A True Christian

I was listening to a teaching last week and came across this quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Now I normally don't really care too much about Gandhi's opinions, but in this case I'm afraid many people today would agree with him. What was it about Christ that seems to draw people to Him? Even those who, like Gandhi, don't believe in Him as a Savior still seem drawn to Him and His teachings. What are we as Christians missing? What does it mean to be a 'true' Christian?

As I was doing some reading on this subject, I ran across a blog that discussed the subject "What is a true Christian?". The author said it a lot better than I could.

What, then, are the Scriptural indicators that a genuine work of grace has taken place in the heart of a sinner?

One of them is a principled pursuit of godliness with an increasing attainment in holiness (1Jn 2.3-8, 15-16, 19, 29; 3.3, 6, 10, 24; 4.13; 5.2-5, 21). The hypocrite likes the reputation of holiness, but the true child of God is satisfied only with the substance. He considers his ways, and turns his feet back to God’s testimonies (Ps 119.59). The world no longer sparkles as it did – or, at least, his attraction to it and affection for it have been fundamentally altered – and now he lives for God, called to be holy as God himself is holy (1Pt 1.16). The bonds to sin have been broken, and the persistent habit of unmortified sinning has been shattered because of his union with Christ. The new root brings forth new fruit (Mt 7.20; 12.33-35). His obedience – though not yet perfect – is universal (throughout the whole man), habitual, voluntary and persevering. He has taken up his cross, and continues to do so daily, as a disciple of a crucified Christ (Mt 16.24-25). He pursues Christlikeness – it is the burden of his private and public prayers. He increasingly manifests the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5.22-23); he has no love for the world (Jas 4.4); the previous pattern of conformity to, company with and compromise for the sake of the world is over (2Tim 3.4; 1Cor 16.33). This is not sinless perfection, but laborious progress. It does not mean that a Christian faces no battles but rather than he fights great battles, opposed as he now is to a raging and committed enemy of malice and power (Rom 7.13-25). Sometimes he wanders; sometimes he is on the back foot; sometimes, grievously, he backslides. However, the tone and tenor of his life is one of advance. The trajectory of his life over time is upward. The points plotted on his spiritual graph are not a seamless upward curve, and there are painful plateaus, but the line of best fit indicates persevering progress over time as sin dies and godliness is cultivated.

http://eardstapa.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/what-is-a-true-christian/

How many 'true' Christians do you know? How many people do you know that not only profess a faith in Jesus Christ but are actively and sincerely seeking to emulate Christ in every area of their life? I want you to think hard about this and make yourself a list.

Then ask yourself one more question - am I on someone else's list?

Integrity

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I have been extremely busy with some different things so I just haven't had much time. However, over the last week or so some different situations have come up that have got me thinking about the subject of 'integrity'. If you look up 'integrity' you'll find a couple of interesting definitions:

Integrity: firm adherence to a code of especially moral values.

Integrity: is consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcome.

What I've realized is how 'personal' integrity is in our culture today. In other words, it's not something that is defined for us by an objective moral standard - each person seems to define it for themselves. For example, to save money on taxes a person buys a car and then lies to the tag office and tells them they only paid $2000 when they actually paid $10,000. They justify this to themselves for any number of reasons - but if you ask them they would probably consider themselves a 'person of integrity'.

So here's my question to you - What does integrity mean to you and how important is it to you to be a person of integrity? I appreciate your comments.

Temporal vs. Eternal

In doing some reading over the last few weeks, I ran across a couple of names that really brought into focus for me the difference between a temporal and an eternal viewpoint.

Keith Green was a Christian singer. He had a wife and 3 kids, with another child on the way. On July 28, 1982, Keith climbed into a plane along with two of his children, three year old Josiah and two year old Bethany. Also on the plane was the pilot along with visiting missionaries John and Dede Smalley and their six children. The plane crashed upon takeoff and all 12 people were killed. Keith Green was 28 years old.

Bertrand Russell was a philosopher, mathematician and historian. He was born in 1872 and died in 1970 at the ripe old age of 98 years old. Just think about that for a minute. He was born in the age of horse and buggies and died having seen a man walk on the moon. He lived a long and full life. And one more thing - he was an athiest.

Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. [...] A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.

—Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian

From a temporal viewpoint I look at these two men, their ages and the manner of their deaths, I can't help but say "that's not fair". The man who serves the Lord, who tries to do the right thing dies a violent death before the age of 30 along with innocent children. While the athiest, the man who not only doesn't believe in God but actually publishes works trying to convince others not to believe in God - that man lives to be 98 years old.

But then I see if from another viewpoint - the eternal one. And from that viewpoint I see a God that is so merciful that he gave Bertrand Russell 98 years to change his mind - 98 years to repent and turn to Him. I don't know why Keith Green, John and Dede Smalley and those 8 innocent children died that day. But I do know they lived their lives from an eternal viewpoint, and because of that they are enjoying eternal life. While Bertrand Russell lived his entire life - a long life by human standards - based totally upon a temporal viewpoint. And because of that he is suffering eternal death, an eternal separation from God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Vacation

I'm heading to the beach for a week's vacation with the family. We're heading to Cape San Blas for scallops, fishing, sand and naps - not to mention at least a couple of good books. I just got the book "Love Your God With All Your Mind" and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I'm not sure I'll have any Internet access so I'll be out of the blogosphere (so to speak) for awhile. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend and I'll post again when I get back.