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Towing the Line of a True Christian – Part 1
Muti ThisIt’s Regeneration Time – Time to really become Born Again and tow the line of a true Christian.
Simply put, to tow the line of a true Christian is to work one’s own personal salvation and follow after God into eternity.
The main focus of this topic would be to enable you & I have a deep understanding of what it is to be a TRUE CHRISTIAN.
-Who then is a true Christian?
-How do we tow the line of a true Christian?
-What is the Line of true Christendom?
1.TOWING – Obedience to God’s words.
To tow is to FOLLOW. Done by being obedient, willing and faithful in the things of the Lord as a true disciple. Diligence and consistency is required.
As Christians, we are taught that “Obedience is better than sacrifice”. Isaiah 1:19:
“If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land”.
See Also Deuteronomy 28: 1-14.
V1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth”.
- Abraham obeyed God and was blessed – Genesis 12: 1-4
- Moses obeyed God and was successful – Exodus 3 & 4
- Joshua obeyed God & brought Israel to the Promised Land – Josh 1: 1-10
- Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Queen Esther, Jeremiah, Joel, Peter and Paul all obeyed as true children of God and were all rewarded.
ARE YOU READY AND WILLING TO OBEY GOD FROM NOW ON?
2.THE LINE
For any follower of Christ (i.e. we children of God who have accepted Jesus Christ), to proclaim that we are deeply involved with Christ, we must tow the line by obeying the Commandments, Teachings, Faith, Law and Rule of God the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost).
The Line then can be called the set rules, laid down regulations, doctrines and standards. BUT beware, for anyone can tow or follow any line. It is important to identify whose line we are really towing. Beware many false lines abound especially in churches nowadays – Matthew 24: 4-5:
“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”Are we following the Line of the TRUE GOD or our own self made semi-demi powerless and confused gods? That is the gods of money, power, immorality, deceit, idolatry etc? Jeremiah 2: 7-9, 11-13:
“I brought you into a bountiful country To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit. “Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,” says the LORD, “ And against your children’s children I will bring charges. … Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the LORD. “ For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water”.
THE LINE OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN is a Righteous, Regenerated and Sin free line. It is a line that hates evil, shuns sin, fights temptation, trusts God, does good, helps the needy, prays always, praises God all the time, bears the Fruits of the Spirit, and abstains from the fruits of the flesh (see Galatians 5: 16-25).
The line of a true Christian seeks first the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness. Is this the line that you and I are towing? Or are we caught in the trap called “religion” that follows after doctrines and rituals more than the love of God and humanity? Being a “Pharisee”, “Sadducee” or “Scribe” is not necessarily towing the line of a true Christian – Matthew 12:1B:
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy”.
Prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, God spoke to us through his prophets and taught us greatly how to tow the line of a true Christian, e.g. prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel etc.
Isaiah 1: 2-4
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken:
“ I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger, The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward”.Ezekiel 3: 17-21
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand….”
David the King and Prophet taught us in Psalms and his son, wise King Solomon taught us in Proverbs.
Then Our Lord Jesus Himself gave us many teachings which are to help us tow the line of a true Christian, e.g.:
Matthew 5 – The Beatitudes; Matthew 6 & 7 – Our personal conduct; Matthew 10 – Discipleship; Matthew 18 – The Kingdom Call,; Matthew 22 – Loving God and Man; Matthew 24 – 25, The End Times; and Matthew 28 – Discipleship.
After the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, Peter took the mantle and continued in this teaching (see Acts 2 & 3). Apostle Paul in numerous New Testament writings continued in-depth teaching of how we can and must tow the line of a true Christian.
Continued in part 2…
Written by Evangelist Adekunbi Akin-Taylor
adebanjo soares | May 15, 2008 | Reply
this is a spirit filled message, may the Lord continue to strenghten you and use you to win more souls for eternal glory. remember me in your prayer to be able to do the same, i have been asking God to make me a worthy tool too to preach and dwell in his words like you are doing. because you cannot be a true christian without winning souls for eternal glory. my prayers is that the Lord continue to interpreat His words to us and empower us to do his will in Jesus name.
