Christianity for Beginners

Look for responses that indicate misperceptions and how it has changed. As to why, look for indicators that point towards individuals striving to align their lifestyle with the commands and principles found in scripture. A good follow-up or substitute question here might be, "If someone asked you to explain what the Christian lifestyle was, what would you tell him or her?"

There will be many responses but here are some suggestions to include if students do not bring them up. As we live in our communities, we are the representatives of Christ, His church and fellow Christians. Not making the effort to live pure lives brings shame upon Christ and drives others away from Him. Furthermore, puts our soul in jeopardy of continuing in sin. We are called to come out of the world and to be a light showing others the way to Christ. One way we do that is how we live our lives from day to day. How we live also shows obedience to Christ as we follow His teachings.

One of the faith responses to the offer of salvation is a confession that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. We also pledge to turn from our former life and dedicate ourselves to following the teachings of Jesus. This is what we understand as the repentance process. We look to Jesus and His disciples (followers) to gain insights into how He wants us to live. Those who do not follow Jesus will look to the world's influences for guidance. Although there may be many good influences in the world, there are also many harmful ones. It is also true that unless a person is living as a child of God then the efforts he or she makes are of no eternal value.

Answers will vary but look for those that indicate a person is trying to understand and put into their lives the teachings of Jesus. Also note that as we grow into spiritual maturity we will focus less and less on self and more and more on what Jesus desires of us.

How does this influence how others see us? Some versions use "Put on Christ". It is another way of saying that we have completely covered ourselves with the influences and practices of Christ. When others see us, they should see Christ.

We should seek to grow spiritually (transform our lives) and to take a view of what our Lord wishes for us rather than what we want. We go from focus on self in a self-consumed view to one of sacrificing self for the will of God and to help bring others to know our Lord.

Perfect means complete, not necessarily without flaw. We know that we do not live a perfect life meaning we fail to live up to the standards of perfection that our Lord presents to us. God does not demand perfection from us, but he does demand faithfulness. One of the keys to the Christian lifestyle is making the effort towards perfect obedience. We know we cannot do this by ourselves. In I John 1:5-9 we learn that when we admit our sins to God and live the Christian lifestyle to the best of our ability, then the blood that Jesus shed continues to cleanse us. To "cleanse" means that God forgives our sins and sees us as faithful. This is one of the most important blessings we share as Christians.

Answers will vary but look for specific responses, not general statements. For example, we can begin each day with prayer asking our Lord to help us make wise decisions based on His will. We need to study each day the teachings of Christ and look for opportunities to demonstrate those teachings. A follow-up question here might be to ask for a specific example of Jesus' teachings and how we can put this into practice in our lives. A good review of the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount will help here. We can look for opportunities to share our faith and encourage others to learn of Jesus. This helps us to remain focused on living as our Lord has asked us to.

The Christian lifestyle is one that is lived and shared by other Christians. As a Christian we are part of a community of believers that share the bonds of family with our heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Many times, we feel we are all alone in our efforts to live faithfully. We must always remember we are part of something greater and grander than simply the world around us.

Look for responses that indicate an acceptance of the concepts presented in this lesson and other sources. Other indicators may include responses such as the scope and depth of the information provide clarity of the inspiration and validity of the Bible.