The Mark of a True Christian
So-called “Christians” turning you away from pursuing Christianity? Here are four points that can help you discern whether a person belongs to Christ and can be trusted to influence you as you dip your toe into the water, as it were, or if you may need to reconsider who walks with you on your spiritual journey:
True Christians do not keep willfully sinning just because they claim that all their sins were forgiven at salvation. Christians still must work out their salvation with fear and trembling throughout life (Philippians 2:12) by making an effort to keep God’s instructions/law/commandments.
True Christians naturally demonstrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit, not even necessarily by trying but because they are rooted in God. The fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) are:
Love: Caring for others deeply without expecting anything back.
Joy: A steady happiness that comes from God, not from easy life events.
Peace: A quiet mind and heart that trusts God during hard times.
Patience: Waiting calmly and showing mercy when people test you.
Kindness: Showing sweet and helpful actions toward others.
Goodness: Living a moral and upright life that does good for people.
Faithfulness: Being loyal, trustworthy, and depending on God.
Gentleness: Treating others with humility and mildness.
Self-control: Managing your own desires and actions.
True Christians do not identify with worldly materialism. They know that it’s better to be poor and upright than to be wealthy and wayward, and they understand that their true riches are being stored in Heaven, where they will not decay. They don’t live for this short earthly life but for eternal life. It’s okay to want nice things, but those things need to be put in their rightful place so that Christians don’t make idols out of their possessions. Moreover, their motivation for wanting better things should not be because they envy or covet the things that other people have.
Speaking of idols, true Christians try their best to be aware of their idolatry and put it to death. Creating idols in the heart can often be observed by behavior because, for example, obsessively doing anything to the point that it crowds out the pursuit of God is idolatry. Additionally, idolatry causes a person to puts his or her identity in something other than being a child of God. (In America, I believe the most common idol is the relentless pursuit of more money.)
I may add to this list later, but I think it’s best to keep it short to give you a concise framework to work with. Also, I was hesitant to write this because I don’t want to encourage judging others based on appearances. My hope is that when you observe the above qualities in a person, you go beyond classifying him of her as Christian or non-Christian and see an opportunity to befriend someone who could be a good influence in your life. After all, my target audience here is those who are turned away from the faith by hypocrisy, so I’m guessing that, if that’s you, you could benefit by having a real born-again believer in your life.
Have a blessed and positive day!
Photo Credit: https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Mask_of_Identity_%285e_Equipment%29