17. Chapter Fourteen: Rules of the Christian Life

Chapter Fourteen RULES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. —Luke 6:31

WHETHER you are playing a game, driving a car, or baking a cake, there are certain rules that must be followed if you are to succeed. The Bible teaches that the Christian life is one of constant growth. When you are born again, you are born into the spiritual world. You become a baby in God’s family. It is God’s purpose that you will grow into full stature and become mature in Christ. It would be against the law of God and nature if you were to remain a baby and thus become a spiritual dwarf. In 2 Peter 3:18, the Bible says that we are to grow. This implies steady development, constant enlargement, increasing wisdom. In order to grow properly certain rules must be observed for good spiritual health. First: you should read your Bible daily. Your spiritual life needs food. What kind of food? Spiritual food. Where do you find this spiritual food? In the Bible, the Word of God. The Bible reveals Christ, who is the Bread of Life for your hungry soul, and the water of life for your thirsty heart. If you fail to partake of daily spiritual nourishment, you will starve and lose your spiritual vitality. The Bible says, “Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize it. Ninety-five per cent of the difficulties you will experience as a Christian can be traced to a lack of Bible study and reading. Do not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy your conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart. A little portion well digested is of greater spiritual value to your soul than a lengthy portion scanned hurriedly. Do not be discouraged because you cannot understand it all. Read simple portions of the Bible first. You do not feed a baby beefsteak the first day—you give it milk.

I would suggest that you start by reading the Gospel of John. As you read, the Holy Spirit will enlighten the passages for you. He will illuminate the difficult words and make obscure meanings clear. Even though you cannot remember all you have read, or understand it all, go on reading. The very practice of reading in itself will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart. Let nothing take the place of this daily exercise.

Second: learn the secret of prayer. You now have a Heavenly Father. He hears and answers prayer. Jesus said, “Ask anything in My name and I will do it.” (John 14:14). Again He said, “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive.”³ Every man whose life has counted for the church or for the kingdom of God has been a man of prayer. You cannot afford to be too busy to pray. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian. Christ spent hours in prayer. He sometimes spent the night on a mountain top in solitary communion with God the Father. If He had to pray, how much more do we need to pray! Your prayers may falter at first. You may be awkward and inarticulate. But the Holy Spirit who lives within you will help you and teach you. Every prayer that you pray will be answered. Sometimes the answer may be “No,” and sometimes it is “Wait,” but nevertheless it will be answered. Your petitions should always be conditioned by “Thy will be done.” “Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalms 37:6). But the delighting of oneself in Him precedes the fulfillment of our desires. God will always do what is best for His children.

Remember that you can pray any time, anywhere. Washing dishes, digging ditches, working in the office, in the shop, on the athletic field—you can pray and God will answer! Have a systematic method of prayer. Prayer combined with Bible study makes for a complete and glorious Christian life. The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). If you have special prayer periods that you set aside during the day, your unconscious life will be saturated with prayer between the prayer periods. It is not enough for you to get out of bed in the morning and just bow your knee and repent a few sentences. There should be stated periods in which you slip apart with God. The Devil will fight you every step of the way. He will cause the baby to cry, the telephone to ring, someone to knock at the door—there will be many interruptions, but keep at it! Don’t be discouraged. Soon you will find that these periods of prayer are the greatest delight of your life. You will look forward to them with more anticipation than to anything else. Without constant, daily, systematic prayer your life will seem barren, discouraging, and fruitless. Without constant prayer you never can know that inner peace that God wants to give you.

Third: rely constantly on the Holy Spirit. Remember that Christ dwells in you through the Holy Spirit. Your body is now the dwelling place of the Third Person of the Trinity. Do not ask Him to help you as you would a servant. Ask Him to come in and do it all. Ask Him to take over in your life. Tell Him how weak, helpless, unstable, and unreliable you are. Stand aside and let Him take over in all the choices and decisions of your life.

It is impossible for you to hold out in your Christian life—but He can hold you. It is very difficult for Him to hold you if you are struggling, fighting, and striving. Just relax and rest in the Lord. Let go all those inner tensions and complexes. Rely completely on Him. Do not fret and worry about important decisions—let Him make them for you. Do not worry about tomorrow—He is the God of tomorrow, He sees the end from the beginning. Do not worry about the necessities of life—He is there to supply and provide. A true victorious Christian will be free from worries, inner conflicts, and tensions. In perfect reliance on the Holy Spirit, you will find that many of your physical and mental ailments will disappear.

