Video Transcript: Lesson 7 Christian Living

Hi, welcome to Lesson Seven of Christian basics as we think about Christian living, the writer  of the material we're looking at is Dr. Ed Roels. And I'm David Feddes, presenting Dr. Roels'  writing and then offering some comments of my own introduction. Many people are eager to  accept the salvation that Jesus gives. However, they often have questions about living as a  Christian. Some wonder whether they will be able to live a Christian life, others aren't sure  that they're willing to do all that Jesus might ask of them. Still others are afraid that  Christianity will take all the fun out of their lives. What does it really mean to live as a  Christian? Can anyone really live a life that is pleasing to God? Does Christianity really take  all the fun and joy out of life? Before trying to answer those questions, it is important for us to  reflect on Jesus's own life. Jesus life was never easy. He had no home of his own. He had  very few personal possessions, and he likely had no personal means of transportation, such  as a donkey on which to ride. He was often rejected, misunderstood, ridiculed, falsely  accused, and mistreated. Even though he performed many wonderful miracles of healing, fed  multitudes of people when they were hungry, showed love and compassion to the poor  showed grace to people who others ignored and forgave people whom others condemned.  There were still many people who hated and despised him and tried to find fault with him.  Most of the members of his own family misunderstood him at first, one of his closest followers denied him, another betrayed him. And the rest deserted him when he was confronted by a  mob of people in the middle of the night. If we want to be true followers of Jesus, therefore,  we should not expect that our lives will always be easy or pleasant or free from pain. Our  blessings will be greater than any we have ever had before. But our challenges and trials may be greater too. But whatever our circumstances may be, times of exceptional joy, or times of  suffering and sorrow or both. Jesus has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us.  He will graciously forgive us when we fail, uphold us when we are weak, comfort us when  we're rejected or hurt, and continue to shower us with His mercy, grace and love. Read  thoughtfully and humbly what the Bible says about both the challenges and the blessings of  living as a follower of Jesus. Question one, what challenge does Jesus give to those who  want to follow Him? Jesus challenges us to give up everything for him, even our lives, if  necessary. Scripture references Mark 8:34-35. If anyone would come after me, says Jesus,  let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will  lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and the Gospels will say that we must hand our life over to Jesus and take the life he gives us. Luke 14:27, whoever does not bear his own  cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Matthew 10:37-38. Whoever loves father or  mother more than Me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me  is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of me.  In some ways, Jesus talks like a general or a recruiter for the army, and he does not hide the  cost. Sometimes military recruiters make it sound like it's all glory, and happiness, and  everything's going to be wonderful. But what it really involves is, you've got to leave your  family. If you join the army, and even if you're married at a moment's notice from your  commander, you've got to leave your family and go where you're told and even give up your  life if necessary. Jesus never hides the costs of following him. He says, When you join my  army, then my commands come even before your own family, and love for me in loyalty to me  comes before everything else. And if you want to join my cause, you may be called upon to  lay down your very life. And unless you'll give me everything, you probably can't even begin to follow me. Question two, what will motivate us to live for Christ? We can never repay Jesus  for all that he has done for us. But when we humbly reflect on his great love and his incredible sacrifice, we should gratefully seek to live every moment in a way that pleases him. Only think about the wonderful home is preparing for us in glory. It should not be difficult to give up any  earthly treasure or pleasure which does not please Him or honor Him. Jesus is truly a 

priceless treasure, and nothing on earth can compare with Him. If we truly love Him with all  our heart, we will not get swept away with the concerns and pleasures of this world. So in one sense, you may have to give up a lot to follow Jesus. But you get a lot more than you give up.  And you get to be part of his great cause, and kingdom advance in this world. John 14:23, If  anyone loves Me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him  and make Our home with him. Even before we go to be at home with Jesus, even in the midst of the sufferings of this life, Jesus comes to us his father comes to us the Spirit lives within us. And God makes his home with us what a blessing. Romans 12:1-2, I appeal brothers by the  mercies of God, that's the motive, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living  sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. We may have to lay down our life by dying for the sake  of the gospel. But even if we don't we offer our bodies as living sacrifices every day given to  God. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, when it's good, and acceptable, and  perfect. So don't just go with the flow. Don't just go along with everything around you. Let  God's will and the mind of God be what shapes you and all because you've received the  mercies of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Question three, who makes it  possible for us to live a Christian life? God Himself does, we are not able to live a consistent  Christian life on our own. And thankfully, we do not have to. God dwells within us through the  Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live the kind of life that pleases Him. Scripture references  Philippians 2:13 says it is God who works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure God makes you want what God wants and then God gives you the power to work for what  God wants and for what pleases Him Galatians 5:16 walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The spirit is the power that helps you walk. Hebrews 13:20-21. May  the God of peace equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that  which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. And there are many, many more verses. So just to throw in one more II Peter 1 says, His  divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, all things through his  divine power, so that we can live the life and practice the godliness that he deserves. Its God  who does it. Question four, how can we show that God is truly at work in our lives, we should  live in such a way that others can see our changed lives. If there is no significant difference  between our lives and the lives of those who are not believers, how our witness will likely  have very little effect. People are much more impressed by how we live than by what we say.  