How Should I Then Live?

A few years back, I was a counselor for Dr. David Jeremiah at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Following his message on faith, I had the opportunity to speak with a young man who was struggling with living out his life as a Christian. He had trusted Christ as his Savior, but his life had not changed. He was the same now as he was before. He knew about the new life, but he wasn’t experiencing it. That points out the problem so many believers experience: Having received Christ, how should I then live?

Too often, believers try to live by man-made rules instead of letting the Spirit within lead us, guide us, and empower us. Paul speaks to this in Colossians chapter two. Then in chapter three he points us in the right direction. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). “If” denotes reality and is better translated “since.” “(Since) then you were raised with Christ.” As a believer, you have been “raised with Christ.” That truth is not in doubt. It is an accomplished fact. Spiritually, all who believe have entered into Christ’s death and resurrection at the very moment of their salvation.

Let that truth soak in for a moment. Set your mind on Jesus. Focus on Christ. Two actions will help you along the way to becoming more Christ-like and to living faithfully in Christ.

First, focus on living in Christ. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” In other words, the believer is united with Christ in such a way that he has a shared life. Through this union with Christ, believers have died and been buried, and they have risen with Him spiritually. Through saving faith you have entered into a new dimension of life. You possess both divine and eternal life, which is not merely an endless existence, but a heavenly, or divine quality of life brought to you by the indwelling Christ. He now lives in and through you.

This new life is real and powerful, but so is sin. Though sin is no longer master over you, it can still overpower you if you do not present yourself to God as a servant of righteousness every day. That is why Paul reminds us that we are raised with Christ. This is the path to holiness. You are no longer living the old life that you lived before your salvation, but you possess the eternal life of Christ and you have been raised to live on another plane. Do not forget who you are and how you are to live. All sinful passion is controlled and conquered by the power of the indwelling Christ and your union with Him.

Second, focus on the things of Christ. The second phrase in verse one can be translated, “keep seeking the things above” (NASB). “Keep seeking” is a present participle and indicates continuous action. You are to “keep seeking the things above,” or things that are heavenly. You are to seek after the spiritual values that characterize Christ, such as tenderness, kindness, meekness, patience, wisdom, forgiveness, strength, purity, and love. When you focus on the realities of heaven, then you can truly enjoy the world our heavenly Father has created.

As verse 2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” When we begin to live in the heavenlies, we will live out our heavenly values in this world to the glory of God. “Set your mind” means to “think” or “focus,” and again it indicates continuous action. Let your thoughts always be heavenward, on the things of God. Think on the things of Christ and you will follow in His steps. That requires being in the Word on a regular basis, because the way you get to know Christ better is through the Word.

Spend time reading and studying the Word every day. Get to know Christ better, and you will experience the new life in Him. Amen.