For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

1Thes 4:7

According to the Scriptures, the believers in Christ are supposed to be the salt and light of the world. Unfortunately, scandals do hit the Church from time to time. The shocking thing is that many of those misdeeds are perpetuated not by sinners from without but by those within the church who profess to be born-again, baptized believers of Jesus Christ. The scandals have served as a stumbling block and have further contributed to the unbelieving world’s mockery of the Christian faith. “The church is full of hypocrites” is a common excuse for people not to attend church or trust Christians in general

In light of the above, we are committed to live the Higher Life, a phrase that refers to the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. Higher Life promotes the idea that Christians should move on from their initial conversion experience to experience a second work of God by which we can live a more holy, less sinful or even a sinless life.

Living the Higher Life begins with the realization that salvation is a product of His grace alone. There is nothing we can do to earn it, to deserve it, to obligate God to give it to us, to buy it from Him, or to bribe Him into giving it to us. Salvation and eternal life are free gifts. However some believers stop there. They mistakenly assumed that since they live under grace, they are under no obligation to live under the Law. They claim that God’s law was abolished by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. They think that mankind is no longer burdened by the stringent requirements of that “harsh law” that stands in their way of freedom—of “having a good time.” Essentially they turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness (Jude1:4). Lasciviousness means “license to sin.” It could also be defined as “unrestrained liberty” or “abuse of privilege.” In essence, this meant license to do what seems right in one’s own eyes, according to one’s own conscience. But that is not what the Scriptures teach. The truth of the matter is the Christian calling (Rom. 8:29-30) is based on grace—unmerited pardon of past sins and forgiveness upon genuine repentance. Christians understand that the very salvation offered to them is a gift, and that they must continue to live a lifetime of obedience/submission to His will (Acts 5:32, John 14:15) and overcoming.

To live the Higher Life is not an exception but a norm to the Christian life. “For it is GOD which works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). God provides Christians with the WILLPOWER, FAITH OF CHRIST and MOTIVATION to do His good pleasure. God the Father and Jesus Christ have gone to great lengths to provide the grace—favor and divine mercy—to help Christians succeed in their calling. But God expects results! That is the message of Ephesians 2: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (vs. 10). “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:16) Let’s pursue the Higher Life and we will discover the grace of God to experience the abundant life that our Lord promises to all who surrender to his will.

Blessings,
Pastor Chris Chan