If they're able to see that we've been truly transformed by God's grace and power, they will  often be eager to know what has happened in our lives. Scripture references I Timothy 1:15- 16, the apostle Paul wrote, and remember, the apostle Paul had formerly been Saul, a  murderer of Christians, and then became a mighty missionary after Jesus changed him. Paul  wrote, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I  received mercy for this reason, that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might display His  perfect patience, as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. Jesus  chose Saul because he was his worst enemy. And the tremendous transformation that  happened when Saul became Paul, this man of love, this man who was eager to serve Jesus  and lead others to Jesus, when people saw what God had done in Saul making him into Paul, they thought, wow, if God could do that, and here what could he do and me? And so this chief of sinners became a chief display of God's grace because of what God transformed him to  become and the same It's true of us if we've been trapped in sin and then that transforming  power of God changes who we are other people are going to look and see us an example of  what God can do and believe that God if God could do that for us, he could do it for them to  Titus 2:11-14 says the grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions  and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. Jesus Christ gave 

himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, who are zealous for good works. You see, Jesus didn't just die, so that your sins  would be forgiven. He also died so that you'd stop sinning, he died to transform you into a  person who does good works instead of evil works. Titus 3 says we ourselves were once  foolish, disobedient, led astray slaves to various passions and pleasures. But when the  goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of  works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of  regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. I and it's Paul speaking, I want you to insist  on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. So again, God saves us not just from hell, not just from the punishment for our sin, but from the power of sin itself, so that we will live in his way and do good works.  Question five, is it important for Christians to show genuine love to one another? He Yes, the  two greatest commandments in both an Old Testament and the New Testament are these love God above all, and love others as yourselves. As Jesus Himself said, others will know that  you are his disciple, if you have genuine love for others, even for people who might be  considered unlovable, since God loved us when we ourselves were unlovable. Our lives  demonstrate what God can do in any life that is committed to him. Love. The Bible says God  is love. And so those in whom God lives, those in whom God is at work, are going to be loving people directing love towards God, and towards other people, Scripture references I John  4:11-12 says, Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. If we love one  another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. Jesus said in John 13:35, by this all  people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Romans 12:9-10  says, Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast, what is good. Love one another with  brotherly affection. How do one another in showing honor, Matthew 5:47, 44-47, Jesus says,  Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. For if you love those who love you What reward you have. And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than  others, there's something about the love of Jesus that goes beyond ordinary love. If you have  any sense, you're going to be nice to people who are nice to you, you're going to love people  who love you, although unfortunately, we sometimes even have trouble with that. But even a  decent pagan says Jesus will tend to love and be nice to people who are nice to them. But the difference when you have a love of God in you, is you love even those who hate you. You  pray for those who pick on you. And that's what makes you different. What are you doing  more than others? That's a powerful question. And when the Spirit of Christ is in you, then you start loving in a way that goes beyond mere ordinary love. Question Six What is Christian  love, like? genuine Christian love is self giving, consistent, helpful, thoughtful, and often  sacrificial, and often cost something. It is primarily love in action rather than simply love in  words or feelings. There is a feeling dimension where we feel affection towards many people,  but sometimes we can love people, even we don't feel much affection towards them because  of all their cruelty towards us. Love involves words, saying I love you words of  encouragement. But if it's just words, then it's pretty empty. So there are ordinarily feelings  and words involved with love, but it's mainly a determination to act for the well being of others  because we care about them. It's basically a reflection of Christ's love for us and Christ's love  within us. Without Christ's love and the power of the Holy Spirit. We than us. It would be  impossible for us to love others in the way that God commands in which the Bible describes  scripture references. Jesus said in John 15:13, Greater love has no one than this, that  someone lays down his life for his friends. Romans 13:10, says Love does no wrong to a  neighbor. I Peter 4:8 says love covers a multitude of sins. And I Corinthians 13, that great  description of love, love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or  rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at 

wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all  things, endures all things love never happens. Question seven, What Does the Bible Teach  About worldliness? worldliness is thinking and living according to the standards and desires of the sinful and unbelieving world, rather than living according to the teachings of the Word of  God. Those who live by the world's goals and standards are not living in a way that pleases  God. Friendship with the world, makes a person an enemy of God. Those may sound like  strong words, but they come straight from the scriptures. Scripture references I John 2:15-16,  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the  Father is not in him. For all that is in the world. The desires of the flesh and the desires of the  eyes and pride in possessions is not from the Father, but it's from the world. Titus 2:11-12.  The grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self  controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. James 4:4 very hard hitting words, do  you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God that's hatred with God.  Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy of God.  Question Eight what are some of the specific sins which the Bible warns against? The Bible  warns against sins of every kind sins of thought, word, or deed. Some of the specific sins  listed in the New Testament include idol worship, disobeying parents murder, lying, stealing,  fighting, bad language, immorality, drunkenness, uncontrolled anger, greed, bitterness, and  many others. Look at some of the Bible references about that, especially for the book of  Ephesians. Therefore having put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his  neighbor for we are members of one another. