If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 1 John 2:4 (NLT).

Why should Christians live according to God’s Word? Here are five compelling reasons:

1. Because we’re no longer sinners. Let’s never forget who we once were. We were sinners. “Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us” Titus 3:3 (NLT). How do we know the difference between a sinner and a saint? By their actions. Saints shouldn’t do the things sinners do.
2. Because of the love of the Saviour. “But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love” Titus 3:4 (NLT). Why should Christians live right? Because of the cross. Because Jesus died as the once for all sacrifice for our sin and did what no other could do by paying the penalty we could not pay for ourselves! I don’t think we would ever see a Christian getting drunk, or lighting up a joint, or watching pornographic movies, or telling dirty jokes, or swearing, or stealing if they stopped long enough to picture Jesus, bloodied and bruised, with the crown of thorns jammed into His brow and the nails driven through His hands. How can we do drugs when Jesus showed us His kindness and love? How can we endanger others with reckless driving when Jesus showed us His kindness and love? How can we abuse our spouses when Jesus showed us His kindness and love? And how can we live selfishly when Jesus showed us His kindness and love?
3. Because we’re saved by God’s mercy. “He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy” Titus 3:5a (NLT). Listen. We didn’t save ourselves, didn’t wipe the slate clean, and cannot make atonement for our sins. Christ saved us. He worked the miracle of new birth and sealed us with the Holy Spirit. It’s by God’s mercy that we’re saved. And that should be reason enough to live only all for Him.
4. Because we’re sanctified by Christ through the Holy Spirit. “He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness” Titus 3:5b-7a (NLT). To be sanctified means to be made holy. According to Titus 3 there are four things that God does to make us holy: He washes away our sins, gives us new life, pours the Holy Spirit on us and declares us not guilty.
5. Because we’re secured by Christ’s grace. “And now we know that we will inherit eternal life” Titus 3:7b (NLT).We have a future and a hope! There is more than one life. There is the life to come. Christians can look forward to heaven. When we depart from this earth the elect will possess eternal life. There will be no more “sorrow or crying or pain” Revelation 21:4 (NLT).

And there you have it! It’s because we’re no longer sinners, because of the cross, because of Christ’s mercy, because the Holy Spirit is making us holy and because one day we’re going to see Jesus face to face that we believe as He wants us to believe, behave as He wants us to behave and do what He wants us to do.