Marks Of a True Christian

Matthew 22:37–39 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Romans 12:9–21 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Galatians 5:22–24 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Ephesians 4:25–32 ESV

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Colossians 3:12–17 ESV

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 5:12–23 ESV

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5–7 ESV

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

Matthew 22:37–39 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

What do these words mean to you?

What’re your thoughts about these words we have just read? Do you believe them? Do you live them? Do they define you? How about our world? Do these characteristics define the world we live in? How about our church? Do we as Mt. Zion live out these virtues and characteristics? Are we a beacon of light in our community? Are we here to give, or do we show up to receive something instead? Are we consumerist Christians? Or are we commited to service?

We didn’t read the opposing descriptors, but they are flooded all over scripture as well. Today they may sound something like: hateful, discriminative, racist, divisive, hurtful, selfish. Trying to justify the unjustifiable. Arguing for the sake of arguing. Complaining just because. Being silent unless speaking benefits us.

Scripture says be slow to speak, but quick to hear (James 1:19). We are slow to speak those matters that make us uncomfortable disguising it as a Christian virtue, but very quick to speak whenever we are up in arms about something.

The truth is…even if we disagree with, find it hard, or it doesn’t benefit us, truth is truth no matter how you try to spin it. In other words, truth we don’t like or that makes us uncomfortable doesn’t make it any less true.

Last week we witness an act of hatred and murder when we saw a police officer, someone trusted and respected because of the color of his uniform, kneel mortally upon the neck of a black man. This man died while cuffed and crying out for help. The very people who vowed to help were the very people who presented the most danger. This doesn’t mean all police are evil. But I do know this act was evil. The fallout has been incredibly sad.

People trying to justify this act. People creating argument and division trying to protect the image of the whole community in blue while criticizing those who are crying out for the need for fair treatment of the whole black community. It is incredibly un-Christlike to stand by in silence, or worse, defend those workers of unrighteousness. Remember what Isaiah says,

Isaiah 5:20 ESV

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Then come the rioters. We certainly cannot understand how destruction of property can help fight against a systemic issue of brutality. However, we don’t have to understand to sympathize. Many of us have never had to feel the hurt of being hated, mistreated, and having to fear for our lives because of the color of our skin. We should honor the hurt instead of condemn the reaction. This would have been the time for silence. Sadly, though, those who were silent over the brutal death of a defenseless black man were the loudest over the issue with the “violent protests.”

If the virus hadn’t already created a trying and difficult time, we certainly see the tumultuous environment of wicked and evil morality in people from the acts of injustice in these events. Oneness seems to no longer be a priority in our culture. Oneness seems to no longer be a priority in the church. Oneness seems to no longer be a personal priority.

I believe part of the reason this is the case is because we have traded in selflessness for selfishness. We have traded in humility for self-consciousness. We have traded in sacrifice for self-preservation. And this selfish behavior leads us to be people who, with greed, are seeking more. We have become anxious, self-consumed individuals who are more concerned about what is best for me instead of what is best for others.

We have become more concerned with how many likes we get and less about how much love we can give. In the midst of our storms we cry out and complain that it is too much to handle, but we refuse the help from those around us. Prayer has become our last resort in all situations. Our privilege has given way to entitlement. Our consumerist attitude, which gives way to the false perception that everything should benefit us, has turned us into people who become consumed with the world. We become offended if the fight is not about us, and we draw it in when it is not about us. In all trials of life we have become bitter instead of realizing the benefits. In a word, we have become a thankless people.

We have for far too long seen, witnessed, and taken part in the brokenness and hurt of the world. If we desire to bear the true marks of a Christ follower we must be silent no longer and stand up for what is right. The first step in doing this is to turn our thankless, selfish ways into a cry for thankfulness for the eternal promise of love, joy, and peace. When we realize how thankful we should be for all we have and all that has been done for us, then maybe just maybe our reactions will be different. Maybe we will stop the arguing. Maybe we will stop trying to justify the unjustifiable. Maybe we will stop becoming so defensive. Maybe we will call evil what it is. Maybe we will acknowledge truth even when it makes us uncomfortable. Maybe we will speak up against oppression and injustice. Maybe we will be more like Christ.

So, how do we respond as Christ followers.

Search our Hearts

We need to admit there is a problem. Unfortunately, we have preached Christs’ forgiveness for far too long without preaching His outright condemnation of oppression.

While Scripture tells us that vengeance belongs to God it does not mean that we sit by and do nothing about the problem of evil in our world if we can contribute to the solution. Actually, refusing to act is far from Christlike. Refusing to act, refusing that there is a problem is part of the problem.

We are willing to speak up against homosexuality, abortion, removing God from our schools and so many other problems. Just as much we ought to be outraged and willing to speak up against oppression, racism, discrimination, and injustice. We must be willing to admit there is a problem and begin to speak out against it. Why don’t we speak against such problems? Maybe we struggle with our humility.

C. S. Lewis: “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed” (Mere Christianity).

Our problem of pride goes all the way back to Genesis 3:5. The woman wanted to be like God. We want to be our own gods. This is the root of all sin. We want to feel superior in every way. There is only room for one King in our life. If you decide that that King will be Jesus then we must start living like Him.

Pray for discernment. Speak out against ungodly behaviors. Don’t participate in these behind closed doors. Take captive every thought and control yourself. Search your hearts and make sure that our love for God is shown by our love for all of His creation!