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and  give no opportunity to the devil. So staying angry, gives the devil an opportunity. Let the thief  no longer steal. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for  building up. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and  clamor and slander be put away from you. Ephesians 5 says sexual immorality and all  impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. Let  there be no filthiness or foolish talking or crude joking which are out of place. For you may be  sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or is covetous that isn't idolatry  or has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Do not be foolish but understand  what the will of God is. And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery that just  squandering and throwing yourself away, but be filled with the Spirit. II Timothy 3, In the last  days, people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to  their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous without self control,  brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with deceit, lovers of pleasure rather  than lovers of God. Having the appearance of godliness they still got some religion, but  denying its power. Avoid such people. Question Nine is it possible for us to overcome  temptation and live a holy life? Yes, God provides a way out of each trial and temptation if we  sincerely look for it and desire it. But if we do not sincerely look for a way out of the  temptation, we very likely will not find it. Let's face it sometimes when And we're tempted, we  really don't want to resist it. And we don't look for a way to resist it. And so we don't find a way to resist it. But God promises that there is a way out of every temptation. Scripture reference I Corinthians 10:13, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is  faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will  also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. I Corinthians 1:7-9, our  Lord Jesus Christ will sustain you to the end guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called, into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And  Jude chapter, Jude verses 24-25. To him was able to keep you from stumbling and to present  you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. To the only God our Savior be  glory before all time, and now and forever. Amen. Question 10 Is God willing to forgive us? If 

we fall into sin even after confessing Christ? Yes, God will graciously forgive us if we sincerely confess our sins, and humbly ask Him to forgive us. However, that does not mean we should  take our sins lightly. God is indeed gracious and merciful. But our sins and failures grieve the  

Holy Spirit who lives within us. Our sins, also dishonor the name of God, and may also  diminish the effectiveness of our personal testimony. And so even though God forgives, we  don't just sin because we think we can get away with it. It dishonors God, it weakens our  testimony. It takes away from our own joy. Scripture references. I John 1:9 makes it very clear that God does forgive believers who have sinned after their conversion. If we confess our  sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness  Proverbs 28:13 says, Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who  confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Don't pretend you haven't sinned. Just admit  it, and ask God to forgive you. Psalm 32:5, he begins the psalm by saying for a while, I would  not admit my sin, I wouldn't face up to it. But then David goes on to say, I acknowledged my  sin to You, Lord, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the  Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. What a blessing that when we sin, even after  coming to Christ, even when we have no excuse, really, God still forgives when we confess  and turn away from our sin. Question 11 How can we help each other, live a Christian life, we  don't need to just do it on our own, we can help each other well, we should worship together,  encourage one another, pray for each other. And be careful never to tempt one another or to  lead one another into sin. Scripture references Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us consider how to stir  one another, to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some,  but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. So just  gathering together on a regular basis to worship the Lord, with fellow believers, we build each  other up and encourage each other. And as we spend time together, we can help each other  and remind each other the truth of the gospel, and spur one another on to love and good  deeds. Ephesians 6:18. Keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the  saints. That is for all the believers, again, this is at the end of the great passage about putting  on the armor of God. And as we're fighting against Satan, we need to wear that armor that  God provides. But we also need each other where we're looking out for each other and we  are praying constantly for each other. I Corinthians 8:9, take care that this rite of yours does  not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak it was a problem in Corinth that some  Christians said, Well, I can do this and it doesn't bother my conscience. And if somebody else  is bothered by not just their problem, while the Apostle Paul said, no, no, be really careful.  Because if there's things that you're strong enough to handle, but that somebody else isn't,  and you destroy somebody else for whom Christ died, that would be horrible. And so be  careful that you don't do things that might lead others to become weak or to fall. I Peter 3:8-9  says Finally, all of you have unity of mind sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a  humble man. I do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling. But on the contrary, bless. For  to this, you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. Sometimes, one Christian falls into  sin and does nasty things to others, and they need to be confronted. But at the same time, the other Christians need to grieve for a fellow believer who's fallen, and to lift them up again, and to forgive them, and to restore them with tenderness. Question 12. What attitude should we  have toward money, and possessions, it is a wonderful blessing to have sufficient funds and  resources for daily living. It's great when God provides us with enough, we should be very  careful, however, not to put too much emphasis on material things or to value them too highly. We should be grateful for all that the Lord entrusts to us be content with what we have, and  not be envious of others who have more than we do. We should also recognize that we are  only stewards, that is managers who don't own it, we're just taking care of it. We are stewards of the things the Lord has entrusted to us. Everything we call our own really belongs to him. 

