From Bondage to Sin to Living like Children of God

About 30 years ago, a woman in my congregation commented on my gray hair. I said, “I did not have that before I came to this church!”

I said it in fun, but it is difficult to pastor a church. It is no easier to live like God’s children.

1 Peter 1:13 connects God’s great salvation with how Christians should live. It is not a simple assignment.

Peter commands us to prepare our minds for strenuous work. That includes attending church events and approaching God’s word, anxious to think about and act on what we hear and see.

Living like God’s children does not require super intelligence. If we use it, the brain God gave us will get us to our destination.

Sober means exercising sound judgment. We choose the best while rejecting the merely good. For example, watching or listening to religious programming is no substitute for involvement in our local church.

We set our hope completely on the transforming grace we will receive when Jesus comes again. We obey as a way of life (1 Peter 1:14).

We control our desires. They do not control us. “Conform” (1 Peter 1:14) means copying a pattern.

The old pattern is our former way of life. Base appetites controlled us. That must stop. God’s character is our new pattern (1 Peter 1:15-16).

God grasps and separates us for His work. He demands purity and moral integrity in every area of our lives. It comes inch by inch and ounce by ounce as we discipline our minds to receive and practice His input.

As obedient children, we discipline ourselves to please God out of gratitude for all He has done for us. Calling ourselves God’s children does not make us such.

We demonstrate we belong to Him through good works and transformed character. The Lord knows His children.

At the Judgment, He will evaluate each of us. Because of that certainty, we live in the fear of God because we want so very much to please Him.

God has redeemed us from bondage to sin with the infinitely precious blood of Christ and the power of His Spirit. How we live demonstrates our gratitude for God’s sacrifice.

By repenting and believing the gospel, we become morally pure and able to love one another. Such love requires effort and sacrifice.

Human seed produces mortal human life, which is subject to death. The word of God alone is the seed that imparts spiritual life.

God’s spoken and written messages are living and enduring. They tell us how to behave like His children.

It is not complicated. Be holy. Fear God. Love one another. What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.   #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources

God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,714 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,936 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.

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