Introduction to the Effective Christian Life: How to Honor God and Bear More Fruit

1. A Brief Consideration of Time Management, or How to Make Your Life More Honoring to God and Fruitful to Yourself and Others

1. You must learn to control your time. For example, you cannot allow the talkative person to “steal” your time. Be polite, but firm. I recently had someone over who wanted to talk late at night. I virtually ushered him out the door, as politely as I could. He was not offended. But, I knew that to have a successful tomorrow, I must get to bed on time tonight, so that I can begin the day on time.

The day begins with management of the night before. I am convinced that most Christians have a schedule that varies considerably from day to day. They get irregular sleep and therefore perform at less than their maximum ability. The management of the present day begins 2-3 hours before you go to bed the night before. If you are hurried in the evening, or you stay up late (I hope not because you are watching television), then that state of mind will carry into your sleep and a lack of energy the next day. For 1-2 hours before you go to bed, you should begin to slow down (think moving in quicksand). Then, quiet reading or anything that relaxes you for 30-60 minutes before you actually get into bed. Go to bed at about the same time each night! God set an ordered pattern to each day and week. We must do the same to get maximum benefit of each 24 hours. An ordered life is a prerequisite for a God-honoring life!

A person almost never catches up with a late start to a day. Learn to get up as early as you need to get the day started right. Start with a devotional/study time. (See Dangers of Quiet Times.) But, at the same time, be sure that you get enough rest. Every person is different, so find out how much sleep you really need, and be sure that you get it! If necessary, sleep late and/or take long naps on Sunday (not excluding worship) to “catch-up.” Don’t let your church fill your Sunday with activities that do not allow you to rest. Sunday is for worship and rest in proper balance.

I am almost fanatical about getting to bed on time. Again, the next day really begins the previous night. There is rarely a day in which I am not well rested. I work hard. I go to bed very tired, but I get there on time.

2. You must know what your priorities are. My wife has always known that I am always available to her — no matter what! My children knew that, as well. Now, at times, I have had to put them off until I finished something that I was working on. But, if the situation demanded it, I would always stop what I was doing to attend to them. Praise God, there are not that many emergencies in life. But, your loved ones should know that they have access.

And, if you can’t answer them immediately, be certain that you follow up. Along with that, never make a promise that you do not plan to keep and make sure that you deliver on all your promises. I do not recall any promise that I ever made to my wife or my children that did not keep. But, that requires that you be careful not to make too many!

3. Read and listen selectively. Read only what is necessary for whatever you are doing. I stopped going to medical lectures because I had to sit through the whole thing to get one or two points. In five minutes from a book or journal article, I could get the same information. Of course, you are not at that level to know what you need and what you don’t. But, I suspect that you are beginning to see that you can’t learn everything and don’t need to do so.
4. My 9^th grade science teacher said that the most valuable characteristic of an educated man is, not knowing everything, but knowing where to look.

As long as you are a student, time management will be difficult, because others control what you are to learn and much of your time. And, it takes years of practice to be efficient.

5. For 2-3 weeks every year or two, keep a diary of everything that you do in each 24 hour period. Keep the schedule in the smallest increments to catch all your time. You will be amazed where your time goes. Then, you can better manage to achieve what are your priorities.
6. If there is any way possible, and I think there are few justifying exceptions. one’s devotional study time should be the first priority of each day. As above, to get started early, one has to get to bed early. There are numerous Scriptures and Jesus’ example of the benefits of rising early. Also, a strong argument can be made that we owe to God the freshness and strength of of first efforts of the day, as we owe him the first fruits of our labor.

2. The Danger of “Quiet Times” and “Devotionals”

You may consider the following somewhat radical, but please hear me out. I think that the short devotional or quiet time, that many Christians have, actually limits their effectiveness as a Christian.

This time usually consists of reading several paragraphs and one or more verses of the Bible and a short prayer. I suspect also that this time is hurried.

