What Does A Christian Look Like And Act Like To You?

The correct viewpoint for a Christian, I believe, is that Christians are not citizens of this world, but of the kingdom of God. Taken to its natural conclusion, I would do as many other Mennonites do, and not take part in the things of this world, such as politics, voting, serving in the military, or other government offices. I don't go that far, but I see that as a failing on my part.

I do think that people ought to be able to recognize mature Christians by the way they live their lives. There is no immediate or automatic transformation that comes about at the moment a person asks Christ into their life. The new Christian still experiences all of the temptations that he faced prior to conversion, and the ones that are the most tempting will probably even be greater. Christians generally give in to these temptations from time to time, because we're not perfect, but we should become more like Christ as we mature in our faith.

I disagree, in some respects, with those who argue that, due to our sinful nature, Christians are incapable of obeying the will of God. Repeatedly, we are told to be Christlike. Jesus is held up as the standard that we are supposed to ascribe to, and I don't believe that God would hold us to an impossible standard.

Although I will concede that few, if any, of us ever reach that level of perfection, Christians should be at various stages of their way toward that goal, and some of this should be noticeable to people on the outside.

If you have been a Christian for several years and you are still living your life in the same way that you were before, there is a problem.

Unfortunately, for most people, this is the case. The church has been influenced by the world more than the world has been influenced by it. There are far too many generic Christians who carry the label but who think, talk, and live no different from the non-Christians around them. This includes those who have been baptized, joined a church, attend regularly, and even take part in some of the activities or responsibilities of the church.

It would be easy to say that they were never actually Christians, to begin with, but, in many cases, they have had the same emotional experience of conversion that more committed Christians have experienced.

Still, I have to think that I have had emotional experiences at political rallies, so I can't help but believe that not every emotional conversion experience will result in a committed Christian, and I can't help but wonder whether such experiences are salvational.

I understand that this is a Mennonite view, but I am a Mennonite, not because I was raised to be a Mennonite, but because I first formed these views, then found the church that most closely identified with them. In other words, I became a Mennonite before I knew what it was called.

I don't believe in the "once saved, always saved" philosophy that I grew up with. It seems to me that there are large numbers of people who were saved but then chose to do nothing with it. It's not so radically different a philosophy, however, when you consider that there isn't a lot of difference between believing that it is possible to lose your salvation and that of the once saved, always saved folks, who will simply conclude that the person who has done nothing with their conversion was not truly saved, to begin with.

In the end, God will sort it out, but I don't want to live my life in such a way as to depend on that one-time experience for my salvation. Mental gymnastics are required in order to teach the Book of James in a Baptist church. I was in fear of being kicked out of the church when I chose James as the subject of a Bible study series that I taught at the Baptist church in Millinocket.

In the end, there's no point in arguing about whether or not it is possible to lose one's salvation because God is the only one who knows for sure.

A friend of mine spoke about the narrow gate, remarking that too many people who are able to find the narrow gate choose to sit down on the road to salvation, refusing to walk another step.

In saying this, I am not suggesting that I have made the trek, but I pray that if I were to look back, I wouldn't still be able to see the gate.

My oldest brother was a biking fanatic. He has pedaled from Michigan to Colorado and back, from Michigan to Texas and back, up through Maine, Florida, and even Alaska. I went for a bike ride with him once and my butt started hurting at a point where I could still see his house when I looked back. I pray that I have been somewhat better in my Christian walk.

There are things that you should expect to find in a Christian, although in some cases, you might have to know them well in order to see it.

A Christian should hate things that are evil, and a mature Christian should have the discernment or ability to differentiate between that which is good and that which is evil.

A Christian should honor others, looking for things that are worthy of respect even in those who are not honorable. Too often, we spend more time looking for things that we can criticize. I am guilty of this often.

Significantly, a Christian should serve the Lord in a number of ways, including supporting other Christians, making use of opportunities to introduce others to Christ. Paul says that we should be zealous in serving the Lord. Dragging ourselves to church once a week shouldn't be the fulfillment of our Christian obligations.

We should seek opportunities to rejoice. That's a tough one for me because too often things seem gloomy, dangerous, or scary. Facing cancer for the second time in my life, I frequently find myself dreading what might be reasonably thought of as a likely future. I have to remind myself that my time here is not the end of my life.

Even as a Christian, it often feels like this is it. I know that I'm not alone in this because most Christians fear death. People do, in general. But should we? As a paramedic, I have met some committed Christians who were sufficiently mature in their faith that, even as they faced a likely death, were nevertheless unafraid. I hope to achieve that but, at this point, I still have to keep reminding myself of it.

Christians should care for one another. Unfortunately, the organized church has given much of its obligations over to the government in this respect. God does not tell us that we should give our money to the government so that the government can distribute it as the government sees fit. God tells us that we should support other Christians who are in need, and the example we're given of the early church suggests that charity was not restricted to fellow Christians. Of course, we should support one another emotionally, and in other ways that are not monetary as well.

Christians should be kind in the things that they say. That's a tough one for me because I love arguing, and I like to see that my opponent stays down. I try to control that, but I often fail. I don't know that the debate itself is a problem, but it should be more about discussing issues, and less about beating someone else down with words.

Above being kind in what we say, we should also be kind in what we think. For one thing, if we are thinking unkind thoughts, we will eventually say them. But more importantly, God tells us that if sin is in our mind, it is just as much of a sin as if we had done it. I would like to quarrel with that one, but I probably wouldn't win.

So, whether we are saved at the moment of conversion or whether we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, it's hard to imagine why someone who has accepted the gift of salvation wouldn't want to do something with it if only to share it with others.

If we step through the small gate but refuse to walk the narrow road that leads to salvation, are we saved? I don't know.

 

Non-Christians certainly can be good people, holding to an ethic that is not dissimilar to the Christian ethic.

 

There is no good reason for anyone to get upset over what someone else believes to be necessary for salvation. I know I've come across that before but, of course, if there is anything to it at all, then it's not something that anyone can decide. It's either true or it isn't. No person decides your fate. If they are right, then it really doesn't matter that you believe them to be wrong, and if they are wrong, they are not the one who decides your fate anyhow.