How To Spot A Christian

These were my sermon notes from Sunday morning. I don't guarantee spelling, grammar, etc. are used correctly since these were only my speaking notes.

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Gospel Reading:        John 13:31-35

Scripture Text:           1 Corinthians 13

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On June 13, 2003, I was ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church.

A lot had to happen in order to get that far, but one of the tougher ones was the series of theological questions I had to give written answers for.

One of the questions:

“What are the marks of the Christian life?”

How will you know if someone else is an authentic, real Christian and not just faking it?

How will someone else know if YOU are an authentic, real Christian and not just faking it?

Scripture speaks of a multitude of “marks” signifying the authentic Christian life.

James 1:27...   keeping oneself ‘unpolluted’ is one mark of the Christian life that I see throughout Scripture… the idea of holiness.

“Do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance,” Peter explains in I Peter 1:14-16, and then calls us all to “be holy.”

For me, holiness boils down to Christians making personal choices about their personal behaviors based on the choices God would make as described in the Scriptural record.

One mark of a Christian when they obey the principles of the Bible. I John 5:3  reads: “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” Jesus said “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).  

We also read that in Matthew 7:22 where Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.”

As a United Methodist, I believe other marks of the Christian life include meeting together in worship (Hebrews 10:25), active participation in worship by singing, praying, listening, giving, and such (I Cor. 14:26-27), baptism (Matt. 28:19), sharing Holy Communion (I Cor. 11:17-33), hearing the “instruction of the apostles” (Acts 2:42), studying the Scriptures (II Tim. 2:15),  discipleship (Matt. 28:19), and being witnesses of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8).

But let’s take it a step further, shall we? 

Paul spoke of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5: 22-23) that would be natural by-products of a Christian life:

·      love,

·      joy,

·      peace,

·      patience,

·      kindness,

·      goodness,

·      faithfulness,

·      gentleness, and

·      self-control.

Ultimately though, I think it boils down to what Jesus says in John 13:35, when he clarifies that love is the determining mark of who is or isn’t Christian… “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Years later, his disciples would reiterate that delineating mark of a Christian in passages like First John 4:7-8: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

And the love that marks a Christian life is evidenced by our willingness “to lay down our lives for our brothers…” including sharing our material possessions.

HOW DO WE DO THIS?

HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE HAVE THIS KIND OF LOVE THAT SHOWS THAT WE ARE TRULY CHRISTIANS?

John cautioned the church to “not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth” (I John 3:18).

James explained that this action- and truth-based form of love would be seen by believers caring for those in distress… even orphans and widows…. (James 1:27).

Peter encouraged the believers to “Live such good lives…” that “they may see your good deeds and glorify God…” (I Peter 2:12).

Jesus Himself spoke of the importance of action-based love when he explained that reward and punishment for those who claimed to be his followers would be based on what people had done “to the least of these” because that was the same as doing (or not doing) for him.

Therefore, If I am TRULY a Christian, then I “love my neighbor” (Matt. 19:19) in such a way that I reach out and help with what I have as much as possible to the hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, orphaned, widowed, and needy… physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

HOW DO I LOVE MY NEIGHBOR?

I Cor. 13:4-8   Love is…

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.

Not that any of us does this perfectly, but we know it's what we are to strive for.

O God, help us to love those you've put in our path... that we have the "mark" that shows others that we are YOUR disciples!

Our Core Value Is...

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” —Jesus, John 13:35 (NLT)

During this month, the culture around us will focus on “love” with images of hearts and cupids, and gifts of flowers and candy. Interestingly, that’s the very word image that Jesus used when he described the way that the world around us would be able to identify true followers of Jesus… they would know us by our love.

Now that doesn’t mean we have to send Valentines to each other or buy chocolate for the preacher (although you are welcome to do those things!) But it does mean that if we are going to try to win the world, we must win them by the way we show them the love of Jesus. And if we want the world to notice the love we have, they need to be able to see examples of our love when they look at us… even in the way we treat the other people around us who are sometimes a little less loveable. You know who I’m talking about… There’s the great-aunt or cousin that thinks she is the world’s greatest expert on everything and you find yourself trying to find an excuse out of that family reunion just to avoid her. Or perhaps it’s the guy who thinks he has a personal mission from God Almighty to tell everyone in the church how their jobs and ministries ought to be run… or maybe someone from work who’s more annoying than productive. Sometimes it’s just plain hard to love someone!