The danger of this brief time is that it is the only time that many Christians devote to their spiritual growth personally. To read through the Bible in two years takes 2-3 pages a day, depending upon the size of the print. So, how long would it take to read through the Bible a few verses at a time? Probably ten years or more. Also, “devotionals” tend to focus on the same verses, so the Christian only encounters a very limited portion of the Bible. And, you are reading the thoughts of others, not your own understanding of the Bible text that you have read and worked through.

When do you really study the Bible? When do you strongly and boldly approach God’s throne in prayer? When do you cover a wide variety of prayer needs in you and you family’s life, much less the lives of others?

I recommend a minimum of 30 minutes every day of serious reading, reflection, and study that includes at least one-third of that time in focused prayer. This time should be away from all distractions and interruptions. It should be unhurried. It should include the use of Bible dictionaries, commentaries, or other helps to understand the Scriptures.

Short devotionals can inoculate the Christian and immunize him or her to the serious study that will increase his knowledge of God and his or her duties as a Christian. One might think, “I have read the Bible, a devotional thought, and had a brief prayer. I have fulfilled my duty in those areas.” Oh, no, Christian! You have only performed the briefest of duties before God. And, if that is all the reading and praying that you do, then you have not even begun to understand what God requires of His people. And, you will never understand the greatness of God Himself or His great plan for your life. Oh, Christian, read the Bible through. Study it with helpful books. Pray like the persistent widow. Find joy and excitement in the Christian life!

And, it should be the first effort of the day, if at all possible. You can really get up early, if you are persistent.

3. Assurance of Salvation: Simply Considered

The most important question for anyone is, “How can I be assured that I am saved?” The answer is really quite simple, ““Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

You wanted more? Well, let us unpack that simple phrase. What does it mean to “believe?” Belief means to accept, as true, a statement as it is presented. The Biblical statement about Christ is that He is God (John 10:3) and that He provided the ultimate sacrifice for individual sin (I John 2:2). Do you accept that two-part statement as true? If so, you are saved! (For more on the concept of faith, see Faith: What It Is and What It Is Not.”

“That’s all?,” you ask. “There has to be more.” Well, not really. Inherent in that statement is that you believe that the Bible is true. Inherent is that statement is that a statement believed is a statement acted upon.

That is, if you believe that two-part statement, then you will act like a Christ-one. (Christian is what “believers” in Christ are called.)

Well, then, what do Christians do? Christians read and study their Bibles. They pray. They are baptized and participate in The Lord’s Supper. They are members of a church where others believe this two-part statement to the extent that the Bible is taught and preached, the two sacraments just named are practiced, and erring members are disciplined. They evangelize. They raise their children “in the nurture and admonition” of the Lord. They experience the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). They do not regularly and flagrantly practice the evils of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). They “love their wives (husbands) as Christ loved the church.“ And, they practice all the other “good works” that the Bible calls them to practice.

Indeed, herein is the failure of most of those who want assurance, and those who counsel them how to find that assurance: the consistent and fervent practice of good works is the evidence of one’s belief. And, being active in good works, Christians “strengthen their assurance” (WCF: Chapter 16, Section 2). The reference verse of this assurance is, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him (I John 2:3-5, NKJV).

So, the Christian who wants assurance and who is not active in a full life of good works, is avoiding perhaps the most crucial area that can give him assurance! In fact, he will decrease his assurance, because he is living a sinful life. Sin, without active confession and active obedience (applied practically in putting on right behavior), actually increases one’s true guilt and feelings of guilt, driving the person further from assurance!

The error of those who want assurance, and those who counsel them, is to focus on “feeling” saved.

Feelings are transient. God and His Word are “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

I feel good one moment, discouraged the next. I crawl out of bed some mornings ready to attack the day. Other mornings, I literally crawl out of bed. When I get sick, I feel bad. When I get well, I feel good. Someone imposes on me, I get angry. I barely avoid a serious auto accident and find myself trembling with fear. I worry about the safety and welfare of my children. Dear readers, feelings come and go, moment by moment, hundreds of times each day. Do we want to trust in those frail moments?

