"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6,7
The Christian life and walk embraces the whole of the Christian world view, the Christian calling to practical godliness, and the fundamental institutions of life such as the home and marriage. While many of these matters are of very practical significance, they are first of all rooted in the gospel. The Christian life must be founded on the cross, the truths of sin and grace, and of righteousness and life in Christ. Jesus said,"...for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5. He also said, "If ye love me, ye keep my commandments," John 14:15. The question, how then should we live, is an important one.
To frame a sound understanding of these subjects, however, one must have clear doctrinal principles upon which it rests. Calvinism and Arminianism have different answered to these questions. How you view the children of believers and the basis of family life also frames the discussion. Doctrine and life are inseparable in this area. The Reformed view of the Christian life is framed by the doctrine of the covenant and children's inclusion in the covenant, church and kingdom just as the baptist error of false individualism and of children's exclusion destroys the foundation of a Christian home. The effect of the fall, the nature of sin and its fruit, the nature of salvation and of conversion and sanctification likewise frame a man's view of the Christian life and walk. The Reformed view of the antithesis (spiritual warfare) is very different from Anabaptist world flight, or synergistic views that spiritually merge the church and the world, through common grace or some other form of a bridge that destroys spiritual separation from a world of sin.
The "basics" section above addresses three issues which are vital to understanding the practical material. The first on a Reformed world and life view addresses what is today the distinctively Protestant Reformed concept of the organic view, which was once the Reformed heritage and which has been largely lost. The second section discusses the rule of gratitude, the standard for Christian living. This must be discussed in the context of the doctrine of sanctification in which it must be seen. A full treatment of the doctrine of sanctification is therefore included. The third element discusses the Reformed Doctrine of the antithesis or the antithetical walk. This too is vital for a clear conception of the nature of the Christian life in a sinful world. The Reformed view is neither synergism nor world flight but a calling to spiritual separation and spiritual warfare in this life.
All of these elements rest upon the truth of Sovereign Grace and the doctrine of the Covenant, this is particularly true of home, family and marriage. References and links to these doctrinal foundations are therefore woven through the material.
General Material
Christian Discernment