Last night a missionary friend on a Zoom call challenged me and others to commit to living with practical Christianity. He described both the passionate and powerful nature of an authentic life. The follower of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word considers how to apply God’s message in practical ways for daily living. As “in Christ” people, those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, both our challenge and opportunity are the same. In daily living – as we are experiencing now through the COVID-19 pandemic – we seek to live consistent with the truth of the Bible in the midst of various trials, including suffering, sin, and shortcomings.
Yes, Our Challenge Is Authenticity.
My friend served us well to once again challenge us with this truth. In the Bible, Jesus’ half-brother James describes this process for us. He writes:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:22-26)
James highlights the importance of reading God’s Word, determining what it means, remembering it, applying it, acting upon it, and the blessings you’ll receive from it.James highlights the importance of reading God's Word, determining what it means, remembering it, applying it, acting upon it, and the blessings you'll receive from it. Click To Tweet
How Do I Live as an Authentic Christian?
Notice the steps involved in living an authentic Christian life.
- Read and Study God’s Word. James uses the words “look into” and “continues” to describe this function. The goal here is learning. It is not enough to just read a verse and run out the door per se to go tackle our day. Instead, the authentic Christian seeks to take a few minutes to read a paragraph of God’s Word and then figure out what it means. The words are not magic. Just reading the words out loud or even in your mind do not produce the effect God desires. The goal is to understand and learn what you are reading.
There is a process. Take a few verses and determine what those particular verses mean in their context. Look closely at the context to understand the setting. When was this text written? By whom? To whom? What is the occasion? What are the key vocabulary words? What is the writer’s main point to these readers? What is the timeless truth (that truth that can be applied to all people in all times)?
Why would you ask all these questions? In order to understand and learn what the Bible teaches, you need to be able to put it in its appropriate context. Context is everything in Bible reading. A promise made to a person in the Bible may not apply at all to you. For example, certainly Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and sacrificial atonement makes a difference as to what part of the Bible you are reading (Old Testament/Old Covenant and New Testament/New Covenant).
You basically answer the question, “What does this text mean?”
- Remember God’s Word. Using the word we discussed above “continues” along with the next phrase “and Is not a forgetful hearer” together emphasize the necessity of remembering what the Bible says. It is not enough alone to just read it and determine what it means. We also seek to remember what we have read. Again, the goal is understanding and learning.
There are a variety of ways you can remember God’s Word. Let me suggest just a few practical ways to do so. 1) Take the key verse and write it down (or type it in your phone). Use the card you wrote it on or the note on your phone to look at it every hour throughout your day. Read over it. Possibly write the verse on one side and your key application point on the other side of the card. Read the verse and then flip the card over to remember your application. 2) Memorize a key verse from that part of the passage over a week. You possibly can review the same section over a period of a week and seek to memorize a verse in that section. Again, write it down and work on memorizing it. One of the best ways to memorize a verse over a week is to read it 20-25 times per day over multiple days. You will eventually be able to quote it. 3) Set an alarm on your phone to review the passage and simple notes you made during your study.
- Apply and Do God’s Word. James emphasizes the practical end of learning and remembering God’s Word – application. We are to be doers of God’s Word. In essence, to know something without applying it is folly. In fact, James says it is sin (James 4:17). This step is a key step to be an authentic follower of Christ.
Hypocrisy, inconsistency, and inauthenticity all describe similar but not identical ideas. Each essentially emphasize the lack of application. In fact, you could summarize this as immaturity. God desires for us to become mature in our faith such that we live as Christ (James 1:2-5, 17-18). His goal for each of is to become like Jesus Christ. He does that through this process of reading, understanding, remembering, and applying the Bible. The purpose of the Bible is life change.
James uses the examples of the tongue, serving others, and remaining pure as examples of authentic faith. The last thing James – and God – would accept is inauthenticity. A mature and true follower of Christ consistently applies what the Bible teaches to his or her circumstances.A mature and true follower of Christ consistently applies what the Bible teaches to his or her circumstances. Click To Tweet
Good application questions include: 1) What relationship does this passage have to my daily life? 2) How does this timeless truth apply to my thinking, my attitude, my desires, my emotions, and my actions? 3) What do I need to stop doing in order to live consistent with this truth? 4) What do I need to either continue to do or start doing in order to live consistent with this truth?
Make no mistake about it, unless you actually do something, you have not changed and you are not striving toward authenticity. Insight is different than change. Insight is good, but insight is just a start. You need to press into and on toward actually doing something. As Paul Tripp said, “Change does not take place until change takes place.” Without actual change, this process is inadequate. Determine what you need to do, then do it.
You basically answer the question, “How does this passage apply?”
The Struggle Is Real But Necessary
Is it a real struggle to live consistent with the Gospel and Christ? Absolutely.
Is it possible for others – if they watch long enough – to blame any one of us for inauthenticity? Possibly
Therefore, we must engage in the spiritual battle for authenticity. The good fight (1 Timothy 6:12-16) is a necessary fight. Far too often we give our critics the opportunity to legitimately criticize us simply because we fail to go the distance from reading and understanding to application and doing.Far too often we give our critics the opportunity to legitimately criticize us simply because we fail to go the distance from reading and understanding to application and doing. Click To Tweet
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