Or, do we want to trust in God and His Word which never change? Who always speaks true? Yes, the choice is that simple: feelings or God and truth (the Bible). God is perfectly just. He is completely trustworthy. Surely, we can rest our eternal salvation in His hands, not our own feelings.

Still, you may ask, “But I don’t know if I really believe.” You cannot escape that way. I have already said that if you believe, your life is characterized by all the activities above. There is evidence of belief or there is not evidence of belief.

You may persist, “But I don’t do many of those things. I believe that I should, but I don’t!”

Ah! Pay dirt! Gotcha! Nailed! The crux of the matter. If you don’t practice those things in some consistent and complete way, you don’t truly believe! This notion that you can believe and not practice consistent with that belief is the problem of doubt of modern Christians that they do not “feel saved.” The Bible’s use of faith (the noun form of “believe”) is always succeeded by action. When Peter doubted, he began to sink. He did not say, “Lord, I believe, but I am sinking!” The father of the demon-possessed child cried out, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). He did not cry, “Lord, I believe, but not enough to help my son.” If fact, in the previous sentence, Jesus said, “All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

“For as (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he,“ Proverbs 23:7. What a person truly is (believes) in his innermost being (heart), that he cannot avoid practicing. “For out of the abundance of the heart (belief), the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

Reader, you may have work to do!

1) If you do not believe that “belief without action is a lie,” then you must prove me wrong from Scripture, for the Bible has definitions that often differ from secular ones. You can do a word search on “faith,” “believe,” and “belief” here. 2) If you believe that you are a Christian and are not practicing the many activities of the Christian’s life (above), then you must implement those in your life. If you need practical help, read The Christian Counselor’s Manual and other books by Jay Adams and Wayne Mack. They will give you clear and practical directions. 3) If you consistently practice these activities, then read on, and praise God!

I want to add one qualifier. No one practices everything that God requires perfectly. At issue here are the overall activities and direction of the life. If you do not want to practice the activities of the Christian life in a full and meaningful way, you are not a Christian, pure and simple. If the large majority of your activities and conversation is what God requires, then you are a Christian and are saved, pure and simple. The fact that you falter in these activities only means that you are not yet made perfect. That state is reserved for heaven.

The power of individual Christians and that of churches is being neutralized by church people who spend too much time worrying about whether they are Christians or not, instead of attacking the Gates of Hell. God is fully trustworthy in everything that He said. If you believe it, you will live it, fully but not perfectly, pure and simple. “Trust and obey, for these is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Other resources on this website will help you understand these matters. Get on with the life of a Christian. Stop wanting something more (feelings, an audible voice from heaven) than God gives. “Believe (and act) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be (are) saved.”

1. Understand that “faith” is the noun equivalent of “believe” and a synonym of “faith.” . Do a word search for “faith” on this website. See the Section The Relevance of Faith in Truth: Concepts…
2. Do a word search for “emotion” on this website or read all the articles in the Worldview Area of Psychology, Counseling and Emotions
3. Do word searches in the Bible and read all verses that contain them on these words: heart, belief, believe, and faith. BibleGateway.com/keyword
4. Other articles on this website: Regeneration and Salvation.
5. Read my book, Without Faith It Is Impossible to Please God.

4. Salvation: Its Phases and Wonderful Fullness—Often Considered Too Narrowly

You will note from what follows that salvation is commonly thought of too narrowly by Christians. We usually think in terms of regeneration, sanctification, and glorification (heaven). But, the fullness of what God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have given us is much greater. This information is a beginning work.

As you will note, this article is in outline form only. I hope to develop it into a full article sometime soon. If you have comments, either in not understanding these short phrases or in developing it further, please let me know.

Salvation consists of three (3) phases:

1. We have been saved (justification) “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”
2. We are being saved (sanctification) “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
3. We will be saved (glorification) “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.”

Saved from what?

