Can I Be Christian And Still Love To Do The Things I Used To Do Before I Became Christian?
Many Christians that I know of wonder if they can still do the things they used to do before becoming a Christian. To help young Christians transition from their old way of life to the new life given in Christ, I have something to share with you; read on.
A heart matter
Friends, our walk with Christ begins with faith in His finished work, in the grace He gave us on the cross. It starts with acknowledgment of our sins, repenting from those sins, and then embracing the new life that He gave to us: with Him as Lord over our lives.
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Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us about this transition,
"[T]hat you put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new nature, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness."
From that passage we get a clear idea of what we leave behind and what we embrace today. Let's take a closer look at it.
What we leave behind
Paul says we should "put off the former way of life in the old nature." Many wrongly interpret this to mean letting go of everything we used to do before meeting Christ. While we are indeed to put our old self to death, we must take note that what should be put off should be the old nature corrupted by "deceitful lusts."
Paul enumerates some examples of what belongs to the old nature, such as lying, sinful anger, stealing, unwholesome talk, grieving the Holy Spirit, and "all bitterness, wrath, anger, outbursts, and blasphemies, with all malice." (see Ephesians 4:25-31)
In Ephesians 5:3-5, he tells us to let go of any impurity, greed, filthiness, foolish talk and coarse joking.
In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul goes on to enumerate more: "adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfishness, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, carousing, and the like".
In summary, we leave behind our sinful life, which we lived before coming under the Lordship of Christ.
What we take with us
But does that mean we can't go and play basketball anymore? Does that mean saying goodbye to fast food? Does that mean letting go of that new hobby? I won't say yes, but I won't say no either.
Now that we are in Christ, we must understand that our lives aren't for us anymore. He died for us, and so we should live for Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:15), not to fulfill our desires. We must learn to deny ourselves in order to follow Him (see Matthew 16:24).
Although we are explicitly told to put off our old sinful nature, Christ told us to deny ourselves so we can put Him first. If our will, even though not necessarily sinful, interferes with His plan and will for us, we must be willing to let go of ourselves.
This might mean saying no to that ball game so that you could spend more time with Him in prayer. This might mean saying goodbye to that burger because you will fast and seek Him. This might mean letting go of that new hobby for something more profitable – for the purpose of spending more time reading His Word and sharing it with others, for example.
Live for Him
Friends, God is no killjoy. He wants us living an abundant life (see John 10:10). However, this abundant life cannot be according to how we design it; it's according to His design. If we want to live that life, we need to know what He wants for us.
I leave you with this exhortation. I hope you meditate on it and obey it.
"See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise men, making the most of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-17)
