Everything pertaining to the Christian life can be summed up with five prerequisites. All five must be present and accounted for if you desire to make any headway in the Christian life. That is not to say, however, that these five prerequisites will help you to become rich, famous, or powerful, or achieve perfect health or any of the other false teachings associated with the Health & Wealth Prosperity movement. Why? Because the Bible promises you no such things! So what do these five prerequisites have to do with? If you desire to know God and to know Him more personally, these five prerequisites must be true of you. If you desire to study the Word of God better and interpret it correctly, these five prerequisites must be true of you. If you desire to live a more godly life, walking in holiness, these five prerequisites must be true of you. For everything actually promised to us in the Bible, which have to do with the Christian life, these five prerequisites must be true of you.
- Be saved.
- Read God's Word—it is alive.
- Seek the Lord through prayer.
- Be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.
- Live out your life by faith; live out what you say you believe.
If any of these are missing, how do you expect to know God or to know Him more personally? If any of these are missing, how do you expect to understand and interpret the Bible correctly? If any of these are missing, how do you expect to live a more godly, holy life free from the power of sin? If any of these are missing, how do you expect your relationships on Earth to thrive? These five things are key to everything pertaining to Christianity. Again, that does not mean that having these in place will lead to wealth, fame, and power, because those are not things God desires for you. So false teachers do not need to attempt to twist these to use for their own perverse means.
If you are a genuine born-again believer, how do you expect to make any headway in the Christian life if you never read God's Word or pray to Him? How do you expect to make any headway in the Christian life if you never practice what you claim to believe? If you are not filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, do not expect to be able to live out the Christian life the way the Bible commands you. If you are not filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, chances are pretty strong that you are not a genuine born-again believer.
If you want to make headway in the Christian life, make sure all five prerequisites are true of you.
If you are a genuine born-again believer, how do you expect to make any headway in the Christian life if you never read God's Word or pray to Him? How do you expect to make any headway in the Christian life if you never practice what you claim to believe? If you are not filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, do not expect to be able to live out the Christian life the way the Bible commands you. If you are not filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, chances are pretty strong that you are not a genuine born-again believer.
If you want to make headway in the Christian life, make sure all five prerequisites are true of you.