Take Initiative

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”

We want to see light and love, but we aren’t willing to lead light and love. The answer is not always that everyone else do something, but the answer is that we do something. Jesus says in Matthew 5:13-14 that we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. If the food isn’t salty it isn’t the foods fault. If the room is dark, it isn’t the rooms fault. Instead, its the fault of those who are suppose to season the food and provide the light.

Jesus called us to be those people. We are the ones who are supposed to provide the salt and light. We are the ones that are suppose to cause change. In DCS we used to have this saying, “We are agents of change.” The idea was that in every situation our goal was to bring about positive, growing, filling change. As Christians we are agents of change!

We need to complete a few steps to help us know what to do in response to the brokenness of the world:

Recognize the issue

As we have already stated we need to acknowledge the problems we face and notice the brokenness and how it effects so many in this world.

Listen to those it effects

We need to sometimes speak out in outrage, but in other times we practice the words of the Lord’s brother in James 1:19. Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Sometimes our best response is to listen. If we never listen then we will never understand.

Honor the hurting

We need to honor the experiences of those who are hurt. Most of the time hurting people hurt people. Experiences can often times explain the actions. Becoming defensive does not honor the experience or the hurt from it. We also need to honor the emotions of those who are hurting. Think before you speak and deepen your understanding.

Educate ourselves

We need to know our history, understand our present, and realize the dangers of a hostile future. Before speaking in defense, educate ourselves on the hurt and pain and how to overcome it.

Broaden our experiences

Let’s learn about the people around us. Build new relationships. Raise smart kids. It is no longer enough for us to just make sure we do not teach our children hatred and wrongdoing, but we now must teach our children how not to be hateful and wrong.

Take Action

We need to know that the problems we see in the world are problems we can help solve. We solve with God’s help, and if we are truly engaging as the light of the world we will be on the frontlines. Speak out, teach others, pray, write, advocate.

Let’s stop expecting everything to get fixed when we aren’t actively trying to fix it. How do we do this? First we realize we have something to offer the world. This something is a gift from God. And gifts from God are meant for giving. They are the gifts that keep on giving! Before Paul gives us the Marks of a True Christian section Romans 12 he says this,

Romans 12:1–8 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

What is Paul saying here? Don’t be proud and don’t hide away. Use the gift God has given you to make this world a better place! Take the initiative and be agents of change!

Be the Church

It has been said, “One of the real tragedies today is that the Church as a whole has not furthered God’s light, equity, love and principles in our land in order to be a positive influence and impact for good in the midst of darkness, fear and hate.”

If the church isn’t leading the charge for justice, liberty, equality, and love than who is? We, as the church, should be the first to speak up and act for righteousness sake!

Jesus built His church upon the foundation of Love and Unity. Do we believe in these pillars? Do we behave with these qualities?

God said He created us, all of us, all of mankind, all humans, ALL in His image! It is sin that has blinded us from seeing the image of God in every human being. Throughout time we see the unity of God’s creation divided by the sin problem of the world. This created all sorts of divisions made, labels given, segregation and separation. Fortunately, because of the love of Christ these dividing walls of hostility have been torn down and done away with!

Galatians 3:28 ESV

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11 ESV

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Ephesians 2:14–16 ESV

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Do you believe in this unity? In this equality? Do you behave with it?

Remember the facts

We are all created by God

We all descended from the same parents (Adam and Eve)

We are all equally valuable to God (Ephesians 2:10)

God wants us all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:14)

Christ died for us all (Romans 5:8)

We are all loved equally (1 John 4:9)

Turn back again to Romans 12. I want you to notice what our response should be to everything:

Love

Hold on to what is good

Show honor

Serve

Be Patient

Pray

Contribute to the needs

Show hospitality

Bless (even those who persecute)

Rejoice and Weep

Live in Harmony

Associate with the lowly or oppressed

Live peacably

Supply needs

Be Good

Now listen to what we do NOT do:

Do not curse

Do not be haughty or arrogantly superior

Do not be wise in our sight

Do not repay evil

Do not avenge ourselves

Do not be overcome with evil

Notice that the list of the DO’s is much longer than the list of the DO NOT’s. It is so much easier to be bitter, oppressive, racist, discriminative. It is so much easier to do not. It’s much more difficult to stand up for righteousness, but that is the call we have. Let us all do much better to love God and love our neighbor.

Conclusion

In the last few weeks, we have focused expressly on how we can thank God for all He has done for us and all He has given to us. We will continue to thank Him, even in the midst of such troubling times. We thank Him because of who He is and who He has made us into. We thank Him because we can take confidence in knowing that our God is weeping over the destructive nature of mankind just as we are. We thank Him for His focus on us, that Jesus died to save us. We will continue to thank Him over the next several weeks, and for the rest of our lives.

Today we must turn from defensive, selfish, thankless people to selfless and thankful. When we turn from thankless to thankful people, we will become more like the Jesus we read about in the Scriptures. We will become people who are humble, selfless, and serving. We will become people who break the silence of brokenness and hurt in this world. We will become people who fight for the oppressed, the poor, and the less fortunate. We will become people who stand up for what is right. And why? Because that is the characteristic and definition of what it means to be a Christ follower. It all begins with acknowledging our complete dependence upon the Messiah, and our immense thankfulness for the salvation that comes from Him.

These are the true marks of a Christian. We all fall short sometimes, but we need to honestly ask ourselves today, “Would Jesus be proud of the way I represent Him in my personal, private, and public life?” If our response is anything but YES then we must respond today. We change and be changed.