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How Do We Actually Live Life for Christ?
Am I redeemed — and how can I know? Am I surrendered? Am I available? Am I willing?
Those are the four big questions every believer needs to sit with. But once you've wrestled with them, a natural follow-up rises to the surface: Okay, how? How do we actually live? How do we roll in this scenario?
First Peter 5:1–10 is going to help us get into some pretty deep stuff.
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
— 1 Peter 5:1–11 (ESV)
Here's where we start. I'm not much, and neither are you. But God comes and makes us and such. We all got issues.
And having that as our base is important, because most people in our culture need to be told how great they are, how good they are, how valuable they are, how their dreams mean more than everybody else in the room. To get back to what the Bible actually says requires coming back to some reality — some stone cold truth. It takes a minute for that coldness to warm up in your heart. But when you have Jesus, he does it.
Here's an example to jump off of. This is an actual notice that was written and posted in the window of a coat store in Nottingham, England. The owner posted it on the door for people to read as they came in:
"We have been established for over a hundred years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money. We've suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coal rationing, government control, and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed, and swindled. The only reason we stay in business is to see what happens next."
The store owner knew that life is full of difficulties, and to try to pretend that it's not is foolish. But he was determined to survive, even if only to hope for the best and see what happens next.
Christ's followers have a much better reason to endure tough times as they live for him. The Lord has assured us in his Word that better times lie ahead. And if anybody deceives you into thinking that you come to Jesus to make this life in the flesh better, they're wrong. It's about more than that. It will make this life better — but it's a contentment in the midst of your circumstances, even if your circumstances don't change.
The psalmist reminded us that in spite of the prosperity of the wicked around us, the righteous will one day be vindicated.
Listen — there are times when we get down in the dumps, down in the valley. "I'm too blessed to be depressed." Good for you. Some of us don't have that. Some of us have ups and downs while serving Jesus, while having the joy of the Lord. They're still there.
Sometimes it seems like we just lose our desire to go on for God. Sometimes we want to give up. Life just gets us down and we find ourselves riding what I call the bummer train. Ever happened to you? Some of you are there today. Life has jumped on you with both feet and you're just about ready to throw in the towel.
Well, before you do — let this passage show you how we do life.
If you are fading out in the flame for the Lord, let this be the bellows to the embers that remain, blowing on that fire one more time to light that flame back up. And if the fire is blazing in you and you're on fire for God, then let this be gasoline on that fire.
Either way, God is here today. And the truth from his eternal and sufficient Word — sola scriptura — can and should be helpful. I know this because it was helpful to me over the many years I have been serving him. In fact, as I'm putting this together, I was reminded over and over how many times I've fallen short and how I needed this to keep going at a high level.
1. Surrender Your Will to God
Verses 5–6
We're going to focus on verses 5 and 6 of our text. Surrendering your will means you assume the place of submission. I get it — this is hard to hear. We live in a day when people are all seeking their own way. But the child of God who wants to actually please the Lord will learn to allow God to have the place of preeminence in their life.
Colossians 1:18 says:
"And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." — Colossians 1:18 (ESV)
Don't miss the word in. In everything he might be preeminent. So how does that happen?
The Apron of a Slave
When we assume the place of slavery.
Tough word. "Clothed with humility" in the text literally means to wear the apron of a slave. True humility before the Lord is merely assuming the place of a slave in his kingdom.
This is what Jesus was showing in the upper room in John 13 with the washing of the feet. And when we in our culture want to wash feet, it's more grandstanding than anything else because we don't wash feet in our culture. You want to see humility equal to what Jesus did? Be the CEO of a company and go wash the janitor's truck. That's what it means. That's humility.
In other words:
I have no will but his will. I have no plan but his plan. I have no desire but his desire.
In Ephesians 6:6, we are called bondslaves. Not servants — bondslaves. It's slavery. That doesn't sell. But because of this submission and this slave mentality, guess what? We then accept his plan.
If we can learn the way of humility, the Lord will lift us up in his own way. As long as we seek to promote ourselves, we're never going to amount to much for the glory of God.
The Promotion Paradox
Now, I say this knowing firsthand how hard it is to be in the promotion game and still try to exercise humility. Live events being promoted, a show that needs to be promoted — one has to promote if you're in this space. And this is really hard to reconcile at times. "Ta-da! I'm a humble servant of the Lord."
However, when we turn loose of our lives and willingly place ourselves under the Lord, he will use us for his glory. When your picture goes up on a billboard or you're doing an ad to get people to show up for an event or tune into a broadcast, or you're promoting how good you are at your business — when you're serving the Lord, it becomes a matter of fact. It becomes just an accepted part of the job. Something we have to do.
But here's the difference. Here's the discernment:
The intent of your heart in the midst of the display of perceived self-promotion will win the day.
