If you like, you can think of this as a follow up to our study titled OK, I’m Saved.  Now What? Having shown that once we became a believer all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross, and the Lord not longer counts our sins against us, we now turn to the logical follow up question.  How should a believer respond to such an incredible gift?

Paul devoted much time to describing the appropriate response to the free gift of eternal life and it’s summed up in his admonition “Only let us live up to what we’ve already attained” (Phil 3:16). By the wording he used we know this is not something we do to achieve or maintain our salvation. He said we’ve already attained that. We do this as an expression of our heart felt gratitude for having been given the gift of eternal life.  Make no mistake here, as unbelievers we were surely destined for the fires of hell.

In Ephesians 2:1-5  Paul laid this out in no uncertain terms.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And just in case we missed it there, he repeated it in his letter to Titus.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.(Titus 3:3-7)

Paul took pains to describe the way God saw us before we were saved. But now, because of the cross, He sees us as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), having attained the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) by faith in His completed work (Romans 3:21-22).  And once again, please notice the past tense of  Paul’s statements above.

Knowing that all this has already been done for us and can never be taken away no matter what, let’s see what our appropriate response should be.

The Practice Of Christian Living
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2).

Someone once said, “Life is what you make it. It’s not what happens but how you take it.” Everything about the practice of Christian living is within our control. We don’t have to behave like everyone else. We can be transformed and it begins with choosing to behave differently.

Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephes 4:25-32).

I believe Paul was in effect, the first behavioral psychologist. He taught that while we can’t always control the circumstances of our life we can control our response to them. We have such a glorious future awaiting us that we don’t have to worry about gaining the approval of others by acting the way they do. Our primary goal is pleasing the Lord.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:37-38)

Choosing to become more tolerant, forgiving and generous will have such a remarkable effect on our life that others will want to know what has happened to transform us. Instead of stuttering and stammering through an embarrassing attempt to “witness” to friends and neighbors we’ll find that our very life has become a witness to what God can do, and people will be drawn to us.

This is because the practice of Christian living is not all don’t do this or don’t do that, at least not in the negative sense. Remember Jesus said that He came so we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

To that end the Bible says we shouldn’t worry about how we’re going to get by, letting the Lord take care of that for us (Matt. 6:25-34). We shouldn’t let what Paul called the light and momentary troubles of this world get us down. We should no longer fix our eyes on the temporary things we can see, but focus on the eternal things we can’t see instead (2 Cor. 4:17-18). This is even more true for us than it was for the people of Corinth 2000 years ago because very soon we’re going to step out of this world and into the next one where the eternal things we’ve only been able to dream about will suddenly become our new reality.

In the mean time, do you hate your job because of a boss who’s hard to please? Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Are your neighbors or associates hard to put up with? Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18)

We who’ve been given everything don’t have to worry about anything.

The Privilege Of Christian Living
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:4-7).

Because we’ve become children of the Creator of the Universe we can rejoice in everything that happens to us because we know that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). We can always be at peace, even when our world seems to be crumbling around us. We fear nothing, we pray about everything, and we’re thankful for anything.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

This world is a dark and evil place, and though we are children of God the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Nowhere does the Bible promise us a trouble free life. What it does promise is a life of peace regardless of the circumstances. The Lord is our over comer and because of that we are privileged to be at peace. No matter what.

I’ve heard the Christian life compared to a roller coaster ride. Once we buckle into our seat we yield  control of our circumstances to someone else. But because of our faith in the operator’s ability to bring us safely through the experience, we actually enjoy the scary unknowns we encounter along the way.

So it is with our life in the Lord. He didn’t promise that there would be no trouble, On the contrary He said there would be trouble.  But when we encounter it we can be at peace, knowing He has promised to see us safely through it.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:2,6)

Think about it. We can engage the Creator in conversation any time it suits us. He’s always in, we never need an appointment, and he’s never too busy for us. Whether it’s asking for a parking place on a crowded street or guidance on whether to pursue a career opportunity, He’s always available to listen and help.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:6-11)

God has given us the privilege of helping Him distribute His endless resources to those in need. He so loves a cheerful giver that every time He finds one He makes them rich in every way so they will always have more than enough for themselves with sufficient excess so they can be generous to others on every occasion. Next to the gift of eternal life there’s no more remarkable promise anywhere in Scripture.

The Power Of Christian Living
Resist the devil and he’ll flee from you. (James 4:7)

Although Paul called him the God of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), Christians needn’t fear the devil because of the power we’ve been given.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

Jesus showed us how to do this in the wilderness temptations (Matt. 4:1-11). Using nothing but Scripture He demolished every one of the devil’s arguments and sent him packing. This same power is available to us. We just have to know the Bible well enough to activate it.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven (James 5:14-15).

As is the case with everything James wrote, this is a clear promise without exception or equivocation. The Bible doesn’t promise we won’t get sick, but it does promise we can be healed. It’s a power the Lord died to give us.

