The Christian Standard
So, you’ve become a Christian. What does that mean? Does it just mean you believe something that you didn’t believe before, namely that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and you need to accept him as Savior? Is that all you need to do? Is that all it means to be a Christian? Well, certainly, such belief is part of the process. But look at the word itself: Christian. What does the word mean? It simply means a Christ follower. We must believe before we’ll follow, but if it goes no further than mental assent, we have not started following yet, so we are not a Christian.
We are saved by the grace of God (unmerited favor) through our faith in Christ. When faith is properly defined, it takes us to the same place: we must follow the one we place our faith in. To be a faithful Christian is redundant. We are only a Christian if we act on our faith. This has held true throughout the Bible. The concept of being saved merely by saying a prayer and accepting a doctrine mentally is contrived. That’s not what the Bible teaches. Jesus once asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and yet not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Exercising our faith with Jesus as Lord means we do what he tells us. Not perfectly, this is where grace comes in. We don’t earn anything. We can’t save ourselves, but the silly notion that grace means we do nothing runs contrary to the Bible.
For example, there is a famous chapter in the New Testament book of Hebrews that talks about several people of faith. Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the Hall of Faith chapter. It starts off, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. By it the people of old received their commendation” (Heb 11:1,2). Faith doesn’t always mean we get what we want now, it is the assurance of things hoped for. We place our hope in Jesus, and the eternal benefit won’t be realized until later, but we can still have confidence in it. It is the conviction of things not seen. You and I have never seen the resurrected Jesus, but we have the eyewitness accounts of many who did, and we accept their testimony. And then the author of Hebrews starts listing examples. Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice. Enoch was commended as having pleased God. Noah constructed the Ark. Abraham obeyed when he traveled to the land God promised. Sarah conceived as she had faith in God who had promised it. Moses chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin in Egypt. By faith the people Moses led crossed the Red Sea on dry land. Rahab hid the spies as she honored their God. On and on he goes with examples. Some were stoned, some cut in two, others killed by the sword; they went about destitute, afflicted, mistreated. The world was not worthy of them, it says.
And guess what? “These, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised” in their lifetime. The promise was Christ. With such people as our example, how then should we live? If we believe in Jesus, don’t we all need to follow him to define our faith with action, with obedience, like they did? And if we do this, where do we find guidelines for such living? That brings us to this article’s point. What is the Christian Standard that provides instruction and guidance? The Bible. Within it, as we read and learn the stories it tells, we find commands, principles, guidance on what God expects from those who claim him as Lord. All of it is worthy or our study. We miss out on a lot if we fail to read and study the Old Testament. It provides the backdrop for what happens in the New Testament with Jesus. But most specifically, we need to pay attention to what Jesus and his apostles teach. Remember the verse above, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and yet not do what I tell you?” We need to know what Jesus tells us. And he authorized his apostles as his spokesmen, so as they write, Jesus continues to speak to us. Jesus didn’t tell his apostles to go save people. He told them to go make disciples.
“All scripture is breathed by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). A Christian is a follower of Christ, and to follow we need to know the way, need to know where he tells us to go, what he tells us to do. In prayer we speak to God, and in Bible study he speaks back to us. As we read the Bible, as we listen to good Bible honoring sermons, as we listen and participate in Bible study with study groups, we gain the insight needed to exercise our faith by following the Lord. Anything less…well, why would you settle for anything less?
Cross Point: “Blessed are those who keep God’s testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who walk in his ways. Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes, my eyes fixed on your commands” (Psalm 119)
We are saved by the grace of God (unmerited favor) through our faith in Christ. When faith is properly defined, it takes us to the same place: we must follow the one we place our faith in. To be a faithful Christian is redundant. We are only a Christian if we act on our faith. This has held true throughout the Bible. The concept of being saved merely by saying a prayer and accepting a doctrine mentally is contrived. That’s not what the Bible teaches. Jesus once asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and yet not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Exercising our faith with Jesus as Lord means we do what he tells us. Not perfectly, this is where grace comes in. We don’t earn anything. We can’t save ourselves, but the silly notion that grace means we do nothing runs contrary to the Bible.
For example, there is a famous chapter in the New Testament book of Hebrews that talks about several people of faith. Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the Hall of Faith chapter. It starts off, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. By it the people of old received their commendation” (Heb 11:1,2). Faith doesn’t always mean we get what we want now, it is the assurance of things hoped for. We place our hope in Jesus, and the eternal benefit won’t be realized until later, but we can still have confidence in it. It is the conviction of things not seen. You and I have never seen the resurrected Jesus, but we have the eyewitness accounts of many who did, and we accept their testimony. And then the author of Hebrews starts listing examples. Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice. Enoch was commended as having pleased God. Noah constructed the Ark. Abraham obeyed when he traveled to the land God promised. Sarah conceived as she had faith in God who had promised it. Moses chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin in Egypt. By faith the people Moses led crossed the Red Sea on dry land. Rahab hid the spies as she honored their God. On and on he goes with examples. Some were stoned, some cut in two, others killed by the sword; they went about destitute, afflicted, mistreated. The world was not worthy of them, it says.
And guess what? “These, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised” in their lifetime. The promise was Christ. With such people as our example, how then should we live? If we believe in Jesus, don’t we all need to follow him to define our faith with action, with obedience, like they did? And if we do this, where do we find guidelines for such living? That brings us to this article’s point. What is the Christian Standard that provides instruction and guidance? The Bible. Within it, as we read and learn the stories it tells, we find commands, principles, guidance on what God expects from those who claim him as Lord. All of it is worthy or our study. We miss out on a lot if we fail to read and study the Old Testament. It provides the backdrop for what happens in the New Testament with Jesus. But most specifically, we need to pay attention to what Jesus and his apostles teach. Remember the verse above, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and yet not do what I tell you?” We need to know what Jesus tells us. And he authorized his apostles as his spokesmen, so as they write, Jesus continues to speak to us. Jesus didn’t tell his apostles to go save people. He told them to go make disciples.
“All scripture is breathed by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). A Christian is a follower of Christ, and to follow we need to know the way, need to know where he tells us to go, what he tells us to do. In prayer we speak to God, and in Bible study he speaks back to us. As we read the Bible, as we listen to good Bible honoring sermons, as we listen and participate in Bible study with study groups, we gain the insight needed to exercise our faith by following the Lord. Anything less…well, why would you settle for anything less?
Cross Point: “Blessed are those who keep God’s testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who walk in his ways. Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes, my eyes fixed on your commands” (Psalm 119)
Posted in Cross Points