A Christ-Driven Life
(Message delivered by Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Feb 19, 06)
Text: Galatians 2:20
Many Christians and churches today talk about The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church of Rick Warren, a pastor of a mega-church in USA. But let us ask ourselves this question: Are we as Christians called to be driven by a purpose or by a Person. Galatians 2:20 makes it very clear that we are to be driven by Christ and Christ alone; that we must live for Him and Him alone. Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
The Bible teaches a Christ-driven life and not a purpose-driven life. Now, I am not saying that we should live our lives aimlessly, without direction, and without purpose. What I am saying is this: “Purpose” should not be the driving force of our spiritual life, but Christ our Lord and Saviour. Christ first before purpose. The Bible teaches that we must be Christ-driven before we can be truly purpose-driven. Man’s purpose is corrupted by self and polluted by sin, and unless our crooked purpose in life is straightened out by Christ, we live in vain. A purpose-driven life without Christ is empty and even destructive.
Now, let us study the life of Paul, and Galatians 2:20 closely to see how our lives ought to be driven. Should it be driven by purpose or byChrist?
Purpose-Driven Saul
Let us look at Paul before he was converted. Paul the Apostle was at first Saul the Pharisee. Paul’s past life as Saul the Pharisee was truly purpose-driven. Paul says in Galatians 1:13-14, “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.”
Saul was trained to be a religious teacher—a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). This meant that Paul was taught the OT Scriptures and the Jewish traditions from young (4-5 years old) both at home and at the synagogue, and when he reached 14 years old, he was sent to Jerusalem for his full-time religious training. This would continue until he reached 30 years old. His teacher and mentor was Gamaliel a well-known and highly respected rabbi in those days. At the feet of Gamaliel he was “taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God” (Acts 22:3). Saul excelled in his studies and emerged top of the class. He testified in Galatians 1:14 that he “profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers”. Saul would be the equivalent of a summa cum laude, Harvard-trained Doctor of Theology today. Saul from his youth was a purpose-driven man. But what did this make him to do?
His purpose-driven life led him to commit murder. He agreed to the murder of Stephen (Acts 8:1). As if that was not enough, he was fired up to persecute the Christians—“he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and haling men and women committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). His purpose-driven life saw him going all out to destroy the church even though the church did him no harm. Just look at the purpose-driven zeal of Saul in Acts 9:1-2, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.”
Saul’s purpose-driven life in the beginning was obviously fuelled by selfish ambition and blind zeal. Since young, he had striven to be number one in his studies, and he achieved it. He was the best among the young Pharisees. Now as a practising Pharisee, he wanted to be number one in terms of accomplishments, and what better way to reach the top by persecuting the Church. His campaign against the Christians would surely put him on the fast track to glory.
Dear friends, is your life purpose-driven by such self, pride and sinful ambition? What are we driven by? The Bible tells us that all who are without Christ are driven by sin. Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth (ie, none is driven to know who God is and what He is), there is none that seeketh after God (ie, none is driven to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness). They are all gone out of the way (ie, there is only a drive to live in the ways of the world), they are together become unprofitable (ie, there is only the drive to do that which is self-destructive); there is none that doeth good, no, not one (ie, there is only this drive to do that which is evil and wicked, and not the good).”
Do you think a person who lives such a sin-driven life is happy? Everything may look very good on the outside. But inside, there is full of emptiness, misery, and pain. We destroy our own lives when we are driven by such sinful impulses and desires. A purpose-driven life without Christ is a sin-driven life. Our sin-driven life leads to death. Let us not live a sin-driven life that leads to destruction but a Christ-driven life that leads to salvation.
Consider now the Christ-driven Paul.
Christ-Driven Paul
The Lord Jesus Christ confronted Saul on the Damascus Road, and saved him from his purpose-driven life that was sinfully and selfishly directed (Acts 9:16). After he was born again, Saul the Pharisee became Paul the Apostle—no more purpose-driven, but Christ-driven. In his purpose-driven life, Paul wanted to crucify the Christians (cf Acts 9:4). Now in his Christ-driven life, he wants to be “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20a). His pride and his ego had died. He no longer lived for self and personal ambition. Jesus said in Matt 16:24, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
The Christ-driven life is not a life of fun and games, but a life of suffering and shame. Consider the Christ-driven life of suffering and shame in the Apostle Paul. In 2 Cor 11:23-31 Paul says: “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.” Would anyone be willing to suffer like this if he were not driven by Christ?
The Christ-driven life is not a life of selfishness, but a life of selflessness. Paul says, “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” This was what Paul precisely did. None of self, all of Christ! It is only when we empty our heart of all our sinful purposes and selfish ambitions, and fill it with the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will experience true life— a Christ-driven life that seeks to live for Christ and Him alone.
In Phil 3:7-8, Paul says, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” This was the experience of John Sung. Let me read to you what our beloved pastor—Dr Timothy Tow— wrote about the life of John Sung in his book—Asian Awakening:
[John Sung] “quickened his steps toward America, through the help of a missionary friend. Though intending to study for the ministry in fulfilment of his parents’ vow, he veered again, now to take up science. He studied in Ohio from 1920-1926, culminating with the PhD in Chemistry, with awards of gold keys and medals and cash prizes. At the height of human glory, he was cast down with melancholy as the words of Jesus, ‘For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ (Mark 8:36) spoke to his heart.… This encounter made a deep impression on him, that to be a servant of God, he must not look at the world and its riches, nor listen to man’s ridicule and criticism … To make sure he would no more be attracted by the glitters of this world, he threw all his degrees and gold keys and medals into the ocean on his voyage back to China.” John Sung could say like Paul, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
The Christ-driven life is a life of faith and love, and not a life of flesh and lust. Paul says, “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Paul is saying that the primary purpose of His earthly life is to live in and for Christ and Christ alone, and not for himself. “What is the chief end of man” (WSC Q1)? Man’s chief end is “to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever” is the answer. This is possible because of the faith and love of Christ who
(1) faithfully kept the Ten Commandments for us in order to gain the righteousness that we need to enter into heaven, and
(2) lovingly sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins so that we might be forgiven. Our life is bought with a price paid by Christ. Our life no longer belongs to us, but to Christ, and our flesh must be crucified with Christ with all its fleshly lusts if we are to live a holy life that is driven by Christ.
“The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God …” This means we must live a separated life—a life that is far away from the world, and near to God. Although we are living in the world, we are told by the Lord Jesus not to be of this world (John 17:14-16). A Christ-driven life is a separated life (2 Cor 6:14; Rom 12:2).
Unless we keep our distance from the magnetic pull of the world, we will be sucked in by its deadly power. The magnet is rendered powerless when the metal pieces are placed far away from it. Let us keep ourselves away from the pollutions of this world, but draw near to the holiness of Christ.
Conclusion
What kind of life do we live? Is it a purpose-driven life or a Christ-driven life? A Christ-driven life is driven by God and His Word, and not by self and the world. A Christ-driven life is driven by faith and love, and not by flesh and lust. May the Lord grant us His grace to live a Christ-driven life to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
