{"id":33821,"date":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/"},"modified":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","slug":"lifestyle-of-believer","status":"publish","type":"sermons","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lifestyle of a Believer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2005\/08\/19017.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n<p>\n      <em>\n        <span style=\"\" class=\"\">&#8220;Be imitators of God,\ntherefore, as dearly loved children; and live a life of love, just as Christ\nloved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to\nGod.&#8221;<\/span>\n      <\/em>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">The\nChristian knows that the action of God in salvation is predicated, not on the\ninherent merit of that person, but upon the unmerited love, grace, mercy, and\nfavor of God. We are sunk without the love of God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">The\nlove of God is not a sentimentalism, neither is it romanticism. The <em>agape<\/em> love of God is based on decision.\nIt&#8217;s a decision to be primarily concerned with the  of the beloved\nregardless of their condition, irrespective of their reaction.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <strong>\n        <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Christians\nare to live a life of love modeled on the love of God to us.<\/span>\n      <\/strong>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">That\nis the challenge of the Christian lifestyle: to live a life of love that is\nmodeled on the love of God to us. Human love tends to love the lovely, the\nloving, and lovable. Divine love loves the unloving, the unlovable, the\nunlovely. There&#8217;s the difference.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Christians\nbelieve this. Because they believe this, they take seriously this tremendous\nchallenge: &#8220;Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children; and\nlive a life of love&#8221; This is a sacrificial lifestyle, and it is deeply\npleasing to God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">John\nCalvin said, &#8220;If a preacher is not first preaching to himself, better that\nhe falls on the steps of the pulpit and breaks his neck than preaches that\nsermon.&#8221;<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">I\nwouldn&#8217;t dare get up here and say, &#8220;Okay, folks, be imitators of God as\ndearly loved children and live a life of love,&#8221; without hearing those\nwords resonate deep in my own heart and thinking, <em>Briscoe, there needs to be a deeper work of grace in your life.<\/em> I\nsuspect people like me may be sitting in the pews today.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">We\nembrace what the Bible teaches concerning the beautiful truths of the love and\nthe grace and the mercy of God. We must also embrace what the Bible teaches\nconcerning the holiness, righteousness, and the justice of God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">A\nholy, righteous, just, loving, gracious, merciful God loves us to distraction.\nAnd out of his love, knowing what is best for us, he&#8217;s outlined that which is\nacceptable to him. He&#8217;s said that his deep disappointment, disagreement, and\nrejection of our behavior rests upon those who are disobedient. The wrath of\nGod is being revealed from heaven against those who hold down that which God has\nrevealed.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">If\nI take seriously the love of God and I begin to imitate him, that of course\nwill affect my lifestyle. By the same token, if I take seriously the wrath of\nGod and I deal with that, guess what? That will change my lifestyle in a hurry.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">For\nGod says this: Those who persistently engage and persist in an immoral, impure\nlifestyle, however loudly they profess to be Christian, should expect not so\nmuch the grace of God as the wrath of God. They may have walked a dozen aisles.\nThey may tell you all kinds of stories of how they were born again. But if they\nare living a persistently immoral, impure lifestyle, Scripture says that person\nis not a member of the kingdom of Christ in God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Paul\ngets quite specific here. &#8220;Among you there must not even be a hint of\nsexual immorality or of any kind of impurity.&#8221; He goes on to talk about\nobscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking. The Scripture says the wrath of God\nis against those things.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Sexual\nimmorality is sexual intimacy that contravenes that which God has ordained for\nsexual enjoyment. God is not a sexual spoilsport. God is the one who invented\nsex. The first sexual thought anybody had, God had it. Ought he not be\nconsulted, seeing that he invented it?<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">This\nis what he says: &#8220;Sexuality is something I have ordained for humanity for\na variety of reasons, and it is to be thoroughly enjoyed within the divinely\nordained framework of <em>monogamous,\nheterosexual marriage<\/em>.&#8221; Anything outside of monogamous, heterosexual\nmarriage is sexual immorality.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">&#8220;For\nof this you can be sure. No immoral, impure or greedy  a man is an\n any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.&#8221; Deep\nrepentance is no doubt in order at this point.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">In\norder that we might be balanced and recognize that Paul is not just clobbering\npeople who have certain attitudes toward sex, he puts a greedy person in the\nsame category as the immoral and the impure. Why would he do that? He gives us\na clue by saying that the greedy person in an idolater.