We hear the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. We believe the Gospel. We want to be saved. We acknowledge we’ve sinned and we repent of our sins. We then confess our faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Finally, we’re baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. We’ve done it! We’ve been saved! We’ve obeyed the Gospel. We are now a Christian. A child of God. But after we get out of the water and dry ourselves off, after we have sung and prayed together, after all the hugs and tears of joy, after we leave and head home, what are we to do now? What’s suppose to happen after we become a Christian? Thankfully God has given us that information in His Word.
Paul traveled around preaching the Gospel and there were others who did too. Paul loved people. Especially those who obeyed the Gospel. Every time Paul heard of people obeying the Gospel he was ecstatic. There was a group of people who had become Christians in Colossae and Paul was thrilled. In Colossians 1 he talked about how he was thankful to God that they had been saved and prayed for them often. One thing Paul said he prayed for was about what they were to be doing now that they were Christians. Look at Colossians 1:9-12. They were to:
Be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Walk in a worthy manner and fully pleasing to God.
Bear fruit in good works while increasing in the knowledge of God.
Be strong in the power of God and have endurance as well as patience.
Be joyful and give thanks to God.
These are the things we should be busy in after we first become a Christian. These are the things we should be busy in our whole life. Grow in grace and knowledge. Grow closer to God. Grow in good works. Grow closer to each other. Grow in love. Live for God and not for self. Be happy in the Lord! Joyful. Sing. Praise. Rejoice! Give thanks to God always. My prayer is that we will all continue in these things that Paul tells us are so important. Let’s do it. Do it on purpose. God bless.
A Cord of Blue 