Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up?

People who say they are Christians, and deny everything Jesus stands for, have given Jesus a "bad rap." They have smeared His character, His salvation plan and His great love for mankind.

When the angels announced the birth of Jesus, they said to the shepherds, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord... Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." See Luke 2. This would indicate Jesus came into this world to bring God's peace to us. Read John 1:1-14 to get a better understanding of God's plan for sinful man. Read John 3:1-21 to learn more.

When a person becomes a Christian, that person takes on the nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The life of Jesus is given in the first four Books of the New Testament Bible. We call these "The Gospels." These biographies of Jesus reveal Him from 4 different angles. They are actually one Gospel.

After a person becomes a Christian, that person must make a decision. How much of himself or herself will be given to God in loving service for God and others? God will give just as much of Himself to us as we are willing to give to Him. If we give Him everything, He will destroy the carnal spirit and fill us to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. When this happens we are able to love (self-giving love) God with all our heart, mind, soul and spirit without conservation or reservation. This enables us to love (self-giving love) our neighbor as ourselves. The evidence of this love is shown by its fruit. The fruit of a Christian is self-sacrificing love revealed in 8 different flavors. See Galatians 5:22-26.

A real Christian is the most loving, caring, sharing, giving person in the world. They will tell you the truth, even though it would be much easier to let you go on believing the lie. They will go out of their way to make your life more enjoyable. They are good parents, faithful spouses, loving neighbors, a real friend when you are in need, and so on. You will never find them living a perverted lifestyle. They are righteous people working behind the scenes, praying and longing for what brings you the greatest happiness. You will not find them in bars, reading filthy literature, acting like the devil, doing any of the works of the flesh, or ripping pages out of The Bible.

What the world needs now is:

love rather than hate;
peacemakers rather than piece makers;
joy rather than sorrow;
a helping hand rather than a kicking foot;
a faithful friend rather than a hypocritical enemy;
a lively hope rather than a helpless despair.

All of this is given through Christians giving of their time, treasures, and talents to bring the love of Jesus to your sin-sick world.

When you see a real Christian in your nation, your church or in your neighborhood, you can be assured they are out to bless you. They will never curse you to your face, or to your back.

As I stated in my last article, "Christians! Put Up or Shut Up," we Christians have put up with way too much and shut up for way to long. WILL THE REAL CHRISTIAN PLEASE STAND UP!

Christians are different. Christians commit themselves to a life of productive serve for God and others. Howard E. Wright's book, Fourteen Facets of Jesus' True Church, gives 14 different ways Christians relate with Jesus. If you are ready for the truth as it is in Christ Jesus that will give you a richer, fuller life, this book and others in his "God's Treasure Chest of Biblical Truth" series is for you.

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Seven Indicators of a Genuine Christian

Spiritual development is a necessity in genuine Christianity. This is because genuine Christianity is a live organism. And any live organism needs to grow, to develop. This kind of Christianity develops spiritually.

How can you distinguish between a genuine Christian and a nominal Christian?

If you do not have the Spirit of Jesus it is impossible to distinguish between a real Christian and a nominal Christian. Both may speak the same language, dress in the same way, go to the same church, perform the same religious activities, play the same sport, live in the same neighborhood or subdivision.

But one is alive-the genuine Christian, the other is dead-the nominal one, in the life of the Spirit. The first is heading to the joys of heaven, the latter to the torments in hell.

The following indicators therefore are not external criteria by which we can segregate the genuine Christians from the nominal ones. They are indicators which we can reflect upon and search within ourselves to discern whether we are genuine or nominal Christians.

Of course, the elements in these indicators naturally and normally surface in the lives of people who are genuine Christians. But again their manifestations can be imitated by the ingenious nominal Christian.

For example, we may think that a person who devotes one hour every day faithfully in praying while kneeling in a church has a personal, growing love for Jesus. Such may be very deceptive. It may be true that indeed he has a personal, growing love for Jesus. It may also be true, as Jesus once commented, that he is pretending to pray long prayers in the hope of devouring the houses of widows. The Pharisees were performing long prayers but Jesus told us they were not following him; they rejected him.