1. Ourselves
1. Headlong rush towards self-destruction, dissipation in excess
2. Misery in this life; no sense of why “bad” things happen
3. No meaningful purpose in life
4. Self-determination of what is good or bad for me, that is, we have no reference outside of ourselves to determine what is right and wrong.
5. Wrong attitudes
6. Works of the flesh, see Galatians 5:19-20 below
7. Conflicts with others: see “F” above
8. False worship and misplaced love: idols of intellect, money, prestige, power, pride, family, achievement.

Galatians 5:19-20: deeds of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-20)

9. Crippling, life-controlling guilt; nothing in mankind’s history (including all the works of psychology) has the answer to man’s real guilt, and through an understanding of forgiveness, to resolve guilt feelings. (See Guilt and Guilt Feelings.)
2. Others and circumstances beyond our control
1. Danger from other people: random (car accident), purposeful (identity theft, burglary, murder, etc.)
2. Circumstances beyond our control: stock market crash
3. Hell—an eternity without Christ: weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth; Lake of Fire; loneliness beyond any despair known on earth; eternal screaming in anger; and unassuaged pain, torment, and fear.
4. The wrath and curse of God:“all men are without excuse”
5. A harsh, capricious, brutal, and impersonal universe.Meteors that might end life on earth, as we know it; nuclear war; earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and all earthly disasters. Since God is Sovereign and Personal, there are no “random” events in His universe.

Saved to what?

1. Physical health: the fruit of the spirit, morality of the Law, peace of the Spirit, and rest in God’s Providence produce the maximum health that can be experienced on earth. While some Christians have severe acute and chronic illness as believers, the health that they experience within these conditions is maximized for them as individuals within these same parameters. One of the words that is used for “salvation” in the Greek is the root of the word that is “hygiene” in English.
2. Peace of mind, heart, and soul. See what we are saved from above!!

Peace in the Bible almost always refers to being at peace with God, not with circumstances, other people, a decision made, or anything else. Peace in the Bible is a synonym of salvation.

1. To make a better family, society, nation, and world (love):evangelism and missions to give others the blessings of salvation, ministries of mercy, obedience to the state, restitution and reconciliation of sins and crimes, providing a basis of law for civil government, etc.
2. Hope!Hope that all that is in this section will be realized and, then, heaven!
3. Absolute control of a harsh, capricious, and brutal universe. One of the concepts of salvation in the Bible is to be “saved” from a disaster, for example, a ship-wreck. In Christ, we are “safe” from all storms. While we may still experience the ravages of life, “underneath are the everlasting arms.”
4. A local and universal family (the Church)and all its provisions of physical and spiritual nurture.
5. All the resources of God’s greatness (Providence) available to us for His purposes. God will give us as little or as much as we need (and so many of our wants) for ourselves, our families, and our ministries. If we lack, it is because our desires are inconsistent with His own.

For a textual discussion of salvation as being saved from certain problems to certain safety, see Henry Stob, Sin, Salvation, and Service, Board of Publications of the Christian Reformed Church, 1983.

(More on) The Comprehensiveness of Salvation

The comprehensiveness of salvation may be shown:

1. By what we are saved from. This includes sin and death; guilt and estrangement; ignorance of truth; bondage to habit and vice; fear of demons, of death, of life, of God, of hell; despair of self; alienation from others; pressures of the world; a meaningless life. Paul’s own testimony is almost wholly positive: salvation has brought him peace with God, access to God’s favor and presence, hope of regaining the glory intended for men, endurance in suffering, steadfast character, an optimistic mind, inner motivations of divine love and power of the Spirit, ongoing experience of the risen Christ within his soul, and sustaining joy in God (Rom. 5:1 – 11). Salvation extends also to society, aiming at realizing the kingdom of God; to nature, ending its bondage to futility (Rom. 8:19 – 20); and to the universe, attaining final reconciliation of a fragmented cosmos (Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20).
2. By noting that salvation is past (Rom. 8:24; Eph. 2:5, 8; Titus 3:5 – 8); present (1 Cor. 1:18; 15:2; 2 Cor. 2:15; 6:2; 1 Pet. 1:9; 3:21); and future (Rom. 5:9 – 10; 13:11; 1 Cor. 5:5; Phil. 1:5 – 6; 2:12; 1 Thess. 5:8; Heb. 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet. 2:2). That is, salvation includes that which is given, freely and finally, by God’s grace (forgiveness, called in one epistle justification, friendship; or reconciliation, atonement, sonship, and new birth); that which is continually imparted (sanctification, growing emancipation from all evil, growing enrichment in all good, the enjoyment of eternal life, experience of the Spirit’s power, liberty, joy, advancing maturity in conformity to Christ); and that still to be attained (redemption of the body, perfect Christlikeness, final glory).
3. By distinguishing salvation’s various aspects: religious (acceptance with God, forgiveness, reconciliation, sonship, reception of the Spirit, immortality); emotional (strong assurance, peace, courage, hopefulness, joy); practical (prayer, guidance, discipline, dedication, service); ethical (new moral dynamic for new moral aims, freedom, victory); personal (new thoughts, convictions, horizons, motives, satisfactions, self-fulfillment); social (new sense of community with Christians, of compassion toward all, overriding impulse to love as Jesus has loved).