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">The\nGreek idea of greed is a continual desire and insatiable appetite for more. Are\nthere people who are never, ever satisfied with a continual obsessive demand\nfor more? Yes. What&#8217;s their problem? Their problem is that they&#8217;re not finding\ntheir satisfaction in the Creator, so they&#8217;re trying to find it in the created.\nThe created now becomes the object of their worship rather than the Creator.\nWhen the created becomes that which matters, as opposed to the Creator, I\nbecome an idolater. That&#8217;s the ultimate insult to God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">&#8220;God,\nI don&#8217;t find you satisfactory. I don&#8217;t find you all that you&#8217;re cracked up to\nbe. I don&#8217;t want you to be God of my life. But thanks for all the stuff you\nmade for me. Now get out of my way. Let me ignore you, and let me worship what\nyou made.&#8221;<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">God\nsays that&#8217;s idolatry, and not the attitude of those who are part of the kingdom\nof God. The righteous indignation of God is leveled in that direction.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Certain\nbeliefs will determine behavior. If we believe certain things about the love of\nGod and we believe certain things about the wrath of God, we will embrace that\nwhich comes from the love of God and seek to imitate it in the power of the\nSpirit, and we will avoid like the plague that which merits the wrath of God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <strong>\n        <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Paul\nmakes an emphasis on the light of God (verse 8).<\/span>\n      <\/strong>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">In\nverse eight Paul is making an emphasis on the light of God. The Bible writers\ntalk a lot about light and darkness. They talk a lot about truth and error.\nVery often when they&#8217;re talking about light, they&#8217;re talking about truth. And\nvery often when they&#8217;re talking about darkness, they&#8217;re talking about error and\nconfusion. Scripture teaches that when God begins to shine his truth into our\nlives it&#8217;s not unlike the early morning sun dissipating the mist. The warmth\nand the brightness moves away the darkness and the confusion.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">We\nhear testimonies all the time of people saying they were heading in a certain\ndirection in their lives, but they knew an inner sense of dissatisfaction and\nemptiness and discouragement and dismay. Then they discovered that God in\nChrist loved them, and Christ gave himself for them, and that the risen Christ\nin the person of the Holy Spirit could come to live within them to change them\nfrom the inside. For some of them it was like a laser beam; for others it was\nlike the slow birth of dawn. But the light shone into their hearts. The\ndarkness was dissipated. They began to see things in the light of the glory of\nGod. That was wonderful. They discovered that light not only banishes the mist\nand the darkness and the confusion, but it also exposes what is there.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">You\ncan wake up in the morning on a mountain, look down into the valley, and see\nthe  mist as the sun rises. It&#8217;s beautiful. But when the mist\ndissipates, you look underneath and see nothing but urban sprawl and ugliness.\nThe light not only dissipates the darkness, but it exposes what is left.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Now\nsays the apostle Paul, &#8220;Live as children of light.&#8221; If you rejoice in\nthe fact that truth was beamed into your error, and reality took away your\nconfusion, and light shined in your darkness, then begin to live transparently\nbefore God; for his light exposes the darkness.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">We&#8217;re\nadept at developing our behavior to suit our environment. There&#8217;s no question\nthat some of us are entirely different people at the county club than we are at\nElmbrook. There&#8217;s no doubt that some of us are utterly different at home that\nwe are at work. Perhaps most significantly, there&#8217;s little doubt that often,\nthe persons we are in public is far removed from the persons we are in private.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">We\nare to live in the light of the searching truth of God, transparent before him.\nThere&#8217;s nothing hidden from his eyes; all things are naked and open to him.\nThat knowledge is going to affect my lifestyle more than anything else.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">But\nPaul goes a step further and says, &#8220;it is light that exposes.&#8221; If we\nbegin to walk as children of light, we&#8217;ll begin to expose darkness around us.\nIt can get ugly.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">When\nyou start living like that, the lifestyle is so different, it begins to\nchallenge. It begins to reveal. It begins to draw people to you; and it begins\nto repel people from you, because light is that which exposes.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <strong>\n        <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Paul\ntells us to live according to the will of God (verse 15).<\/span>\n      <\/strong>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Verse\nfifteen talks about living according to the will of God. Many people live their\nlives on the basis of <em>I want.<\/em> That\nbecomes the dominant theme. &#8220;I want this. I want that. I want her. I don&#8217;t\nwant this. I don&#8217;t want that. I don&#8217;t want him. Based on what I want and what I\ndon&#8217;t want, I will now craft my lifestyle.&#8221;<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">There&#8217;s\na different way to create a lifestyle, not based on <em>I want,<\/em> but on what God <em>wills.