Misi | May 15, 2008 | Reply
I am very impressed by your vast knowledge and ability to beautifully quote the bible. This article has left many questions on unanswered for me and am sure for others too. For instance what is the line? You’ve mentioned the wrong line i.e. money, power, idolatry and immorality but you haven’t stated clearly what the line is. Is it a life path or some kind of bible laid down rule to follow? Or could it be that the terminology ‘line’ is being used as analogous to something else? Also how does one discern which line to walk on? You stated false lines but how does a new believer discern the line s/he is walking on is the right one? What are the consequences of not towing the line? Or will these answers be provided in part 2?
Omotaylor | May 16, 2008 | Reply
@soares, thank you for your kind words but thank you more for taking delight and interest in the things of the Lord especially His word. May the good Lord answer all your prayers and grant you the grace and gift of evangelising. Yes we all pray on for the Holy Spirit to teach us the godly interpretation of His words and empower us to do His will in Jesus name.
@Misimi, First having a vast knowledge and ability to BEAUTIFULLY QUOTE THE BIBLE is not the true mark of a ~Christian. Anyone can quote beautifully and impressibly the bible to all sorts of intent (even ungodly ones). The essence of a spirit filled teaching or sharing of the words is like soares have said, winning souls for Christ, and using the words of God to Godly intent and better Christlike living. Now to your questions, Part 2 (which will be released soon) may answer some and maybe not for it depends on the answers you are searching for, so let me give it a go in my humble understanding:
THE LINE as I mentioned above is “THE LINE OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN is a Righteous, Regenerated and Sin free line. It is a line that hates evil, shuns sin, fights temptation, trusts God, does good, helps the needy, prays always, praises God all the time, bears the Fruits of the Spirit, and abstains from the fruits of the flesh (see Galatians 5: 16-25).The line of a true Christian seeks first the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness”. In effect, the Line is a Spiritual link to God. As the wrong line is an ungodly link to the devil and things of this world as you have mentioned; the right line is the lifeline to God and eternity which you can only attain by believing in God and Jesus as the son of God; obeying the commandments and rule of the kingdom of God, doing what is right before God, loving God and man. For example if I can liken a struggling Xtian to a broken down vehicle on the highway and the engine for example has knocked, s/he will need a tow truck to the garage to get the problem fixed, if not s/he will not move from that highway. The tow truck will need a rope to link that vehicle to it and take him/her to your destination (or at best carry your vehicle on it); but the mission is to get to your desired destination. Now where you need to be careful is that you must identify the tow truck as genuine or else you may be had and taken to the wrong destination which could mean being taken to where you and the vehicle could be looted etc etc (if you are in Lagos you will appreciate this analogy better) for robbers, hoodlums and ritualists abound everywhere and will use any opportunity to “come as a thief to steal, devour and annihilate”. The “bible rule” as you call it, or the biblical teachings are there to help you identify who or what vehicle is towing you. The Line is the path you choose to follow.
How do you discern the line to walk on? First God is the best teacher and His words in the bible are yes and amen and cover all paths of life. The Holy Spirit, if you are tuned in to ~God will minister to you regularly and tell you when you are doing something right or wrong, so it is important for a ~Christian to have a settled/quiet mind to hear from ~God and not miss the mark. Yes it is good to question things heard from people to discern the truth but you cannot question the things of the Lord and be critical of Him as a Christian, so to hear from God you must have a humble teachable spirit. You will know if the line you are walking on is the right one for Narrow is the path that leads to heaven and is filled with ups and downs and accusations, attacks etc. ~All these are meant to draw you closer to God for answers, deliverance and victory. If you are walking a line that is so problem free that you do not need God (i.e the wide road to hell), then beware, for the end result could be that the devil is at play and giving you a false sense of life. The story of the Prodigal son in the book of Luke 15 sheds more light on this.
Are you a Christian? If yes please take time to pray and study the words of Jesus in Luke chapters 12 - 16. There are a lot of answers there.If you are not a Christian and will like to be, it is my fervent prayer that the Holy Spirit ministers to you and prepares your mind for biblical teaching for He is the best teacher and we all in our evangelical attempts turn to Him for our inspiration. The consequences of not towing the line can be found in Luke 16: 20-31.
Now just in case my answers are not as deep as any interested reader would love them to be, it takes Bible Classes where we sit together to “reason together” deeply with indepth sharing from all to give proper answers.
If there are ensuing questions let us take them one by one and reason them out step by step so that share and learn together.
Thanks Misimi for your questions, for the challenge of reasoning things out are helpful to me as I want to keep on growing in Christ. I do not know it all and I bet no one can attest to knowing it all except God the Trinity.