How to Live a
Fruitful and Successful Christian Life
You can live a fruitful
and successful Christian life if you choose to make Christ the Lord or Master
of your life simply by choosing to be controlled or filled by God’s Holy Spirit
moment-by-moment, decision-by-decision throughout each day.
1. The Natural Person or Non-Christian
This picture represents a person’s life. This person has neither trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior nor made Him the Lord or Master of his life. Therefore, this person is controlled by the sin nature that he was born with. Because of that, all he is capable of is sinning (1 Cor. 2:14; Psa. 51:5; Rom. 3:10-12; 5:19; 8:7-8; Eph. 2:3; Gen. 6:5; 8:21).
2. The Carnal or Fleshly Christian
The Apostle Paul addresses this issue in 1 Cor. 3:1-3. He states:
“Brothers,
I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I
gave you milk [basic Bible teachings], not solid food [more advanced
Bible teachings], for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still
not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealously and quarrelling
among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men [non-believers]?”
What are some of the symptoms or characteristics of the carnal or worldly Christian? Well, let’s see:
“Now the deeds of the flesh are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing,” etc. (Gal. 5:19-21).
“For out of the heart
come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matt.
Other symptoms or characteristics could include a lack of desire for:
studying the Bible, praying, sharing your faith with others, or obeying the teachings of the Bible in general (Rom. 8:5).
3. The Spiritual Christian
That is why Christ said:
“I am the vine and you are the branches; he who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing [i.e., nothing spiritual]” (Jn. 15:5).
The Bible also commands Christians:
“But sanctify (set apart; make)
Christ as Lord in your hearts…” (1 Pet.
What are some of the
characteristics of the spiritual Christian?
“But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Gal. 5:19-21).
Other traits would include a desire to:
read the
Bible, pray, share your faith with others, trust God, obey God’s will for your
life, and obey the Bible in general.
The extent
to which these traits will be experienced and evident in a person’s life
depends upon two things: the frequency with which he chooses to obey God’s word
as an act of his will AND the
duration of that obedience as he’s controlled by the Holy Spirit. (Heb. 5:12-14;
2 Pet. 1:5-8; Gal.
Though all
Christians/believers have a new nature (2 Pet. 1:4), have become a new person
as a child of God (2 Cor.
As
the Apostle Paul states:
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, my flesh; for
the wishing is present in me, but the doing of it is not. For the good that I
wish, I do not; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish” (Rom.
So how can you be
controlled/filled by the Holy Spirit?
Well, since God made a promise in 1 Jn. 5:14, 15 that He would answer all prayers that are in accordance with His will, and since we know that it is His will for us to be controlled with His Holy Spirit (because He commands us to be so in Eph. 5:18), then all we have to do is ask God in faith to control us with the Holy Spirit and He will keep His promise to do so, for God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
“…Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph.
If this is what you want to do, you could say something
like this to God:
“Dear Father, I know I’ve sinned against You in many ways, such as in (name them specifically), but I’m glad that I’m forgiven for them all because Jesus Christ died and paid the penalty for them all. However, I ask You now to control me with Your indwelling Holy Spirit so that I can live obediently and be Christ-like. Thank You for answering my prayer because You promised You would if I asked in faith and in accordance to Your will. In Christ’s name, Amen.”
DO NOT go by your feelings or emotions as to whether you are controlled by the Holy Spirit, but GO BY GOD’S PROMISE that you’re now controlled by the Holy Spirit.
After becoming a Christian by trusting in Christ that He died for all of your sins, you are positionally forgiven for all of your sins (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Col. 2:13, 14). However, as Christians, we still sin at times and break fellowship/harmony with God (not loss of salvation). When this happens, we should immediately deal with our sins by confessing them (agreeing with God that we have sinned, 1 Jn. 1:9). Doing so restores fellowship or a right relationship with God. Then, ask God to fill/control you once again with His Holy Spirit, and then choose to obey God moment by moment, decision by decision.
Whenever you sin again, just repeat the above steps, so that you can consistently stay in fellowship/harmony with God and be able to live a Christ-like life. Remember that the key to living a fruitful and successful Christian life is to consistently be controlled by the Holy Spirit moment by moment and decision by decision. As you do this and apply God’s Word with a proper motivation (love for God), you will grow spiritually and have a good relationship with God.
¨
Would you describe yourself as a “Natural
Person” or “Non-Christian”? Please read the Good
News.
¨
Have you made the decision in the past to
trust in Christ as your Savior, but find that you’re still struggling with
doubts about your salvation? Here is some good
news for you.
Return to the Campus
Christians’ Reading Library.
Return to the Campus
Christians’ Home Page.