<\/em>\nScripture teaches that God&#8217;s will is good and perfect and acceptable. And\npeople underline it in their Bibles and doubt it. We&#8217;re frightened silly of it,\nresistant to the very idea. What might it mean if we abandoned ourselves to\nGod&#8217;s will rather than to <em>I want?<\/em><\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">A\nhappy person is the person who says, &#8220;God&#8217;s will is just what I\nwant.&#8221; But it doesn&#8217;t work when you start with <em>I want<\/em> and try to manipulate God&#8217;s <em>will<\/em> to fit <em>I want<\/em>. It\ndoesn&#8217;t work. As you submit yourself to God&#8217;s will and he works on you, you\nbegin to discover his <em>will<\/em> becomes <em>I want.<\/em><\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">There\nwas a time in my life when I was excited about a business career. I knew what I\nwanted. I knew where I was going. And I was concerned because I had a nasty,\nniggling feeling that God wanted me in the ministry. I made all kinds of\nrationalizations, all kinds of explanations of why I should stay in the\nbusiness world. I thought, <em>Anybody could\nbe a preacher. It takes a real man to be a Christian in the business world.<\/em>\nThe latter is true; the former is false.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">There\ncame a glad day when I said, &#8220;Lord, whatever you want to do in me, do\nit.&#8221; My wants were changed. Instead of trying to manipulate God&#8217;s will\ninto <em>I want<\/em>, God graciously turned my\nwants into his will. The peace was unbelievable.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">We\nread in Scripture that those who are prepared to discover and do God&#8217;s will,\nwill not be unwise; they will be wise. They will make the most of every\nopportunity. They will begin to discover and understand the days are evil. <\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">When\na person lives a life predicated on the will of God, they recognize the\npotholes. They can recognize the evil days. They know what to avoid. They&#8217;re\nnot going to go on making stupid mistakes. They&#8217;re not going to find themselves\nconfused, and they&#8217;re going to recognize opportunities.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Instead\nof stumbling in the dark, falling into potholes, making stupid mistakes, asking\nGod to get them out of a fix, they put themselves into an attitude of &#8220;Lord, help me to discover and do your\nwill.&#8221; It&#8217;s good and it&#8217;s perfect and acceptable. You can identify people\nwhose lifestyles have been predicated on their knowledge of God.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Verses\nfifteen through seventeen raise a couple of interesting questions.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">How\nmany of you were planning to leave this service and go get drunk?<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">How\nmany of you were planning on leaving this service not filled with the Spirit?<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Did\nyou notice the difference there? Nervous laughter on the first one. Stony\nsilence on the second one. We know that you don&#8217;t go to church with every\nintention of going straight out and getting drunk. That&#8217;s not acceptable. But\nfor some strange reason we don&#8217;t worry too much about going to church and not\ngoing away filled with the Spirit. In fact, some of us are frightened to be filled\nwith the Spirit. Some of us are not even sure what it means.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <strong>\n        <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Paul\ntells us the Christian lifestyle is one filled by the Spirit of God.<\/span>\n      <\/strong>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">It\nwould be as unthinkable not to be filled with the Spirit as it would to be\ndrunk. So the fifth thing we discover is that the Christian lifestyle,\naccording to God&#8217;s plan, is the lifestyle filled by the Spirit of God. When a\nperson is drunk they are captivated and motivated and activated by alcohol.\nWhen a person is filled with the Spirit, they are captivated and motivated and\nactivated by the indwelling Holy Spirit.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">From\na grammatical point of view, verses nineteen, twenty, and  are\ndependent upon verse eighteen. Paul talks about four areas that will be\nindicative of the person living in the fullness of the Spirit. Speaking and\nsinging and thanksgiving and submitting are all dependent on being filled with\nthe Spirit.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">&#8220;Speak\nto one another,&#8221; doesn&#8217;t mean going to church and talking about any old\nthing the minute church is out. It refers to an upbuilding that is committed to\nhelping people grow.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">&#8220;Singing&#8221;\nis worship. Singing is not the only kind of worship, and all singing is not\nworship. The determining factor is whether it&#8217;s from the heart to the Lord.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">You\ncan have superb music that&#8217;s not from the heart and isn&#8217;t to the Lord. You can\nhave awful music that is from the heart to the Lord. Personally, I enjoy the\nformer better. God accepts the latter. I think what he really likes is\nbeautiful music from the heart to the Lord. <\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Isn&#8217;t\nit sad that we get into big debates about the kind of music and decide what&#8217;s\nacceptable or not according to our stylistic preferences, as opposed to saying,\n&#8220;That came from the heart and it was directed to the Lord. That&#8217;s\nworship.&#8221;<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">There&#8217;s\nno shortage of people who can give criticism, make complaints, or know what&#8217;s\nwrong.