I have been seeking the Lord on just what to write in this post. It seems that for a period of time now I have been going through one of those empty periods where thoughts and ideas seem to be few and far between. There has been one area that I believe the Holy Spirit has been revealing to me for quiet some time now. It is my hope that this message will bring not only healing to your soul and spirit as an individual but also healing for your loved ones and a reuniting in Christ.
God has been revealing to me a brokenness in the lives of those who have once followed Christ with a passion, but now are following at a distance or at a convenience. There seems to be a willingness to reject all or parts of Gods word as truth. This being coupled with an attraction of the things of the world, and the lifestyle of the world has brought discontent, hurt, anger and even bitterness to family members, whether they be one's immediate family and/or the family of God. Let me share with you just what I mean.
First of all let's discuss for a moment just what a Christian is. Maybe before we describe a Christian, let's look at what a Christian is not. If you are going to follow after someone or something then you must adapt to that person's way of life, way of thinking, and way of actions. If you are going to follow after an idea or a philosophy then you must accept and adapt to that idea or philosophy. You become what you accept into your life. So, when we look at the scriptures to determine what a Christian is not, we need to accept the scriptures as truth. God's Word, the scriptures is what I will base my evaluation of what a Christian is and is not. A Christian cannot be a person of the world, or follow after the ways of the world. What do I mean by the world? The world is described as that which is against or the enemy of God. In Gen. 6:11-12 we find God describing the world as very corrupt. By the implications of what He is saying, we can conclude that He is not talking about the physical world or the planet in and of itself. In these verses we have to conclude that He is talking about the human beings that were now occupying the planet. So in His description of humanity He calls them evil. What is evil then? Evil is that which is contrary to Gods laws. Basically the inhabitants had corrupted the ways of God, they brought evil into the world or into their lives turning Gods way into something other than what He intended. Looking at Eph. 2:1-3 we find the Apostle Paul telling the Ephesian followers of Christ that we all were like that of the past, following the ways of the world or the desires of our fallen spirit, or plainly stated, we followed after satan and his evil ways. James 4:4 tells us that if we are friends with the world we are enemies of God. So the ways of the world are basically the opposite of the ways of God. Matt. 15:19 gives a pretty good description of what is in man's heart. What comes out of your mouth gives a real good indication of what is in your soul (heart) Mark 7:20-23. So, I believe that we can conclude that a Christian is not a person who lives according to the ways of the world, a Christian is not a person who lives with slander, sexual immorality, is a liar, has bitterness, jealousy, debauchery, or any other form of worldly conduct playing out in their lives on a continued basis. So, with this in mind, what about those who live good lives, seem to do everything right? Rom. 3:10-18 gives us a very clear picture of humanity. None are without sin and fall short of God's glory. So just living a good life doesn't make one a Christian.
What exactly would a Christian be then? When we look at the scriptures to determine just what a Christian is we have to look at the whole picture. But, I do not want to go into a whole lot of detail at this point. Let me first show what the scriptures tell us about being a Christian. John 3:1-26 gives a very clear description of how one becomes a Christian. Very simply, your spirit must be born again. In order to be born again we must follow the instructions given, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only Son of God. This requires a faith or trust in Him as to who He says is He is. That being said, we become followers of Christ or His disciples by accepting and believing in Him. This is what makes us Christian or Christ like. We are given instructions throughout God's word as to how we are to conduct ourselves. 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us that we no longer are under the condemnation of the law, but we are a new creation and are not to be conformed to the ways of the world, but conformed to the ways of God. Look at the entire chapter of 2 Cor. 5:1-21 for a fuller description of being a new creation in Christ. To be a Christian one must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him be the Lord of your life. You cannot do anything to earn your way into heaven, Christ paid that price for us all, but after we have believed in Him, then we must strive to become more like Him so that we can show the world through our lives the love that God has for all. We become the light on the hill, the salt of the earth.
