As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7 KJV
After accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior, the next thing to do is to follow Him and be an obedient child. If not done yet, be baptized and announce to the world that you are now with Him, this is the first step of obedience.
Next is to depart from your old habits and old self as you are now a new creature purged from the bondage of sin. And you are now called “Christian” which means a follower of Christ.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Now, therefore it is time for you to present your body as a living sacrifice and be transformed by renewing your mind.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:1-2 KJV
You have begun a relationship that will continue for the rest of your life, up to eternity. The difficult part is to endure what you have started as distractions, temptation, sufferings, and persecutions are expected along the way.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, you must submit yourself and below things you need to do next in order to continue what you have started after accepting the Lord Jesus Christ in order not to easily be pulled back or entangled with the lies and comfort of the world.
1. You need to grow in Christ
Continue to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18 KJV
God has given you a new life, but don’t expect to be different all at once. Just like a new baby is constantly growing and learning, you are going to grow and learn as God continues to work in you.
Your ultimate goal as a Christian is to be more like Christ in order to Glorify God the Father. You need to submit to grow, to know more about Christ, to know His will and instructions. As you are following Christ, you need to know Him more. You cannot be a follower be that someone if you don’t know that someone. How can you show Jesus in your life if we don’t know Jesus? Your testimony, remember that your life is an open book.
The more you will be rooted with Christ the stronger your foundation is (Colossians 2:6-7). Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, we draw our life-giving strength from Christ. The more we draw our strength from Him, the less we will be fooled or entangled by those who falsely claim to have life’s answers apart from Christ.
Desire His words to grow and your appetite must change. Through His words, He will teach you the right path.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1 Peter 2:2 KJV
Submit to grow in Christ.
2. Your love in Christ must grow naturally
Loving God is the first and greatest commandment.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38 KJV
If you truly love God, you will naturally keep His commands.
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15 KJV
To be rooted and built on Him (Colossians 2:6-7), your love must grow naturally. Just like the love of a child to their parents, their love for their parents grow naturally because they live together every day, they are together since birth.
So to be rooted and built on Him, you must dwell in the world of God daily and seek His presence always.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16 KJV
We need to keep His words in our hearts.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 119:11 KJV
Be committed to growing naturally in Christ.
3. You must aim to reach maturity
Spiritual maturity is not about age, it is achieved through becoming more like Jesus Christ. It will not happen overnight as you will experience a lot of challenges, battles, sufferings, and corrections that is why it is important to be rooted and built on Him (Colossians 2:6-7), you need to sharpen your pencil.
Spiritual maturity is not just an individual goal but the goal for the entire body of Christ. Spiritual maturity is a goal that all Christians should be striving for as they seek to imitate God and live out Christ’s love.
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Ephesians 4:13-15 KJV
Typical reasons why many fail and become backsliders:
- No commitment
- They don’t seek God’s presence always
- They suffer to endure. Impatiet and easily discouraged
- They don’t want corrections and they don’t want to leave their old habits
- They don’t seek God as they face their daily battles and many distraction or sufferings
- Wrong expectations, they don’t understand that it will not happen overnight.
- Not reading the word of God, no participation or involvement
- God is their last priority
Communication is vital to a relationship including your relationship with Christ. It is a two-way process, give and take, therefore we need to participate, submit, commit, and total surrender. It is a lifelong process essential to develop a habit and be rooted (Colossians 2:6-7), with no shortcuts.
It is essential to develop a habit of:
a. Prayer
Praying is your way of communicating with God. By praying you can praise, please, and thank God. You may ask Him to give you guidance and wisdom in all your daily activities and decisions. Asking Him to reveal to you His will and acknowledging Him in any circumstances.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV
b. Bible Study
It is important for you to have a quiet time with God, to have a daily devotion as God is talking to you through His word. The Bible is the most important thing that a Christian can have, it is a complete package of instructions, corrections, proofs, and guidelines as it is God talking.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 KJV
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV
c. Obey
After reading, listening, and meditating on the word of God, the most important part is to obey and apply what you have read or heard, or learned.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22 KJV
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15 KJV
Your faith in God can be manifested through obedience. Not following God’s words means you don’t believe Him and you are denying the truth.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7 KJV