4 Ways to Authentically Live for Jesus
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The word Christian is an interesting word that derived not from Jesus, but from the people in Antioch, where the followers of Christ were first called Christians. Part of the reason they were called Christians is because they lived in such a way that represented Christ well. It is easy to conclude that these folks reminded people of Jesus by the way they lived.
As we fast forward two thousand years, how can we apply this to our lives? What are some ways that we can authentically live for Jesus so that when people see us, they will be reminded of him? There are many places in the Bible you can turn to address this issue, but I want to use Philippians 2 as my text to help us more authentically live for Jesus.
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1. Seek to Unite the Body, not Divide It
“Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (Philippians 2:1-2).
I want to cut right to the heart of what Paul is saying. If you belong to Christ, you belong to me. People who are looking to live for Jesus are uniters, not dividers. There is a sad reality in the church today; it is badly divided. We have gone so far as to put qualifiers on our unity, none of which are Biblical in any fashion. Notice what Paul used as the markers of agreement amongst Christians.
- Being united with Christ
- Finding comfort in his love
- Sharing in the Spirit
Compare that to the markers we use today
- Do you support the political party I support?
- Do you agree with my opinion on this issue or not?
- How do you feel about vaccines and masks anyway?
If we are going to live for Jesus truly and authentically, then we must unite people around Biblical truth and not divide them based on social issues. Someone I have never spoken to or met before reached out to me and asked me three questions. My opinion about the vaccine, my opinion about the president, and what is my faith? He was using these questions to try to establish the foundation of a relationship. If I agreed with his stance, relationship was possible, if I didn’t it was not.
May I ask you a simple question? What do those things have to do with being united with Christ, finding comfort in his love, and sharing in his Spirit? Nothing. If you are going to live for Jesus, you must push past all these things and help fellow believers unite around the truth of Scripture, not be divided by anything else.
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2. Stop Thinking Only of Yourself
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
This verse reminds us that we should not do anything in which we position ourselves as the center of attention. Another way to think about it is the world does not revolve around you. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like this principle has gotten lost somewhere. If you think about everything Jesus did, he did it because he put our interests above his own. Just the fact that he came and suffered for our sins is proof enough that he was putting our interests ahead of his own. When will we get back to the place where we care about how what we do impacts other people?
In sales and marketing there is something called a WIIFM statement. WIIFM stands for What’s In It For Me? Too often this is the mindset we have taken with the way we live. We view everything through the lens of how it affects me, which is in direct opposition to how Jesus lived.
How does this play out in real life? A good question to ask yourself is this, how does what I am about to say or do impact the people around me? By doing this, I am not only thinking about myself, I am thinking about the community I am surrounded by and engaged in. When you value others above yourself you are living an authentic Christian life and you begin to remind people of Jesus.
If you are going to really live for Jesus then your attention and focus must shift from WIIFM to WIIFT, What’s In It For Them.
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3. Live Humbly and Be Obedient to God’s Word
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8).
Living authentically for Jesus is going to require that you take the low road sometimes. It will mean that you don’t always have to be right and prove to everyone that you are right. It will mean that sometimes you will be silent in the face of opposition and use wisdom in knowing when to speak. It means you don’t use material blessings to show off God’s goodness when you are just bragging about the things you have. Humility means it is not all about you. God’s glory becomes more important than your fame. It also means that you recognize that you are not better than others, but the difference in you is Christ and you make him the star of the show.
To live in obedience means that God’s word becomes the deciding factor in your life. An authentic Christian life is one that is lived in alignment with what God’s word says. The beauty of God’s word is that it is unchanging. It does not shift with societal changes. When you think about it, humility and obedience go hand in hand. You cannot live a life of obedience without humility.
If you are going to live for Jesus, be humble, be obedient, and live surrendered to what God wants you to do. Let the motto of your life become not my will, but yours be done. When you do this, you are now living for Jesus.
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4. Stop Complaining and Arguing
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:14-15).
In everything that you do, one thing that is clear is your attitude about it matters. How you do something and the way you approach it speaks volumes to those around you. Consider these questions for a moment:
How do you respond when the job does something you don’t agree with?
How do you respond when you are asked to do something you don’t like?
How do you respond when things don’t go the way you expected?
I could ask more questions, but I think you get the point. The attitude you bring to every situation can show the world who you belong to. People who grumble, argue, and complain simply don’t remind the world of Jesus.
It is interesting in this verse in Philippians that Paul says when you stop doing this you will shine like stars among this warped and crooked generation. The reason you will shine is because you will behave in a manner that looks totally different than those in the world. If you haven’t been paying attention, there are a lot of people grumbling, complaining, and arguing out there. If you want to live like Jesus, don’t be one of them. The moment you disengage from that type of activity, you put your light in position to shine.
Sadly, the opposite is also true; when you do engage, then whatever light is in you gets snuffed out. You can choose how you want to live, but if you want to live like Jesus, grumbling and arguing is certainly not the way to do it.
I hope you see the challenge that is before us in living like Jesus. Ultimately, we are either going to look and live like him, or we are not. There is no middle ground. For all of us there are some things we need to work on, but I pray this would be the motivating factor. The world needs Jesus, and you can play a role in that. By putting your life and light on display you become a beacon that points people back to Jesus. If we can win some to Christ by authentically living for him, then whatever it costs it will be worth it all.
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