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:23-24)

And it’s not just healing. With sufficient faith we could literally move mountains. But faith is like our physical muscles. The more we exercise it the stronger it becomes. This is a case where the American lifestyle has become our enemy. It’s been too easy to get the things we want without the Lord’s help. It’s been hard to remember that opportunity does not equal mandate. But just because the banks will loan us more than we can repay doesn’t mean that we should go into debt to buy things we don’t need and can’t afford. Maybe the Lord is stripping those things away now to help us practice living by faith.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

Charismatics often misuse their gifts in immature excesses of self glorification while fundamentalists avoid theirs like the plague refusing to acknowledge they even exist. But if the gifts of the Holy Spirit were ever used in the manner Paul described, the world would not be able to stand against their power.

Each of us has been gifted and could use the power our gifts contain to have significant effect on the little corner of the world we inhabit. Romans 12:1-8 tells us how to discover and use our gifts.

The Protection Of Christian Living
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

So we come full circle. Never let it be said that although God has the power to save us, He lacks the power to keep us.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

A US insurance company says we’re in good hands with them, but believers enjoy the ultimate example of being in good hands. Our policy is paid in full and our coverage can never expire. Not even we ourselves can snatch us out of their hands.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephes. 6:10-12).

A soldier’s armor can only protect him when he wears it, and he would never think of going into battle without being fully protected. We’re aliens behind enemy lines and as such are combatants in an ongoing battle. We’ve been given impenetrable armor, but in order for it to protect us we have to put it on and keep it on.

The Point Of Christian Living
All this leads to achieving the goal we all want most in life. Earlier I said that after becoming saved, our primary goal becomes pleasing the Lord.  But when we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desire of our heart (Psalm 37:4).  By combining the practice, the privilege, the power, and the protection of the Christian life we can finally achieve complete personal freedom. Although we are still in the world we will no longer be of the world. Following the instructions for Christian living frees us of all the negative emotions that have afflicted us in the past. No more worry, no more stress, no more feeling out of control. We no longer have to be concerned with having enough money, or getting ahead, or keeping up.

The uncertainties of life that so preoccupy the thoughts of others won’t bother us any more. It doesn’t matter who gets elected to what office, or how bad the economy is getting, or whether the government will continue to break its promises. We’ll finally understand the full meaning of the Lord’s words, “When the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36) Praise the Lord.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17).  Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).

These two verses summarize all that the New Testament has to say about life after salvation.  Once we’re saved, God sees us as a new creation.  Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained.  We  don’t make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation.  It’s not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice.  It’s not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit.  It has already happened.  Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord’s once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)

Ephesians 1:13-14 says this took place at the moment we believed, and the seal of the Holy Spirit was given to us at that time to guarantee our inheritance. 2 Cor.1:21-22 adds that from then on it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

This is an expansion of 1 Cor. 5:19-20, where Paul said we are not our own, but have been bought at a price.  It means our destiny is no longer under our own control but has been taken over by God Himself. If we try to wander off, He will hunt us down and bring us back, just like a shepherd brings back the sheep who wander off.  Sheep don’t decide their own destiny.  The owner determines that, and it’s the shepherd’s responsibility to make sure it happens. Read again what Jesus said about this.

I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day (John 6:38-39).

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ (Luke 15:3-6).

Don’t get the idea from this that I think God decides who will be saved and who won’t.  That goes against Scripture (1 Tim. 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9). Remember, we don’t become sheep until we choose to become believers.

As believers, we’re part of the Good Shepherd’s flock.  The destiny He has determined for us will come to pass and believe me when I say it defies description.  He has been working for 2,000 years preparing the place where we’ll live with Him forever.  The primary building materials for our new home are pure gold and precious gems (Rev. 21:18-20).   At a time that is unknowable in advance, except that it will precede the coming end times judgments,  He will call us up to meet him in the air and take us there, after which we’ll always be with Him (John 14:1-3, 1 Thes. 4:16-17).

All this is well known to long time followers of gracethrufaith.com, and is repeated here for review, to refresh our memories.  The point of this study is to focus on our life as believers between now and when He takes us to our new home. If Jesus has done everything, and God has taken ownership of us to make our destiny certain, what is there for us to do?

Becoming What We Already Are.
This is where the second reference I quoted above comes in.  In Phil 3:16Paul wrote, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” Once again, note the past perfect tense in the phrase “we have already attained.” We don’t have to work to get this.  We have already attained it. So what is it we’ve already  attained?

In Galatians 4:4-7 Paul said Jesus came to redeem us so we could receive the full rights of sons.  This confirms John 1:12-13 which says,

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Paul went on to say that since God has accepted us as His children, He has also made us His heirs.  And that’s not all. After telling us we were formerly objects of God’s wrath,  Paul wrote the following in Ephesians 2:4-7;

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

And again, please notice the past tense of these verbs.  He made us alive, He raised us up with Christ. He seated us with Him.  From God’s perspective these things have already been accomplished.

By saying that God seated us with Christ, Paul was making reference to Ephesians 1:20-21 where he said,

“He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

So that’s what we’ve already attained. We’ve become God’s children and His heirs, and we’ve been seated with Christ at His right hand, above every authority, every power, and every name.

