Christian Commitment: A Guide to Following Christ

---

A commitment to Christ involves recognizing God's authority, repenting from sin, expressing faith in Jesus Christ, and being baptized. After making this initial commitment, a committed Christian seeks to follow Christ by consistently practicing spiritual disciplines such as daily Bible reading and prayer. This includes attending church services, getting involved in church ministries, and striving to love others through acts of service. Additionally, to truly deny yourself and take up your cross, one must resist sin and live a life filled with righteousness and grace.

Prioritize God's will over your personal comfort and desires as a true commitment to Christ. To deny yourself is to surrender your personal desires, plans, and ambitions in order to follow Christ, placing His will above your own. 

Matthew 16:24 states, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Surrender of Will: This means letting go of your own plans, desires, and wants to allow Jesus to lead your life, demonstrating your commitment to Christ. 

Prioritizing Christ: You make Jesus the center of your life, rather than just an addition to it, and focus on God's will rather than worldly pursuits. This includes loving others and resisting sin in your daily interactions. 

Daily Process: Self-denial is a continuous, daily act of crucifying your own desires, passions, and impulses, which is essential to take up your cross and follow Christ. 

A Paradox: Jesus teaches that the only way to truly find and save your life is to give it up for His sake, leading to a paradox of losing to gain. 

Foundation for Discipleship: This is a foundational requirement for becoming a follower of Jesus and developing a Christlike character.

Make sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom of God. A true commitment to Christ involves prioritizing God's will above personal desires, comfort, and ambition. These sacrifices manifest as acts of service, generosity, obedience, and sometimes suffering, which can include offering one's time, possessions, energies, and even life itself to advance God's purposes and live out Kingdom values. By denying yourself and embracing these sacrifices, you respond to Christ's sacrifice and invest in an eternal future, bringing blessings and closer intimacy with God.

Types of Sacrifices:

- Living a life of worship: This includes dedicating your whole life, including daily routines, as a living, spiritual offering to God.

- Giving your time, talents, and resources: A willingness to use your time, energy, and possessions to serve God and support His work demonstrates your commitment to Christ.

- Selflessness and service: Embrace a life marked by humility, service, and putting the needs of others before your own comfort, as you love others in Christ's name.

- Obedience to God's word: Following God's commands and living a life of righteousness is an act of devotion that helps you resist sin.

- Enduring hardships: Be prepared to face difficulties and suffering for the sake of faith and the advancement of the Gospel, as you take up your cross.

- Dying to self: Let go of personal desires, pride, and worldly ambitions to fully entrust yourself to God's will.

Why Make Sacrifices?

- To demonstrate devotion: Sacrifices show your commitment to Christ and your love for God.

- To receive blessings: God promises abundant provision and grace for those who willingly make sacrifices.

- For spiritual growth: Surrendering your desires opens you to spiritual growth and a deeper connection with God.

- To invest in the future: Sacrifices are seen as investments in your eternal future and are never wasted.

- To imitate Christ: Jesus' own sacrificial life serves as a model for believers to follow Christ in their pursuit of the Kingdom.

Be willing to go wherever God leads you. To follow Christ, demonstrate your commitment to Christ by committing to prayer and reading the Bible to discern His will. Trust Him by taking leaps of faith and deny yourself by living a sacrificial, love-filled, and truthful life. Cultivate a deep relationship with Jesus by prioritizing Him above all else, serve others by loving others with kindness, and rely on God's Holy Spirit for guidance and strength as you face challenges and resist sin.

Listen for God's Voice: Ask God for help to discern His voice and follow His specific leading in your life. 

Find a Godly Community: Surround yourself with fellow believers who can support you and help you grow in your faith. 

Share Your Faith: Live as a witness to the risen Christ by sharing your testimony and what God is doing in your life.

Embrace the Journey

Take Leaps of Faith: Build trust by taking steps of faith when God calls you, knowing that He will guide and empower you. 

Don't Play it Safe: Understand that abandoning Jesus is more dangerous than the potential costs of following Him. 

Persevere Through Trials: Recognize that following Christ involves difficulty and sacrifice, but God will provide the strength and equip you for the task as you take up your cross.

Model Christ's love for those around you as a demonstration of your commitment to Christ. To truly model Christ's love, you must serve and care for others through actions like kindness, forgiveness, and humility; listen to and accept people without judgment; and pray for their needs. This type of sacrificial, unconditional love, known as agape love, requires you to deny yourself, putting others first, bearing their burdens, and extending God's compassion and truth to them.

Actions to Demonstrate Christ's Love

Serve Others: Engage in acts of service that meet people's needs, both physical and emotional, just as Jesus did by healing the sick and feeding the hungry. This reflects your desire to follow Christ and love others.

Practice Kindness and Compassion: Show active compassion and empathy towards others, especially those in need, and be intentional about expressing kindness in daily interactions, helping you to resist sin.

Forgive and Show Grace: Be forgiving toward others' faults and offenses, reflecting the forgiveness Jesus extended to you, which is essential in taking up your cross.

Listen and Accept: Take the time to truly listen to what others are saying without judgment, and accept them as they are, embodying Christ's love.

Give Priority to Others: Regard others as more important than yourself and demonstrate this through humility, such as in the example of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.

Share the Gospel: Love others enough to share the truth of God's word and invite them to know God more deeply, which supports their growth and sanctification.

The Foundation of Christ-Like Love

Depend on God's Love for You: Your capacity to love others well comes from understanding and experiencing God's own unconditional love for you.

Pray for Others: Regularly pray for the needs of those around you, seeing it as a loving act of lifting burdens to God.

Be Humble: Recognize that the focus should not be on yourself, but on others, as you take up your cross daily.

Show Gratitude: Cultivating gratitude helps you see others through God's eyes, reducing criticism and fostering compassionate relationships.

Be Patient: Pause to pray before reacting to difficult situations, allowing you to respond with patience and grace.

Actively resist sin and stand for righteousness as part of your commitment to Christ. To resist sin and embody righteousness, focus your thoughts on God and the Bible, engage in daily spiritual disciplines like prayer and meditation on God's Word, confess your sin quickly and repent, flee from triggers and those who promote temptation, and seek accountability with other believers. In following Christ, actively pursue righteous actions, cultivate a spirit of integrity, and remember that your strength comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Disciplines & Practices

Pray Continually: Make prayer an active lifeline by asking God for strength to resist temptation and help you take up your cross to turn away from sin.

Meditate on God's Word: Hide Scripture in your heart by reading and meditating on the Bible to strengthen your spirit and provide a guard against sin.

Cultivate a Righteous Thought Life: Sin often starts in the mind. Aggressively tame your thoughts, focus on your righteous nature, and deny yourself by avoiding provisions for fleshly lusts.

Submit to God: Place your life in God's hands and commit to following His will, which starts with a surrendered heart and mind.

Practical Strategies

Run from Temptation: Immediately remove yourself from people or situations that tempt you to sin.

Seek Accountability: Find a trustworthy mentor or friend to confess your sins to and keep you on track in your journey to love others.

Surround Yourself with Godly Influence: Pursue fellowship with other believers who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

Confess and Repent Quickly: When you stumble, confess your sin to God, ask for forgiveness, and commit to turning away from it.

Internal Motivation

Focus on Your Righteous Nature: Recognize that God has made you righteous and has given you the ability to do His will.

Remember Christ's Victory: Your power to overcome sin comes from the risen Savior who has already won the victory over sin.