Christianity is a Way of Life

You could look at Christianity as a connection to the transcendental and spiritual... You could look at it as a body of teaching that is true. But to really understand Christianity you have to accept it as a complete lifestyle... a way of life.

Acts 18:24-26 Apollos had the head knowledge... and the spiritual fervor... what Priscilla and Aquila added to complete the package was to explain "the way".

The Greek word here is hodos which means a natural path or roadway... it can also refer to a journey... the bible uses it metaphorically to describe a course of conduct and thought. The bible speaks of the way of righteousness.... the way of God... walk in my ways... the way that leads to destruction... the way of peace... the way of truth.

Acts 24:22-26 Felix understood Paul to be a representative of "the way". Which is interesting since Paul also described himself as a man firmly rooted in the OT Acts 24:14.

Roots in the Old Testament

This way of life is built upon the foundation of the 10 commandments... to that we add the judgments and statutes God has given to show how to apply the commandments. These laws are sensible and practical with guidance for managing finances, for building and strengthening marriages and families, for healthful clean living, for social equity and cohesion. As much as they are applied they show good results.

The mortar that holds this foundation together is love... Agape love... often called Godly love. Agape is a different kind of love... it is different from love that is driven by emotion like Eros [driven by desire] or Philia [driven by kinship]. Agape is to choose to show love even when the subject is unlovable.

Choosing to think and act in a way that is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud... not dishonoring, not self seeking, not easily angered... trusting, hopeful, and persevering.

God's commands are expressions of agape love put into word and specific action  1 John 5:2-3, John 15:10, Leviticus 19:18.

Obedience to God’s commandments creates a lifestyle.

A Test of Obedience

The bible calls 4th command... test command.  What exactly is being tested here?

The test is not "do you believe all workers should have one day of rest one out of every 7 days". That's a test that appeals to human reason. If that were the case then any day would do: Sunday, Wednesday, or Saturday. Plenty of folks would be OK with that since they get to pick the day.

But, the test is not based on reasonableness of the question... its based on authority and obedience... will you do what God says? The keeping of the 7th day, as instructed, is an indication of your commitment to living this way of life as spelled out in His word.

You live in a Christianized society where centuries of biblical influence has shaped our culture and social values in ways we now take for granted. For example, showing kindness to those who are weak is not seen as a radical alternate lifestyle like it was in the 1st century...  [the Romans considered it one of the stupidest things they ever heard] However, many Christian values have become social values.

But even in our day the command for rest and holy convocation on the 7th day sets you apart... and changes your lifestyle.

The 7th day Sabbath alters the shape of your daily life [it changes your work habits, how you conduct you social life, what you do with your kids, who you spend time with]... the annual holy days alter the shape of your yearly cycle [how you manage your vacation time, when you schedule work trips]... tithing alters the shape of how you manage your finances... The same applies to the other commandments.

Even the commandments that have been accepted as social norms… when practiced in a completely biblical manner will set you apart… creates a different lifestyle.

A Way of Transformation & Self Improvement

Christians exert effort to obey God's word and show forth the fruits of the Spirit. When they fall short they seek to overcome. But, Christians are not the only ones dedicated to a life of self improvement.

Greco-Roman culture was into cultivation of virtues: self-control, courage, honor, order, justice. Chinese/Confucian culture sought to develop the virtues of the superior man: etiquette, wisdom, trustworthiness, justice, human compassion. Lists of words like this sound like Christianity because the same vocabulary is used... but the meaning attached to the words is in some cases very different.

If a person says “love is love” you would probably agree with the concept that love is the same for sinner and for saint. But do we agree on the definition of love? If you are talking about agape then that means one thing… if you are mixing in sexual desire… then that statement means something else.

Christian sounding vocabulary does not make something Christian.

There is good in humanly devised attempts at self improvement, but something is missing. There is a difference in the vocabulary and there is also a difference in the goal... for example; who and what are we modeling our selves after.

