The Follower of Jesus Christ!

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you [we] will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.” – Galatians 5:24-25, 1 Peter 5:4 NLT

If we have surrendered our lives before Jesus Christ—we ought to crucify every worldly desires and passions, “for we know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19) The is because the word of God declares, “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) If we abide our worldly desires and passions, they will lead us into sin that results death. However, if we abide into the godly desires and passions through the Holy Spirit, they will us into eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This is why the word of God states,

His divine power [the Spirit of God] has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,  make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11)

Even though following the Holy Spirit, whom God has poured into us to guide us to walk in His ways, is difficult—we have to persevere our godly lives until the end of the age. In fact, the Bible declares that living this kind of life and recieving eternal life at the end of the age is hard in Matthew 7:13-14. Nevertheless, all of us are meant to have eternal lives. This is because we are still part of God’s creation, even though we have been separated from our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6). We know this by reading Genesis 1:27 that states, “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

In other words, hating our own natural life is necessary, especially for those who want to follow Jesus Christ fully until the end of the age. This is because He declares,

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. (Matthew 16:24-27)

Furthermore, the word of God proclaims,

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10)

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (1 John 2:15-17, Hebrews 11:6)

If we abide in the Holy Spirit and continue our godly lives through the faith in Christ Jesus until the end of the age—we can confidently say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) This is because Jesus proclaims, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)