Obedience training for Christians

This is the third part of an assignment for my Trinity@Night class, Head, Heart and Hands: The Christian Life. For the first installment, read here. The second installment is here.

The topic is: You have been invited to give a talk where you are sure the audience will include Christians who believe what you believe but also people from a wide variety of denominations as well as some non-Christians. The topic that has been assigned to you is this: The Impact of the Gospel on the Daily Life of a Wife and Mother.

If we stopped at getting to know God, Christianity would be merely an intellectual exercise. However, what we find out about God in the Bible changes the way we behave in our daily lives.

As I mentioned before, Jesus died to become our Saviour. He also rose to life and ascended to heaven as our King, our Lord. Encouraged by the Holy Spirit within, Christians desire to live in ways that please God (Ephesians 5:8-10) and bring Him the glory and fame He deserves because He is our King.

The Bible tells us, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its sinful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24). Christians have several words for this, such as sanctification. Another slightly shorter and more familiar word is obedience. The Bible tells us there are two elements of obedience to God which should be evident in every Christian's daily life.

The first element is one of personal conduct, or character. A Christian's character standards are determined by the character of God. I was "created to be like God" so I strive to grow in godliness, as an imitator of God (Ephesians 5:1). As I mentioned before, I learn about the character of God every time I read the Bible. The character of God has been most fully revealed in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament laws and New Testament letters also teach us what "true righteousness and holiness" looks like. A short, non-exhaustive list includes character traits such as self-control, self-discipline and diligence; honesty and humility; patience, endurance and perseverance; compassion, kindness and gentleness (eg Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 4:1-5:20, Colossians 3:1-17).

The second element is one of interpersonal conduct, or relationships. As a Christian, my attitudes and actions towards others need to be based upon Jesus' statement that the second most important commandment (after loving God) is to "love your neighbour as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-40). Loving actions toward others put them first, not myself. Loving others means forgiving faults and misdeeds; helping and serving; seeking unity among Christians; and, importantly, telling others about the gospel.

If these descriptions of Christian conduct don't sound like yours, do not despair! We have a gracious God, abounding in mercy towards sinners. Confess your sin to Him and He will make you clean (1 John 1:9). Then move Godward in your daily life, making each decision, each action, one of obedience to Him.

[A little over 380 words, I'm obviously getting more consise as I go on. Any suggestions for other vitally important Christian character traits, or examples of loving actions? Any other comments? I'm not sure I've emphasised enough that this way of life is pursued out of obedience to God, in response to the gospel. Any suggestions on that?
The next, and last, part of this assignment will address "loving God". I've had quite a few conversations with Jeff on that one, but it still feels a bit like my nemesis (a bit nemesitic???), so feel free to leave suggestions in the comments for this post.]