The Marks of a Christian - July 10th, 2011

Date: July 10th, 2011

Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder

Title: The Marks of a Christian

Text: Acts 11:26

Introduction

Many of you may have , like I can, have got caught up in some of the pretty famous TV trials – OJ Simpson, Paul Bernardo, ….in States (vacation) Casey Anthony – accused of killing her 3 year old and hiding her body for a month.

Sometimes as you watch you are caught up with either the overwhelming evidence or by “reasonable doubt.”

It was 1975 I was sitting at a youth convention made a statement that was oft repeated in years to come.

“If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Today: Suppose you have been arrested and accused of being a Christian , like many Christians in our world.

Challenge you to reflect:

Would there be enough evidence to convict you?

as an individual,

Us as a church?

i.e.

A man asked a famous preacher from last century “How do you know if a man is a Christian?”

The preacher replied: “If I want to find out if a man is a Christian I don’t ask his pastor I as his wife.”

Wow….that would be humbling…often home is the hardest place to be Christian.

The key question in that is:

What do you consider the evidence of the grace of God at work in your life? In our church?
What are the marks of a Christian?

Situation Today

We live in a society today where nearly everybody considers or calls themselves a Christian.

Probably over 70% of Cdns would refer to themselves as Christians.

But does our society reflect the evidence of that percentage?

Do we bear the biblical marks of a Christian?

Let me read you a few indictments.

1. Sociologist Reginald Bibby -study of religion in Canada.

”There is little difference between religion and culture. The new form of Christianity is consumer Christianity. Canadians pick and choose what we want to believe, turning to the church for religious services, but not fully embracing their beliefs with loyalty or commitment.”

2. Sherman & Hendriks book: Keeping you Ethical Edge Sharp.”

“At this point a stiff challenge needs to be addressed to those of us who label ourselves “Christians.” For what we’d like to believe is simply not true: that it’s the rest of society acting immorally - all those pagans, those people who do not believe in Christ. They’re the problem, we like to tell ourselves. But that isn’t true!

A growing body of research suggests that religious beliefs and convictions make little difference in the behavior of people on the job. For example, Gallop found that those who attend church or synagogue or feel a religious affiliation appear only slightly more likely to walk the straight and narrow than their less pious compatriots. For instance,

43% of those who don’t attend religious services say they have taken home work supplies - but so do 37% of churchgoers.”
While 37% of the unchurched report calling in sick when not sick, so do 27% of the churched.
17% of the unchurched use the company phone for personal long distance calls, but so do 13% of the churched.
So it goes in other categories such as overstating deductions and understating income on tax returns, overstating qualifications on resumes, looking the other way when coworkers pilfer, and so on.

Gallop concludes,

These findings ...show little difference in the ethical views and behavior of the churched and the unchurched...”

Not just a Canadian problem... other places as well.

3. Let me read one other quote not about us, but about Rwanda – home of a terrible genocide

“Six months later, the world is still struggling to understand one of the most horrifying bloodbaths in recent times.

“I asked Bishop Gahamani of Butare to explain how, in a country that claims to be 80% Christian, these massacres could have happened,” said Norbert Clement , a World Vision relief officer who served as director of Catholic relief Services in Rwanda from 1964 - 1974. “Poverty”, replied the cleric,” is a major factor.

Murdering one’s neighbor in this extremely overcrowded, destitute nation means gaining more land and wealth.

Uprooted faith is another influence. Perhaps the church was too triumphant about numbers. Being a Christian here is often like being in a club - you go to a Christian school and marry a Christian but this doesn’t necessarily mean that faith has been incorporated into your life.”

Transition

The hard truth is that for many of us who call ourselves Christian, a prosecutor might have to look long and hard to ever move a jury beyond “reasonable doubt.”

What are the marks of a Christian?

Let’s go back to the 1st incident where this name was given and see what contributed to them being called "Christian”

What evidences of God’s grace exuded from their lives to get the name?