Fourth: attend church regularly. John Wesley once said, “The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.” Christianity is a religion of fellowship. Following Christ means love, righteousness, service; and these can only be achieved and expressed through social relations. These social relationships are to be found in the church. The church is Christ’s organization upon earth. It is a place where we worship God, learn His Word, and fellowship with other Christians. The Bible calls the church “a holy nation,” “God’s own people,” “the household of God,” “a holy temple in the Lord,” “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit,” “the body of Christ.” These are all figures of speech, symbols, or pictures used to indicate the spiritual reality of the church.

Nothing can take the place of church attendance. If you are a true follower of Christ you will scorn such flimsy excuses as the weather being too hot or too cold, rain or snow, as unworthy of a true follower of Christ. There are many people who say that they can stay at home on Sunday morning and worship God in their own minds. The person who does only this fails to give God the complete worship to which He has a right, for God is the Creator of our bodies, no less than of our minds and souls; therefore both the mind and the body should participate in rendering to God a complete act of worship.

There are many who say they can stay at home and listen to a sermon on the radio and that that takes the place of church service. That is not enough. You do not go to church to hear a sermon. You go to church to worship God and to serve Him in the fellowship of other Christians. You cannot be a successful and happy Christian without being faithful in church. In the church you will find your place of service. We are saved to serve. The happy Christian is the busy Christian.

Fifth: be a witnessing Christian. If you are faithfully practicing the four preceding rules this one will take care of itself—just as it follows naturally that if a cup is being filled continually it is bound to overflow.

You are now a duly appointed and commissioned ambassador of the King of Kings. You are to let your flag fly high over your embassy. Suppose our ambassador to Russia should order the American flag pulled down because it is not popular in Russia—we would soon call him home! He would not deserve to represent the United States.

If you are not willing to let your flag fly in the home, in the office, in the shop, on the campus—then you are not worthy to be an ambassador for Christ! You are to take your stand and let all those round about you know that you are a Christian. You are to bear witness for Christ.

We witness in two ways: by life and by word—neither by itself is enough. God’s purpose for you and me after we have been converted is that we be witnesses to His saving grace and power. You are to be a commando for Christ. You are to be a minute-man for Him.

Christ said, “Whoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Acts 28:23 presents a thrilling scene. Paul, held in bonds at Rome, persuaded men concerning Jesus, from morning to evening. Concerning each of us it should be said every day, “Behold a sower went forth to sow.”

Very little originality is permitted a Western Union messenger boy. His sole obligation is to carry the message he receives from the office to the person to whom it is addressed. He may not like to carry that message. It may contain bad news or distressing news for the person to whom he carries it. He cannot stop on the way, open the envelope, and change the wording of the telegram. His duty is to take the message.

We young Christians have the Word of God. Our Great Commander has said, “Go, and take this message to a dying world.” Some are neglecting it. Some are tearing up the message and substituting one of their own. Some are taking out a part of it. Some are telling the people that the Lord does not mean what He says. Others are saying that He really did not write the message but that it was written by ordinary men who are mistaken about the meaning of it.

Let us remember that the Apostle Paul exhorted the Christians centuries ago to teach only the Word. Remember we are sowing seed. Some indeed may fall on beaten paths and some among thorns, but it is our business to keep on sowing. We are not to stop sowing because some of the soil looks unpromising.

We are holding a light. We are to let it shine! Though it may seem but a twinkling candle in a world of blackness, it is our business to let it shine.

We are blowing a trumpet. In the din and noise of battle the sound of our little trumpet may seem to be lost, but we must keep sounding the alarm to those who are in danger.

We are kindling a fire. In this cold world full of hatred and selfishness our little blaze may seem to be unavailing, but we must keep our fire burning.

We are striking with a hammer. The blows may seem only to jar our hands as we strike, but we are to keep on hammering.

We are using a sword. The first or second thrust of our sword may be evaded and all of our efforts at striking deep into the enemy may seem hopeless, but we are to keep wielding our sword—it is the “sword of the Spirit.”

We have bread for a hungry world. The people may seem to be so busy feeding on other things that they will not accept the Bread of Life, but we must keep on giving it, offering it to the souls of men.

We have water for famishing people. We must keep standing and crying out, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.”

We must persevere. We must never give up. Keep using the Word!

