Topic: The Process of Walking with Christ
Reading: Romans 5:1-5
Introduction and Overview
God is a God of process. If He were not, then the universe would be chaos. But as it is, the universe is in perfect balance.
It is the same for us as Christians. God has defined certain processes that help us to understand His will and His ways. This includes the process of growing into maturity in Jesus Christ. As we walk with Christ we follow a path, set by God, so that we can become mature in Christ Jesus.
There are quite a few processes defined in the Bible to help the people of God come to Him and to grow in Christ. An example of a well known process is the Great Commission, which shows the high level process for people when they come to Christ. If you look at the process as defined in Matthew 28:19-20, we see that process is to:
- Go out and make disciples
- Baptise them into the name of the Father, into the Son, and into the Holy Spirit. (This refers to both water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit)
- Teach them all that Jesus commanded and taught the disciples.
The scripture today in Romans 5 is the process we learn as we walk with Christ and grow into maturity with Him. So, let us look at this in greater detail to learn what God teaches us and what we need to know and do.
Key points from reading:
- Growing into maturity in Christ is a process
- The process described here is the essence of “walking” with Christ
- The Holy Spirit teaches us about the love of God and gives His love to us
Discussion:
- Scripture: Romans 5:1
- This verse tells us that when we come to Christ and enter into His death and resurrection through water baptism, we have peace with God.
- It was by baptism in water that we die and are raised with Christ, to be set free from our sins. Sin is the thing that stands between man and God, but when sin is removed, there is no dividing wall standing between man and God. Through baptism into Jesus Christ the wall has been broken down and taken away, because in Christ, our sins are forever removed, as it says in John 1:29.
- By the process of baptism we are therefore reconciled to God through faith in what God did for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is by faith that we stand before God, free from sin, and ready to begin the walk that leads to life everlasting, as well as victory over the flesh here and now. And if we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, we have peace with God and are no longer His enemies because of sin and disobedience.
- Scripture: Romans 5:2
- This verse again reemphasises that it is through Christ that we have gained access to the grace of God that sets us free. It is by the grace of God that we have the opportunity to come to life. And we receive God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ.
- We stand in God’s grace only through faith and we must hold firm to the faith that keeps us in His grace.
- But knowing that God has saved us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ should give us a great joy. Before coming to Christ we were like the rest of the world. We were without hope and were seeking the temporary and pointless things of this world. But now that we have come to Christ, we are offered the permanency of the Kingdom of God. We are offered a great hope for eternity, salvation, and the ability to destroy the works of the flesh that had us bound and burdened. And it is in this hope that we stand.
- Scripture: Romans 5:3-5
- While all of those things set the scene and are the beginnings of our walk, it is in these verses that we see the process of the walk we have with Christ. We must learn the processes of the walk because when we understand what is happening and what will happen, we have peace.
- The process follows these steps: suffering->endurance->character->hope->love
- As we walk with Christ we will suffer. It is a simple fact that when we come to Christ, in many cases we will stand opposed to the ways of this world and we will suffer and be rejected by the world. There may also be suffering as we battle the passions and desires of the flesh that lead to sin. As we overcome the passions of the flesh our sufferings will diminish, but until that happens it can be quite hard. Then there are the afflictions that the enemy throws at us daily to try to have us fall and reject the walk with Christ. In all things we need to understand that there will be suffering, but the prize for the upward call of Christ is worth it and will vastly outweigh any suffering.
- It is through suffering that we learn endurance. Knowing that there will be suffering helps us to endure. And we must endure to grow strong in the Lord. Endurance gives us strength to be able to stand in the face of opposition and to stand against temptation. When we first start our walk with Christ, it can be hard to reject the things we once may have done, especially under pressure from friends. Consider someone who suffers substance abuse, be it alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. It is hard to break those addictions, but when they are broken, as we learn endurance it becomes easier to stand against those things when or if they are offered. And it is the same with other passions, lusts and desires of the flesh. If we suffer from anger, envy, jealousy, lust, desire for money, or anything else that will stand in the way of our walk with Christ, these can and need to be broken. And as we continue to stand against them, using the power of prayer and walking in the Spirit to overcome these things, our suffering will reduce and we will gain the resilience of endurance.
- The next part of this process is when endurance produces character. We often refer to a strong person as a man or woman of character. They are someone who can be depended upon to give solid advice or are a good example to others. Those who are under the bondage of any kind of passion or desire often lack character. But when they break those passions and endure, they become recognised as a strong person, which is the hallmark of someone who has character. Character is earned through enduring hardship and coming through it without succumbing.
- What we then gain by this developing character as we grow and mature in Christ is hope. Hope is what keeps us looking to the Lord and pushing forward as we learn the things of the Lord. It is hope that gets us up and moving each day, in spite of the sufferings, persecution, and rejections we will suffer in this life. The hope that is set before us of eternal life with Christ in His kingdom that is free from suffering, sickness, evil, and death is a great hope and a great reason for pressing forward. It is in this hope of salvation that we stand. And we must remember too, that hope is not something we can see. We don’t hope for what we have, but rather we hope for the blessings to come that will be ours in Christ Jesus.
- As we grow in hope through our sufferings, endurance and character, we see the need for these things in others too. This is where the love of God comes in. We love because God first loved us (See 1 John 4:19) Our hope does not disappoint us because it grows on a foundation of the love that God has for us, and His love is poured into us by the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit in us is to transform our lives so that we are built into the image of Jesus Christ, who is the image of God the Father, who is love.
Key Takeaways:
- This process as defined in these scriptures, shows us how we grow as we walk with Christ. We need to follow the Lord and learn His ways through prayer and study so that we can learn to endure through suffering, build character, strengthen hope, and grow in love.
- Growing in Christ is essential if we are to live with Him in His eternal kingdom
- It is in this process that we learn how we are to grow and be transformed, ready to receive the hope of salvation as we are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ and God.
Prayer Points
- Pray for the ability to walk the walk and follow this process of maturity.
- Pray that the Lord will open up the words of the Bible to you so that these things are yours too.
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