While it is true that there are millions of Christians who are satisfied and comfortable with their nominal Christianity, there are a few though who sense that their lives lack something which they may not be able to pinpoint out or even vaguely describe. For these few the indicators described here may help them reflect on their lives and motivate them to search how to live a genuine Christian life.

It may also happen that a nominal Christian reading these indicators may come to the realization that what he has been presuming all along his life, namely, that he is a real Christian, is an illusion. Upon knowing this he may want to move from nominal to genuine Christianity.

These indicators are to be taken as an integrated whole set of indicators, not each one separately. If an indicator is missing, most probably the person is not a genuine Christian.

Here are the seven indicators.

1. The person has experienced God speaking to him personally, either through a preacher, a book, or other circumstance.

2. The person has experienced listening to an explanation of the Bible or reading it such that he felt his mind was opened. His reaction is: Now I know, whereas before I did not realize this was the meaning. If he is literate he has experienced a thirst for reading God's word. If he is non-literate he has experienced a thirst for listening to the reading of God's word.

3. The genuine Christian has a personal, growing love for the person of Jesus the Christ, talking with him with more and more time of his day.

4. He has a certain or sure conviction of the forgiveness of his sins, whether past, present or future. He has no fear of being punished.

5. He has a complete distrust in his works as a means of pleasing God.

6. He has a deep and growing love for other genuine Christians and he seeks out their company.

7. He has a compassionate love for the non-Christians and the nominal Christians and desires to bring them to genuine Christian life.

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Three Main Signs of a True Christian

If the 2 billion plus people who are classified as Christians were true Christians we would have a totally different world. We would have lesser number of very poor people, much lesser number of crimes, and an increasing number of people who make other people happy.

Unfortunately and very sadly too, most of the 2 billion or more who say they are Christians are false Christians. They are not true as they do not show the signs of a real Christian.

We have fake money bills, fake documents, fake transcripts of records, fake certificates, fake signatures. But the worst and most dangerous counterfeit is not money or document but a fake Christian. The reason is because a fake Christian can create havoc not just in the banks or in employment but in all the sectors of society.

It was fake Christians who have been waging wars all through these centuries, including the two world wars, putting to death millions of human beings.

To recognize who these fake Christians are we need to know the signs of a true Christian. There are three main signs.

First, the true Christian is one who is no longer seeking for something in this world to save himself or make himself happy. If you have been to an Easter Party with an Easter egg, you would know what I mean.

In an Easter Party where the people search for the Easter egg you see children and adults walking around, searching for the coveted Easter egg, a colored egg hidden in furniture, in grass, in other places around the venue of the party. They keep on looking for this Easter egg until it is found. Most of the time there are many of such egg and people look for more and more of them, until the moderator of the game tells the partying people that the total number of Easter eggs have been found.

That is what most people do. They are looking for something that can make them happy. Some people think that this is found in money and more money, and so they acquire more of this. Others think that this is found in having three good meals a day, a sturdy roof over their head, and a set of comfortable clothes. So they work for these from day to day. Still others think that they can find happiness in honor. So they search for ways and means to become celebrities, whether at school, in the movie industry or in politics or in other areas.

The true Christian has found genuine happiness and knows where she has found this, in an encounter with God in Christ. This encounter happens when she has heard personally the word of God spoken to her and she has responded accordingly. Without this personal experience of God addressing oneself there is no real Christian.

In the case of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, he had this personal encounter when he heard God personally speaking to him through a preacher, "Look unto me..." from Isaiah 45:22.

In the case of Therese Martin, she heard the personal word of God when she read Proverbs 9:4, "Whoever is a little one, let him come to me."

This personal experience with the word of God is not something reserved to the saints or great Christians. This is the necessary experience of every true Christian. This makes the person discover where true happiness lies, in Christ and in him alone.

Because of this experience, the true Christian stops looking for something to truly satisfy her thirst for happiness. She has found it and it shows in her life. She does not come and go here and there searching for something to make her happy. She has found happiness and it shows in her demeanor.

The second main sign of a true Christian is that she is learning about the Christ. And this shows in her thoughts and in her words.

A simple but very correct definition of a Christian is that she is a learner of the Christ, because the basic meaning of "disciple" in Greek is "learner". If a Christian is a disciple of Christ, then she is a learner. She learns something of the Christ every day.

