Like our car needs maintenance to keep it running smoothly, we as Christians also need regular maintenance to keep us on the road to salvation. This should come in the form of regular worship of God and regular bible study. If we don’t do the former, what is the real object of our faith and if we don’t do the later we will not grow as Christians and will invariably go the other direction and lessen our faith or even lose it entirely.

1 Peter 2:2 tells us “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word.” As a newborn baby desires its mother’s milk, so we should desire the word of God that we may grow into a full and mature Christian. The newborn needs mother’s milk in order to survive and so we as Christians need a steady diet of the word of God in order to survive.

Satan is forever tempting us to turn away from God and fill our hearts and minds with worldly concerns that will drown out the word if we do not continually replenish the supply. If we keep our hearts and minds full of the word, Satan will not be able to choke out the word (see the parable of the sower in Matthew 13) and we will be able to withstand better the temptations that he throws our way.

Jesus, when He was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4), answered every temptation with scripture (it is written) and so we can do the same when he tempts us to stray from the way of righteousness and to sin. By being filled with the word of God, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can speak the oracles of God and give answer to those that ask of the hope that is in us (1 Peter 4:11; 1 Peter 3:15). This takes constant bible study and we should make a daily habit of looking into God’s word for the wisdom we need in this life.

What of worshiping God? Are we one of those that thinks it is okay to stay away from the assemblies of God’s children (the church) and try to worship God on our own. Hebrew’s 10:25 says: “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” God expects us to assemble ourselves together and has given us the church of His dear Son as the means whereby we may do so.

We assemble as the church of Christ (which is made up of its members and not a building) to worship God as He would be worshiped. We worship Him only in the way prescribed by the New Testament, not taking away from what we should do nor adding anything to what we find in the scriptures. This is how God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24). If we worship Him in any way that the scriptures do not authorize, we are not doing so in way that is acceptable to Him and received by Him. See post “The One True Church.”

So, if we are able to worship with the saints on a regular basis and learn to study accurately the word of God we are able to maintain ourselves as Christians and stay true to the faith. We should also practice good works regularly as God would have us do and not let them slip, doing good to others as we have opportunity (Galatians 6:9,10).Of course we must be in Christ in the first place by following the plan of salvation and being baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. See Plan of Salvation above and under categories.

May God bless and keep you until next time.