The Process of Being Christ-Like

The Process of Being Christ-Like

"Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion -- it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ." - Billy Graham\

A Christian who is not a disciple is not a Christian. A true Christian is a disciple of Christ. That’s why it is called CHRIST-ian. That is, a person being a "Christian" without being a "disciple," is another one of Satan's lies.

This lie from Satan tries to cover the reality that a person who claims to be a "Christian" but lives an unholy life is not a Christian at all.

Many people today "claim" to be "Christians" even if they are not.  This is mainly caused by all the false preaching and diluted gospels that make people think that they are saved when they are not (a favourite plot of Satan).  Then these false believers try to live the "Christian" life but cannot do so, because they do not have the Holy Spirit within them, therefore they are still slaves to Satan and their sins.

A 3^rd year Bachelor in Business Teacher Education student from PUP, Isaiah Daniel Malde, who is also a Christian and a member of Jesus Is Lord church music ministry and youth ministry outreach, shares the process of being a Christian based from his devotional revelations as he spend his quality time with God every day.

He defined the processes of being a Christian as the ‘process of becoming Christ-like;’ that we were originally created in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). God created us to have a relationship with Him. But man is sinful and God is holy and so there is a separation between God and man. And because of the fall of man (Romans 3:23), we lost our identity. Then because of the great love of God for all of us, He entered into this world by sending His One and only Son Jesus Christ, to die and be a ransom for our sins. And as we accept and receive Him in our lives, we also regained our identity because Jesus is our identity for we are created in His image.

God gave us the gift of salvation. And to have that free gift, first, we must confess our sins and admit that we sinned against God. Second, accept Jesus by opening our hearts and believe that He died on the cross to justify and redeem us from our sins; to forgive us and give us life. Third, we have to humble down ourselves before God and make Jesus our Lord and Saviour, and allow Him to take control of our lives.

                Accepting Christ is being born again (2 Corinthians 5:17). And it doesn’t end there; it is 180degrees no-turning back and we totally die from our old selves. Accepting Him means we no longer live but it is Him (Christ) who lives in us (Galatians 2:20).

We should have a healthy relationship with God by having constant communication with Him through prayer and devotion, and meditate on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:8) for it is the best way to talk to God, to grow more in relationship with Him and be disciplined by Him. We should also have fellowship with other Christians (belonging to a church) and share God’s word and minister to people.

Every Christian goes through the process of maturity that includes pruning and testing. Then we get to understand that God commissioned us to make disciples (Matthew 28:19), be baptized to declare that we belong to Jesus, and to obey everything He has commanded us (Matthew 28:20), to undergo trainings to equip us and become a leader of leaders. Then we harvest through witnessing and consolidating the harvest. After that, we take good care of them so that they will become leaders like us.

To be more specific about the process of becoming a Christian or being Christ-like, let’s look unto the things Jesus did, (Matthew 4) Jesus prayed, fasted, tempted, and tested. He also considered the Word of God as his daily bread. That’s what Isaiah Daniel considered as the basics of early Christianity. (John 4:34) Jesus’ food is to obey the will of the Father, so then he prayed for the sick, did miracles, preached the good news, went to synagogues, had eating fellowship with people, He even introduced and practiced communion and giving, He became our good shepherd, he feed thousands of people, disciple them and gave them the great commission, but more importantly, Jesus gave his life for us all.

Everything Jesus did that was written in the Scriptures is the very processes, in detailed, that every Christian should undergo. For as Jesus is, and so we are in this world.

A Christian is simply a follower and disciple of Christ who embraces His teachings and assists in spreading it; a person who repents, believes, and submits to Christ, and obeys every Word of Him, a person who loves God and His people, and will multiply and duplicate more Christ-like people, and will raise up a generation that loves God.