6 Truth Basics for Christian Living with Strategic Options

By Jeremy Bell

Introduction

Christian living can be difficult and is often a daily battle. Daily victories are important operationally, growth comes from managing strategic options. There are many tactics and great passages in the Bible for Christian living to make it through the day. This is crucial and important but often dishearteningly and recurringly simplistic. You and I are created people and have entered the marketplace of people on planet Earth. Knowing about our industry is a crucial step in managing with strategic options for growth and maturing ourselves as a person product.

Take some time to consider these 6 foundational truths and remember them as you work out your faith with purpose. God is unique divine providence, He has uniquely made all people with unique characteristics, and God respects human choice and honors human freedom. All people understand sufficiently that there is a God and what he is like. There is general revelation that brings condemnation to the heart of every person and special revelation brings a specific message of salvation from condemnation. These foundations narrow the strategy for people who do not believe in Jesus, Christ. They often open up strategic options for those who are in Christ (Christians) who want to optimize their Christian living.

1. God is Unique Divine Providence

God (Jesus) upholds all of creation, heaven and earth, governs and provides for it. He is directing all things toward His ultimate goal to manifest His glory in and among His people throughout His good creation. (All that is needed to accomplish this goal was finished through Jesus). He has a plan, nothing is out of His control, and everything that happens is according to His declared will. He gives permission or causes every event in history, and He has perfect knowledge of all events. There is no one and nothing like Him in any part of existence and He alone is able to accomplish this.

Providence that Limits or Opens Opportunity?

At a glance strategic options appear limited. A deeper look reveals a doorway that opens them up. Perhaps God is so provident and powerful and everything is in His control, there is no need to do anything. Taking care of oneself is right because God will just do whatever He wants to do. That is NOT the message of Gods’ providence. Gods’ providence displayed in creation is evidence of His existence, evidence of what our lives should be accomplishing, and in the end, even evidence that brings condemnation to our souls. God made people to manifest His glory and one of those tasks is to demonstrate His providence to others, including nature. Our failure to do this is against Him and is sin. This has made people orphans. In Jesus, people become children of God, His people.

More on Christian Living and Providence

Christian living is going to, in part, demonstrate Gods’ providence to others. Nothing a Christian (or anyone) does is outside Gods’ knowledge or authority. Christians sin and make lots of mistakes but sin should not hold a Christian back from doing good. Sin has been forgiven for the Christian. Christians won’t take credit; the glory belongs to God alone.

Point of note: All people demonstrate in some way Gods’ provision. Non-Christians do this too, but their actions are performed in brokenness, they do not give glory and credit to the living God, the Creator, and while they may please other people, they do not please God. This narrows strategic options for the non-believer to become a believer or continue in maximizing the brokenness they thrive in.

Act in Faith

With this first truth, take some time to consider all the ways you can demonstrate Gods’ providence (provision/care) to others. You can’t go wrong here, God made people to do this! Take this in prayer and discuss with God your thoughts and ideas. There are a lot of ways a person might carry this out, each according to their unique skills and personalities. These begin to open the floodgates of strategic options for Christian living.

2. All People Have Been Uniquely Made with Unique Characteristics

Humans were created in the likeness of God, resembling God, mentally, morally, and socially. People creation was unlike the creation of other animal life. Humans were perfect in health, righteousness, and innocence. Like God, He gave people reason and choice. God crafts each person in the womb with desires, character, skills, and much more that make that person unique in all of humanity in all of time. This is done under the perfect providence of God for Gods’ plan.

This is how we know the meaning of life. Gods’ plan is to manifest His glory in and among His people. We know the meaning of life is to glorify God and enjoy (or by enjoying) Him forever! Why do we forget this or disagree with it? Because God gave people choice (and He respects human choice). Through the first human, Adam, all people die through unrighteous choice. There is good news for people. Through the last human, perfectly righteous Jesus, all people may choose life! This is the most crucial strategic choice of all.

Absolution for Living

As a Christian, you have been reconciled to God through Jesus, Christ. You will not die through the line of Adam, you will live through the line of Jesus. Christian living is living in this reality. The perfection of your making awaits you. You can begin to live in expectation of it now through the power of the Holy Spirit. Confess your sin, acknowledge your weakness, and remember that God has forgiven and absolved you through Jesus. Do not stay in the brokenness of what has died, look ahead at the restoration of your life. You are unique, created on purpose, and your happenings are written in Gods’ plan. Christians are one, unified in a body, in Jesus, Christ. But, each Christian is a unique member of that body working together to build up the entire Christian body in love, through Christian living.

