Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46
Most people who say they are Christian’s really don’t have the concept of what Lord means and they don’t give their Lord the following position. According to a number of lexicons Lord speaks of owner, ruler of the universe and supreme ruler. When Jesus said you don’t do what I say then how could I be your Lord?
Someone asked me how to know the difference between a Christian and a practicing Christian. The most obvious thing about practicing Christians is that their language shows a deep reverence for the Lord. They are not afraid to confess the name of Jesus and have the assurance of knowing if they were to die that very moment they would go to heaven. For this reason practicing Christians do not lie, take the Lords name in vain, live a moral life and are law abiding citizens.
Christians who have a reverence for God take into consideration that God created the earth and rules over his creation. They also know God is building a kingdom from the earth’s population willing to serve him throughout the ages to come. Through faith they are committed to follow Jesus Christ and are preparing themselves to be found acceptable for eternal life from God’s eye. It means that Christians are training themselves to be godly by taking God’s promises to heart regarding the present life and the life to come.
The practicing Christian is committed and bound by an oath of faith to both love and serve God. At the same time not every Christian has the same level of commitment. Some are enthusiastic; some are slack and even more have no noticeable commitment to God. When it is all said and done it is the way people portray their love for God first reveals their commitment to God and secondly is seen by the person looking at their life.
For this reason practicing Christians allows God to discipline them in his ways. Godly discipline allows the world to see the characteristics of God through the life of the practicing Christian. The world takes notice and may see an attribute of God that they admire and want to incorporate in their lives. Secondly, their character creates the attributes that draw the world to the practicing Christians for godly advice and prayer. In other words the world sees and knows the practicing Christian is both godly and firmly committed to God.
In addition practicing Christians do not stand on hope alone but allow Christ to guide their path to eternity through faith. They look to God who can answer their questions with positive and absolute truth. For this reason they not only have insight into God’s expectation but built a solid relationship of trust in God the father and the Christ he sent as the Savior of the world.
Practicing Christians have the knowledge that God existed before the beginning of time or what we know as the creation of the world. They also know that God is presently the supreme ruler of all he created and will continue to be God and only authority in the ages to come. For this reason the practicing Christian is reverently preparing their minds and lives for the day when they expect to see God in all his glory and splendor.
The words of their mouth agree with everything they do deliberately do to be sincere and honest people. Their lives are full of grace and seasoned with the salt of wisdom to encourage others with sound advice. The lives of practicing Christians relate to everyone by demonstrating the way they expect you to respond to them.
Practicing Christians may not see your life as you do for they will be looking through the eyes of their Savior. They may point fingers at themselves to shed light on the faults they see in you but this is done to encourage you to distinguish good from evil. In the long run they hope that you will eventually come to the saving grace of their God and Savior.
Just as you know the variety of tree by its leaves practicing Christians are known by their demeanor. Their deeds expose the love for God which every practicing Christians produces. In addition they have a concern for your soul and want you to come to know the Lord. They know that a personal relationship with the Lord comes through a desire to learn about his life directly from him.
Practicing Christians have an allegiance to Christ in accordance with grammar the “ian” suffix reveals they belong to and follow Christ. Somehow they find where Christ is working and will be there ready to help where needed.
Yet you still may notice the radical difference between the practicing Christians and those who pretend to be Christians. They may think they are Christians but for the most part they are a Christian in name only. They may think they belong to Christ but they are not following in his footsteps. They may hope of going to heaven when they die without the assurance of knowing their destination.
Sometimes what you see of some Christians is not what you would want going on in your life. Even outsiders know that Christianity is all about Christ and your character. Even blind people can discern to some degree what is expected of Christians.
The confession of a Christian is awesome in the Sunday morning service but their clothes reek of smoke and their mouth bears witness while leaving the parking lot. Sometimes Christians swear they are following Christ but if Christ were to look behind him he would wonder if they were playing hide and seek.
It sort of sounds like Christians are the counterfeit representation of the genuine Christian who is practicing his beliefs. Nonetheless its understood counterfeit things have no value. In all reality God is serious about the way men live and has written a book on the subject. The seriousness of the matter is also a question of life and death and where we will spend eternity. For this reason the practicing Christian is prudent in the matter of his life and seeks ways of responding to God favorably.
The book God wrote is the Holy Scriptures and is readily available to anyone who makes an effort to find one. Most practicing Christians will give you a bible if you were to ask. Within the bible God teaches man the way the truth and life found in Jesus Christ who is the messiah and the savior of the world. The practicing Christian is helped in understanding the scriptures by God’s spirit. On the other hand Christians muddle through the scriptures barely knowing or understanding what they have read.
The fact is he has prepared a place for those who ignore him and it’s not a place any person in his right mind wants to go. Eternity is a long time so God is serious about the quality and character that he expects from man. The practicing Christian makes every effort through the discipline of the Lord to become the image of Christ who made the character of his heavenly father. Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the father.
It doesn’t really make any difference to know how a practicing Christian or Christian is recognized by mankind. What we need to do is turn things around to understand and be certain of what God expects of man. God says that he will make a distinction between those who serve him and those who do not on the day he makes up his treasured possession. Simple expression but gets his point across. You determine your destiny but ultimately God’s final decision will depend on the choice you make for life and your deeds and actions that follow.
Consider the gift you give and receive with this condition. Do you want the gift to be the genuine article or a fake? On the other hand if your life were a gift to God would he prefer the real thing or a booby prize? Then consider which one you would better off having. The difference between the real thing, a counterfeit gift or the practicing Christian is the choice God will make. The answer has to be seen from God’s eye but by the same token do you want something that is completely worthless to you. 09/02/2014
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