Christian Growth Series

Lesson 2

BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS
I BELONG TO GOD

Many sinners brag that they belong only to themselves. Every sinner who believes he alone rules his life is deceived. Jesus said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:34). When a person commits his first sin, he becomes the slave of sin. His master is Satan. When you become a Christian, your life changes ownership. Satan no longer controls your life because you give your life to God. Being a Christian means that you of your own will belong to God only. It is urgent that a Christian never forgets that he belongs to God. The minute the Christian forgets that he is under God's ownership, he is in great danger.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's (I Corinthians 6:19, 20). Not only does the Christian not belong to Satan. Neither does the Christian belong to himself. God bought the life of each Christian with the blood of His only Son (I Peter 1:18,19). Romans 14:7,8 says that we cannot live only for ourselves.Both alive and dead we belong to the Lord. Paul so completely gave himself to God that he said, "It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

The Christian must forget "I". He does not do what "I" wants. He does not act as "I" wants. He does not seek the pleasures that "I" hungers for. The Christian tries in everything to do what God wants. He looks at every decision and asks, "What does God want? What will be best for God?" Since Jesus also lived only for God (John 5:30), the Christian will also ask himself, "What would Jesus do?" For the Christian God's will is the most important will in all things. The Christian wants people to see by his lifestyle that in all things he belongs to God. He wants to be the kind husband, father, friend, and laborer that God wants. She wants to be the kind of wife, mother, friend and worker that God wants. You can see God in everything a mature Christian does. This is because the Christian puts God's things first always (Matthew 6:33).

How can a Christian make a complete change from Satan to God? Paul tells how in Romans 12:1,2. The Christian will sacrifice his life to God each day by letting God own him. He will stop living by the lifestyle of the world by completely changing his thinking. This is the true secret. He must change his mind and his feelings. His thoughts belong to God, and his body will also belong to God. Such a mind will find the perfect will of God and do it.

If you are a Christian you belong to God. You must prove you belong to God by your lifestyle. A man's master is known by seeing whom that man obeys (Romans 6:16).

REVIEW QUESTIONS

  1. Who is the Master of the sinner?

  2. To whom does the Christian belong?

  3. With what did God buy each Christian?

  4. Who must a Christian forget?

  5. When a Christian must make a decision, what questions should he ask?

  6. What will is the most important will for the Christian?

  7. What does Matthew 6:33 say?

  8. What is the true secret of learning to live for God only?

  9. If a person's mind, feelings and thoughts belong to God, what else will also belong to God?

  10. How can you tell who a man's Master is?



 

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