How many Christians understand the real meaning of following Jesus? Christ died because He followed the will of His Father to the ultimate extent, giving up life itself. He was the very Word of God, expressing perfectly the love, compassion, and character of God.
The Son of God lived in the world as a man, but His mind dwelt in heavenly places in oneness with the Father.
Many Christians today are happy to celebrate the matchless Savior with religiosity and ritual. They delight in the feelings of awe or ecstasy experienced in worship services—the music and drama carried out in cathedrals or darkened theaters. There is excitement in the moment. Inexpressible feelings are heightened, and attendees conclude that they have been touched by the Holy Spirit.
But have they? Evidence of the Holy Spirit is revealed in more mundane settings, in the actions of the worshiper in daily life, removed from the sensuality of sights and sounds found in many of the worship styles of today.
Many Christians reject the idea that the converted person should be growing in grace through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is not happy for his followers to be merely “nice” people; He wants them to be like Jesus! Many nice people will never see the kingdom of heaven. Niceness doesn’t save. Jesus saves.
Paul says, “Be imitators of God” (Eph. 5:1), and “Just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). The new covenant is the law of God written on the heart. (See Jer. 31:33). Practitioners of the old covenant treated the law as a thing to be obeyed through appearances, but rejected true heart obedience to the law of God.
A key problem is the Christian view of the law itself. Instead of looking at the law as a mirror, many think the law has been done away with, that it is impossible to keep God’s law. But saying this is, in reality, a rejection of the gospel, a rejection of the new covenant. The law hasn’t changed. It still points out sins. And the grace of Christ does not cleanse a person from sins that are unrepented of, or sins that are looked upon as natural to the human condition. This is not redemption!
Both the Old and New Testaments are loaded with admonitions and warnings against committing sin. The law is not the problem. Humans are the problem, and Jesus is the solution.
The New Testament is, if anything, more demanding of righteous living than the Old Testament. Christians are not to have anything to do with sin. It must be rejected and overcome through faith in Christ.
Both the Old and New Testaments contain “catalogs of sin”—lists that identify behaviors, attitudes, and practices considered contrary to the will of God. These lists appear in various contexts: legal codes, prophetic rebukes, wisdom teaching, and apostolic exhortations. While they differ in structure and emphasis, together they provide a revealing window into biblical moral thought. They also demonstrate that sin in the Bible is not limited to outward acts but includes inner dispositions such as pride, envy, and hatred. Not a single rebel against God’s law will be found in heaven.
Unfortunately for the Church, many Christians fail to live as though Christ were present in the heart. In the judgment, a Christian’s life record must show no sin at all. Christ must dominate the Christian’s heart completely. Hidden sin is not covered by the righteousness of Christ.
We must all submit to Jesus, or we are not His.