Snapshots
Biblical Truth
OF
Christian - By Who's Standard?
BIBLE REFERENCES:
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV) “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. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.’”
John 3:16, 17 “(NIV) 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Romans 3:22-24 (NIV) “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 12:3 (NIV) “I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
1 John 5:1-4 (NIV) “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
APPLICATION:
You consider yourself a “Christian”? Where is the evidence? What proves to the world that you are a Christian? Someone has said, “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
“Christian” is not just some religious title we put on, like our Sunday best, to impress our friends and others at church. It is not membership in some exclusive religious club. No, a true Christian is one who has placed their full faith and trust in Jesus Christ and has made Jesus Lord of their life. This involves obeying the teachings of Christ no matter what harsh and unkind reactions there are from others. Qualifying for the role as a Christian is God's judgment. It is God's standard that all of us are judged by and God is the judge.
Being a Christian probably won’t make you popular with the masses and will, most likely, alienate you from the world’s “elite”. But, then, it was this same unbelieving crowd, it was this same "elite", anti-God mentality that nailed Jesus to the cross.
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SNAPSHOT:
A PRAYER
“Lord, help me in my weakness and my unbelief. Make your Word real to me, renew my mind and heart so that I can think clearly and do what is right, regardless of the cost to me.”
