New Testament Christianity

Premise for Living as a New Testament Christian

We all constantly ask ourselves, "What is the truth about life and how should I be living my life?"

I am writing about and pursuing the New Testament scriptures as the source of guidance from God for me – everyone – to pattern my beliefs and how I live my life. Want to join me? I do not claim to have all the answers, but my goal is to discern and apply God’s priorities as they are expressed in the Bible.

Immediately, you are probably arguing with this premise (We all constantly ask ourselves, "What is the truth about life and how should I be living my life?"), but on some level this is true for every person. The degree to which we consciously pursue and react to this question certainly varies. Ultimately, I have come to the point where I look to the Bible for my answers and with this I assume that God has clearly and rationally presented the truth for me (and you) to find as I read, study and mediate on Scripture. I assume, and this is reinforced by the Bible, that God as the loving, holy, creator has expressed His will clearly in the Bible and in the most effective form for communicating His will for us. In other words, it’s not unclear to anyone who honestly wants to know the truth, though it will cost us everything if we do things God’s way.

Why do I focus on the New Testament? First, I am not minimizing the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures). Without them we wouldn’t have the New Testament, we couldn’t fully understand the New Testament, and the Old and New Testaments together reflect God’s plan for the world and mankind (for me! And, for you!). Second, the New Testament shows us how early Christians believed and lived, and how this was lived out in groups of Christians - churches.

The argument might be “so what” or “don’t all churches and Christians have this goal?”
“So What?” – I’m not offended and God’s not defensive – What else are you going to base your life on?

“Don’t all churches and Christians have this goal?” – Unfortunately that isn’t the case and for many reasons. We aren’t that smart or pure. We are at best sinners saved by grace and still all that we think, say, and do is tainted by corruption (another biblical concept). We want to do things our way. In our minds and hearts, God is OK when convenient. We are mislead and confused by traditions, we launch prematurely on doctrines that are not crucial, and we have tendency to major on minors.

Start with Jesus and surrender to Him as Savior and Lord. Yes, you need Him. You and I are sinners living before a holy and just God, who has lovingly provided His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah) as payment for our sin, guilt, and adoption into His family. “Sin”, not sins, because by nature we want to do things our way, the wrong way, and not God’s way. We don’t just need to be forgiven and cleansed of a list of sins, but we need to be cleansed and transformed from our ungodly natures. “Lord?” you say, “what does that mean?” Simply, He is the ultimate boss. He’s always right, always has your best interest in mind, and will not except partial commitment. He is either you Lord or He’s not. There is no such thing as a part-time Christian. You either are or you aren’t. There’s no part-time Jesus.

Then look to the New Testament for guidance, wisdom, and knowledge. While our Lord Jesus is the center and focus of the Bible, expressly in the New Testament, it also is a guide for how we are to live as Christians and to operate as members of His churches (note – the word “church” in the New Testament is the word for congregations, i.e., a group of believers. It never refers to a building. It usually (like 99.9% of the time) refers to a local congregation – interesting).

This is a starting point.