Our society is so against rules and regulations. We aren't allowed to tell people what is wrong and right since they are subjective to the other person's opinion. However, examining the Bible we are actually called to a standard of Christian living.
There is a way to see if you are a Christian - no it wasn't to be legalistic but it was to help us evaluate and search ourselves. To keep putting our eyes on Christ. The Bible is clear that we should be able to tell who is a true convert by the way they look and behave.
Everyday there are many people that claim to be a Christian, even famous people but when you examine their lives in accordance with 1 John chapter 1 verses 2:17 you honestly have doubts. Yes, it is true we can't see their hearts, however the life they put on display for the world to see you start to wonder and think I don't think you are a Christian according to scriptures.
Yest they may believe in a Jesus fellow but I am not sure what Bible they are reading because my Bible is very clear about how we should live (please hear me that the Bible does not say we are without sin so there is no perfect Christian). And contraire to society as believers in Christ we are actually called to hold each other up to the standard. Matthew chapter 18 verse 15 tells us we are to "go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over."
Walk in the Light
There is no darkness in God, He is completely light, and we are called to walk in that light. We need to walk in the truth and we find truth by examining the scriptures and fleeing from what is inappropriate conduct. This means that we don't try and get as closes to darkness as we can because we are Christians and play the grace card, but rather we are to flee from darkness and run into the light. Do you hate sin? Sin is darkness and we need to learn to abhor it with a passion.
Confess your sin
Becoming a Christian unfortunately does not mean that we sin no more, rather it means that when we do sin we confess our sin to our loving saving Jesus. Confessing isn't just a one-time thing but rather a daily thing, and the more time we spend studying and learning about God I think the more passionate we become about hating sin and the more we spend time confessing.
Keep His commandments
There is no way that we can keep all the commandments, that is why we are to confess our sins but we are to walk as Jesus walked. Jesus kept all the commandments of the Father and we are to ask the Lord for help to keep us from temptation.We are called to a holy living where we are examining our life in light of what the Bible says. Flee from sin. We are to run from it not go anywhere near it.
Love your brother
It is so easy to say yes Jesus I love you but I hate this person because they hurt me. I know that I have been guilty of this in my life. But if we are going to be a follower of Christ we can't allow hatred to fester, we need to see people as Jesus sees them. We need to pray for those that we have difficulty with, we are to forgive them for their sins towards us.
Don't let unforgiveness or hatred towards a fellow believer cause you to be in darkness. At the same time this does not mean that you need to be best friends with someone who has really hurt you, it means that you have a heart to see them like God does, they are broken sinners forgiven by grace.
Do you hate the world?
I want you to honestly ask yourself this question "whom am I serving?" Are you really serving God or your own kingdom? Do you remember that the world is fading and one day it will pass away and that one day we will be standing before Christ forever? Are you chasing after the material dream or God's dream and making sacrifices to see His kingdom advanced? I know that sometimes I forget that I am living for eternity not just the here and the now. It is about learning to be in the world but not of it, not to be caught up with what the Jones want.
Looking at this list, we see that John has laid out for us a clear description of what a Christian in the 21st century should look like. If you are like me and sometimes feel man I feel lacking in a certain area this is a good time to take it to God, to repent for our sins and shortcomings, run into the arms of Jesus and spend time daily reading the word. Ask for His guidance and help and to hate what He hates.
Genevieve Wilson is a happily married stay at home, home-schooling mum of 3, whose passion is to see people come to know Jesus. She worked 8 years as a missionary with Youth with a Mission (YWAM). She has a heart for justice.
Genevieve Wilson's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/genevieve-wilson.html