If you are truly surrendered to God, you will accept the results as he decides. You do your best and you accept the results.
And I say that, and many times I don't act that way in my heart. How come so many people do? And then Jesus hits that bellows on that flame and he says, "If you're surrendered to me, it'll be well with you. Do your best and leave the results in God's hands."
2. Give Your Stress to God
Verse 7
This is how we're going to do life. This is how we're going to do what was laid out in those four big questions. You do this three ways: decisively, totally, and confidently.
Decisively
The word "casting" in verse 7 refers to the act of throwing or casting something. It's a form that refers to a one-time deal with intentionality. We are to once and for all throw all our burdens to Jesus.
Picture that person — something falls off their truck that they're trying to fix and they get so mad they pick it up and throw it as far as they can. It's that kind of emotion.
When the worries of life press us down, we do not have to bear them alone. Thank God there is one stronger than we are and who is willing to carry our load.
Totally
Notice how much of our burdens we're supposed to give to the Lord: all your cares. He tells us to give him everything. We are not so much as to even keep the smallest part of our burden to ourselves. We are told to give it all up to Jesus. All of it. Totally.
This is freeing. This is freeing as a body of Christ.
When you see your brothers and sisters struggling and you go to pray for them, you're giving that to the Lord. When you go to pray for your situation — whether it be your health, your finances, your relationships, whatever your circumstances are — you give it to the Lord. And then there's a peace that comes. I call it being well with you, because you're giving all of it to him.
If you're his slave and you're surrendered, the deal is his deal.
Confidently
And what does that create? Confidence. We do all of this with absolute confidence that he cares for us.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." — Hebrews 4:15–16 (ESV)
When we are burdened, it touches the heart of God and he is moved on our behalf. And the way he moves sometimes might blow us away far beyond our expectations — and other times might leave us a little disappointed. "God, I thought you were going to do better than this." But we will have this peace knowing that he's got it.
Romans 8:28 tells us he works out all things for good for those who love him. And that doesn't mean for our good — it means for his good. So I'm being used as a surrendered slave in his kingdom in ways that I might not be able to even see on this side.
But it's well with me because I'm in the grip of the Savior. I am decisively giving him my burdens. I'm totally putting it all on him. And I'm walking with confidence that he's got it.
3. Be Strong in Your Walk with God
Verses 8–9
Verses 8 and 9 bring us here. But before we dig into them, let's talk about where the strength of your walk with God originates.
It starts with having the assurance of your salvation.
The Assurance Question
Here's a generic example, because this comes up more than you'd think.
You're saved. You're baptized. And then you live a decade or two. Many ups and downs. Much sin has come and gone. Some drift away from the Lord, and then the Lord brings them back. Some are always in and out of the drift in their faith journey — and then the enemy uses that to cause doubt.
Now add to it that contemporary Christianity has a shallow view of salvation. Many people, and even teachers and pastors, don't understand the believer's assurance.
So what is that assurance?
Our assurance comes from the fact that our salvation has always depended on God — the God of eternity past choosing us to believe the truth. What gets overemphasized is our choice and how we respond to that truth. Why does this happen? Because of reality. The Bible is clear that people go to hell because they reject the gospel. So it's difficult to understand how the divine and the human responsibility come together. That's where the disconnect is for most people.
Your salvation depends on God. Yet if you reject the truth, you go lost. To be saved, you have to accept the truth. Divine responsibility, human responsibility coming together. God does all the work and is responsible — yet I have to choose his grace and accept the free gift or I'm lost.
The Paradoxes of Scripture
This isn't the only time in scripture a paradox like this happens.
Who wrote the book of Romans? Well, Paul did — but so did God. Did they take turns writing verses? On one hand, every word is from the mind of God. Yet every word also came from Paul's heart and his vocabulary. How could Romans have been fully written by both God and Paul? We know it to be so, but we can't explain it.
How about Jesus? He was fully God and fully man. Just because our finite little minds cannot grasp the fullness of the Son of God doesn't negate what scripture clearly teaches about the person of Christ.
How about this — who lives your life? Paul said, "I discipline my body and make it my slave" (1 Corinthians 9:27). But he also said, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Which is the right answer? Both. You and Christ live your life.
There are many major doctrines throughout the Bible that have an aspect we cannot fully explain when we try to bring God down to our level. There's still much we will not understand, don't understand, and will never understand. We simply can't resolve everything in our minds.
So what do we have? By faith, we trust in him. Faith is what pleases the Lord. It's the only thing that pleases him. Because of these paradoxes, we trust in him. His ways are so much higher than our ways.
All of this is why we are told in verse 8 that we need to be sober-minded and watchful — some translations say sober and vigilant. This means we need to get serious about some things, especially where the enemy is concerned. If we get stronger in our walk with Christ, we can easily live above the evil that's trying to trip us up every single day.