To do this she has a book or a string of beads to meditate on the life and works of the Christ. And she does this not because she has been told to do so by a teacher in religion or Bible study group. She does this because she loves Christ and she wants to know more about him. This is done on a daily basis, not once in a while.

This second sign of a true Christian disqualifies almost all those who even go to church daily or once a week to be called real Christians. This is because they are content with going to church daily or once a week and never advance in their personal knowledge of the Christ.

The third sign of a true Christian is something that Jesus himself said was the true sign of his followers. And this sign is something that cannot be faked. It is so simple and yet it cannot be produced by mere human effort. It is produced by God in us and through us. Unless this sign is clear in our lives we cannot say that we are real Christians.

This third sign is love.

But is it not just a wishy-washy kind of love. It is love that endures through death and even beyond death. It is not a fine feeling for the person next to you whom you happen to like.

Beyond love of God and love of neighbor, this is love of other true Christians. The true Christian senses a deep affinity with other true Christians, an affinity stronger than family ties. And she loves the other true Christians not with her human love but with the love of Christ himself.

Now, how is this love of Christ himself for the other true Christians shown so that other people can see it? It is shown by caring unto the uttermost, just as Jesus cared for that person to the uttermost.

These are the three main signs of a true Christian: 1) The true Christian no longer is looking for something to make her happy; she has found what makes her totally happy through a personal encounter with the word of God. 2) The true Christian learns about the Christ daily. She discovers something new about the Christ everyday. And she keeps on learning about the Christ. 3) The true Christian has a genuine love for the other true Christians, a love that comes from Jesus himself, shown by caring for the other Christians to the uttermost.

It is not baptism nor any other sacrament, nor doing good deeds to our fellow men, nor going to church and performing religious or church activities that tell others we are true Christians. It is sense of total happiness radiating around us, a continuous desire to learn more of the Christ, and genuine Christ's love for the other true Christian that tell others we are true Christians.

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5 Essential Christian Teachings Christians Need to Know

There is a lot of misunderstanding about Christianity and what the Christian faith actually teaches. Because there are so many doctrines that have been added to the Christian faith, many may be confused about what Christianity actually teaches.

Here are five essential teachings Christians need to understand.

1. Without the Resurrection, Christianity doesn't exist.

The core belief of Christianity is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The reason this is the central teaching of Christianity is really very simple: Christ's resurrection was his proof that he wasn't just a man, he is God. It was also about proving that he was the savior of mankind.

2. Jesus is God.

Although Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet, and Judaism teaches something else, what the Bible teaches is that Jesus was very clear: He is God. He never said he was a man, a prophet. Those beliefs are a misreading of the Christian scripture, as well as heresy.

3. Saved by faith, subject to grace, not judged by the law.

One of the big fallacies non believers commit when it comes to Christians is that they think Christians believe they're perfect. Nothing is further from the truth.

We recognize that we are sinners and that the only path to heaven, and Christ, is to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Christians are subject to grace because grace is the unearned gift of love from God. In the end, Christians will not be judged on whether they go to heaven or hell, but what their reward in heaven will be.

4. Love God, love your neighbor, love yourself.

In the Old Testament, there are 10 Commandments. When asked about observing the 10 Commandments, Jesus made basically the same statement in every gospel: that we love God, love our neighbor, and then love ourselves.

The Bible is clear that a neighbor is anyone whereas a brother is a fellow believer in Christ. In essence, Christ told us to love everyone.

Loving someone is very different from liking someone. When you like someone, it's about who they are. Love is about who you are. Also, the Bible tells us that God is love. Since God is love, then in order to love others, God must be a part of your life. Otherwise, it isn't love at all.

5. Being saved has nothing to do with being good.

In one of the gospels, someone calls Jesus good. Jesus replied by saying that only God is good. The truth is, none of us are good. No one is good.

Being saved is about accepting Christ as your Savior and putting your faith in him. It is about accepting that Christ is the only road to eternal life, not good works, purgatory, or "being good".

Jesus once said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavty laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). If you want to find true peace, true happiness, you'll find it in Christ.

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Is God Love?

