Living for God in Christ Jesus!

“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” – Romans 14:8-9 NIV

First of all, we have to know that Jesus Christ was not crucified on the cross as an atonement of our sins (Colossians 2:13-15), so that all of us are able to have better and comfortable lives. When Jesus Christ was resurrected in three days after His crucifixion (Luke 24:4-7), He went to the place of death, where the imprisoned spirits were, to proclaim that kingdom of heaven has been opened and that He is the ultimate judge of humans In addition, Jesus Christ poured water to the imprisoned spirits very long time ago so that they can be saved from the eternal fire (1 Peter 3:18-22). Thus, for this reason, all of us have to count Him as our eternal judge as well. To be sure of this, He declares, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) Furthermore, water baptism is crucially necessary for us to signify our faith in Christ Jesus to everybody, especially to God, our heavenly Father. This is why the word of God states, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:5-14)

Secondly, we have to know that following Jesus Christ is hard (Matthew 16:24-27), even though we have crucified our sinful desires. Because of this, God has poured His Spirit into us to transform our hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27). This is why the word of God declares, “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.” (Galatians 5:24-25) “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

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)

Furthermore, God had appointed several of the apostles and prophets to create His Word for them and future generations (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, we might become righteousness of God by obeying it. ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”’ (Romans 1:17) This means that the word  of God is our true instruction manual on how to live the way that our heavenly Father wants us to live. Furthermore, Jesus Christ uses one parable to emphasize how important it is: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:27-29)

Overall, we ought to live for God, for we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and to be His children (John 1:12-13) This is also because Jesus Christ is the way of the truth and the life (John 14:6). Because of this, we ought to persevere to be followers of Him until the end of the age, even though it is hard (Matthew 7:13-14).

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Galatians 2:19-21)