The Reality of Satan
Remember this: Satan is a defeated foe. So we do all we can not to let him linger around.
Who do you think wants to get your life off the rails? Who do you think is actively interested in seeing you miserable? Who do you think is working against you every day?
Yet as we strengthen our walk in the Lord, we will see the path to victory over the enemy is easy.
For starters, let's get serious about the reality of Satan. Verse 8 refers to a being that most of the world does believe in. Just in case there's any confusion — Satan is real. Jesus believes in him. The Bible believes in him. God believes in him. Therefore, he must be real.
Here he is called adversary — that word means an opponent, an enemy. He's also called the devil — that name means slanderer or false accuser. This is the same one who attacked the name and character of good old Job. He's still the same old devil that always is and always will be the one who hates you. And he wants to see you fail.
The sooner we come to realize the truth of Satan's reality, the sooner we will see the need to keep our walk with Christ strong and confident.
The Devil's Ferocity
Our enemy is compared to a roaring lion. Why a lion? There are similarities between Satan and lions.
Lions are forceful — 14 to 21 times stronger than a man. Satan is far, far stronger than we are as well. We cannot fight him on our own. Even Michael the Archangel, when fighting the devil, gave the fight over to the Lord:
"But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'" — Jude 1:9 (ESV)
Lions are famous as the king of the beasts and king of the jungle. All who encounter them treat them with fear and respect. A mature lion can eat 30% of its own body weight at one sitting.
God's children would do well to learn to view both the strength and the limitations of the devil. His power is always within the limits of what God will allow. Our focus in the face of the lion's roar is that our Savior has already defeated him. Although he is a strong adversary, he can do nothing to the child of God. Simply resist him and he must flee.
The real power is in our King Jesus. Our King won't allow him to stay and bother us once we resist him.
A mature lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away. Lions do most of their roaring at night. The reason they roar in the first place is to create fear in the hearts of those who hear them. That's just what the devil does — he roars to create fear in the hearts of God's children.
Why?
Because fear paralyzes faith.
What did our King tell us multiple, multiple, multiple times throughout the New Testament? Fear not. If Satan can get you to listen to his roar, if he can keep you from hearing God's Word, he can paralyze your faith — and then he can attack your life.
Turning the Roar into a Meow
But be of good cheer. The good news about the devil is that he is defeated by God. The secret to overcoming him and changing his roar into a little meow is to resist him. That word means to stand up against the devil.
And don't miss this — this is not standing up in your own will.
So many make the mistake of talking to Satan. Folks who get full of themselves and don't trust the subtle Word of God and want to add a little of their own firepower. It's no good. Nor is there ever a need to rebuke the devil. "I rebuke you!" and all this other nonsense.
One phrase is all you need: Get behind me, Satan — as the Lord has said. And when you say this in faith in Jesus, it is his power that wins the moment.
All this spiritual warfare nonsense is unbiblical and absolutely delusional in proper view of who we actually are. And that's where we get it wrong — we don't understand who we actually are.
Picture a three-year-old yelling at an intruder while in the arms of a strong, powerful father — a father pointing a gun at the unarmed intruder. The three-year-old and whatever nonsense he or she is saying means nothing in this scenario. Daddy has it handled.
Or how about this — a platoon is coming across the grass and you're armed to the teeth, ready to defend the fortress. So let's put an AK in the hands of a three-year-old because he can help, right? No. You put him behind you and fight the battle. That's how this works.
Stand Firm
Be steadfast in your faith, knowing that the Lord has already defeated the devil and that victory for the child of God is found in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Resist him in the power of Jesus. Period. You don't need to fight. You need to stand firm.
Resist the devil and he'll flee from you — because you're standing in the grip and in the arms of the King who has defeated this foe.
Stand against him. Resist him in the power of Jesus. Don't let him take your honor, take your family, take your life, or anything else he's after. And he's after it all. Through the Savior's strength, you will see victory. You can resist him and you can see him defeated in your life. Learn the truth that if you resist him, he will flee from you.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." — James 4:7 (ESV)
Do you see that? You're not just resisting the devil and he's fleeing. Submit yourselves therefore to God. If you are submitting to God, that is the source of your resistance. Then he must flee. He must bail. He must bolt.
True victory comes from those who will walk in faith:
"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith." — 1 John 5:4 (ESV)
"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." — 1 John 4:4 (ESV)
Grow in the Lord
To get to that place, every child of God needs to grow in the Lord — needs to strengthen their walk with him daily through prayer and the studying of his Word.
You can't get stronger without good diet and exercise. There's not an exercise program in the world that's going to overcome a crappy diet. You add those things together. Same thing with your spiritual walk. And as your local chef of spiritual food, it puts a lot of burden on me to make sure I'm serving you something good for your soul every week.
