?
- striving for holiness, righteousness, and obedience to Christ in all things?
- sacrificing my time, money, priorities, and dreams for the Kingdom?
- Am I willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel?
- What sacrifices am I making right now to advance the Kingdom?
- Are my finances 100% dedicated to advancing the kingdom?
- Would my beliefs and choices cause me to suffer for the gospel?
- Do I truly hate sin and the world?
- How am I intentionally separating myself from the world?
- What sins am I actively fighting against?
- Do I believe/look/act differently than the world to others?
- Do I and my wife/children understand…
- that we are sinners under God’s curse and awaiting his wrath until we repent and trust in him (not the devil or flesh)?
- God has called us to obey all that he commanded?
- a composite God of comfort we have created cannot save, but only the true God of Scripture?
- the value/importance of reading the Word daily?
- I (husband) am my family’s primary discipler and it is my job…
- to know their sins/joys, love them, care for them, protect them, and feed them spiritually?
- to keep them accountable before God?
- to teach them who God is and everything about following Christ?
- I (wife/children) are called to submit to that leadership and discipleship?
- Does my church teach what the text is teaching, or is my preacher finding things to preach on that interest him?
- Is he applying the meaning of the text to my life?
- Is what he is preaching easily seen in the text?
- Is he filling in the context with his own beliefs?
- Am I discipling anyone right now?
- Since I am always teaching people how to follow Christ with my lifestyle, what are people learning about what it means to follow Christ by how I live, lead my family, and do life?
- Could someone imitate me as I imitate Christ?