ABIDING IN CHRIST AS YOUR LIFE (5 OF 15)

ABIDING IN CHRIST AS YOUR LIFE (5 of 15)
GROWING CLOSER AND GOING DEEPER WITH GOD
Dr. Rick E. Ferguson
JOHN 15:1-8

Series Verse: "BUT GROW IN THE GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE OF
OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST" (2 PETER 3:8)

Question: What is the essence of the Christian life?

It is not religion or religious activity
It is not an institution such as a church
It is not a body of beliefs or doctrines

In fact, you can pour yourself into all 3 of the
above:
- You can be religious
- You can be an active, committed church member
- You can be a Bible student and a systematic
theologian

And still miss the very essence of the Christian
life.

For you see, THE ESSENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS
JESUS CHRIST!

Pure and simple... that's it... Jesus is the sum
total of the Christian life.

Ex: It's kind of like marriage. The ultimate essence
and summation of marriage is being married to someone
you love with all your heart... your mate is your
marriage.
You can:

- Read books and attend seminars on marriage so
you understand intellectually the dynamics of
the husband/wife relationship
- Go to weddings so often that you can repeat the
vows
- Talk about marriage
- Wear a wedding band

BUT

Until you become one flesh with the person God
has given you...you are missing the very essence of
marriage. You see, the essence of marriage is not:
- The institution of marriage
- The instruction about marriage

But the essence of marriage is the individual to
whom you are married.

And the essence of the Christian life is the
wonderful living person of Jesus Christ. It is:
- Knowing Him
- Loving Him
- Being loved by Him
- Enjoying fellowship with Him
- Being empowered by Him

The essence of the Christian life is Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Col. 1:27 says, "...Christ in you, the hope of
glory."

Col. 3:4 says, "Christ, who is our life..."

And yet so many, many peo ...

---

There are 39051 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.