So if you're surrendering your will to God, if you're giving your stress to God, if you're getting stronger in your walk with God — our last point today: I want you to view the work of God.
4. View the Work of God
Verse 10
One of the great incentives of walking out continuously in victory is being able to see the Lord's work all around you.
Seeing God work in the life of somebody is without a doubt the greatest thing you can have in life. Nothing in the flesh compares to the miracle of God changing a life — somebody coming to new life in Christ, somebody realizing after walking with God for a while that something is missing and they want to be baptized, publicly identifying with Christ going into the grave and coming out to resurrection.
Seeing God's work around you in little ways is just joyful.
And this joy rests on three things: the grace we now enjoy, the grief we must endure, and the glory we will experience.
The Grace We Now Enjoy
While we journey through these difficult days, while we fight for righteousness and resist the devil day by day, while we face those times when we are burdened with worries and cares — always remember that God's grace is sufficient for you.
I'm exhausted with people who have a religious bent where they have to be a big part of what they've got going on and they try to add to what Jesus has done. The Jesus of the Bible isn't enough for them, and it's sad to its core. God's grace is sufficient for you and me.
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." — 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (ESV)
The power of Christ can rest upon me. It can rest upon you.
Notice that he did not say he would lift every load. Notice he did not say he would flatten every hill for you. Notice he did not say he would smooth out every rough spot.
That's why, when we have those things in our life, having the unity of brothers and sisters makes it easier to go through all that — to go up those hills, to go through those rough patches.
However, he did say that he would change you in the midst of your difficulty — that you would be successful in your walk with him, and regardless of your circumstances, you can have peace and it can be well with you.
There is grace for every trial, for every mile, and for everything we face as we go through life. Thank God for the matchless, priceless, boundless mercy and grace.
The Grief We Must Endure
Verse 10 makes it plain that there will be difficulties along the road of life from time to time. The word "suffer" bears this out. Jesus himself told you this would be so:
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." — John 16:33 (ESV)
Take heart in him.
Even when life is a vale of tears, we have the promise of the Lord. We have his presence. We have his provision. We have his power.
We don't wield his power like some sort of super saint — he wields his power through us at his discretion. Why? Because we're slaves. We're given assignments. We try to complete them to the best of our ability. And we leave the results in his hands.
Therefore, let us run with patience the race that is set before us, and look unto Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1–2) — because he's already run the race and he knows the way.
The Glory We Will Experience
This verse tells us that when the suffering days are over, there are glory days ahead. And that is exciting.
Notice what the Lord tells us as his children:
He's going to make us perfect. He's going to establish us. He's going to strengthen us. He's going to settle us.
When will this happen? When we leave this world.
Store up not your treasures here on earth, but in heaven where rust and moth don't destroy (Matthew 6:19–20). We are going to land where the things which trouble us now are not even going to be allowed to enter:
"But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." — Revelation 21:27 (ESV)
The whole game of life revolves around one of two things: is your name in the book, or is your name not in the book? That's it. And if the blood of Jesus has become your substitute for your punishment, your name's in the book — and nothing unclean can ever enter it.
It's a place where trials and the way of tears and the way of pain is wiped away forever:
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." — Revelation 21:4 (ESV)
A place where trials and burdens are replaced with glory and peace:
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." — Romans 8:18 (ESV)
And one more:
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." — 2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)
This light momentary affliction is preparing us for the eternal weight of glory that we can't comprehend.
And in our fallen sinful nature — light and momentary, huh? My loved one just died. My job dissolved and my income is gone. The diagnosis just came back — stage four.
Light and momentary. Really?
Yeah.
Because we all know this whole deal only lasts five minutes. It's a vapor. It's a crashing wave. And soon it's gone. Then we're going to a place where Satan and his batch cannot follow, where the Lord is the light of the world. We're going to a place where troubles and trials can no longer afflict the children of God.
I say all this because I have rock solid assurance, and I look forward to that glorious day — and I want you to have it, too.
So are you riding the bummer train today?
If so, there is a way out. Ask yourself:
Am I surrendering my will to God? Am I giving all my worries to God? Am I walking with God and letting him strengthen me in the Lord Jesus? Am I viewing and seeing the work of God?
If the answer to any of these is no, then come to him today and get it straightened out. He's there for that purpose.
There is peace in Jesus. There is power in Jesus. You can have new life today. And if you have new life already, you can make your world full of joy and contentment in spite of your circumstances.
For people like me, that's easier said than done. But it does happen. And when it does — that contentment in the middle of whatever — it's priceless. And it is the meaning of life.
So drive on to walk in the peace of God today. And may the Lord be honored in your world. And may his name be made great in our midst.