5 Steps to Spiritual Success

The Bible is filled with guidance on living your life, as God desires you to live it.  Sometimes, the different authors will summarize several main points into one or two passages.  Such is the case with 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.   

The apostle Paul was wrapping up his first letter to the Corinthian church and wrote, “Be on guard.  Stand true to what you believe.  Be courageous.  Be strong.  And everything you do must be done with love.”  (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 New Living Translation)   

Caution.  The first point Paul reminds the Corinthians is to be on guard.  Sin is easy to avoid when you can see it coming a mile away.  However, the Devil is much too clever to give you that kind of an advantage.  Temptations arise quickly and they almost always prey on us when we least expect them.   

Faithfulness.  No one can claim to be a Christian without a strong belief that God exists and that He sent His Son to die on the cross as the penalty for your sins.  The mere belief of that claim is not enough, for anyone can believe such a statement.  However, Paul says you must “stand firm” or “stand true” to that belief.  In other words, your actions must be willing to do whatever Jesus commands you to do – regardless of what the world says to do. 

Courage.  A large part of the previous commitment (faithfulness) is to have the courage to stand with Jesus and to stand for the truth, even when your family and friends desert you.  There are many Christians who will follow Jesus only when others in the group will follow Him.  We should never let the opinions of others get in our way of serving God. 

Strength.  A strong Christian is one who can endure great amounts of pressure (temptations) without sinning.  Physical athletes must regularly and strenuously train their bodies to obtain physical strength.  Likewise, the spiritual athlete must regularly and strenuously train their soul to obtain spiritual strength.  A weightlifter who can easily lift 300 pounds will be challenged by his competitor and encouraged by his mentor to life 310 pounds.  It’s only by strength training that he’ll be able to accomplish this goal.  In your spiritual life, Satan knows when to add a little more pressure to the temptations to challenge your strength.  Fortunately, God knows your limits and promises not to exceed what you can handle so when you’re challenged, have hope that God trusts in your ability to succeed.  So if it seems like you’re continually failing, try strengthening your spiritual muscles through prayer, praise, fellowship, and fasting. 

Love.  The Bible teaches that you can have the ability to do everything in the world but if you don’t have love, you have nothing.  We can excel at being cautious, faithful, courageous, and strong but without compassion they’re all useless.  Our love for God must be the primary reason behind exhibiting these (and all other) acts of righteousness. 

Spiritual success is not something obtained overnight.  As a matter of fact, it requires a lifetime commitment to the principles listed throughout the entire Bible.  So give it a try and see if Paul’s commandments to the Corinthians are worthwhile.  If you commit to using caution while in the world, being faithful to God, being courageous and strong in the middle of temptation, and displaying love in all you do, there is no way you can fail!

- Dave Chapman
  Titusville Church of Christ
  August 8, 2004