Christian Living

TRUE CHRISTIANITY

by Alex-Philip Chikezie Nwaokoro
12/30/16
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

CHRISTIANITY is a way of life of people---a Religion...
The first people that were called Christians were said to be acting 'like-Christ'...
Now this view of Christianity gives us an insight to what Christianity is all about...(see Act 11:26)..
When Jesus came, he didn't just came to die for our sins.. He also came to set us an example on the way we should live...
He came to show us 'the way' because he is the way(Jn 14:6)... But since he is the way, he didn't just came to tell us that he is the way... But also to show is the way, and therefore whoever walks step by step with Jesus is a christian...

HYPOCRISY
Today, people all over the world answer the name 'CHRISTIAN'  when their hearts and mind are not in line with what and whom a christian should be...
Sometimes I sad to ask myself, "If Christ is to come today, will we be seen behaving like him?"
Jesus said in John 14:12, "verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my father"
Notice that Jesus said "HE THAT BELIEVETH".. Many people calls themselves Christians and yet they do not 'believe' in the death and resurrection of Christ...
TRUE Christianity is more than just answering the name christian.. Its also acting like a christian...
Also he said that 'THE WORKS Ι DO, SHALL HE DO ALSO'... Therefore as a christian, I ought to do more than that which Jesus came and did.... I ought to things to give God glory... Its why we are christians... Giving God glory should be our first priority... Anybody that does things and its not giving glory to God is blowing trumpet... The person is not showing forth Christianity... The person is exhibiting hypocrisy in him and Jesus addressed this issue in Matthew 23:27, "woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.. For ye are like unto white sepulchre, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness"
Anyone that behaves that way is carrying a 'DEATH MANS BONE'.. "For the wages of sin is death...".... Yes... and they are full of uncleanness also.. The Pharisees are described here as hypocrites because they impose the law on people while they themselves does not keep it... They appear outside clean but inside are full of uncleanness...
No wonder when Jesus was addressing the issue of hypocrisy.. He said in Matthew 7:21-23, 'Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven"...
Alot of people call upon the name of the lord everyday but not all have called with a sincere heart.. Not all called because they loved him.. But out of hypocritic living.. And that's not true Christianity...
TRUE Christianity entails serving God in 'spirit' and in 'truth'(Jn 4:24)...
Christianity is doing the will of God... Because Jesus said, "my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his works" and we are followers of Jesus... This means our lives on earth is obligated to doing the will of God...
Doing the will of God is also same as acting 'like-Christ'...
Remember that christians ought to worship God in spirit and in truth...

IN SPIRIT
Worshiping God in spirit is allowing the spirit in you to control you... That's why Paul says in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, walk in the spirit, and you shall nor fulfill the lust of the flesh".. The spirit which Paul was talking about can be the word of God..(Jn 6:63).. When you do things according to Gods word, you are walking in the spirit...
When a man walks in the spirit, he will not experience a 'death mans bone' in him...

IN TRUTH
Jesus said, "I am... The truth..."(Jn 14:6)... If the truth is Jesus, then whoever must go before God must have Jesus in him.... He must accept Jesus as his personal lord and saviour... There is no other way to get to the truth but in Jesus... You must have Jesus in you to be accepted before God.. You have to submit your life to Jesus in order to receive a relationship from God.... And in order to be a friend of God...
The only truth that would set you free is Jesus...
To live a life of happiness as a christian, you must live a life of Jesus(the truth) and the primary way of having Jesus in you is by being born again(Jn 3:3,5).. Just as surely as people have to be born physically to exist in this world, you have to be born spiritually to enter into the family of Christ.. And being in the family of Christ is accepting the truth...
A CHRISTIAN>KNOWS TRUTH>SHOWS THE TRUTH>DOES THE TRUTH

ALL BELIEVERS ARE RECEIVERS BUT NOT ALL RECEIVERS ARE BELIEVERS
Jn 6:26,"Jesus answered them and said, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled"....
Most people that answered the name christians does not serve God with the whole of their heart, rather they go on their knees when they need something from God... They serve him not because of love but because of the blessings they receive from him...
.... Blessings should not be our motive for following Jesus...
... CAN YOU FOLLOW THE LIGHT EVEN IN THE DARK?...
... We should not waste our faith on things that can go away in the morning...
... Christ is the only trustworthy and reliable object of our faith not his blessings, provisions or his healing...
... In the kingdom of God, our faith is more in the nature of God than the product of God...
... Do not put your faith in the activity of God because he may not act in the way you expect...
... The source is always important than the resource...
... The manufacturer is more important than the product...
... The resource is dispensable, but the source is permanent...>>>> Dr. Myles Munroe...
Where your motive lies as a christian really matter... You cannot be outside Christ and expect to enjoy him to the fullest... You may realise that something in you needs to be activated...
Now all believers are receivers in the sense that were told that, "... Whatever thing you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them"...Mk 11:24(NKJV)..
Now we were told that when we believe, we shall receive... Therefore its a simple thing to believe something but when it comes to something we need .. It gets soo hard because alot of people finds it easy to doubt the promises of God...
Every believer us entitled to whatever he needs as long as he remains a believer...
The whole point of this message is that, when you go to God as a christian you are.. You should go with expectations..yes... But let not the expectations be the reason why you are always in God's presence.. Rather we should go with the heart filled with the mind of Christ... Your cry should be to know God...

FAITH AND WORKS
Here is another aspect of Christianity in which we will look at lastly before I drop the pen..
We will take James 2:14-26 as our text but we will use the New Living Translation (NLT)...
 V.14>>> "Dear brothers and sisters, what is the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone"...
In other words, when your life is not showing what you claim to be or have.. There will be no profit to such...
We are living in a world that doesn't listen to our voice... The world is watching us that even when we preach to them.. They would wants to see it manifesting in our lives first...
Remember that it says, 'that kind of life cannot save anyone'
That kind of life in essence cannot influence anybody because nobody is learning anything from you...
An atheist says that, 'i don't hate your Christ but I hate your christianity' .. Reason is because Christ came and had his ministry for only 3 yes and influence 11 men that transformed the world but our Christianity can stay for more than 20yrs and yet nobody is blessed by us... The difference between Christ and Christianity is just one... Our lives....
V.15-16>> "Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing and you say, 'well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well'-- but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?"
I've been seeing this among believers, when someone will be in need and another believer will have what it takes to solve the problem but yet did not do anything.... It doesn't show love... When we do that, we are not loving our neighbours..
We should learn as christians to help one another and solve each others needs..
TRUE Christianity entails helping your brother even when the conditions are not good for you... It carries more blessings... Be encourage...
V.17-20>>> "So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't shows itself by good deeds is no faith at all... It is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, 'some people have faith; others have good deeds', but I say, 'i can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds'. Do you still think its enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you learn that faith that doesn't result in good deeds is useless?
This is self explanatory... Your faith without expression outwardly is useless... We should be blessed by it.. For, 'neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl; instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to the whole house'...
From V.22-25, it reminds us of our past ancestors whom through their faith became heroes that we cannot forget... If they did not expressed their faith outwardly, we would not have known them... LEARN FROM IT!
V.26>>> "Just as the body is dead without the spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds" ...
THINK ABOUT IT...
How have your Christian life been?...
Has it blessed someone?...
Jesus said "... whosoever denied me before men, I will deny him before my father in heaven"
Failure to express your faith outwardly by your good deeds is same as denying Jesus... It shows you are ashamed of him..
Think about it...
***Alex-Philip***