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">But\nthere&#8217;s often a shortage of people who are thankful; the kind of people who\nhave submitted their lives to the captivating, motivating, activated activity\nof the Holy Spirit. Their attitudes are not determined by their circumstances,\nrather by their knowledge of God brought through the Spirit within.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">You\ncan tell the folks who are operating on the basis of the Spirit of God. You can\ntell the people who are operating on the basis of the will of God. Those who\nare operating on the basis of the light of God. Those who take seriously the\nwrath of God. Those who respond to the love of God. Because it helps them\ncontinue to grow in behavior and in lifestyle.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Were\nit not for the fact that it is God&#8217;s truth, and God never calls without\nenabling, I would never have preached this sermon. It&#8217;s too challenging for\nordinary human beings like you and me. But if God calls, he equips. And that&#8217;s\nwhat he&#8217;s expecting.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <em>\n        <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Stuart Briscoe has been\npastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for more than twenty years.\nAmong his numerous books are <\/span>\n      <\/em>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">Mastering Contemporary Preaching <em>and<\/em> Hearing God&#8217;s Voice Above the Noise:\nThe Minor Prophets Speak to Us Today.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">(c) Stuart Briscoe<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead2\">Preaching Today Tape #169<\/h2>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.preachingtodaysermons.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">www.PreachingTodaySermons.com<\/a>\n      <\/span>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <span style=\"\" class=\"\">A resource of Christianity Today\nInternational<\/span>\n    <\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[306],"tax_ctp_authors":[3103],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[170],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[412],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_sermon_series":[],"tax_ctp_tags":[3592,4374,4400,4552],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-33821","sermons","type-sermons","status-publish","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-stuart-briscoe","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-christian-life","tax_ctp_tags-lifestyle","tax_ctp_tags-love-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-obedience"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Lifestyle of a Believer - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Lifestyle of a Believer - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children; and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.&#8221; The Christian knows that the action of God in salvation is predicated, not on the inherent merit of that person, but Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/\",\"name\":\"The Lifestyle of a Believer - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2005-08-26T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2005-08-26T00:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Lifestyle of a Believer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Lifestyle of a Believer - CT Pastors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Lifestyle of a Believer - CT Pastors","og_description":"&#8220;Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children; and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.&#8221; The Christian knows that the action of God in salvation is predicated, not on the inherent merit of that person, but Read more...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/","og_site_name":"CT Pastors","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@CTpastors","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/","name":"The Lifestyle of a Believer - CT Pastors","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website"},"datePublished":"2005-08-26T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2005-08-26T00:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/lifestyle-of-believer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Lifestyle of a Believer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/","name":"CT Pastors","description":"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization","name":"Christianity Today","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg","caption":"Christianity Today"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors","https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/33821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermons"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/33821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33824,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/33821\/revisions\/33824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_audience?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_authors?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_categories?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_field_guides","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_field_guides?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_format?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_multimedia","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_multimedia?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_point_editor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_point_editor?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_publications?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_sermon_series?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_tags?post=33821"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_topics?post=33821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}