Scripture tells us in the Old Testament that it was possible for a person to walk with God. In two instances, two men that walked with God were taken to heaven without having a physical death. Chances are, no matter how spiritual a person is today, there is little chance of going to heaven prior to death. However, there will be a time when believers with be raptured and they will never experience death.

The following Scripture has always made me think that it is possible to walk with Christ: Genesis 5:24 – “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. 2 Kings 2:1 – “And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, “Genesis 6:9 – “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

It occurred to me that everyone who has received the Holy Spirit has the chance to walk with Christ. A major purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help us learn how to walk with Christ so that we can become Christ-like. Everywhere we go; it is if Christ is walking with us. The problem is that most Christians do not recognize that the Holy Spirit is as if Christ were walking beside us. Romans give us instructions how we are to become more Christ-like in order to walk with Him:

Romans 8:5 – 9 – “ Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)” NLT

Everyone has been given a choice. We can allow our sinful natures to control or we can follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Anyone without Christ is unable to subject themselves to God as God had intended. I Corinthians 2:14 – “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” Our belief and attitude determines our eternity and our quality of life while on this earth.

Accepting Christ as our Savior and receiving the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to live a life of peace and joy. The Holy Spirit brings freedom and if we don’t have peace, joy and freedom then we are relying on ourselves and not trusting Christ for our needs. Without the Holy Spirit, there can be no way one may walk with Christ.

To walk with Christ also requires taking on a new role, in a new direction, with a new way of thinking. To walk with Christ we must get rid of deceitful desires and develop a new self and do not give the devil a foothold into our lives. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit will take our dead and insensitive spirit and give it life. Our spirit then becomes immortal and is clearly proof that we become a son or daughter of God.

We cannot be a Christian in name only and believe that Christ will walk with us. Accepting Christ requires salvation and an acknowledgement that He is Lord. We must commit to surrender our self-centeredness and carnal nature to the Holy Spirit to become Christ-like. Just became we have the Holy Spirit in our lives does not mean we will automatically follow God’s will. We must discipline ourselves and give up our control and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. In most cases Christ will block or check us when we are being tempted. However, we must be careful not to think Christ or the Holy Spirit is going to make every decision for us. Christ has given us free moral agency to make decisions based on Scripture. If we want to walk with Christ we must follow His example.

Learning to walk with Christ means we are to serve others, resist pressure to act as the world acts and be willing to give up some rights. If we live according to our sinful nature, we will die; but if we live by the Spirit and walk with Christ, we will live with imperishable bodies throughout eternity. This is God’s promise and our hope.