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Pastor’s Perspective: Faith stability, part 3

By Brian Powell
Raleigh First Church of the Nazarene

Brian Powell

In Colossians 2, Paul says, “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him…”

In the Greek translation, this phrase is written in the present tense. It means that being “built up in Christ” is an on-going process – one that takes time.

Maybe you expect it to happen immediately. Maybe your spouse expects it to happen immediately. Maybe everyone around you expects you to be perfect right now, but the fact is that right now you are not perfect. And if you expect perfection of yourself, you are doomed to fail.

Here’s some good news for you: God isn’t surprised by your imperfection. He realizes that becoming like Christ is a process that takes time. This does not give us an excuse to sin; it gives us a reason to keep trying. You are God’s project now, and he is at work in your life to make you more like Christ. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul says, “…you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9b). God is at work in your life, and he will continue that work as long as it takes.

In the book of Philippians, Paul says, “[I am] confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Some people expect perfection of themselves immediately. This expectation is based on pride. They want to be able to say, “Look at what a good person I am!”

God’s attitude is much different. He tells us, “You are not perfect, but you will become perfect because I am going to make you perfect. You can’t do it on your own. I will have to do it for you, and it will take time.”

If you want to establish faith-stability in your Christian life, you will have to change the way you interpret your progress. It’s no longer a cause for patting yourself on the back and basking in how good you are; it’s a case of recognizing that every battle you win is the result of God’s work in you. Being “built up” in him requires that you surrender yourself to him and allow him to do his work in you.

Living the Christian life is not about living for Christ; it’s about living in Christ. Living in Christ means that our relationship with him is based on faith in his promise to make us holy and not on our own failures and successes. We are saved by faith, and we live by faith.

Paul says that we live in Christ, and we’re strengthened in the faith. The idea is that you don’t have any strength in yourself; the strength is in your faith. We enter the Christian life by placing our faith in Christ, and this opens the door to God’s act of grace – he cleanses us and forgives us and saves us.

In the same way, we continue in the Christian life by placing our faith in Christ, and this opens the door to God’s act of grace – he strengthens us to live a godly life in him. How do you do this? You do it the same as when you became a Christian. You become a Christian by saying, “Jesus, I cannot save myself; only you can save me.” And to experience God’s strength in your life you must say, “I cannot do this myself; only you can give me the strength to live the Christian life.”

If your idea of living the Christian life is that you will do a bunch of good deeds that make God love you more and make you better than everyone else, you’re missing the point entirely. Living the Christian life is not about living for Christ; it’s about living in Christ.

Related articles:

• Pastor’s perspective: Spiritual warfare, part 4
• Pastor’s Perspective: Speaking the Language
• Pastor’s Perspective: Happy New Year Part 2

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