"What being a Christian means to you? Is Christianity just another hobby or a past time, something to do on Sundays and a social gathering to meet friends and a group to feel belonged to that you feel good about? "
This was aired sometimes back in October 2004 on FM103.2: The Heart of Sydney. I caught it when I was on an assignment there.
I shared it with my church's youth and young adults and decided to paste it here. Hope you all will be blessed by it as much as it has blessed me. Do feel free to share it with you friends.
For most of us, the first point is kinda obvious, but do read on the next four points. How do you fare in the test?
kuancheen|munich|20050817.0005
What being a Christian means to you? Is Christianity just another hobby or a past time, something to do on Sundays and a social gathering to meet friends and a group to feel belonged to that you feel good about?
Being a Christian it’s a lot more than just that, the reality is that being a Christian is being committed.
The following will hopefully gives you an insight to what this commitment means. If you think you’re a Christian, but are unsure – this examination of Christian commitment will make it clear to you just where you stand. If you not a Christian, but are curious as to what it feels like to be a Christian this examination of Christian commitment will show you.
There are five key elements of genuine Christian commitment.
1. Believing in Jesus Christ
First, it means believing in Jesus Christ. Someone asked Sardu Sundar Singh, the great Indian Christian, why he was a Christian and what he found in Christianity that he couldn’t find in the other religions of India. He answered with these two words: "Jesus Christ." There is no other One who died for the sins of the world. There is no other One who rose from the dead. There is no other One who gives the hope that He is going to return and set up His Kingdom.
This believing is also called faith. The Bible says, "Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1). Faith carries with it the idea of accompanying assurance – of absolute certainty.
And that word "believe" carries with it the idea of total surrender, putting total trust in what Jesus did on the cross – not trusting your good works, or your good character, not trusting your money, your friends, not trusting anything, not even church membership, but trusting in the Person of Jesus Christ.
2. Changed Attitude Toward Sin
Second, Christians must have a changed attitude toward sin – towards any and all wrongdoing. What does that mean? Well, 1 John 5:18 says: "We are sure that God’s children do not keep on sinning."
"Oh, but," you say, "certainly Christians – real Christians – do sometimes sin?" That’s true, but the expression here is that they do not "keep on sinning". That means that they "don’t practice sin." Christians don’t practice wrongdoing. Wrongdoing is no longer a habit in the lives of Christians.
But suppose Christians do sin. Suppose Christians slip and fall. Suppose Christians yield to temptation for a moment. What happens? What is needed then is confession to Jesus. Admit it and say to Jesus, "Lord, I have sinned." The Bible says: "if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away." And, the Bible adds, "if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away." (1 John 1:9).
Not only are Christians to confess their failures and wrongdoings to Jesus, but also to forsake them. There’s no use repenting of sin and saying, "I’m sorry, Lord, I’ve sinned," and then going back and repeating it. That’s not repentance. Repentance carries with it the idea of not repeating it. In other words, sin is no longer a practice in the lives of Christians. Christians may slip and fall from time to time, but it’s not a practice. It’s not deliberately pursued and done.
That’s the reason the Bible teaches that the Christian life is a daily life. The Bible says: "You must encourage one another each day." (Hebrews 3:13) The Bible also says deny self daily. It’s hard. We are living in an age when the pressures are greater, perhaps, than on any other generation in history.
3. Desire to Obey God
Third, Christians must have a desire to obey God. The Bible says: "When we obey God, we are sure that we know him." (1 John 2:3). That doesn’t mean that Christians can obey him all the time, but that they have a desire to obey him. They want to. They try to, with God’s help.
Jesus commanded: "Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world." (Mark 16:15). The message to be shared is that Christ is the Answer, that Christ died to save the world, that Christ rose again, that He’s coming back.
4. Separated From the World
Fourth, Christians must try to be separated from the world – clearly distinguishable from the world. The Bible says (in 1 John 2:15): "Don’t love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you can’t love the Father."
What does "the world" mean? That word in Greek is kosmos, and it means the world system that’s dominated by evil. The Bible says: "Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever." (1 John 2:16-17).
That means the order, the behaviour, the fashion, the entertainment, whatever is dominated by evil. Satan is called "the god of this world" and "the prince of this world." The Bible teaches the Christians are to live in the world, but are not to partake of the evils of the world.
Christians are to be separated from the world of evil. "Don’t touch anything that isn’t clean," says the Bible (2 Corinthians 6:17). When a Christian faces something in the world, he or she must ask: "does it violate any principle of Scripture? Does it take the keen edge off my Christian life? Can I ask God’s blessing on it? Will it be a stumbling block to others? Would I like to be there, or be reading that, or be watching that, if Christ should return at that time?"
Worldliness does not fall like an avalanche upon a person and sweep him or her away. It’s the steady drip, drip, drip of the water that wears away the stone. And the world is always exerting a steady pressure on everyone (Christian and non-Christian alike) every day. Most Christians would crumble under the pressure if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit who lives inside each Christian and holds them up and keeps them.
5. Bear the Fruit of The Spirit
Fifth, Christians must be filled with the Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit is love. The Bible says: "Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life. But if you don’t love each other, you are still under the power of death." (1 John 3:14). Do you love? Does love dominate your life?
What about you? Where do you stand? If you think of yourself as a Christian, did you recognise yourself and your commitment in that description? If not, then it is time that you ended the doubt and took a firm step of commitment.
And if you’re clear in your own mind that you’re outside of Christianity: are you willing to stay there? Or will you change? Will you turn from your way to God’s way? Will you step across the line? Will you close the deal with God?
I’m asking you tonight to make a clear commitment and to be quite sure that you belong to Jesus Christ.
You do that by speaking to him. A short simple prayer is the key; something along these lines:
Lord Jesus, please forgive me, please change me, and please take over the running of my life both now and forever. Amen.
That is how it begins. The key to this commitment can be summed up in three words: turn, trust and travel –
TURN from your way to God’s way;
TRUST your life to the powerful, loving hands of Jesus Christ; and
TRAVEL down his road, according to his directions, under his instructions, led by him, following him.
Turn, trust and travel – that is the way of commitment.
How did you fare? Did you pass the test? Are you committed?
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