The above three paragraphs are from: https://mb-soft.com/believe/text/salvatio.htm

5. “Work Out Your Own Salvation with Fear and Trembling”

For the 40 years that I have been a Christian, I have heard that verse (Philippians 2:12). Until the last year, it always troubled me. Since Christ has paid the full pardon for my sin, and therefore, justified me before God, what is there left for me to “work“ out? Indeed, if I think that I can contribute to my own justification before God, then I have added to Christ’s work, a certain transgression of his perfect sacrifice (Ephesians 2:8-9).

So, what does the verse mean. As I said in another place, salvation has three tenses: I have been saved (justification), I am being saved (sanctification), and I will be saved (heaven or glorification). Justification is once for all. Jesus Christ did pay the full redemption for my sins. Heaven and glorification are future.

“Work our your own salvation with fear and trembling” is now — sanctification. We work out our sanctification. The “work” is important, as this verse presents it. God created the heavens and the earth. That is, six days that He “worked,” and then He rested. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” says the 4^th Commandment (Exodus 20:8), and then we rest on Sunday. As God “worked,” we are to work — labor — hard work.

“With fear and trembling” adds to this effort. It is a serious work that we undertake. It is an arduous work that we undertake. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10). We have work to do until we die and enter heaven (our rest at the end of the “week.”

What is the most important work in sanctification? I believe that it is to “renew our minds” (Romans 12:2). This verse says that we will be “transformed” by this process. You want to know the power of this word? “Transformed” is the same word in English as “metamorphosis.” But, this English word is not as powerful as the New Testament Greek. The only other places in the New Testament where this word is used is the scene of Christ’s “transfiguration” (Matthew 17:12) and in heaven where we will be “transformed” into the glorious image of Christ (II Corinthians 3:18).

What more powerful word can be used to describe the primary work that we are “to work out with fear and trembling.” For, if we do not know the Bible, how can we know what the “perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2, again) is for us to do?

Fellow Christians, if you learn all that is on this website, you will be light years ahead of other Christians, as you “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” and in the process, transform yourself, your family, your church, and your culture. May God bless your work for His Kingdom.

6. Leading a Life of Quiet Desperation

Susie was a cheerful woman. Virtually every time that one of the staff went into her office, she had a ready smile and happy demeanor. And, she had a responsible position: executive secretary to the Chairman of our company. But, suddenly, she taught me a serious lesson about life and about demeanor.

One day she walked into my office, not quite her cheerful self, sat down, and said, “Ed, I have been thinking about suicide.” I was stunned! Here was this cheerful and (apparently) confident and capable woman thinking of killing herself.

I do not know the outcome of this story. For the few more years that our lives overlapped, she did not kill herself. But, I have had no contact for decades.

But, that shock stayed with me. Henry David Thoreau said in “Walden,” that “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

I am afraid that many Christians “lead lives of quiet desperation.” Do you?

