If you are otherwise familiar with my work as a teacher of God’s Word and ways then perhaps you have noticed a term that I have used in the past, and now more frequently: A True Christian.
A True Christian
I use it intentionally as an occasional and perhaps almost a subliminal challenge to anyone listening to me intending it to cause everyone that claims to be or even believes they are a Christian to consider the very tragic ending if they are not a true Christian.
Christian: Professing belief in Jesus as Christ while following Him and living life based on His life and teachings. Manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus; Christ-like.
True: Consistent with fact or reality; real; genuine; faithful (as to a vow or cause). Conforming to a [certain] standard or pattern; conforming to the definitive criteria of a group. Synonyms: Authentic, genuine, bona fide, the real deal! [A true Christian does not mean a perfect Christian although it means one being perfected by God and making progress as a follower of Jesus.]
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If a man or woman saying they are a Christian is not a true Christian what might be the case? It can be one’s confusion about what that really means, it can be delusion (a false belief or opinion about one’s self in spite of invalidating evidence), perhaps it is a lying-to-one’s-self pretense, or just plain ignorance of what being a true Christian is all about and not caring enough to find out.
Many in this category of not being a true Christian include persons like this:
• One that lives in a Christian home but never received Jesus personally
• Someone that has attended a Christian church (some for much of their lives) but somehow has never heard the message, understood it and believed in his or her heart, confessed Jesus as Son of God and Savior with their mouth, and began following Him day-by-day as the Scriptures declare must be done
• Those that attend meetings of one of the world’s many religious groups that in some way imply themselves to be a Christian church of sorts but do not preach the Gospel, do engage in idolatrous practices, only use a Bible as a prop to validate their claims of being a Christian group, which bible is almost always their own translation or another profane version
• And then there are those that somewhere in their lives did hear and believe the Gospel, professed faith in Jesus, and maybe were even baptized in water but let it all slip away completely and yet still think they will go to Heaven
• One that is lukewarm in their faith and practice, or worse, is backslidden having grown cold toward God and regressed to former sinful ways and faithlessness
• A pretend Christian—one that wants to be with others that are and acts like a Christian but knows he or she is not—in a biblical word: a hypocrite
[Referenced: Luke 13:10-17 {Greek word “hypocrite”: acting under an assumed character, a stage-player [from pretend, feign, to fake-it }, Job 13:15-16 {Hebrew word “hypocrite”: soiled with sin, impious [godless]; from corrupt, defiled, polluted }, Revelation 3:14-16 {Greek word “lukewarm”: tepid; moderately warm, half-hearted, unenthusiastic }, Proverbs 14:14 {Hebrew word “backslider”: to flinch, go back, retreat, apostatize, turn away/back }, 2 Peter 2:20-21]
By what I have described so far it is possible that one or more people have come to your mind that you suspect may not be true Christians—hopefully you have not found these things in any way describing you.
As you should recognize—thinking you are a Christian but having never surrendered to Jesus means you are not a genuine Christian and in that state not going to go to Heaven one day.
Equally serious is being a hypocrite, a pretender, lukewarm or backslidden—conditions that do not lead to an eternity with God.
If you believe yourself to be a genuine Christian then I urge you to evaluate the trueness of what you believe about yourself by what you hear today including by your honest answers to these questions:
Your Honest Answers To These Questions
•• For as long as you have believed yourself to be a Christian (months, years, a lifetime) do you still do all the bad things you used to before saying you were a Christian? (Correct Answer: No)
•• Have you ever read through the entire Bible even once and do you read it regularly now? (A: Yes)
•• Do you pray and often—having discussions with the One you say you believe in? (A: Yes)
•• Can others suspect that you might be a Christian (or at least very moral) just by how you behave yourself, talk, and react to the unclean words, suggestions, and actions of others? (A: Yes)
•• Do you become embarrassed when someone finds out that you are a Christian? [You are a Christian?] (A: No)
•• Do you use vulgar language among your non-Christian friends or co-workers but never when with someone you know is a real believer? (A: No)
•• When you are with a true Christian do you behave differently than you do when you are with non-Christians? (A: No)
•• Without giving it a thought do you easily enter into conversations or activities that clearly a holy God would denounce? (A: No)
•• When there is nobody around are you the same person and have the same disciplines in thoughts and activities that you do when others are watching? (A: Yes)
•• Do you to lie or deceive another when it makes your life easier or to avoid an embarrassing moment? (A: No)
•• Do you feel guilt when you think, say, or do something that you know is wrong according to the Holy Bible? (A: Yes)
•• When you do sin do you soon ask God for forgiveness and to be washed clean of it by the blood of Jesus? (A: Yes)
[Referenced: Ephesians 4:20-24 {regarding evil thoughts, greed, and uncleanness}, 1 Peter 1:13-16, 1 John 2:1, 1 John 3:9, 2 Corinthians 6:17-18]
Some of The Hallmarks of “A True Christian”
What Are Some of The Hallmarks of “A True Christian”
(the markings, conspicuous features or characteristics)?