The Greco-Roman approach built up the model citizen soldier... the Confucian approach seemed focused on creating the ideal governmental bureaucrat. The Christian goal is to grow into mature offspring of God Himself... into the fullness of Christ. We are not seeking to distill the best of humanity. We are seeking to become like God... who is far greater than anything humans can be or imagine… a goal which introduces character traits simply not found in humans.

The model citizen/soldier will live and die... the ideal governmental bureaucrat or leader will live and die... the way of God is to become mature offspring of God who not only live and die but are raised to everlasting life when Christ returns.

Features of the Way

If someone asked you what is the Christian way of life could you give a good biblical definition? The sermon on the mount offers a good one... the entire teaching is 3 chapters, but it starts off with a helpful summary:

Matthew 5:3 to be poor in spirit is a picturesque way to say be humble.  Willingly adopting a humble outlook is not a feature found in humanly devised models of what it means to live a successful life... except models that are themselves unwittingly rooted in Christian ways of thinking.

Matthew 5:5 meekness is related to humility but focuses more on a gentleness of spirit... able to endure injury or abuse without anger or resentment... not justifying ones error, not vengeful. Again, not a feature of human models of human self improvement, as Paul says "to the Greeks this is foolishness"… to the Christian this is a way of life.

Matthew 5:6 hunger and thirst for righteousness. The Christian way of life is deeply motivated to seek out God's ways and live by them. It is so much more than just confessing the name of Christ as our savior. Its studying God's word... reading it, committing it to memory, discussing it.

2 Timothy 2:15, Matthew 7:21, 1 Corinthians 7:19

Walking with God

Knowing the path is good... knowing the boundaries to the right and to the left [laws and guidelines]... knowing which direction the path is headed [expectation eternal life]... even knowing where the path has already been [lessons from the past].

Knowing about the path is of little value if you don’t actually walk on the path. We can talk about Christianity as a way of life but unless we do it... its not our lifestyle. We would be like a documentary on the history channel talking about the lifestyle of the ancient Aztecs... but not living it... and therefore not really understanding what it was like to be an Aztec.

To walk with God means to imitate… We are to walk as Jesus walked.

To walk means to go down the defined path… walk in the newness of life… walk after the spirit... walk in faith, walk in good works, walk in love, walk in wisdom. God’s word defines the path… we must then walk it.  2 John 6 our walk is built on the foundation of God's commandments.

To walk with God means to be a friend of God... friends talk freely, without fear or embarrassment... because friends think much alike or are in agreement on foundational principles. If you do not agree with another person on the basics its hard to call your relationship friendship Amos 3:3.

You can have a positive relationship with your boss at work but it doesn’t make you friends.

Walk With Me... And I'll Walk With You

Genesis 17:1 God asked Abraham to walk with Him, which Abraham did Genesis 26:5. And God called Abraham "friend". 2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23.

Israel were instructed to walk in God's ways Deuteronomy 35:32-33; 8:6;11:22;13:4;26;17;28:9.

If they would agree and commit to walk with Him YHWH promised to walk with them Leviticus 26:3,12.

To walk in the way of God [life the God ilfestyle] means to keep His commands and to do what is pleasing to Him. John 15:16 that is why Jesus calls you friend.

Out of Sync

To walk with God puts you out of sync with the society around you... most people are pursuing a different lifestyle than you. Aspects of our lifestyles will overlap in places... but they differ on some foundational principles... we often use the same vocabulary with different meanings attached [love is love].

If we walk with God we will begin to question certain social activities, business practices, sexual norms... we begin to ask what is God's will... what does God say about this.

We live in this world or "way of life" but are called and chosen to live out a different lifestyle.

Romans 12:1-2, 18 don't let the lifestyle of those around us change you. Don't worry overmuch about changing the world or getting it to conform to our standards. Don't be contentious... but conscientious.

Walking in a different "way of life" has a present purpose of completing you as a spiritual creation of God... also as a living example to others whom God might call. So live the lifestyle... walk with God... enjoy the fellowship of those who also walk in the way [the Church]…  show off the advantages of living God's way of life.