What must we do to live according to Christ?

Social Media Question:

What must we do to live according to Christ?

My Reply:

Let us take the biblical advice from Romans 5–8 to answer this question.

To live according to Christ, one must first be justified through faith in Him, Romans 5:1. This justification marks the beginning of a journey, where one grows in the knowledge of God’s Word. It becomes essential to understand that living according to Christ cannot be achieved through personal effort. Our flesh is at enmity with God, and our natural mind is corrupt. The starting point is immersing oneself in the Word of God (specifically the epistle of Romans) and allowing it to renew the mind, for it is the carnal and corrupted mind that prevents us from living in alignment with Christ.

It is crucial to recognize that one cannot live both according to Christ and according to sin. By nature, we yield to sin, for it is all we know, Rom.6. As the Word begins to reveal the nature of sin and exposes how living in sin is displeasing to God, we often attempt to fix this by placing ourselves under the law. Yet, laws, rules, and expectations bring condemnation rather than deliverance, Rom.7. This inner struggle demonstrates that we cannot rely on sin nor the law to live in accordance with Christ.

Through Christ, we have died to sin, and we must come to know this truth. In the same way, we are delivered from the law and its condemnation, and we must come to know this truth. The path to living according to Christ begins with internalizing these principles through continuous reading and meditation on God’s Word, particularly the transformative teachings of grace in Romans chapters 1–8. By doing so, faith and understanding will take root within us.

As our understanding matures in these principles, we begin to live by grace, walking in the Spirit and allowing the Word to work within us, Rom.8. This process renews the mind and gradually transforms the heart. As the Word becomes deeply internalized, it influences us to pursue righteousness. God, as Philippians 2:13 reveals, works within us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. When we obey the inner workings of God’s Spirit, we begin to naturally (not by our own effort) bear the fruits of righteousness, as described in Romans 6:16, through yielding to obedience.

Ultimately, living according to Christ is not something we can achieve through our own efforts, discipline, good works, or religious activities. Instead, it is about allowing the Word to work in us, renewing our mind and heart, and aligning us with the principles of grace. Only then can we offer ourselves as living sacrifices and begin to discern and prove God’s will as we grow in the understanding of His ways, purposes, and judgments, Rom.12. This transformation marks the point at which one truly begins to live according to Christ.