1 Thessalonnians 1: 9 . . . how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
What is different about Christians? What is it that marks them?
When I became a Christian, back in 1973, I was in church circles where the emphasis was: a Christian is somebody who believes in Jesus, goes to church faithfully, and doesn't smoke or drink or play cards or dance or play the pinball machine. The humorous summary was,
Christians don't smoke or drink or chew
and don't hang out with those who do.
When I moved into different circles the emphasis was: believing in Jesus, faithfully assembling, and a devotional life. I don’t really hear any of these emphases any longer; now the marks of the true Christian are faithful attendance at church, and of course giving.
I admit that when I was pastoring, or pastoring in one particular church, the Holy Spirit stressed to me that he was serious when he said, forsake not the assembling of ourselves together. So I kept a chart tracking the attendance of the brethren, not as a standard but as something that as the pastor I needed to be on top of. So, if I noticed that people were not assembling I would go visit them, just to check up on my flock. Then in another church I placed a great emphasis on the devotional life. I stressed it, I wrote a devotional guide and passed it out, when I encouraged accountability that was the main emphasis, and I encouraged testimonies from their devotions.
When I left the pastorate I re-read the Gospels and discovered that Jesus did not emphasize any of these things. And I've been thinking about, contemplating and pondering the question, What is the distinguishing mark of the Christian? What separates us from non-Christians or what is it that characterizes us as Christians?
I came to a five-fold conclusion. One day I would like to be able to teach this, but for now I present a summary. As we meditate on this we will easily see how radical these points really are.
• they embrace the faith of Christ, that is, they believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah who came, died, rose again, and is returning, and of course have been baptized into this faith
• they are waiting for his Son from heaven; their hope is the kingdom to come
They are waiting for, looking for, anticipating, living for the coming of Christ. Not politics, or power, or possessions, or vacations etc.
• they serve God; they seek to do those things that please Him
Before we became Christians we lived for different things. some to get drunk, some to party, some for fun, or excitement, or sex, or money or possessions - a lot of different things. In essence we were serving those things we were living for, doing what it took to achieve them, obtain them, have them.
I serve the people I work for, that is, they tell me how to dress, how to conduct myself, and they have a list of duties they expect me to do. Failure to abide by these things earns a warning and can get me fired. In a way this is how it is when I serve God: I want to know how he wants me to live and act and conduct myself, what pleases him and what doesn't. I serve Him.
• they do unto others as they want them to do unto them
Or as Jesus actually said it, Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. We have watered this down to mean, Be as nice to people as you wish they would be to you. But this is so much bigger. For example, consider all the people we encounter who ask for some kind of help or assistance. If that was me, what would I want? Wow!
• they love one another as Christ loved them
We have pretty much made Christianity a me thing. as if the whole purpose of the coming of Christ, his death and resurrection, was about me and all that matters is whether I have my salvation or not. No, biblical Christianity is a "we" thing. As soon as I believe in Jesus I become part of we. The non-Christian doesn't like Christians, and doesn't like the church. The mark of the Christian is His love for other believers. That's why Jesus said, by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. And this is so much more than greeting each other at church. I have really become impressed with this passage:
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Acts 4:34-35
That is loving one another!
• love your neighbor as yourself
This is very practical. Quoting John Wyclif:
“Christ tells in order six works of mercy — I hungered, and you fed me; I thirsted, and you gave me drink; you harbored me in your house; I was naked and you clothed me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and then you came and visited me.
Then there are the seven works of mercy that we call spiritual — Teach, Counsel, Chastise, Comfort, Forgive, Suffer (longsuffering), and Pray (for our enemies).”
Now the tough part. Is this what people see when they look at me?
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