As members of God’s royal family, we’ve been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).  But such freedom carries great responsibility.  In 1 Cor. 10:23 Paul wrote,

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.

Then he said, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others”(1 Cor 10:24).

As part of the royal family, we’re admonished to set the standard for appropriate behavior, but not because we have to protect our status.  Our status has been guaranteed by God Himself.  We do this as representatives of our Lord, who put the good of others above His own to the ultimate extreme. Paul said although He was God Himself, He didn’t demand to be treated as God’s equal.  Instead He became the humblest of men, a servant to others, and was obedient even to death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).

Contrast that with the attitude of some men, who can never be God but demand to be treated as if they are. The anti-Christ is the Bible’s ultimate model of that behavior, exalting himself above everything that is called God or is worshiped, setting himself up in God’s Temple proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thes. 2:4).

What If I Don’t Do It?
Now before you get the idea I’m trying to guilt you in to cleaning up your act, let me state clearly that in the ultimate sense there’s no penalty for neglecting to live up to what you’ve already attained.  You may live an unfruitful life here, but there is no power in Heaven or on Earth that can ever take away your status as a child of God.  Paul said even if every thing you ever do as a believer is burned up in the fires of judgment, you’ll still be saved (1 Cor. 3:15).

According to Romans 12:1, living up to what we’ve already attained is a voluntary act of worship, an expression of our gratitude for the mercy God has shown to us. Through all of Paul’s instructions on how to live a Christian life, there’s never a threat that failure to behave in a certain way will cause us to be kicked out of God’s family.  We can’t ever lose our royal status.  By offering His body in payment for our sins the Lord was performing a voluntary act of service to His Father.  Had He refused to do so, He would still be the Son of God.  In the same way, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,  is our spiritual act of worship. If  we refuse to do it we’ll still be one of His Children.

I can’t tell you how much I wish this had become the predominate teaching of the Church in regards to Christian living, instead of the hell fire and brimstone rants so many of us grew up hearing every Sunday.  To hear them talk, it seems like God loved us enough to die for our sins while we still hated Him, but as soon as we declared our love for Him, He became determined to make us toe the mark and pay for every sin we ever committed afterward. And if we didn’t we would be disowned.

Maybe some of you are thinking of verses you’ve heard that appear to refute this idea of freedom in Christ.  But if they did, the word of God would be contradicting itself, something that’s impossible for God to do.  We’re not saved by grace, then kept by our own works. As soon as you add work to the equation, grace is canceled out.  If our behavior could be good enough to keep us saved, it would have been good enough to save us in the first place, and God would not have had to send His Son to die for us.

Why Did He Do That?
Jesus didn’t die to make bad men good.  He died so dead men could live. And He didn’t just get us started on the road to eternal life and then leave the rest to us. He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).

Some would have us believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit within us makes it impossible for us to ever sin again.  But all we have to do is observe the Christians around us to see that’s not true.  The truth is that the Holy Spirit came to restore our power of choice.  Unbelievers have no choice about their behavior because they’re only getting input from their sin nature. Believers get input from both their sin nature and the Holy Spirit and can choose which to accept.

But even then it’s not a level playing field because our sin nature’s input is our default choice. It’s what  will always feel most natural to us.  We have to consciously choose to over ride the sin nature’s input to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That’s why some call following the Holy Spirit’s input making a “contrary-to-feelings” choice. It’s not natural to us. Sometimes we forget to consider our choices before acting and other times our natural inclination carries such strong feelings that we ignore the Holy Spirit’s counsel.  This is when we sin.

Afterwards the Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin, we’ll feel remorse, and we’ll ask the Lord to forgive us. If we confess our sins, the Lord is just and faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness(1 John 1:9).  The sin will immediately be forgiven and forgotten. God can do this because His son has already paid the penalty for it.

Listen to Paul’s testimony of his own experience with sin. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sin nature. For I have the desire to do what is good but I can’t carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18-20).

Paul said it was as if his spirit and his body were at war. One delighted in God’s law, while the other made him a prisoner of the law of sin. After admitting what a wretched man he was because of this conflict, He concluded by expressing his thanks to God for rescuing him from his body of death through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:21-25).  You can feel the emotions behind his words shifting from extreme frustration to extreme gratitude.

This is a remarkable testimony and explains why being saved does not mean we are no longer able to sin.  Being saved means when we do sin, God no longer counts it against us.  He is able to separate the believer from the behavior.  He sees the believer (us) as a new creation, free from sin, and attributes the behavior to our sin nature, which is not part of the new creation. Earlier in his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that King David understood this would be the case a thousand years before the Lord came to earth.  Quoting Psalm 32:1-2 he wrote,

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him (Romans 4:7-8).

When Paul admonished us to live up to what we’ve already attained, he was telling us to stop and think before we act and listen to the counsel of the Holy Spirit.  From his own experience he knew we couldn’t completely rid our lives of sin, but he also knew that living in a manner that’s pleasing to God is the very best way of expressing our gratitude to Him for making us a new creation and giving us the incredible gift of eternal life.