Point of note: Non-believers have unique abilities and skills as well. But these are used in brokenness that draws glory to themselves or something else that is not God. These skills are often used in very good ways for humanity, but they serve no eternal purpose except that which God has used for His plan. For the one who is without Christ, this is unknown to them and of no benefit to them. This, once again, narrows strategic options for the non-believer to become a believer or continue in maximizing the brokenness and meaninglessness they thrive in.

Act in faith

List your strengths, abilities ,and skills? What do you love to do? What excites you? All of these are clues of how you might glorify God by using them to encourage other Christians in their Christian living. Understand these things may be twisted for evil, though their origins are likely pure. If they have become twisted, pray for God to untwist them. Ask Him to deliver you from the evil one, to deliver you from evil. Evil thoughts may be whispered in your ear now; they may have been whispered a long time ago and you just continued to believe them. God can and will help you if you seek Him and do not doubt.

Embrace Gods’ making of you and know you are important to the body, to Gods’ people. They need to hear from you, and you need to hear from them. You have choice, and that provides for unlimited options. Choose to live in Christ and give of your gifts abundantly to optimize your strategic options.

3. All People Understand Sufficiently That There Is a God and What He Is Like

Through creation and moral sensibility; law written on hearts, people understand and are held accountable to God for this understanding. This is a truth that ties all of humanity together. All experience creation in some way as creatures created in that creation. Creation is an orderly construction of matter with order and rules that interconnects in a web of care and a service-sufficiency. I am coining that phrase just now, service-sufficiency.

Self-sufficiency is the independent maintenance one has without outside aid. Creation is a complex organism where nothing is perfectly self-sufficient. There are degrees and levels, however, one knows that the God who creates must be ‘other’ than His creation and is perfectly self-sufficient. This God has created a reality in which nothing is self-sufficient and designed all elements to be in service to others. There are many examples, perhaps families with children and parents are the most obvious. Science continues to find connections from rocks in the desert to molecules in the sun. Everything is connected to something. In contrast to matter and the animal kingdom, people were created with choice. They did not create it themselves; it is a creation within them. This is a display of accountability. Choice points to accountability to something beyond the self.

More on Accountability

This is an area that narrows the strategic options for Christin living. The Christian is under a command to be holy because God is holy. In all decisions, in all choices, the Christian knows their actions are accountable to God. More than that, they personally know the God to whom they will give an account. They have received special revelation, have access to His word, and even have Gods’ Spirit within them. For the person who has come to the Father in Jesus the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit, there is more weight to accountability.

There is great news, the Christian is born again and there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but do walk according to the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit eliminates some paths; not out of earning goodness, but in expressing obedience and love. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Christian living expresses these fruits. Pathways that lead to sexual immorality, uncleanness, idolatry, hatred, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, and more like this are not fruit of the Spirit. All will give an account of all to God.

Act in faith

Take some time to play out scenarios in your head related to decisions and choices you make. Engage with God in prayer these scenarios. Are there results that engage in service-sufficiency? Are there results that likely end with expressions of love, joy, kindness, etc.? Some options lead to self-sufficiency, they are made in anger or create divisions. Strategic options for Christian living mean analyzing with God various outcomes related to various choices. This consideration does not limit options or the various ways to accomplish good. It does draw attention to what is wise and unwise. It does draw attention to the bigger picture that today’s choices do not fade with the day. They will be recounted with God, the two of you, with no comparison justification or balancing of good things against the bad. (Take heart, with God mercy triumphs over justice.)

4. General Revelation Brings Condemnation to The Heart of Every Person

That which is known of God is revealed in all people of all time, for God revealed it to us. The invisible things of God since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity. Knowing God, people do not glorify him as God, and do not give thanks. But we become vain in our reasoning, and our senseless heart is darkened. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. As far as the heart, when people do by nature the things of moral law, it shows the work of the moral law written in the heart, the conscience testifies with us, and our thoughts accuse or excuse us. Statements from Romans 1, 2 paraphrased from the WEB translation.

Logic, Foolishness, and the Effect on Strategic Options

As people grow older there is an ever-growing angst against this truth. It plays out in atheism, self-worship, self-justification, and comparative justification. Some devise explanations that God does not exist and spend their lives refuting the evidence materially and morally. Others make themselves to be God and feel it is sufficient to be accountable to themselves, granting forgiveness to themselves for not even having the ability to meet their own standards. Other ways acknowledge that god, or gods, might exist and grant the same mercy as they. Justice is manipulated, in hopes that what they are accountable for, and their good efforts will be good enough.

People often decide their individual knowledge is good enough to define ‘good’. They even have the authority to define ‘just’. Common thinking along these lines is, “I do the best I can”, “I’m better than …”, “I have done …”, and even “I’m a good Christian”. Every human being ever has done and does this and there is only one exception.

