The aim of the Christian is very important.  It will determine which direction he goes as he travels through life.  If he has no real aim, he will eventually start to travel in the wrong direction, away from God, instead of nearer to Him.  If a Christian has a particular aim in life, one that is spiritual in nature and is in accordance with the will of God, and if he diligently strives to pursue that aim, he will stay rooted in the faith and finish his course.  So, what is your aim as a Christian?  Let us look at what our aim in Christ should be.

Our aim should be not to sin (1 John 2:1) 

Sin is a tran sgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4).  God has set forth His law (the gospel) in a clear and understandable way.  Thus, we can both understand and live by that law.  When we fail to do so, we sin against the God who gave it, and we fall out of favor with Him.  Our aim, therefore, should be to never allow that to happen.  Every book in the New Testament emphasizes, at some point, the importance of not sinning.

We hear the Spirit saying through Paul not to allow sin to control us.

Romans 6:12 (ESV)
¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

We hear the Hebrews writer exhorting us to put away anything that is stopping us from running the race as hard and fast as we can.

Hebrews 12:1 (ESV)
¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 

We hear James warning Christians to remain pure as we live our lives in this world.

James 1:27 (ESV)
²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Then there is Peter, reminding us that we have eluded the corruption of the world, and that we should do all we can to stay that way.

2 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV)
³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith…

Finally, John told those to whom he wrote to do everything they could to not sin. 

1 John 2:1 (ESV)
¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin…

With all these inspired words in mind, and knowing that sin is the only thing that can separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1,2), our aim should be to never sin.

Our aim should be to please God (John 8:29)  

Really, this is the purpose behind aiming not to sin.  We indeed refrain from sinning because of the penalty of sin, and because of the hope of heaven that we possess through the gospel of Christ.  However, a part of not sinning should also be because we never want to disappoint God, seeing He has been so kind and merciful towards us.  It should be our aim to please God in all that we do.

Pleasing God should be a factor in every decision that we make.  When this is our aim as Christians, we will not only refrain from sinning, but we will also try to go the extra mile in trying to make God happy.  We will do more than just “get by.”  We will strive to go beyond the call of duty in our endeavor to live for Christ because God deserves it.  Paul demonstrated this mentality when he preached the gospel freely without financial support (1 Corinthians 9:14-19).  The Macedonians showed this desire to please God when they not only helped the poor saints at Jerusalem, but first gave themselves completely to God (2 Corinthians 8:5).

Is it your aim to please God in life?  If so, you will not live your life trying to please or impress man, or, for that matter, trying to please yourself.  You will live your life obeying the gospel consistently, and at the same time laying up for yourself treasures in heaven.

Our aim should be to preach the gospel (Romans 15:20)

This was clearly the aim of Paul.  

Romans 15:19–20 (ESV)
¹⁹…so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰ and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

Paul said, “I make it my ambition to preach the gospel…”  There is no reason we cannot all have the same ambition.  God has placed a responsibility upon us to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:29,20).  However, that should not be the only reason we do so.  We should do it because the gospel is the only hope man has of being delivered from sin and escaping the wrath of God.  The gospel is God’s power unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

Aren’t you glad that someone took the time to preach the gospel to you?  Think of where you would be if you had not obeyed the gospel.  Then, imagine all the people who are at that place right now because no one has preached the gospel to them.  Think of how many people would be saved right now if they only had the chance to hear and obey the gospel, then make it your aim to get the gospel message out to some of those people.  Paul knew he could not save everybody, but he, at least, tried to save some (Romans 11:14). 

Our aim should be to make it to heaven (Philippians 3:14)

Let us not take our eyes off the prize for which we should all be striving.  In this world in which we live, it is easy to get our minds out of focus.  Put some time aside to think about heaven.  Set your sight on it (Colossians 3:1-4).  Make it your aim to get there, and do not let anything stand in your way.