When possible, we should also use our possessions to serve the poor, and the homeless in  the name of the Lord, so that he is glorified, while we help to meet the needs of others. And  we should also use our financial resources to help spread the good news of the gospel  around the world. Scripture references, Jesus says in Luke 12:15, the honor guard against all  covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And then  Jesus tells the story of the rich fool, who's getting richer and richer, and the only thing he  thinks about is how to store his wealth into even bigger store houses. And then sitting back  taking an early retirement and living in luxury. And God says to him, you fool tonight, you're  soul is required of you, and then who will have all this stuff that you've piled up for yourself.  And so Jesus says, that's how it is with anybody who's rich in possessions but is not rich  towards God. And so guard against that your life is a lot more than just money. What does a  man gain if he has the whole world and loses his soul? So be careful about love of money?  Hebrews 13:5 says, Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you  have. I John 3:17, says if anyone has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, yet  closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? One test of whether you  really love is whether you'll give your money to help others who are in need. I Timothy 6:7-10  is one of the great passages in the Bible about our attitudes towards money. We brought  nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and  clothing with these, we will be contempt. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation  into a snare, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that  some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. Jesus  said, You can't serve both God and money. You need to put God first seek His kingdom first.  And let God worry about the money matters and be thankful to him when he gives you  enough and don't get greedy for more more and more. Question 13 What does the Bible  teach about giving, we should give generously, regularly and cheerfully especial object of our  giving should be believers who are in need, even though we should also remember the needs of others. Scripture references Galatians 6:10. As we have opportunity, let us do good to  everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. II Corinthians eight and  nine is a great extended section about giving. Here's just a few excerpts as you excel in  everything. See that you excel in this act of grace also, for you know the grace of our Lord  Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you by his  poverty might become rich. Jesus became poor, to make us rich. That was the ultimate in  generosity and so we're called to be generous with our riches, for the needs of others. II  Corinthians 9:7 says each one must give as he's decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under  composing for God loves a cheerful giver. So you don't want to just say, Well, I know the Bible says I have to give so okay, I'll write this check. I'll give some money. I'll do Something nice  because I know I have to know God loves it when you're cheerful and you say, Wow, God has been generous with me, he's given me more than I need. And he did it so that I could bless  his name and help others. I am so glad that I can give out of this overflow for the blessing of  others. And I'm so glad to see how it helps others. I'm so glad I can help others to know the  gospel, by supporting the spread of the Scriptures and the spread of the gospel and mission  activity. I'm so glad I could help people in need. And I'm so glad that in all of that I can honor  my lord. Hey, he's given me so much more than I need. I'm just giving back to him what he's  already given me. This is fun. God loves a cheerful giver. Question 14 What are the results of  generous and cheerful giving? Those who give are blessed. The needs of others are met. And God is honored and praised. So we're blessed in giving those who receive it are blessed and  God gets the glory. Proverbs 19:17, whoever is generous to the poor, lends to the Lord, and  he will repay him for his deed you're giving to God, when you give to those in need, and God  is a great investment. Proverbs 22:9, whoever has a bountiful I will be blessed for he shares 

his bread with the poor. Jesus says in Luke 12:33, sell your possessions and give to the  needy. Provide yourselves with money, bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the  heavens, that does not fail. You can store up treasure here on earth in the form of bonds, or  bank accounts or stocks are currency. But those things have a way of becoming worthless  even in this life. Many times, there are financial crises that make property a lot less valuable  than it used to be. But certainly, when we die, those money bags are all gone. Nobody gets to enter heaven with a big truck with all their possessions behind them. The only thing you can  bring into heaven is what you send ahead, by storing up treasure and giving to God's causes  and giving to the needy. II Corinthians 9:6, whoever sows sparingly, will reap sparingly, and  whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. If you're a farmer, and you said, You know  what, I don't like taking these big bags of seed I had, and just dumping them into the ground,  I'm going to save that seed for myself, because I want to keep my bags of seed. That'd be  really stupid, wouldn't it, because if you never planted any seed, you wouldn't get any crop. If  you only took a little bit of seed and threw it around a little, because you wanted to hog the  rest