Turn to Acts 11:

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Note: underlined phrases

a. “saw evidence of the grace of God” – it could be observed…not private belief….was observable evidence.

b. “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”

This is not a title they gave themselves.

It is a title that was given to them by the community in which they lived.

Definitions

Christian means to be "Christ-like" or a "little Christ."
Christian means to "be of the party of Christ," or in other words, to be associated with Him.

These believers so distinguished themselves among the people in Antioch that they were labeled.

What caused the people of Antioch to give these believers this label?

As I looked over ch 11, 12 I discerned 4 characteristics which would give them that name.

4 Characteristics

1. Mark #1: Personal Experience with Jesus Christ

Barnabas when he came noticed in v. 23 “ the evidence of the grace of God.”
In verse 21 it says that” a great number believed and turned to the Lord”
In verses 1 - 18 we hear Peter describing how God gave the same gift of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles as what they had received. They knew so because these Gentiles had the same experience with the Holy Spirit as they did.
These were not just synagogue attendees.
They did not just give mental assent to a list of doctrines...”Yeah, I believe in God.”
God had come to be more than just a name to them. They had come to experience his love, grace, and fellowship personally.

i.e.

I can still remember when that happened for me. And I can remember when I reaffirmed that in my life.

July 29,1969...remember because I wrote it in the cover of the Gideon Bible I got in Grade 5. At a evangelistic service and I remember that night I understood like I never did before that I needed to receive Jesus Christ , and what he did for me personally. It was that night as I prayed at the front of that auditorium that God became more than just a name to me. He warmed my heart to him, and became my friend, I had a peace with him. He wasn’t some foreign thing they talked about at church but had no bearing on my life... suddenly he became an important part of my everyday life.

I say that because I was a young boy 9, 10 years old.

Beauty is that that religion is not just for adults, God holds that religion out even for children. You children, you don’t have to wait till you are older to have a personal relationship with Christ. God can be more than just a name to you now.

One thing that marked these people and led to the label was they had a personal experience with Jesus Christ which changed their hearts. It was like a light going on inside them. A fire was lit. A load was lifted. A peace came in. It wasn’t just going to church , doing religious things…there was a relationship. A connection.

2. Mark # 2: Love & Compassion

v.27ff - 27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Note: “according to their ability they decided to help their brothers”.

This is pretty remarkable when you think about it. I mean, for a long time, the Jews sort of looked down their noses upon the Greeks, the non-Jews. But here you’ve got these non-Jews, these Greeks, in Antioch and they’re like,

“Hey, those guys down there need help, let’s send it.”

Imagine when the Jews in Jerusalem received that money gift from Barnabas and Saul.

They’re like, “Where’d you get all this money?!” And Barnabas and Saul say, “From the Gentiles.”

As we talked about last week – God is at work deepening and broadening the love in our hearts.

Jesus described this mark when he said:

“By this shall all men know you are my disciples if you love one another.”

i.e.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I believe, that when a child like Shay comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"

Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and, getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game'

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and turned and threw the ball on a high arc to right field, far beyond the reach of the first baseman.

Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"

By the time Shay rounded first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases toward home.

Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, "Shay, run home!"

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world."

One of the marks of a Christian is to help bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

3. Mark #3: Uncompromising Convictions

v. 19 – “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution….telling the good news about Jesus.”

v.23 – “he encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.”

It is 1 thing to say you are a Christian in the sunshine, its in the fire where its hard. These people showed they were “Christ-folk” in the midst of persecution. They could have avoided the hardships, ridicule, snide remarks, had they just compromised on their convictions.

But it was there convictions that kept getting them into trouble.

In Acts 5 the authorities let them go if they would just quit speaking the name of Jesus. But they didn’t and so they were persecuted.
Because his Stephen’s uncompromising message that called on the people to repent was stoned.
In Acts 3 Peter stood before the Sanhedrin and said to them “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved.”

They were convinced of that, and they were willing to die for that if that what would come about.

