How to Live the Incredible Life of a Follower of Jesus

What does the life of the follower of Jesus look like? What distinguishes that life and how can you live it?

Danka & Peter

That life is obviously lived in various circumstances under various demands – good times and bad times.

That life is rooted in the love of God – a love that transforms us as we experience it. This love changes the way we think, the way we speak and the way we act.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 1 John 3:1–7 (ESV)

God has given us his love

This is a biblical fact – part of the truth of God. We know it is true because he has declared it.

But it is also an intensely personal experience. Recently, we celebrated sibling day. Several very old pictures were posted on Facebook of my siblings and me. We know we are siblings because of the facts of the matter: we have the same parents. Perhaps more importantly, we know we are siblings because we experienced our life both growing up and as adults as siblings.

The love is adoption love, so we become children of God

One of my siblings is adopted. She knows that she is part of the family. The idea she is adopted seldom comes to mind, she is our sister – period.

God has made us his children. It is his gracious act towards us.

In becoming children of God, we are changed. We live in his household and according to his standards.

My adopted sister became a Wolstenholm – and she is still a Wolstenholm. Her character and experiences were molded as she grew up in our family with the rest of us.

As followers of Jesus, we are now part of another family. We are not part of the world family but the heavenly family. We became part of this family by God’s grace and by our faith.

This adoption breaks our attachment to the world. We experience a disconnect from all things worldly and we should always feel somewhat out of place here.

Personal transformations that followers of Jesus experience

We become like God. Because his Spirit dwells within us, we take on the characteristics of the Father. We adopt his values and embrace his perspective. Over time, we begin to think, talk and act like him. Some day we will experience glorification so we can be with him.

We become pure – free from sin. This is hard for us to imagine but it is clearly stated here in God’s word. He completely takes away our sin so we can be holy and righteous. This gracious act is accomplished by his power activated by our faith. When we become his children, we see the law of spiritual genetics at work.

We no longer practice sin and lawlessness. Our behavior completely changes.

God has taken away our sins. This is a biblical truth that becomes a personal experience. The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit to this reality.

How does a life without sin happen?

Here are six key elements to living the life without sin.

Salvation. We must be saved from our sin. That is our starting point. Every true follower of Jesus has experienced the salvation of God.

Sanctification. This is the purifying work of God in our lives. He wants to change the basic nature of who we are – the Bible calls this the carnal nature – into the basic nature of who he is.

Consecration. While consecration leads to sanctification, it is also necessary for daily life. We must consecrate our every moment to his for his use and purposes.

Devotion. Here is where we exert some true discipline. Devotion is what we give our energy to, what we focus our lives on, what we put our hope in, where we find our purpose and what makes our joy complete. Being wholly devoted to God is where we want to be.

Growth. We cannot live a life free from sin without continued growth and maturity. So we increase in wisdom, knowledge and insight. Our perspective also grows as it shifts from the things of the world to the things of the Kingdom of God. We grow in our service to the Kingdom as well.

Living a righteous lifestyle. We spend time in prayer, Bible reading and study, fellowship, worship and serving others.

Your Turn

This is available to every follower of Jesus. Are you living it? What do you need to do next? Pause and ask God to guide you into this life. He will help you identify what you need to do so you become everything he wants you to be!

Do you have questions or comments? I would love to hear from you!