Sometimes when we are overwhelmed with things around us, we wonder where God is. Other times we wonder if he truly loves us considering what is happening around us. The answer is God is love. He loves us that he was ready to do the most painful thing in his whole entire life; Give up his Son for us to be reconciled back to him. God was ready to watch his Son crucified for our sake.

God is Love. You will find that, the whole Bible especially the New Testament can be summarized into one word Love. The first commandment God gave Moses was on Love. This means that this subject is very dear to him. God also makes it clear that if you can be able to love him, keeping the other commandments becomes very easy.

The next time you wonder if God is Love, just think of the good things that surround you. God does not let bad things happen to us without a reason. Most of the time, it is to make us better Christians and cement the relationship we have with him. You will find that whatever you go through is meant to be an encouragement to someone else in the future. God's love cannot let us fully despair when in trials and temptations. When you feel like his love for you is not evident, the best thing is to spend time in his presence. Read the Bible and pray. Soon you will realize that his love was always there, you just grew cold to it.

God's Love For Humanity

Its is hard for a mortal man to understand the love God has for the human race. The love story of God and man did not begin when God sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to come redeem us from our sins. The story began at the beginning of creation. As you read from Genesis, everything else apart from man came to be after God's word came forth. Man was created after the image and likeness of God. This means that Man is very special to God. Since he is made in the image and likeness of God, this means that every time God looks at this special creation of his, he sees himself.

Therefore being a special creation to God he gave as dominion over all the earth and everything in it. God's love for mankind is constant. There is nothing you can ever do to earn it. He loves us all the same. Sometimes its hard to imagine that his love for the rapists and murderers is the same to the love he has for the Christian believers. When we understand this, loving one another becomes much easier. Our love for one another is usually based on what we are getting from the other person. Hate your enemies and love those who love you is the norm.

God's love is different. God can never change his love for you no matter what you do. Even if you have done great evils he still loves you the same. I know that sometimes we do some things and wonder how God can ever forgive us or love us the same way. The truth is, whether you kill or lie the sin carries the same magnitude before God. There is nothing he cannot forgive if you go before him and ask for forgiveness. God's love for you is so great that he wants to establish his relationship with you.

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What's Love Got To Do With It?

Youth Pastors and leaders sometimes have a tough time fitting in with their teens. This is a common problem that many will never admit. Whether it's age, cultural, race or gender many leaders have a hard time getting on the same level as their teens. What's the solution to this problem, how can you solve this?

The simple answer is love. Many teens come from well off homes with plenty to eat on the table and good parents, others come from broken homes with little to no shelter or hope. The deciding factor in reaching youth from any background or situation is the power of showing off the God given love inside of you as a caring leader. Humans in general look at care as one of the biggest qualities in someone from choosing them as a mate to the realtor who's selling their house.

Teens especially look for the love inside someone the second they meet them. It's not how much you can relate to your youth in the music they listen to, or the fashion styles you share with them, it's the love. The reason why we can look to Christ as a hero and savior in our lives is because of the love He's shown us even when we didn't deserve it. "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is a powerful verse to us as Christians because love is a huge thing in our lives. We keep the people close to us that love us, but turn the people away that do not share in the same love our close friends and family has for us, this is a fact of life.

We hear in sports all the time a certain player or athlete has a "love for the game." We as youth leaders have to show passion and love for every teen that comes through our doors. We have to show them that Christ's love trumps any other counterfeit or perverted love from a guy or a girl, or any love that the world tries to offer them. This is your job as the youth leader in your ministry to convey with passion this exciting message.

When one of your teens is in trouble or running into a tough situation, be the one that they call on when no one else cares or is around to help them. Build their trust by meeting with them regularly and showing them that their most challenging private struggles are safe with you. Show them that Christ loves them and so do you. This is the deciding factor that all great leaders have to find within themselves, the love and care to show to all of their flock. Are you the youth leader that's going to spark the passion and excitement for Christ in young people's lives? Show the love right now! Don't wait until next year or next month do it now!

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Jesus and Money - Who Do You Serve?

Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon."