The Flesh, the Spirit, and Christian Living

There are two strategic options for the non-believer. One is to remain in darkness, continue to exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. This is referred to as living in the flesh. The other is to turn away from this toward the living God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. When this happens, a new heart is given, a new spirit resides in this person. This is often referred to as living in the Spirit.

Christian living is possible, meaningful, and a consistent war between the flesh and the Spirit. Though there may be many ways people deal with general revelation knowledge, everyone has the knowledge. Becoming a new creation does not become perfected until death. Strategic options on making decisions or analyzing life are tied heavily into realizing this important truth. This truth will helps analyze motivations for choosing one path over another. It will help discover self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, and a multitude of hidden habits of thought.

Act in faith

Take your thoughts now in prayer and commune with God in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. You can’t go wrong here; the Holy Spirit speaks better for you directly to God and God already knows what is in your heart and mind. The goal here is to allow God to reveal to you if there are any offensive ways in your heart regarding your choices and decisions. Do you judge others? Are you making life decisions so that you have something to brag about to God about your position? Does your decision enable you to hold yourself above others? Be a better person? Are you just concerned with how your choices will affect you? Some of your strategic options may not change, but it may change how you apply them in alignment with Christian living. God is very, very concerned about the heart, not just the actions.

5. Special Revelation is a Specific Message of Salvation

Christian living is only possible when the Holy Spirit resides in the heart of a person. This is often called being born again. If general revelation points to condemnation for every person, special revelation specifically states that salvation is possible from this terrible sentence. Special revelation is special in scope and substance. Examples can be found in personal encounters, mighty acts, propositional revelation, and incarnation. Special revelation is required for salvation from wrath. Christian living is often easily faked, disguised in ‘good deeds’ according to the doer of those deeds. This is because everyone has the standard of ‘good’ written on their heart to live up to.

With general revelation, the only hope anyone has to be saved from condemnation is in appealing to the mercy, love, forgiveness, and compassion of God through His son, Jesus. There is evidence of this in creation, these are qualities of the maker. By the simple fact that people do not immediately die or face prison after their first moral offense is proof. This is not enough for salvation. Action must be taken according to Gods’ specific word. Before the written Word, there were prophets and personal encounters. The word was written and later manifest in the incarnation of Jesus. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. There are specific things people know and they have been consistent throughout the course of humanity.

Christian Living Makes Disciples

If operational processes are in place to get through the day, that is great, but it is not enough. Living stuck in the place of just getting by leaves a person stuck in the muddy, watery pathway of good deed living. In the end, it is a tiring and disheartening mess with less faith than in the beginning. Living with strategic options grounded in the truth of Scripture is freedom and growth. Christian living is specific and, because of special revelation, different than generally doing what everyone else does. This ties to a mission statement. The Christian is no longer self-pleasing, the Christian is a servant (and child) of God’s kingdom and God has expectations.

God has given His mission statement to His people very specifically with huge room for application creativity. “Go and make disciples”. There is more to it, this is the root action. It is central to all Christian living. It’s great to have a mission statement for one’s life, but it must conform or give way to the God a person has given their life to. He does not force, but He can never really be enjoyed without this repentance. Whatever a person does, whatever decision or choice they must make, it should all be done to make disciples and glorify God (the meaning of life). When strategic options get difficult to discern, test them against this mission statement.

Act in faith

Take some time to look at your life’s strategic options. Get into prayer and speak them out loud with full concentration of God with you. Are they in alignment with His mission, His glory? This is another filtering tool. It can also be a tool for more ideas and brainstorming. A lot of people struggle because they have no mission or meaning to their lives. God gives this to us; it is a gift. Take it and think about ways to enhance your Christian living according to this mission statement. If you are going to make disciples, is there anything you need to stop doing? Is there anything you should start doing? Is there anything you can make better? Don’t let objections in your head stop you from dreaming. Come back to them later. For now, enter into the joy God wants to give you by meditating on His Word.

6. God Respects Human Choice and Honors Human Freedom

This existence is broken because God has allowed people to work against His will. Choice is limited by humanity and character. Freedom is the movement of choice within Gods’ providence. Irrespective of the brokenness and people working against Him, God is working all things for His glory, and includes the actions of people who act freely. God sometimes interferes in people’s decisions but never for salvation.

Christian living is often seen as a narrow door with a narrow pathway full of binary options. There is some scripture to reinforce those ideas. Jesus said, “Don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient” and “I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.” This is a great example of the importance of reading the Bible. It is necessary to take what was written into context and consider the truths God is teaching through His Word.

One of many rules of analyzing scripture is called single meaning. This is a fundamental principle in grammatico-historical exposition that the words and sentences have one significance in one and the same connection. The bible has one meaning, and many applications. The Bible says to love your enemies, it does not list all the possible ways to do that. The Bible does list things that are against the law, murder, adultery, having other gods, etc. For good things like love, kindness, goodness, etc. there is no law.