These are the ones the non-Christians around us are watching... to see how we interact with them. Is the love of Jesus evident in those annoying, stressful, strained relationship moments? Because if the love of Christ is big enough to make a difference in those situations, with those people, then maybe He could help in their lives as well.

Our annual conference has tried to boil down HOW we, as a group of churches and as a group of Christians, can “get the job done” and it came down to one basic statement: “Our core value is love.”

With every heart decoration or candy you see this month, with every valentine you send or receive this month, and with every relationship you encounter this month, let the love of Jesus be at the very core of what you do, what you say, and who you are… because they’ll know us by our love.

Can Two Walk Together...?

“Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?” — Amos 3:3, The MESSAGE

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” — Amos 3:3, KJV

During February, the world around us looks to Valentine’s Day and focuses on romantic love. I think back to 1991 when I was still planning on asking Gay to marry me… I knew what I wanted… that we be husband and wife... but it wouldn’t work unless she said “YES.” She had to agree or else we could not walk together through the rest of our lives.

And since she had point blank said NO when I asked the first time in 1983, I wasn’t absolutely sure how the night would go. (Actually, she emphatically said: “It’s nice to be that special someone, but it’ll never happen!”) She was heading for college and I still was trying to find out what I was going to do (and trying to avoid anything to do with ministry!) Seven years would pass with her graduating college and getting a teaching job, while I went to whatever job I could, in whatever town I could find it, in order to “find myself.” We could not walk “hand in hand” because we weren’t “going to the same place.”

Tonight, when I stumbled onto this passage from Amos, I mentally traveled back in time to 1991. I had moved to Corry where she was a music teacher and I was a youth director for one of the United Methodist churches. We had now been friends for 13 years and God had done much in directing and guiding each one of us and I was almost done with my undergraduate degree. For six months now, we had been hanging out and talking, visiting and doing stuff together… not dating, but just being friends… talking, laughing, and spending time together.

I asked her dad if I could ask her to marry me, I bought a ring, and proudly showed everyone I knew… except her. And I went to her house and “popped the question.” The nervousness I had, the suspense between my asking and her responding, the almost heart-bursting jubilation, joy, and excitement when she finally said “Yes” are still with me.

All of those memories reminded me how invested and interested I was in being on exactly the same page as she was. I hung on her every word… especially that three letter word: “Yes”.

But as I reflected on this Bible verse more, I could sense the Lord saying there was at least one more application of life-giving blessing in this passage for us this February… not just romantically walking together but also our walk together with Christ. Jesus came and invited us, the church, to be his “bride.” Each of us, individually, are asked to be his and to make him our own. He has popped the question and waits for each of us to respond. How can we walk together for all of eternity if we’re not agreed? How can we walk together if we’re going to the same place?

Just like my asking Gay to marry me, if she had not agreed, or hadn’t bothered to even respond, then there would have been no wedding and no walking together… Not because I didn’t ask and invite, but because of her lack of positive response. And NO response IS a response.

When it comes to Gay and me this second time I asked, eight years later... she did say yes, and we were married May 18, 1991. I’m certain she has often thought that “this wasn’t what I thought I was signing on for” as we’ve faced difficulties and moves and illnesses. She had even warned me on the night she accepted my proposal that she had no intention of ever moving from place to place to place. But she had weighed her choices, she made her decision, and she has faithfully stuck by me through thick and thin, change after change after change…

And because she also said YES to Christ, when my call to pastoral ministry became clear, she did end up moving with me… although I think that was a sign of her love for Christ even more than me! Almost 17 years later, we still walk together… because we daily choose to say yes to each other again… one more time… for another day… and we say yes to Him one more time, for another day.

How about you and Christ? He’s asked and invited. Have you responded? He’s waiting for a decision… and hesitating or not giving a response IS a response just as clearly as if you’d said NO.

Are you walking with Christ?