What is required after the sinner’s prayer of repentance? Are there any responsibilities or does one just keep on living as if nothing has changed? The Bible tells us in Philippians 2:12 – “my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” We are to work out our salvation. How is that done?

We must recognize that Jesus is Lord of our life. That means we must become accountable to Jesus. We are no longer to be in control of our life, we are to let Jesus control who we are through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That requires our behavior to change. This means we are to pray daily for assistance and be willing to let the Holy Spirit direct us and surrender our flesh or carnal nature and what it desires to do. This means, from now on, Jesus is in charge of my life. This is very hard for most new Christians to do. However, when you make Christ the Lord of your life this is what is required.

Romans 8:29 – “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” God knows prior to our birth who will accept Christ as their Savior and who will not. For those that will accept Christ, His goal is to make us like Christ. Many believe Paul is saying from the very beginning God has a plan for those He knew would accept Christ. That plan is to help us conform to the likeness of Christ. Our purpose was determined before we were born. This is why I believe even before we received salvation God was intervening in our lives knowing our future and helping us to get where we needed to be to accept Christ.

We are told to strive for sanctification or separation from the world. We have two choices: doing things the way the world does or being obedient to God’s ways as written in the Bible. Jesus came, as the Son of God and in the character of God. He was totally obedient to what God wanted as a member of His family to live. Jesus is the example we are to follow if we want to be part of God’s family. We are to develop the same characteristics as God, such as loving, forgiving, joyful, peaceful, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and having self-control.

As a Christian we must recognize that Christ has the authority to tell us what to do and then He will have the Holy Spirit help us do it. When we accepted Christ as Lord we are stating that He is in charge. If you cannot do this you will not be able to work out your salvation. Remember the parable that Christ talked about the seed falling on poor ground and it did not take root. However, when it was sewn in good soil it grew and prospered? Do not shirk you responsibility to work out your salvation.

We will never know what God wants unless we daily read Scripture and pray for guidance. Have you ever tried playing a sport and did not know any of the rules. What would be your chance of be a successful athlete? If you decided you wanted to play basketball but were unwilling to practice but once in a while, how good would you probably be? How often do you attend church? Normally, that is an indication as to how seriously you have committed your life to Christ. If you are a passionate basketball player, you are practicing and learning all the time. The same is true becoming a Christian. There must be a passion to please God and not shame Him. You must know the commandments and want to continually become more dedicated and obedient. That is not to indicate you are to work your way to heaven for we will be judged by our faith and service to Christ.

To recap: We are to realize that when we become a Christian it means we are to accept that Christ has the authority to rule over our life. This requires each of us to surrender our self-centeredness and strive to become Christ-like. We have the responsibility to live as God predestined us to live, which is the life that Christ set as our example. We are to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us. This requires asking the Holy Spirit to direct us in making moral decisions. We are to build a personal relationship with Christ and to become Christ-like.

God wants us to be the person He created us to be. Through His Holy Spirit we will have His assistance to reach that goal. Therefore, we must continue to strive for perfection, which is an unobtainable aim in this lifetime. This is our responsibility as a Christian.

Luke 13:3 – “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Luke 13:22 – 27 – “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’