of that seed for yourself, you wouldn't get much of a crop. But when you sow your seed  bountifully all over, then your field comes up and grows a crop and you have way more at the  end than you started out with. And that is what it's like to give to the Lord and to give to the  needs of others. If you plant a little seed and you get a teeny little crop, if you plant a lot of  seed. If you give generously, then God promises a great harvest. II Corinthians 9:12, says the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but it's also overflowing in many Thanksgivings to God. So for your own well being you're storing up treasure in heaven,  you're planting seeds for a great harvest and you're blessed. But it's not only blessing you, it's also supplying the needs of other believers and others who are in need. So it's blessing them. And it's honoring God, because they're thanking God for your generosity, and God is smiling.  When he sees that you're like Jesus, Jesus, though he was rich, gave up his riches to help  others and now you're taking riches God has given you and giving them up for the blessing  and help others questions 15 Doesn't living as a Christian take the fun and joy out of life. Not  at all. Living as an obedient Christian in a non Christian world can certainly be challenging  and difficult at times. But the blessings of living for Christ far outweigh any difficulties involved. Not only has Jesus promised that we will live with Him forever in glory. But He also promised  that our Father in Heaven will graciously meet all our needs, in our present life. In fact, God  often gives us material and physical blessings which go far beyond what we actually need. In  addition, he also gives us gifts of love and joy and peace which the world can never give.  Even though we may experience trials or difficulties in this life, because we're Christians, God promises that whatever sufferings and difficulties we experienced as believers will eventually  turn out for our spiritual and eternal good. Here's what it says in the Bible, II Corinthians 9:8,  God is able to make all grace abound to you. So that having all sufficiency in all things that all  times you may abound in every good work. Philippians 4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always I'll  say it again rejoice. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your  hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So there's this joy, and this peace that comes from  God that you just can't get anywhere else. I Peter 1 says, according to His great mercy, God  has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the  dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable. undefiled unfading kept in heaven for you,  though you've not seen him. You love him. Though you do not see him now you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. This inexpressible and glorious  joy is what comes to you by faith in Jesus and even in the midst of trials and difficulties. This  joy of the Lord is irreplaceable. II Corinthians 4:17, the apostle Paul writes, this slight and  momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. And  Paul says in Romans 8, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the 

glory that will be revealed in us. And you got to remember Paul's not just talking as a preacher who's got kind of an easy life and everything's going his way, and saying, Oh, are minor  sufferings now we're going to be outweighed by all that glory. Later on. Paul was beaten with  rods three times, five times, he was whipped with a 39 lashes. Three times, he was  shipwrecked, he spent a night and a day in the open sea, he was often attacked by bandits,  he was pelted with stones and left for dead on one occasion, he was put in prison a variety of  times unjustly, just because he was a believer in Christ. And ultimately, he had his head  chopped off. And he said, all these slight and momentary afflictions, are preparing for us an  eternal weight of glory. They are no comparison. But you see, God had taken Paul to heaven  even before he died, whether it was in the body or the spirit, Paul wasn't sure. But Paul had  seen things that he wasn't permitted to tell. But what he had seen convinced him that all these sufferings and trials he went through, weren't even worth comparing to the glory. And so he  lived this life with the holy spirit in him with a sense of the riches of belonging to Jesus,  knowing that it was more valuable than all the things he had given up. Roman, Romans 8:28,  and following says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for  good for those who are called according to His purpose, Who shall separate us from the love  of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or danger or  sword? No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. So  even in the midst of trials, we are in the love of Christ in the purpose of Christ, or God is using even those trials and hardships and pains, for our good and for His glory. And for making us  like Jesus. We are loved with an everlasting love that nothing can remove us from and this  outweighs all the difficulties that might come with following the Lord Jesus. Question 16  Should believers witnessed unbelievers about Jesus Christ, definitely, we should be prepared  to witnessed others whenever possible. However, we should also be wise and humble as we  talk to people who are not yet believers. If we have an attitude of superiority, when we talk to  them, this will often turn them away from both us and Christ. If you go around with your nose  in the air talking as though you're greater, wiser, smarter and better than others. They're going to be turned off by your pride. Also, we must be very careful to make sure that our lives reflect what we profess. If our lives are not consistent with our testimony, our witnessing will usually  produce little fruit. So we can talk a lot about Jesus. But if we're not living in Christ like life,  we're not going to get much of a hearing. We must continually seek to live in the love of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit so that our witness will be meaningful and effective when  our life reflects Jesus then people will be more likely to hear our words about Jesus. I Peter  3:15. Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the  hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect. So you're always prepared to say,  why you have this great hope and this great joy in Christ. At the same time, you're gentle, and respectful for the other person. Colossians 4:5-6. conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders  making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious Season with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. I Corinthians 9:22, the apostle Paul  wrote, I have become all things to all people that by all possible means I might save some.  Now that doesn't mean it compromise the gospel. Earlier in I Corinthians, he said, some  people demand miraculous signs and others want me to show how wise and intellectual The  Gospel is, but I just keep right on preaching Christ crucified, even though some thinks it's silly, and others just think that it's crazy. I keep preaching Christ crucified, so he doesn't change his message. He doesn't change the heart of the gospel, but he is willing to change things about  himself and not make a big deal about certain habits or attitudes that he himself might have.  He tries to become as much like others as he can and build bridges with them so that he can  tell them the gospel of Jesus and he wants to share Jesus wisely. James 5:20, says whoever  brings back a sinner from his wandering, will save his soul from death, and will cover a 

multitude of sins. Jesus calls us to bring the Gospel to every nation to make disciples of  people from every nation and teach them everything Jesus has commanded. And so we're  called to witness for Christ, but to do it wisely, respectfully, and when the situation is right.  Question 17 Where can we get the wisdom and power we need to witness effectively to  others, we can receive all the wisdom and power we need from the Holy Spirit. Scripture  references Acts 1:8, Jesus said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon  you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of  the earth. And at the time, he said that there were about 120 disciples who were together in  Jerusalem and were praying. And when Jesus sent that Holy Spirit power in one day, 3000  people were converted. Today there are almost 2 billion people in the world who claim the  name of Christ, perhaps not all of them are genuine Christians, but many, many of them are.  It all started out with such small the beginnings. And it was done by the power of the Holy  Spirit through ordinary people. Speaking of Jesus, in John 14:26, Jesus promised that this  was what would happen, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,  He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Jesus  keeps putting in our mind, first of all, by acts by having the Holy Spirit inspire the written word  of God, the Bible, and then also bringing to mind the truths that we need, when we're living  our Christian life. And when we're speaking to others of Jesus. John 16:13, Jesus said, When  the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. And Jesus told His followers in  Luke 12:11-12, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should  say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. So if the thought  of speaking to others of Jesus makes you panic, or think, Oh, I'm not gonna say the right  thing. Jesus says, Don't sweat it. The Holy Spirit will give you words, and it won't just be you  talking, it'll be God talking and your words might not even be all that impressive or all that  fancy. But when the hand of the Holy Spirit is on them, people will hear God speaking to  them. And so we receive what we need for witnessing from God's Holy Spirit. Question 18.  What general guidelines should we follow as we seek to live a Christian life here, we're trying  to tie it all together in a fairly brief form. We should always seek to follow the leading of the  Holy Spirit, obey the Bible, live lives of thankfulness, do all things in the name of Jesus, and  seek to do all things to the glory of God? Scripture references I Corinthians 10:31, whether  you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Everything you do, you have God in mind and you want to honor him, and give thanks to Him in it. Galatians 5:16, walk by  the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Christian living is life in the Spirit and the Spirit living in you. Colossians 3:17, whatever you do in word or deed, do everything. In  the name of the Lord Jesus, you're doing it all because of who Jesus is and what he's done.  And you want to honor him, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to  God the Father, through him a heart that's just filled with gratitude. For God, the Christian life  is a thankful life. And I Peter, 4:10-11 as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,  as good stewards of God's varied Grace whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God,  you're doing it for God. Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies  in order that in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory  and dominion, forever and ever. Amen.