Just put “Christian” in any search engine and you will end up with information overload! The good, the bad, and the ugly! Hit pieces, glorified pieces, historically flawed and accurate pieces, endless, endless information. What to believe? How can one tell? What is true and what is false? As i add yet one more piece to the web of information, i hope to at least shed light on how one can honestly tell truth from fiction. Our key text for this series is Romans 12:9-21. There will be plenty of supplemental scriptures as well as written works to look at as we travel this question together, Christian?
Let’s begin with the dictionary definition of Christian.
as an adjective
- of, relating to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.
- of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.
- of or relating to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.
as a noun
- a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.
- a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.
The actual definition of “Christ’ian” is little Christ. It was mainly a derogatory term in its early form. Early names for believers in Christ were, Disciples, referred to as people of “the way” or Disciples [Students] of Jesus. As there were many teachers who had disciples. What was the distinguishing mark of the early Church (the body of Christ)? In Acts 2 we read, “And they [the Church] devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” The signs of the early believers were evident in their daily life. Although, it quickly became watered down and tainted by false teachers and time. It is what we face today.
So now here we are, Disciples, of Jesus, People of the Way, the Church, 2000 years from its formation and struggling to define ourselves in a sea of “Christians”. How might we tell true believers from those who claim the title “Christian”? We read in Galatians 5, “But the fruit of the Spirit [the indwelling presence of Jesus] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . .” Which brings us to our Romans 12 passage.
9″Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” We won’t get any further than this today. First, true Christians love is genuine. It’s real, it’s from deep within, it’s Jesus centered because we are really incapable of genuine love in and of ourselves. The “genuineness” of our love comes only from the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Second, a true Christian abhors evil. That’s right abhors, which is to say, “regard with disgust and hatred”. That is powerful and yet how many of us, for the sake of tolerance, tolerate sin? Whether it is in our own lives or those around us, within the Church even? i get the need for grace, mercy, etc . . . however, not at the expense of the soul! We are to ABHOR what is evil. Third and finally for today, a true Christain “hold[s] fast to what is good.” That is to say, “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.” (Philippians 4:8)
Let us have a genuine love for everyone, all people, everywhere. May we live from a heart of compassion. Let us abhor what is evil, there should be no tolerance for wickedness. That is clear. How we deal with it will speak volumes however of our “True Christianity.” Finally, let us hold fast to what is good. Fellowship with one another, strengthen one another, lean on and support one another in the Body of Christ that others will see our community and desire to be apart.
You are loved,
cj
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