Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

I Peter

We Must Obey

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As we continue to examine if we truly love God (see “Do We Love Him” and “We Must Keep His Commands”), let’s first lay a little theological groundwork. We know all scripture is God-breathed and inspired by His Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). This means every word, and therefore every instruction, in the Bible, is a command of Christ. He is the Word of God in the flesh (John 1:1-3).

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Every time the scripture instructs us, we must obey. That is what it means to love Christ (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-4). The book of James teaches us those who would live lives acceptable to God will keep themselves unstained by the world (James 1:27). Therefore, if we love Jesus, we will keep ourselves away from the temptations and habits of our culture. Let’s look at some practical implications this has for the way we live.

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The Reason We Sin

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The reason we sin is that we reject the commitment we once made to Christ. When we live our lives as if we are the center of the universe, we forget our lives are not our own. God has purchased us for an astronomical price and we are now the sole property of Jesus. The Bible declares we are slaves to Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 6:6; Galatians 1:10; 1 Peter 2:16).

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Because of the modern connotation of the word “slave”, we immediately bristle at the thought of being anyone’s slave. But don’t let modern culture and human injustice allow you to deny the holy and inspired Word of God. We are slaves of Christ, bought at the price of Him dying in our place. It is a debt we can never repay.

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A Deeper Dive into Personal Holiness

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Anyone who is paying attention will know our churches are becoming increasingly weak and ineffective. Leadership that is lacking in theological depth and understanding is certainly rampant, but perhaps the bigger problem is the lack of personal holiness among the congregation. Although it is the pastor’s job to exposit and explain the Word each time he steps behind the pulpit, pursuing Christ on a day-to-day basis is the responsibility of every attendee.

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Without such a commitment, the finest preacher or most gifted shepherd will not be able to lead a group of believers into a deeply committed relationship with Christ. Each of us bears the responsibility of seeking to know and obey our savior better. For this reason, I want to do a brief but deeper dive into personal holiness.

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Do You Hate Sin?

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John MacArthur has said, “The mark of a true believer is a desire to know and obey God’s Word.” I agree with that completely. I would add another hallmark of a genuine believer is that not only does the sin of the world grieve them, but that their own sin absolutely disgusts them. Do you hate sin, or is it something you begrudgingly tolerate?

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Your answer says much about your relationship with Christ. We know God hates sin (Proverbs 6:16-19) and if we believe Jesus is the Lord that He is, then we must spend our days becoming as much like God as possible. He is our creator. He is our judge. If we love Him, we will hate what he hates.

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The Hard Road

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J. C. Ryle once said, “The true Christian is called to be a soldier and must behave as such; he is not meant to live a life of religious ease, indolence, and security. He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven, like one traveling in an easy carriage.” That’s the exact opposite of how many Christians live today. Bad theology and teaching have created a generation of believers who lack an understanding of what it means to follow Christ.

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Never in history have those most devoted to Jesus lived a life of ease. Why would we think anything has changed? As long as God allows Satan to roam the earth, the devil will make sure followers of Jesus will be harassed, hated, and persecuted (John 15:18-20; John 16:33). The narrow path is the hard road (Matthew 7:13-14).

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