6 Characteristics of a True Christian
INTRODUCTION
I want to ask you to picture yourself in a court room setting with me this morning. In our court room there is a judge, attorneys, a jury (of which you are a member), and a defendant. The trial has just begun. As the judge speaks you find out that the defendant is on trial for being a Christian. In amazement you wonder how in the world the prosecutor is going to prove this charge. What evidence will be presented in proof? As you think for a moment the question crystallizes in your mind, “What is a Christian and how would you know one if you saw one?”
Interesting question isn’t it? You know many who claim to be a Christian, but you have your doubts. How do you know for sure? What evidence would you use to prove the charge? What are the characteristics of a true Christian?
It is interesting that many unchurched and unsaved see no difference between Christians and non-Christians.
Let’s spend this morning examining what the Bible says about these characteristics. I’ll start by defining the characteristic or trait and then discuss each one in some detail.
Now many of you will recognize these characteristics as the “Fruit of the Spirit”, and that is exactly what they are. Turn with me to Galatians 5:22:
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. NKJV
I want you to note that the word “fruit” is singular. The Holy Spirit has only one (1) fruit. However, it is broken down into a list of traits, or characteristics, in order to help us understand His nature. But the Spirit has only one nature, one fruit. And, since we know that believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, these characteristics are present in every believer!
That’s right! If you are a believer then you possess each of these characteristics! That completely blows me away.
I don’t know about you but I sure don’t see many of these fruits in my life very often. Oh, I’d like to bear this fruit in my life but it seems I struggle more often than not. I feel like Paul as he writes in Romans…
Romans 7:18
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. NKJV
Sometimes it seems the harder I try the worse I do. Can you relate?
I recently read what J. Vernon McGee said about fruit bearing…
“The subject of fruit bearing is an interesting one. When speaking about it, I like to use the illustration of my ranch. I have a ranch in Pasadena. It is not what you would call a big ranch. It is 72 feet wide and goes back 123 feet. My house is right in the middle of it. I have a nice nectarine tree out front, which really produces fruit. I have three orange trees, four avocado trees, a lemon tree, and a few other trees. There is never a period of time of the year in California that I do not have some fruit on some tree. I have observed that fruit is produced by the tree, not by self-effort. As far as I can tell, the branches never get together and say, “Let’s all work hard and see what we can do for this fellow, McGee, because he likes fruit.” I do enjoy fruit, but as far as I can tell, these branches that bear fruit just open up themselves to the sunshine and rain. A bloom appears, then the little green fruit forms, grows, and them ripens.”
“Another thing that I have noticed is that the limbs never leave the trunk of the tree – they don’t get down and run around. Our Lord said,
John 15:4
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
NKJV
Our problem is that we ourselves to God as living sacrifices, but when the altar gets hot, we crawl off”.[1]
Have you ever wondered how you can produce this kind of fruit? I believe the answer is found in what we just read from the Gospel of John. Here, Jesus tells us that we are to abide in Him if we are to produce fruit.
Let’s look at the fruit of the Spirit for a moment.
Let’s start our study of the fruit of the Spirit.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHRISTIAN
The first three (3) characteristics we will look at are inward characteristics which come from God alone. They are love, joy, and peace.
Our first characteristic is LOVE. Christians should be characterized by LOVE!
1. LOVE
Paul uses the Greek word “agape” here. Agape love is the love of the mind, of the reason, and of the will. It is the love that goes so far that:
· It loves regardless of feelings – whether a person feels like loving or not
· It loves a person even if the person does not deserve to be loved
· It actually loves the person who is utterly unworthy of being loved
This type of selfless love is the love of God, the very love possessed by God Himself. It is the love demonstrated in the cross of Christ. It is a love that could look down from the cross, as Jesus did, and say…
Luke 23:34
34 "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.". NKJV
Are you sitting there amazed? Maybe you are saying to yourself, “He’s got to be crazy! I can’t love that way, only God can!” Well you are right. That is why I like to tell people that it is impossible to live the Christian life – on their own. You and I can only live the Christian life by allowing God to live it through us, by abiding in Him, by yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
CLOSING
Look with me one more time at our Scripture today.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. NKJV
We have only briefly looked at the first on – love, but each of these should characterize the lives of believers. Next week we will continue our study.
Dr. Jim McGinley used to say, “I am not to judge you, but I am a fruit inspector, and I have a right to examine the fruit you are producing.” The question is, are you producing any fruit in your life?
2. JOY
The next characteristic is JOY. The Greek word is “chara”. It is an inner gladness, a rejoicing that abides despite outward circumstances.
3. PEACE
The third characteristic is PEACE. Paul uses the Greek word “eirene”, which means an inner quietness and trust in God’s sovereignty and justice, even in the face of adverse circumstances.
The next three (3) are characteristics that concern each believer’s relationships with others. They are longsuffering, kindness, and goodness.
4. LONGSUFFERING
5. KINDNESS
6. GOODNESS
These last three (3) characteristics should guide every believer’s life. They are faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
7. FAITHFULNESS
8. GENTLENESS
9. SELF-CONTROL
CLOSING
Back to our court room setting – what if the defendant was you? Would there be enough evidence to find you guilty?
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[1] “The Epistles:Galatians, J. Vernon McGee, page 102