‣ ‣ You not only read the Holy Bible regularly but you fit your life to its teachings.
[Referenced: James 1:21-22, Romans 12:2]
‣ ‣ One that practices the truth of the Holy Bible and a lives truthfully among others (maybe not as much at first but more and more over time)!
[Referenced: John 1:47, John 17:17, 1 John 1:6]
‣ ‣ You truly feel sorrow (grief and a heaviness) when you think, say or do something that you know is displeasing to God (in a word: sin), which is to lead you to repentance (compunction: a strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt; the sting of conscience or pang of doubt aroused by wrongdoing or the prospect of wrongdoing [brought on by the truth of God’s Word & Holy Spirit]).
[Referenced: 2 Corinthians 7:9, Acts 17:30-31]
‣ ‣ When it does happen you are sincerely sorry for your sin and sooner rather than later ask God for forgiveness and His help to avoid that in the future.
[Referenced: 2 Corinthians 7:10, 1 John 1:8-9]
‣ ‣ You talk to God regularly including times of thanksgiving, praise and worship.
[Referenced: Luke 18:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, James 5:16]
Let me add more to the clarity I hope to bring about what it means to be a true Christian; if a man or woman claims to be a Christian the Bible says these things about one that makes that claim.
If we have failed at living-out these things since being born again it would be wise to take a very hard look at ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit for the help we all need to satisfy the terms of our obedience to God and His Word:
What It Means To Be “A True Christian”
‣ ‣ ‣ You are born (begotten, regenerated) again (from above, anew) from Heaven
‣ ‣ ‣ You have been forgiven of your sins at the moment of your new birth
‣ ‣ ‣ You are a child of God
‣ ‣ ‣ You are a new creature and called to live like one
‣ ‣ ‣ You must stop sinning and should you sin must not delay in asking for forgiveness and to be cleansed of your sin once more
‣ ‣ ‣ You are also a servant of God
‣ ‣ ‣ You are to be salt and light
‣ ‣ ‣ You are to be led by His Spirit and if you will seek for it—you can have the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which is an even greater fullness of His presence needed as a witness for Jesus and to walk in spiritual gifts
Making a decision for Christ and becoming a true Christian is the most serious decision any human being will make—that sincere decision changes one’s eternity in the blink of an eye. But so many pray a prayer having little or no understanding about what is expected of him or her by God and few ever study to learn of and live as the Bible teaches we are commanded to as born again ones.
After all—God’s only begotten Son stepped away from the glory of Heaven to live among us in a flesh and blood body, lived refusing to give in to the very powerful temptations to sin, then He was brutally whipped, nailed to a cross, shed His blood and died there as the perfect and only acceptable sacrifice for sin. He did this in order that whosoever would believe on Him could be saved from their sins and one day live with Him forever instead of what our sinning deserves—as an everlasting abode in the Lake of Fire.
Read what Jesus said at ... Luke 14:25-33!
There is no way to earn your salvation or to pay God back for saving your soul because salvation is a free gift to all that would accept it. However, once forgiven, washed clean of former sins by the blood of Jesus, having your human spirit regenerated and made alive again unto God, and the Holy Spirit coming to indwell you in that place—there is a lifelong cost to being a true Christian.
Because of love I will continue to use the 3-word phrase “A True Christian” probably for as long as I am alive and share what God’s Word has to say. By how that term has been defined today, either one is a true Christian or not a Christian at all.
With God you cannot say one thing but in fact be another. There is indeed a cost to be a genuine Christian—a striving against our love of the world, a long-term work that has to be done in us and work to be done by us, and there are things to give up that are contrary to our new nature—the character of Jesus Himself.
The cost to you and me is one of devotion to God and to His Word. We are to give up our old selfish ways. We are to walk in love and to always and soon forgive others. And there are other aspects of our expected devotion to God that we must learn of through the regular study and the application of the Word of God. And for some of us in the few years ahead, there might be the cost of our present human life by refusing to renounce our faith in God.
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If you cannot bear the expense of these things than you will not be “A True Christian” and Heaven may be out-of-reach to you
That's God’s business to decide
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Today’s thoughts are to challenge you to evaluate how you are living your life since you began thinking and saying that you are a Christian—a follower of Jesus Christ and a child of God.
I, for one, fear God and believe what His Word says by its commands upon my life once I have accepted the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. That sacrifice and His shed blood is a most holy and precious thing and I will participate with God in the saving of my soul—no matter the cost.
1 Thessalonians 5:6 ... let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
5:11 Wherefore comfort (implore, exhort, entreat) yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do ...
5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
5:16 Rejoice evermore.
5:17 Pray without ceasing.
5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5:24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. . .
~Brother Scott ... With ... The Right Word© ... For Today~
