Barriers to Authentic Christian Living

Living in complete accordance with the image and teaching of Jesus Christ encounters a number of serious obstacles.

Firstly, there is the requirement to act not only with words but with deeds. As stated in one source:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in Heaven" (Matt. 7:21). "I have given you an example, so that you also do as I have done to you" (John 8:15). On the necessity of undertaking a challenge in Christian life... (source: link txt, page: 1).
This indicates that the lack of sincere commitment to God's will and the unwillingness to take a sacrificial path are primary barriers.

Secondly, modern culture promotes worldly values such as the pursuit of pleasure, self-expression, material wealth, and social status. One text notes:
"It depends on a person how he will live his life: with a grand purpose or with a base one. Some people say: life is the search for pleasure... A person believes that the most important thing in life is self-expression, self-assertion, and that everything completely depends on people and circumstances." (source: link txt, page: 1).
These priorities contradict the call of the Christian life, where the main focus is living according to the commandments and the image of Christ.

It should also be noted that the love for the world and its temptations is so strong that it clouds the true understanding of spiritual life. The Apostle’s letters make it clear:
"In the Apostolic letters, the attitude towards the world is definitively established: 'Do not love the world or the things in the world. Whoever loves the world has no love of the Father' — says the Apostle John (1 John 2:15). And elsewhere: '...the whole world lies in evil' (1 John 5:19). The Apostle James states: '...do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward

God?

'" (source: link txt, page: 1).
Thus, attachment to material and fleeting things sometimes leads to a departure from the path offered by Christ.

Furthermore, the modern practice where matters of faith become a "personal affair" and are often limited to secret, private piety also hampers full Christian growth. One author observes:
"Everything pertaining to faith is increasingly becoming a 'private matter' these days, even something that constantly must be hidden away in the most secret 'cell', which should have no place in life. Today, Christianity manifests itself only as personal, hidden piety, and the Christian life has become utterly impoverished. The Christian life is possible only in the Church; only the Church lives the life of Christ." (source: link txt, page: 1).
This indicates that the absence of collective support and communal living undermines the possibility of maintaining genuine Christian ideals.

Another significant factor is the pressure associated with the commercialization of spiritual life. When ministry begins to be perceived as a means of profit, and spiritual values turn into commodities, the Christian life loses its essence. It is stated:
"'Freely you have received; freely give' (Matt. 10:8), — Christ commanded us. He who turns his pastoral service into a means for filthy profit deserves the fate of Simon the Sorcerer. It is better for such people to leave the confines of the Church and engage in business in the markets." (source: link txt, page: 1)
and it is repeated elsewhere:
"The Church is not a store of spiritual goods, here 'trading in grace' is inadmissible. 'Freely you have received; freely give' (Matt. 10:8), — Christ commanded us." (source: link txt, page: 2).
Thus, the commercialization of faith weakens sincerity and undermines service to true spiritual values.

Finally, the existence of a culture dominated by extra-church life, where participation in church services is only formal, also becomes a serious obstacle. As noted:
"We inevitably live in an extra-church culture: six days we live somewhere on the side, and on the seventh we come to church. But can one only come to church? Essentially, that is not enough. You are called by God, even if you are married — and even if your wife is an unbeliever, live with her if she agrees to live with you." (source: link txt, page: 1).
This underscores the necessity of constant and active participation in the life of the Church, as an integral part of following Christ.

Together, these factors — the absence of genuine commitment to God's will, the predominance of worldly and commercial values, love for the world, personal (rather than communal) piety, the commercialization of spiritual service, and a formal approach to church participation — are the main obstacles preventing one from living in full accordance with the image and teachings of Jesus Christ.