Title: COMMON TRAITS OF TRUE CHRISTIANS
Focus: True Christians share a number of common characteristics, such as commitments to obey God’s will, to love one’s neighbor, and to believe in Christ’s person and saving work.
Function: To emphasize that we need to show our true colors as Christians by committing ourselves to these common traits.
Text: I John 2:1-29
Who is a true Christian? Some would consider this a loaded question—a question you will not find unanimous agreement on. For example, I learned the other day of a Laotian immigrant who reasoned that since he is now living in a “Christian” nation such as America, he is now a Christian. When he lived in Lao, he was a Buddhist. Why? “Well,” he said, “because Lao is a Buddhist country.”
So, for this Laotian immigrant, the answer to the question, “who is a true Christian?’ depends upon location: where do you live? And even though Christians from his sponsoring church tried to help this Laotian immigrant understand the error of his ways and thinking, he would not budge. “I live in America; therefore, I am a Christian,” he said.
How would you answer the question, “Who is a true Christian?” Do we measure true Christians by standards of behavior? Or by standards of political views and ideology perhaps? Or do we measure true Christians by their denominational preference and loyalty, such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Charismatic, or Reformed?
I think that answering the question “who is a true Christian?” is tricky business. But in light of John’s pastoral letters to the church I say that true Christians share a number of common traits, such as commitments to obey God’s will, to love one’s neighbor, and to believe in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ. So, I invite you to explore with me the passage as found in I John 2. We shall begin with a caution.
Some of us might say, “You know, Pastor, we should refrain all together from judging who is a Christian and who is not. After all, does not the Bible warn us to sit in judgment over others?”
Yes, it’s true: The Bible warns us in James 4:11 saying: “Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” And elsewhere in Scripture we learn that we should be aware of the beams of sin in our own eyes as we point to the splinters or flaws of others. Clearly, sitting in judgment over others is a precarious or dangerous thing to do. “Who am I to judge,” some will say.
Yet, the Scripture also calls us to practice spiritual discernment. We must test the spirits, for example. And we must not turn a blind eye to heresies in our midst. And we can know followers of Jesus Christ by the fruit they bear. Speaking of false prophets, for example, Jesus said: (Matthew 7:16) “By their fruit you will recognize them.”
In other words, the Scriptures do not advocate naďveté, or to have a blind eye to false teachings or to immoral conduct either. So then, on the one hand, Scripture cautions us against a judgmental attitude. On the other hand, the Bible does call for spiritual discernment in all matters related to God in Christ.
Taking the Bible’s cautions to heart, then, we consider anew the reasons why the apostle John wrote his pastoral letters to the church. Aside from encouraging us in our journey of faith in Christ, and in deepening our fellowship with one another, the apostle John also wrote to call us to walk in the light of God’s truth. And thus in chapter one, John teaches us that Christian doctrine forms the basis of Christian conduct. So he warned us against false doctrines set forth in the church by so-called “deceivers,” or “antichrists.”
Now, in chapter two, we notice that the apostle John gives us a number of common characteristics of people who live by the truth of God’s Word. Walking in the light of God’s truth calls for the display of some common traits which sets people apart as Christians—followers of Jesus Christ.
Check out The flow or Movement of Thought in Chapter Two: (cf. John Stott) John makes reference to three tests or common characteristics that set us apart as Christians. The first trait is a commitment to obey God’s Word; the second trait is a commitment to love one’s neighbor; and the third characteristic is the belief in the person and saving work of Christ.
And as John writes about these three commitments, he makes two digressions. The first digression is found in vs. 12-14 where John speaks about those who belong to the church. And the second digression is found in verses 15-17, where John speaks about the world. The relationship between these two digressions and the three common traits mentioned throughout chapter two all center on the commitments to love and obey God rather than the world, and to anchor our faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
We shall focus today on the three common traits that set people apart as Christians. The first one involves
Jesus lived by the truth of God’s Word; so must his followers; Jesus lived to do his heavenly Father’s will; so must we; Jesus recognized that living by the truth calls for a commitment to bend our wills to the will of God as expressed in his Word; we must do likewise. A commitment to obey God’s truth is a common characteristic found among true Christians.
Please, note, I did not say “people who are perfect,” or “people who have no moral flaws or failures in their history.” I did not say “people who have a stellar moral record.” O no, I said, people who, like Jesus, are committed to do God’s bidding in their lives. People who seek to live out of God’s will. People who commit themselves to be shaped by God’s truth—such people demonstrate a characteristic that sets them apart as true followers of Jesus. The second common trait that sets us apart as true Christians involves
reminds his readers that they live in a new era: the era of faith in Christ, the era of salvation. We live in that period where God has demonstrated his love toward us in Christ Jesus. And now God calls the followers of Christ to display the same self-sacrificial love that Jesus showed toward us. We must love one another, especially those of the household of faith. Listen again to the text: (vs. 7-11) “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” Living in the light of God’s truth and walking as Jesus did calls for a commitment to love our neighbors, and in particular our brothers and sisters in the faith. Christian love is a common trait setting people apart as true followers of Christ.
Please, note. I did not say “people who have mastered to love perfectly, or to love even their most unlovable co-worker.” I did not say, “people who never feel like wringing the neck of their enemies, or punching this whining complainer or unhappy camper in the church of Christ.” Oh no, I said people who, like Jesus, are committed to love their neighbor as they love themselves.
Such loves calls for periodic confession, for saying at times “I’m sorry that I hurt you.” Such commitment to love calls for deep reliance upon God’s Holy Spirit to overcome our selfish desires. The commitment to love is a common trait that sets us apart as true Christians. The apostle John mentions one more common characteristic. It’s
For example, denying that Jesus did not really die, did not really take on our human nature—means that we are left without a Savior who can take our place and pay the wages of sin. If Jesus is not really fully human and fully divine, then we do not have a Savior who sympathizes with us, who understands us fully, and who can heal us with his saving power. Then we are without hope.
Listen to John: (vs. 22,23) “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
Clearly, a firm commitment to the belief in the person and saving work of Christ sets us apart as true followers of Jesus.
“Who is a true Christian?” I asked at the beginning of my message. John gives us three common characteristics. They center on the commitments to obey God’s truth, to love our neighbor, and to believe in the person and work of Christ. By now, if we are honest, we will have to admit to ourselves that no one can keep or demonstrate perfectly and consistently these three common traits.
And that’s why I want to focus our attention to the first two verses in chapter two, where John points us to Jesus Christ, our Savior. Listen: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Note that Jesus reveals himself as our Advocate, our lawyer, our great high priest. He speaks on our behalf. Note that his sacrifice on the cross takes away our sins. He forgives us. Note that Jesus’ saving work and shed blood is so powerful and all sufficient that should the whole world reach out to Christ by faith, the blood of Christ would cover the sins of the world.
Hardened sinners and an unrepentant world will not turn to Christ. But all those who look up to him for salvation and forgiveness may receive these heavenly gifts and can be assured of their salvation. That’s why John says at the end of chapter two (vs. 28) “And now, dear children, continue in (Christ), so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”
What must we do to be true followers of Christ? We must live the life of confession, living with u-turns (acts of repentance), picking up the pieces of our failures, and follow Christ. That’s what it means to abide or “continue” in Christ. That’s what it means to walk in God’s light and to walk as Jesus did. Doing so, calls for at least three common characteristics: a commitment to obey God’s will; a commitment to love our neighbor as ourselves; a commitment to believe in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ. These common traits make up the “colors” by which we show that we are true Christians. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.