Morality is not the objective of the Christian life. If that is all there is, we might as well all just become Mormons. Heck, they seem to have the best commercials about morality.
The dirty secret is that no one can live the Christian life without God's help and power. Many Christians feel burnt out because they are trying to live a good moral life on their own efforts. Being a Christian comes down to rules, morals and your performance.
Our performance is never good enough for God. It takes more than just being good and moral. God calls us to be holy. And we can't do that even on our best day. The sooner, we start realizing that, the more free we will feel from guilt and condemnation. The freer we will be to let God live His life through us and in us.
In high school, I had a friend who went forward to get saved just about every time there was a special alter call at a camp or other youth activity. I think that I saw him get say the sinner's prayer five times. My friend was honest about his sin just not the power of God’s salvation. Many people feel like a failure as a Christian because they don’t grasp the scope of grace. They feel like they have to keep on getting saved. They don’t realize that grace extends beyond just covering our sin. God’s grace allows us to live the life that He calls us to live.
My friend was right that he needed to come back to the cross for forgiveness and strength. But he was wrong in thinking that his performance either way had anything to do with his salvation.
Ephesians 2:4-9 (NIV): But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Galatians 2:19-21 (NIV): For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
2 Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
What does it mean to live in Christ? How do we practically do this? We have to start with admitting your weakness (in my flesh dwelleth no good thing {Romans 7:18}) and your reliance on God. Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. One must pray asking God for help throughout the day and listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit. And we can't look for the formula for perfection. It’s found in the person of Jesus not six quick steps to be holy. It takes time to look like Jesus. But most importantly, it takes a heavy dose of surrender to God and faith in His power.