Jesus said that much of your seed will find good soil and spring up and bear fruit. The fire in your heart and on your lips will kindle a sacred flame in some cold hearts and woo them to Christ. The hammer will break some hard hearts and make them contrite and yield to God. The sword will pierce the armor of sin and cut away the self-satisfaction and the pride, and open hearts to the Spirit of God. Some hungry men and women will take the Bread of Life, and some famishing souls will find the water of life. Be a soul winner! The most thrilling experience known to man is to win another to Jesus Christ. It has been my privilege to win thousands to a saving knowledge of Christ. I never cease to thrill at seeing a man put his hand out and say, “I accept your Christ.” This is worth more than all the money in all the world. There is no happiness, no experience, no romantic adventure comparable to the thrill of winning another person to Christ. Be a soul winner! Be a witness! The Bible says, “He that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

“Ye are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). Salt makes one thirsty. Does your life make others thirsty for the water of life?

Sixth: let love be the ruling principle of your life. Jesus said to those who followed Him, “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” In another part of the Bible we find the same thing stated by John, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:7-10). Of all the gifts God offers His children, love is the greatest. Of all the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love is the first. The Bible declares that we who follow Christ should be just as much in love with each other as God was in love with us when He sent His Son to die on the cross. The Bible says that the moment we come to Christ He gives us supernatural love, and that that love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The greatest demonstration of the fact that we are Christians is that we love one another. If you learn this secret of God early in your Christian experience, you will have gone a long way toward a mature, happy Christian life.

Seventh: be an obedient Christian. Let Christ have first place in all the choices of your life. Make Him Lord and Master. Let Him pilot your ship. Eighth: learn how to meet temptation. As we have already learned, temptation is natural. Temptation is not sin. It is yielding that is sin. God never brings temptation to you. He allows it to test you. It is the work of the Devil. Recognize it as such. One way to meet temptation is to quote a verse of Scripture at the Tempter—he will always run, for he cannot stand the Word of God. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the only resource that He had was the Word of God. He said three times, “It is written.”

You say to the Devil, “Thus saith the Lord,” and he will flee. At the same time let Christ through the Holy Spirit do the fighting for you. Like the little girl—she said, “Every time I hear the Devil knock, I send Jesus to the door.” Everyone has temptations but some folks entertain them. They seem to enjoy being tempted. Chase a mouse with a broom and you will notice that he isn’t eying the broom. He is looking for a hole. Get your eyes off the temptation and onto Christ!

I once asked an army officer which he would rather have on the field of battle—courage or obedience. He flashed right back, “Obedience!”

God would rather have your obedience than anything else. In order to be obedient you must know His commands. That is another reason for the necessity of studying and reading the Bible. The Bible is your compass and rule book. Obey what God tells you.

Ninth: be a wholesome Christian.

It has been well said that “Some Christians are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.”

Certainly the Bible teaches separation from sin, but the Bible says nowhere that we are to be unwholesomely peculiar and unnatural. You are to be radiant. You should be chivalrous, courteous, clean of body, pure of mind, poised, and gracious. Silly flirtations, unhealthy gossip, shady conversations, suggestive amusements should be avoided like rattlesnakes. Your appearance should be neat, clean, attractive, and as much as possible in style, with good taste. Extremes should be avoided in all directions. You should strive to be the ideal gentleman or the ideal lady. Your life and appearance should commend the gospel and make it attractive to others. As Dr. Barnhouse has adequately said, “Men may not read the gospel in sealskin, or the gospel in morocco, or the gospel in cloth covers; but they can t get away from the gospel in shoe leather.”

Tenth: live above your circumstances. God made you as you are! He placed you where you are! So you can best serve and glorify Him just as you are, where you are. Some people are always looking on the other side of the fence because they think the grass is greener. They spend so much time wishing things were different, and thinking up alibis for why they are not, that they overlook all the advantages and opportunities that are open to them right where they are. Be as the Apostle Paul when he said, “But none of these things move me” (Acts 20:24). Paul said he had learned how to abound and how to be abased. He had learned to be every inch a Christian even in prison. Don’t let your circumstances get you down. Learn to live comfortably and graciously within them.

These rules and suggestions may seem simple—but keep them—they work. I have seen them tested in the lives of thousands. I have tested them in my own life. Properly and faithfully kept, they will give you peace of soul, happiness, peace of mind, and pleasure, and you will have learned the secret of living life with satisfaction.