Many people have a perverted understanding of what the Bible teaches about money. Often verses like the one above are taken that God only really loves the poor, and that there is some sort of holiness in being poor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mammon in the Aramaic should be translated as riches. When the Bible cautions against money it talks about "riches". In truth it presents two extremes that should be avoided - being a slave to money, or being a slave to riches. The two extremes are one of extreme poverty and the other an extreme of extreme GREED. Both have the potential to destroy the Christian.

Some people seem to think there is something noble and pure in being poor. Being deep in debt, struggling to pay bills, failing to support your family is not honorable nor does it honor God. If your thoughts are always on how to pay the next bill then who are you serving? You are a slave to the lack of money. Instead of having the freedom to do God's work, you are enslaved to money as it controls your life. You are as much a slave to mammon as is the super wealthy - because its lack dominates your life. Ecclesiastes 10:19 "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers everything." God knows that humans have an economy. In fact he takes responsibility for allows Kings and others to be in charge. Likewise He is well aware of the power money can have in our lives. For good or bad. Living on any end of the money extreme risks your relationship with God.

For those who are truly mega-wealthy - having that much money carries huge risks for the God fearing person. The rich young ruler couldn't put God before his money, and hence Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to get in to heaven than an camel to go through the eye of the needle. Many people leave the passage here and say - see rich people are unsaveable. But verse 26 goes on - "with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" God can save even the mega-wealthy. 1 Timothy 6:10 highlights that money in and of itself is not evil but "the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Money is not evil. It is a tool and can be a powerful tool for God's church. But the love of money or GREED is a sin and is something the Christian should be aware of. Timothy goes on to say - "command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God... Let them do good." God expects there to be rich people in the church. But their money doesn't make them better than anyone else and they should be using it to "do good".

Remember money and wealth lasts only for this present age - millions of dollars mean nothing in the next world - in God's eternal kingdom. Having money brings freedom - the freedom of time, the freedom of choice, freedom to help others - thats why you should achieve wealth. If your poor you are a slave to money and don't have the freedom of choice, you don't have the spare time and resources to honor God, being poor limits you. Money should be your servant, not the other way around.

Who are you currently serving?

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Changed From the Inside and Out

The image and likeness we should resemble is Jesus Christ himself. A person's true character and identity is what is on the inside of him or her rather than their external features. The heart of a man and their willingness to press forward to achieving anything worthwhile takes drive, determination and dedication.

It is a personal connection, a personal conversation, and a personal commitment to God to find yourself being cleansed to stay in fellowship with Him. The cleansing agent is the blood of Jesus and the confession of sin in our lives. The scriptures teach, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful, just and will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1: 9. This verse lets us know we need to take a spiritual bath daily because we all sin in some form of another every day. "To know to do good, and not do good is sin." James 4:17.

The marks of being a religious person is something we do not want to resemble. Why have an outer appearance that seems to be clean and undefiled, while on the inside of one's heart there is filth and deceit? First, the inside of a person needs to be cleansed, then our outer appearance should follow without being hypocrisy. Matthew 23:25-26.

As Christians, we are to live in love with one another and be sincere with the love that is being shown to others. We should use our God given gifts He has bestowed upon us as we serve one another. Romans 12: 8. As we mature in our Christian faith let us serve God joyfully, wholeheartedly, and without compromise. If God said it, believe it, if God said do it, then be obedient and do it. As the Holy Spirit speaks to your spirit only you and Him know what has been said and placed on your heart and spirit to do.

As we obey and act upon the leading of the Holy Spirit change comes to our heart and mind. The Bible states God looks at the heart of man, rather than our outward appearance. 2 Chronicles 16: 9. When we trust God we are showing Him we are committed to Him and his ways of doing things. As Christians, we are to grow each and every day of our spiritual lives, living with faith, hope, and love.
 

Is your house in order? The best way to get your house in order is by accepting Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior. His presence will help you obey the commands in the Bible. And more importantly, the Bible teaches us about who Jesus is and what He has done on our behalf. He died for all of our sins, past, present, and future.

Most Christians struggle with some sort of sin regardless of their maturity level. This of course does not give us a right or license to sin, but it does give us an awareness of His presence in our lives when our fleshly desires tempt us to do something we know is not godly or wholesome. A change of mind with a Godly view in mind and a willingness to obey will overcome the many temptations we face.

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