No Law Against Good, One Law for Choosing Against God

Strategic options for Christian living are limitless. If you come up with a list of 50 things that fall under Gods’ mission, the meaning of life, and qualities of love and goodness, they are all good options to consider. God honors human choice, and He will manifest His glory in and among His people. He doesn’t need help; He enjoys the relationship and loves saving people. This is amazing news but there is a terrible side to it.

There will be a lot of people who do not choose to be in relationship with Him. He honors that choice as well. He still works all things for good, but the consequence for choosing to be against Him is eternity away from Him. For the non-believer the only real strategic options they have are responding yes to God’s invitation of salvation through Jesus, His son. Or they can continue to live in darkness strategizing a way to maximize this life.

There are frequent passages in scripture that explain what will happen for disobedience (sin) of the law. This is binary, one is a pathway for the godless, the other, a pathway to come to the Father. For the believer who has come to the Father through Jesus the son, pathways are wide open. There are infinite possibilities and God is ready to bless and make abundant. Christian living is the handing over of authority of ones’ life to the Lord. It is doing the things the Lord loves to do and to do them with Him.

Act in faith

How does knowing God honors human choice and freedom change your perspective? Does this present more opportunity? Does it make things more confusing? If you give the Lord all your strategic options for His discretion to do with them as He pleases, what might you expect? Do you trust Him? Be honest with Him, He can handle it and wants to help you. He rewards those who seek Him. Christian living is more than ‘good deeds’, it is a state of heart and how choices are made. God made humans different, and He respects what He made even though He does not have to. He still owns everything, He is still in control, but He wants to see His people joyfully living in Him. Take some time to talk with Him about all of this in prayer.

7. Revisited. All People Have Been Uniquely Made with Unique Characteristics

Through the first human, Adam, all people die through unrighteous choice. Through the last human, perfectly righteous Jesus, all people may choose life. Every person ever born was given gifts, skills, and abilities. When a person gives their life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within them and spiritual gifts are given. Many things may change for a person who becomes a Christian in material ways. Things change spiritually without a doubt and with that come responsibilities and expectations. There is now no condemnation, but there are wise and unwise choices. There is spiritual life, maturity, and less of self.

Paul and Peter both write that individuals in Christ are part of a body. This body is called the church. There may not be a command but there are certainly assumptions that Christians will fellowship and be expected to share with each other. A person may be able to become a Christian through a personal decision; a person cannot practice Christian living in isolation. Christian living is service to others, it is equipping and building up the church. It is evangelizing to the lost. Don’t panic, these practices are lived out according to the unique gifts and characteristics God made us with. For the Christian, their life is not their own, they were bought with a price. God gave gifts to be shared, not hoarded. He respects human choice, He is provident, and He works His glory through His people to others.

Act in faith

When considering strategic options in your life, it is important to consistently remember others are included. Consider how what you’re considering affects them. If it doesn’t affect anyone it may not mean anything. It is appropriate to enjoy the gifts and blessings God gave you. However, strategic options will definitely affect others. Pray to God your doubts, your fears, your failures. He will minister to you, He will comfort you. Strategy does not mean no pain or no work, it means purpose and goals. If you are working Gods’ goals, you can’t possibly fail, even if you feel like it. When you abide in Jesus like this, it is the height of Christian living.

Strategic options are not the same as strategic decisions. There is still some work to do. Get a worksheet together and sort some things out. Talk with your church fellowship about things. Mostly, get in prayer with God. Read the Bible for understanding, not just for instruction; it is the best thing a person can do. This is His word! All of these things are going to optimize your Christian living.

8. Christian Living will be Rewarded

Know and operate your Christian living in truths from Gods’ word, agreed upon by priests, teachers and theologians for thousands of years. Consider these six. God is unique divine providence, you have been uniquely made with unique characteristics, you fundamentally understand that there is a God and what he is like, you know general revelation that brought condemnation to your heart, you took advantage of the special revelation; the specific message of salvation from condemnation through Jesus, Christ, and God respects your human choice and honors your freedom. These foundational truths of humans and God are going to give freedom and direction for strategic options in Christian living.

God Rewards Those Who Seek Him

The real, big, huge, magnificent, reward is coming. Paul wrote, “Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.” Jesus told a story with words all Christians will hear from Him one day, ”Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” As one who is in Christ, Jesus, these are words we long to hear, words we <em>will</em> hear. Our reward is Him and one day we will fully enter into His joy. As believers, we have access to that joy now for Jesus is the very Nature of Joy. Christian living is living in that joy, choosing strategic options that are according to His will. Choose it today, choose it tomorrow and run the race!

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Resources and Notes

All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.

This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.

Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.

One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.

There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.

Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.