Friends, what marked these Cns was their convictions. They lived it…they spoke it. They took those convictions wherever they went.

In the words of Stephen Covey, the management guru, they were principle centered.

They had principles, beliefs, convictions that anchored their life and they hung to those principles regardless of the climate.

i.e.

Story of a preacher who had uncompromising convictions.

Two brothers had terrorized a small town for decades. they were unfaithful to their wives, abusive to their children, and dishonest in their business. the younger brother died unexpectedly.

The surviving brother went to the pastor of the local church, “I’d like you to conduct my brother’s funeral, he said, but its important to me that during the service, you tell everyone my brother was a saint.”

“But he was far from that,” the minister countered.

The wealthy brother pulled out his checkbook.

“Reverend, I’m prepared to give $100,000 to your church. All I’m asking is that you publicly state that my brother was a saint.”

On the day of the funeral, the pastor began his eulogy this way. “Everyone knows the deceased was a wicked man, a womanizer , and a drunk. He terrorized his employee and cheated on his taxes.” Then he paused.

“But as evil as this man was, compared to his older brother, he was a saint!”

3rd mark of these Christians was they had uncompromising convictions.

4. Mark # 4: Radical Lifestyle

They lived differently than the world around them.

1 Peter 2: 11 – 12

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.?*

i.e.

2nd century letter describing Cns

“Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language, or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak a different dialect...They live in both Greek and foreign cities wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food, and other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the unusual form of our own citizenship.

They live in their own native lands, but as aliens...Every foreign country is to them as their native country, and every native country as a foreign country.

They marry and have children just like everyone else, but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws and go beyond the laws in their own lives.

They love everyone but are persecuted by all. they are put to death, but gain life. they are poor and yet make rich. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor. Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others.

When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished, they rejoice as if given new life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens and are persecuted by Greeks, yet those who hate them cannot give any reason for their hostility.”

Holy, moral, ethical living was another mark that brought them the label.

Conclusion

Several years ago Time magazine carried a story about a controversy that once raged in a Waterloo, Iowa courthouse over the question, “What is a Christian?”

It all started when a local doctor who had been very wealthy died, and when his will was read it was discovered that he had left a large sum of money to be distributed to the Christians in town, specifically—and I quote, “...to persons who believe in the fundamental principles of the Christian religion, and in the Bible, and who are endeavoring to propagate the same.”

Well, when the will became public, a dispute grew over exactly who in town were Christians and therefore worthy of a share of the doctor’s money. Suits and countersuits were filed, and eventually the court was given the responsibility of settling the issue. Each of the ministers in town who had staked a claim was called in to appear before the judge to be interviewed in order to see if they were in agreement when it came to exactly what, “Christianity’s fundamental principles” were. There were representatives of all the various denominations, …

Friends, if that happened here, and a judge looked at our behavior, attitudes, activities….would he conclude that we are Christians….Christ-followers?

Do we bear the marks sufficiently as these folks in Acts 11 to be given that label?

I hope so…

May God bring us into such connection with him, transform our minds, expand our hearts with his love, and root us so deeply in we people attach that label of “Christ-followers’ to us. Our world so needs authentic, winsome Christians….that display the love, and nature of Jesus.

The story is told of a young lad in Alexander the Great’s army.

He was caught for deserting them when the battle got too hot. He was brought before Alexander thrown down at his feet. Alexander was not known to be compassionate on deserters. Often putting them to the sword himself.

When he saw this young lad disguised as a soldier, he demanded,

“What is your name?”

The boy whimpered, “Alexander”

“Louder!”

“Alexander, sir.”

Alexander walked around the coward as everyone waited for him to lop off the boy’s head.

Suddenly he grabbed the boy by the neck and hoisted him to eye level,. The boy’s feet dangling off the ground.

He brought the boy close to his face and said with force,

“Alexander, change your character or change your name!”

Could it be said to us today:

“Christian, change your character or change your name!”

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The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 11:19-30

* Or on the day of visitation.

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. 1 Pe 2:11-12