Now, comes the hard part. I believe today to many people calling themselves Christian are not living up to the example that Christ set before them on how to conduct their Christian lives while they remain on this earth. To many Christians are living under the perception that it is okay to continue in sin such as adultery, or any other type of sexual immorality, that they can lie, cheat, or even steal. Many seem to think they can hold grudges, not forgive, be jealous, or a continuing of the same old way of life before they came to Christ. Let me just ask a few simple questions; should we as an ambassador of Christ reflect the world's way or that of Christ? As a Christian, is it okay to sin? If I as a Christian reflect a worldly image have I truly repented of my sins and let Christ be the Lord of my life? We need to answer these questions and back up our answers with what Gods word says. For example, what does the Apostle Paul say to those who are involving themselves with worldly ways? In Col. 3:1-10 Paul is speaking to the church in Colosse, telling them to rid themselves of such practices such as sexual immorality, lust, greed, adultery, etc. Christ called His disciples by saying to them, "Come, follow me." These disciples made the decision to follow Christ. In that decision they dropped everything, gave up career's, and even family. Following Christ meant a complete abandonment from the previous way of life into a completely new way of life. Total abandonment to the world was not an easy decision then, and it certainly is not easy today. But, when one chooses to follow after someone, this is what is required, you accept that person's way of thinking, way of life. Not only do you change to that person's ways, you begin living the lifestyle they are promoting, and you tell other's about this person. So, to do contrary to this, then it would be safe to say, you really don't agree, trust or even like this person's ways. A Christian who reflects the world may have a hard time convincing other's that they are followers of Jesus Christ, or that they are Christian.
Here's the predicament. To many times we have heard from people outside the church about the hypocrite's and they don't like organized religion. I have to say, I can't argue with them, they are right. A hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another. What we reflect in our daily lives is what we believe or follow after. To call myself Christian, but live like the world is not reflecting Christ. Christ did not mix words when He spoke to a woman caught in adultery, he first pointed out that all have sin, even her accuser's. But what a lot of people tend to overlook is what He told this woman. John 8:3-12 gives us the details of His encounter and left the woman with some instructions for her life, "go and sin no more." When we are confronted with sin in our lives, what is our response to be? Most would say, oh, that's alright, we're all human and make mistakes. This is true, but when confronted with God's word and our sin is pointed out, then we must face our sin and decide on what to do with it. Christ tells us to "repent" and don't do it any more. It doesn't matter what form that rebellious attitude takes, if we don't repent, then we are telling Christ I don't agree with you and I can live my life the way I want to. Changing from an old worldly way of life is not easy, it is a life long process. Christians are not perfect except in Christ. We are made perfect through Him, but we will battle our fleshly desires until the day we die. This does not give us permission to live our lives like the world, but it gives us the means to get rid of those things in our lives that are not pleasing to God.
Let me share with you some scriptures that speak to this subject; Gal. 5:16 (freedom in Christ); Gal. 5:17-21 (sinful nature); Gal. 5:22-25 (Spirit led); Eph. 5:1-2 (Imitator's of God); Eph. 5:3-17 (things to avoid). Take time to read the above scriptures, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you concerning these things. If we are to be imitator's of Christ then we must conduct our lives as if we were walking right beside Him. In fact, the scripture tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. 6:19. Remember, if you have received or let Christ be the Lord of your life, and you believe in Him as the one and only begotten Son of God, that He came to earth and dwelt among us, was crucified and buried, on the third day rose from the grave, you are a disciple or follower of Christ, a Christian. You have a responsibility now to set the example Christ set for us, to imitate Him and "go into the world and proclaim the good news to others, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, making disciples of those who believe."
Remember the story of Nicodemus, where Christ told him that he must be born again. This is where it starts, then the rest of the journey is following after Christ the Lord.
If you are living a life contrary to God's word, if you are unhappy in your present situation, or you are plagued with guilt for how you are living, then turn your life over to Christ and let Him take control. Maybe your are experiencing some heart ache, problems within the family, or you are just tired of the ritualistic form of Christianity, then take your focus off the problem and focus on Christ and live your life according to His will for you.
Please leave your comments below or at least check one of the reaction boxes? Your comments are valued.