Brother or sister, this ought not to be! Now, I am not about to brow beat you, desperate that you may be. But, I will challenge you to find the fullness of life that Christ promised to His children. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

But, you say, “I have tried everything.” Well, herein is your first lesson, if you truly want change.* You must learn to be honest with yourself. No one has tried everything! For example, you have not talked to me. You have not talked to a nouthetic counselor. (Link to word in Glossary.) You have not read any of their books.

And, therein are the directions that I give to you:

1. 1. Go to Timeless Texts, and choose any book that seems to address your problem. Look especially for those by Jay Adams, but any one on that site will give sound Biblical instruction.

As you read the book, act on it! Just reading will not solve your problems. Take action!

1. Find someone for you to help in a situation that takes considerable time and help. Often, the problem is that we focus inward too much. The Bible is clear that the more that we see of ourselves, the greater our consciousness of our sin. So, ask forgiveness of God for whatever sins that you know and find someone for you to help.
2. Find the oldest, most mature Christian that you can know, preferably an officer in a Bible-believing church. Tell them briefly of your problem and them what you should do. Follow their advice, don’t argue.
3. Find a nouthetic counselor. If you do not know what a nouthetic counselor is, then find out and find one here.

Our God is a living and ever present God who desires that we love Him and serve our “neighbor.” If you are “quietly desperate,” not living the life that He designed. Do whatever it takes to discover where you are not allowing God to direct your life. You are missing the abundant life!

* (If you do not want change, no one can help you, but God. Ask Him to give you that desire. If you cannot, or will not, ask God for His help, then you have no hope. There are no magical cures in this life.)

7. Self-Fulfillment by Serving Others

We Christians are great at keeping certain concepts fuzzy to prevent our having to deal with the really hard issues of life. The 2^nd Great Commandment is one of those “fuzzies.” We forget that the specific example of the Good Samaritan was given to illustrate “who is my neighbor.” We can only conclude that “our neighbor” is the person that we dislike (hate?) the most, as the Jews hated the Samaritans. That person may be your husband or wife, child or parent, employer or employee, a white or black person, etc. Who is your Samaritan? Whom do you hate? Are you doing good works for him or her?

And, if that illustration is not sufficient, consider the most detailed account of Christ’s final judgment (Matthew 25). Jesus does not ask, “What do you believe, concerning salvation or any other point of theology.” He asks specifically whom you fed, clothed, gave drink, visited while sick or in prison, or provide shelter. “In as much as you have done it for the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me!” If the parable of the Good Samaritan is not sufficiently specific upon which you should act, then Christ gives six (6) specifics here.

The focus of much psychology today is on the self: self-image, self-gratification, self-fulfillment, and self-reflection. Some have even severely distorted the 2^nd Great Commandment that “we must love ourselves, before we can learn to love others.” Balderdash! We already love ourselves far beyond any human justifiable reasons.

This psychology has it all wrong. It is in serving others that we find self-image, self-fulfillment, and other the other “selves” of psychology. And, Jesus has given us such specifics that we are without excuse. Get outside of yourself. Go serve someone! You may just find that many of your “self” problems disappear with an “other” focus. And, you will be fulfilling the 2^nd Great Commandment and the right answers to Christ’s questions on His Final Judgment Day.

8. Redeeming the Time: A Practical Suggestion

How much time do you spend in the car? If I had been asked that question three years ago, I would have said, “Very little.” Yet, in that period of time I have listened to about 200 hours of tapes and CDs on church and world history, theology, and Biblical exposition. If you are in your car frequently, then you likely have even more time.

Caveats: (1) If you are driving children around, you don’t need to be distracted by tapes and CDs! But, you can listen to them while during those times when you are without children.

(2) If you don’t have the tapes or CDs, you can’t listen to them. You should get those topics that strongly interest you, not just any that you happen to have. Order them now!

What other time do you have? Do you sew, knit, crochet, or have some other interest that would allow you to listen to God’s truth, as you do it? Waiting in doctor’s offices or other places? Running, jogging, walking?

Redeem the time. Both you and the world in which you live will be better off!