What A Christian Needs To Be Concerned With
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:30-31
I just got done perusing my facebook and news feeds, and I am always amazed and dismayed by what the American perception of being a Christian involves.
Being a Christian means first and foremost YOU have a relationship with GOD through CHRIST.
Being a Christian means you live your life through faith in God’s promises.
Being a Christian means you live your life in accordance to God’s Word.
Being a Christian means you love; love God, love your spouse, love your family, love your neighbors, love your community, love strangers, love your enemies.
Being a Christian means you know you are accountable to God for your words and actions, and you live accordingly.
Being a Christian means you forgive; forgive those who hurt you and forgive yourself.
Being a Christian means when you slip and sin, you repent and return to God with a contrite heart.
Being a Christian means you may discern what activities are in accordance to God’s Word for YOU YOURSELF to partake in or not, but that you do NOT judge others- you don’t have the right to.
Being a Christian is to know that hating someone is the same as murdering someone in God’s eyes.
Being a Christian is to know that while you are saved by faith alone, if you have true faith your deeds will reflect your faith. If you have no deeds springing out of your faith, your faith is dead.
Being a Christian means you care about the poor- passionately. You feed the poor, give them clothing, help all you can because Christ, in whom you are saved, commanded you to love and be concerned with the poor.
Being a Christian means you are against gossip and backbiting. God hates that activity, and so should you.
Being a Christian means you love, honor and respect your parents and cherish your family.
Being a Christian means that if you are married the husband should cherish his wife even before himself and the wife honor and respect her husband. It means you will be faithful to that spouse and not stray physically or emotionally from your marriage vows. Jesus said if you lust for someone in your heart, you have committed adultery.
Being a Christian means you know you desperately need forgivness and mercy from God and that in order to obtain them you must be merciful and forgiving with those around you.
Being a Christian means you love God’s ancient chosen people the Jewish nation. God is clear how He feels about them.
Being a Christian means that you are haunted by the knowledge that because there is a God and a heaven, there is a hell as well for those that live in opposition to God. You want to share God’s Word and love with as many people as you can in the hope and prayer they will come to know God and be saved. You want to live your life in such a way that people are drawn to Christ, not pushed from Him.
Being a Christian does not mean: That is is alright to hate someone based on their faith, their sexuality, their nationality or their political party. God commands us to love and forbids us to judge.
Being a Christian does not mean that you have the right to tell others how to live their lives. Live your own life as best you can in accordance to God’s Will. When you have perfected your life (which will not happen in this lifetime) then you can worry about others.
Being a Christian does not mean that just because you belong to one political party that has traditionally associated itself with Christianity that you are saved. For that political party does not do the work of Jesus, it does the work of its party. It does not care for the poor, love the needy, cherish the outcast and seek out the lost. Nor should it, that is the work of the Christian themselves, but neither should they then claim to represent Christ when they do not. Christ tells us to love, to be unified with other believers, not engage in divisive policies. Worry more on Christ and doing His work, and less on the world and its agenda.
Being a Christian does not mean that if you sit in a pew an hour a week and put money in a collection basket that you are saved. You must have a living, transformative relationship through Christ to be saved. You must have repented of your sins and asked Christ’s forgivness to be saved.
John 3:16
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.
Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Matthew 5:43-45
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Matthew 7:2
For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
1 John 3:15
Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
Romans 14:10-13
Why do you judge your brother? And why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written, “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Exodus Ch.23:1
Do not pass along untrue reports. Do not cooperate with an evil man by affirming on the witness stand something you know is false.
Ephesians 5:25-
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church–for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Ephesians 6:1
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”–which is the first commandment with a promise– “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you (Israel), and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Luke 6:17-49
Blessings and Woes
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. Jesus in Luke 6:36
Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7
Matthew 9-13.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ (Ephesians 4:32)
Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.Colossians 3:12-13
My statements above about what a Christian IS, are taken from the Bible. The part about what a Christian is not, is my opinion because I have never found anything to support such behavior in the Bible. Let me know what you think.
BG Butler