When you become a Christian, you should be prepared to change your lifestyle. There has to be a change in the mind, action, and words. You become a new creature according to2 Corinthians 5:17. Living the same life that you lived before getting saved is a sign that you are not serious about your conversion.
The Bible compares becoming a Christian to the process a person goes through to become an athlete who runs a race to get a crown in the ancient times. The difference is that an athlete in the olden days used to get a corruptible crown, but we, on the other, run the race to win an incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25)
The idea of an athlete is a good idea to describe the transformation that a person should go through in becoming a Christian. Let us look at someone who wants to be an athlete and win the Olympics. They might be currently overweight and not engage in any form of exercise. Therefore they will decide to make changes in their life so that they are ready for the competition. They will, first of all, change their diet from fast food to fruits and vegetables. They will stop drinking beverages like Soda and start drinking eight glasses of water every day. When they get back from work, they will put on their running shoes and start running in the neighborhood instead of immediately slumping on the couch to watch television. It will be irrational for someone who decides to change to be an athlete, to continue living an idle lifestyle, and expect to become an Olympic champion. It is impossible; it will never happen. There has to be a change.
What kind of changes should be made when becoming a Christian and what is the reason?
1.1. Make Prayer a habit.
We cannot be successful Christians if prayer is not part of our daily life. One of the Christian basics is having a relationship with God. You have a relationship with someone when you spend time with and you engage in conversations with them.
It is beneficial to pray at least three times a day. Look at the people in the bible who were able to overcome sin and temptation. A good example is Daniel, who was one of the most sanctified people of God. He was able to overcome all kinds are trials and tribulations. His daily habit was to pray three times a day (Daniel 6:10). However, there is no limit that a Christian can pray and you do not always have to have a set time. Every time you feel lonely or sad or feel fearful, you should pray.
1.2. Read the Bible on a daily basis.
The bible tells us the type of life that we should live when convert and will guide you on our journey on becoming a Christian. Not only does it tell you about God, it also tells you what a Christian is and what to expect in Christianity. Start with the New Testament and then the Old testament because it can be discouraging to start with the Old and you might feel overwhelmed since it it much longer than the New Testament. However, the Old Testament is just as important as the New, but the New is focused on Christ. The Old Testament is Christ concealed, and New is Christ revealed. The Bible also tells us about the Christian basics and how your life will change.
1.3. Find a biblical church.
Reading the Bible first will direct you to the right church and avoid counterfeit Christianity. It will benefit you to be associated with other Christians because being a Christian without being in fellowship with other likeminded people will result in discouragement, loneliness and inconsistency. Then you will eventually stop being a Christian.
1.4. Perform a spiritual check up.
Some people, before getting saved, were involved in witchcraft and immoral acts that caused them to be demon-possessed. The person needs deliverance because the demon will continue to reside in the person until they are exorcised. It can embarrassing to admit the wrong lifestyle that you were involved in, but there is nothing that can cause misery than to be saved, but a constantly tormented by demons.
1.5. What we do with our bodies.
When we become Christ’s, we belong to Him and the Holy Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 6:19). Therefore we do not do as we please. Therefore we need to stop fornication. Sleeping around not only causes a lot of emotional and psychological damage, but it causes a lot of spiritual harm as well. The Spirit of God dwells in us when we get saved, and we cannot come together with someone who is not married to us and who might be one with the enemy of God (1 Corinthians 6:15-16).
1.6. Feeding our minds: Movies and music.
By beholding, we are changed (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is monkey see, monkey do. We cannot have pure Christlike thoughts when listening to music full of profanity and blasphemy. We cannot have holy thoughts when we are watching television programs that are full of immoral acts. The more we watch, the more we will desire and want to imitate what we see on television. We become de-sensitized to sin and violence the more we look at it often.
1.7. Feeding our bodies.
Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. The food that we eat not only affects the functioning of our body but our minds as well. When we eat unhealthy foods that are detrimental to our health, we put ourselves in a position that we cannot overcome the snares of the devil. Since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit we cannot continue putting into our bodies poisons that are slowly killing us. Therefore we cannot continue smoking when we become saved and need to stop this harmful habit.
What we eat and drink affects our minds. When a person drinks alcohol, it clouds their judgment, and they cannot make good decisions. You cannot overcome sin when you continue to drink alcohol and therefore need to stop drink alcohol when you get saved and eliminate anything that impairs your ability to make the right decision. There are Christians who believe that it is acceptable to drink alcohol because Jesus turned water into wine. But did Jesus really turn water into alcohol? The Old Testament was originally written by God’s prophets in Hebrew, while the New Testament was written in the Greek language and was translated into English. There were two types of wine in the Bible; fermented and unfermented wine.
When the Bible was translated into the English language, the translators included the word wine and not the entire word unfermented wine. Therefore Jesus turned water into unfermented wine, which is grape juice. We see the same issue with other words like love. There are different types of love in Greek. There is Agape, Philadelphia, Eros, etc. But when the Bible was translated, it just included the word love. Therefore we need to look at the context as to whether it relates to God’s unconditional love, brotherly love, or romantic love.
2. Abiding in Christ and having a relationship with God.
John 15:4 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
You need God to help you obey his commandments because we are naturally sinful and therefore need God’s intervention. However, you cannot do it with your strength, but through Christ (Philippians 4:13).
Now how do we abide in Christ to stop sinning and bear the fruits of the Spirit?
The first step to abiding in Christ is first to stay away from the things that disconnect us from Him like the following:
The things of this world: This includes ungodly television, secular music, novels, computer games, and any other ungodly entertainment and other time-wasters.
Cares of this world: This is stressing about your problems and fearing for the future.
The love of money: This is being fixated on climbing the corporate ladder and getting easy money.
The lust of the eyes: This is coveting things that others have, whether it is their spouse or vehicle or house.
The second step is implementing the following to abide by Christ.
2.1. Put God's Word into your heart (Psalm 119:11)
You need to be reading the bible and memorizing it daily. Then when wrong thoughts come from the enemy, you will be able to refute those evil thoughts with God’s Word. When you spend the day thinking about the bible and the words that Jesus said, then you will not be easily tempted by the devil. Meditate on the Word of God and the words that Christ said while he was on earth.
2.2. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
You need to be in constant communion with God to abide in Christ. It will be easier for you to be overcome by the devil if you neglect to pray. Therefore, it is a good plan to have official prayer times, perhaps twice, but preferably three times a day when you are on your knees in prayer. You should also be spending time talking to God throughout the day when you are busy with your day-to-day activities. Speaking to God the whole day will cause you to become connected to Him.
2.3. Sing and listen to Christian hymns (Psalm 96)
Protestant hymns, in comparison to contemporary Christian music, are full of God’s Word. Therefore, they will help you think about God’s Word throughout the day when you play them the whole day.
2.4. Count your blessings (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Have a gratitude journal and write down all the good things that God has done for you. Not only Him giving His Son to die for you, but answered prayers and His protection. Meditate upon God’s love and often read what you have written in your gratitude journal, and it will cause you to love Him even more.
2.5. By beholding, we become changed (2 Corinthians 3:18)
The more we think of Jesus and consider His actions and His words while He was on earth, the more we get transformed into His likeness. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that a person is changed into the image of the Lord by beholding Him.
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