Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 5 that “if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The thing is, do we look and act as a “new creation”? Are we noticeably different?
Several weeks ago I had a new athlete join some friends to come train with me to check out what I do and see if he would be interested in joining his friends and committing to a training plan. After the session I set up a time to meet with him and his dad to go over some options.
While meeting with them we started with some small talk so we could get to know each other better before diving into the nuts and bolts of what a training plan would look like. In getting to know each other it came up that my wife and I were not originally from Colorado so he asked what brought us out here. While explaining some of the reasons I mentioned that we spent a lot of time praying about it and felt like it was the right decision for us to move. After I said that he said, “I asked Jaxson (his son) if you were a Christian and he said he didn’t know. I said, you will be able to tell.”
Now of course I wouldn’t expect a high school kid to recognize or make any keen observations about whether I’m a christian or not from a 1 hour training session with his friends but it did get me thinking of what he said and that you should be able to tell if someone is a christian or not. And would most people I interact with be able to make that distinction upon meeting me and spending even a short amount of time with me?
The answer is, I don’t know. Without introducing myself like, “Hi I’m Brandon and I’m a Christian”, I don’t know that someone would just make that conclusion right away. So the question is, what makes us recognizable as christians without us just flat out saying it?
I think this list could be long, but here are
5 things that, I believe, demonstrate how we are changed and should be noticed as different by others.
1. Humble
In a world of people who believe in being “self-made” and having an attitude of “I can do it myself”. We know that we have nothing without God. We know that the most important thing about us is our relationship with Christ and that his sacrifice saved us and his grace redeems us.
With that, we shouldn’t act proud and self righteous. Scripture tells is in James 6:4,
“God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.”
I heard a great quote from, I believe, John Maxwell. He said, humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but rather, thinking of yourself less.
2. Don’t gossip
How often do we find ourselves in conversations where we are talking about others in an unfavorable manner? Saying things about others that aren’t great and we know don’t shine a positive light on them?
Proverbs 18:8 says, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.”
2 Corinthians 12:20 puts gossip in a list with things like, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, arrogance and disorder.
Romans 1:18-32 Paul talks about the wicked and sinful and says in verses 29-31:
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
This gives us a clear picture that being someone who gossips is not Christ-like and to be recognizable as a christian we should be those who avoid gossiping about others! One final verse on gossip; Proverbs 11:9 says,
“With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.”
3. Forgive others
Have you ever seen families and friendships torn apart by people holding grudges and completely lacking the ability to forgive others? Never mind relationships between people that aren’t related or friends.
We live in a society where offense is taken easily and if you don’t agree with me then I hate you. Well, as christians we should be different. And before anyone says, “well its easy for you to say, you haven’t had this or that thing happen to you and its horrible, how could you ever forgive someone for that!!” Sure, you don’t know every aspect of my life and I don’t know every aspect of yours.
If I’m being honest, I haven’t experienced some of the horrors others have, or been betrayed like some have, or been treated terribly like some. But let's not compare our ability to forgive, or lack there of, to what other people have or haven’t experienced, that would be silly. We must use Christ as our guide and example. Put your steel toed boots on cause you might not like this, the things that have happened to you are not worse than what happened to him, so knock it off. He was fully man, remember; and the power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you, remember?
Just remember as it says in Matthew 6:14-15,
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (emphasis added)
And in Ephesians 4:32 it says, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
4. Speak with love and kindness
We should be recognizable by our speech. What we say and how we say it goes a long way in showing our heart toward others. To often we see people cutting others down with what they say, especially in this social media age. We think everything we see deserves our opinion and if we don’t agree with it or someone said something wrong we are quick to point it out and offer unsolicited corrections.
Let us remember that we are told in Ephesians 4:29,
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
And we are reminded in James 3:8 that the tongue is full of deadly poison and that (verses 9-12) 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Let us be known by our kind words towards others that are meant for encouragement and building up.
5. Serve others
I’ve seen a lot of christians, and even non-christians, step up to serve other people. I don’t think any or all of these areas I’ve listed above are exclusive to christians only. We are all created in God’s image and have it within us to be good and kind toward others. But I have seen Christians who don’t serve (as well as non-christians) and this should not be so.
James 2:14-18 says, 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
It is important to put the needs of others before our own. Again, a clear example given by Christ. Philippians 2:3-4 says,
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Let us remember that Christ came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28) and as our example we are to do the same as followers of Christ.
Be encouraged, brothers, as men of God we are to look and act differently. This list is by no means completely comprehensive, but it is meant to shine a light on some important areas that we should clearly stand out and look different from others.