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A person
who loves Christ
Being a Christian is not just being baptised or coming
to church and taking the sacrament, important though
those aspects are. It is first and foremost a growing
personal relationship with Christ. It should grow deeper
all the time.
Jesus speaks of our loving him: John 14:23 “If anyone
loves me.” But how do we love Christ? Love is a total
response: including mind, emotions and will.
We love Christ with our mind. Look at John 17:3: “Now
this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Love for Christ is partly based on facts. For example,
remembering the facts that:
We can’t make ourselves believe, but we can persevere in
praying for faith, based on the facts in the New
Testament, until the faith comes.
When we really believe these facts (and put our trust in
Christ), we are accepted by God in this life and the
next.
We love Christ with our emotion – affection. How is it
possible to believe these facts without having your
emotions stirred? So our love for Christ will include
emotion. Inevitably, however, our emotions vary. We
can’t make ourselves feel but we can persevere in
praying for positive emotions, based on the facts in NT,
until we feel love for God.
If you are a beginner then concentrate on the mind and
emotions aspects initially, but not for too long. They
are the driving force and motive for what I am going to
say now, namely, we love Christ with our will. If you
believe the above facts about Christ, they will inspire
emotional love for him, but all that will lead to a
Christian life style. We shall (albeit imperfectly):
-
Put him first in our lives (Matthew 10:37)
-
Put ourselves out for him and others (sacrifice,
deny ourselves) (Matthew 16: 24-26)
-
Please him (John 14:23; Matthew 7:21; 12:50)
-
Acknowledge him (sensitively share our personal
faith with others) (Matthew 10:32-33) in word and by
the way we live.
 A
PRAYER
Dear Father
Thank you for your love. Thank you that Jesus is with
me, Jesus loves
me, Jesus died for me and Jesus will welcome me into
heaven. I believe this with my mind and thank you from
my heart. I love you Lord. Help me to love you more and
to show it by seeking to put you first, before
everything and everyone else, seeking to put myself out
for you, seeking to please you in all I do, seeking to
acknowledge you sensitively to others. Amen
A person who
receives Christ
Jesus said: “He who receives me receives the one who
sent me.”
St John writes: “To all who received him [Jesus] … he
gave the right to become children of God.” But what does
receiving Christ mean?
Firstly, it means recognizing him. That includes
recognizing that he is very close to you, all the time,
wherever you are - closer than anyone else. St John
says (John 1:10): “He was in the world, and though the
world was made through him, the world did not recognize
him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did
not receive him.”
But it is more than that. Secondly, it means “believing
in his name,” that is, recognising him for who he is:
the eternal divine “Word” (revelation) of God and the
glorious one from God. John writes (1:12-14) “To all
who received him, to those who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God …..
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Thirdly, it means acknowledging him openly. Jesus says
(Mt 10:32-40) "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I
will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
33But whoever disowns me before men, I will
disown him before my Father in heaven ….
he who receives me receives the one who sent me.”
You may not be an extrovert; you may not be an
evangelist. But don’t hide your light under a bushel:
look for quiet, gentle ways of showing your faith.
Finally, it means “taking him in by faith” giving him a
hospitable welcome in your life, but (even more intimate
and mysterious) “feeding on him.” Jesus said (John
6:51-54): “I am the living bread that came down from
heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live
forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for
the life of the world." …. "I tell you the truth, unless
you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day.”
This shows how close and intimate receiving Christ is.
Just as we take food into our bodies to be united with
the cells of our bodies, so we take in/receive Christ.
This does not only refer to taking Holy Communion and,
in fact, it is possible to take Communion and not to
receive Christ. The 39 Articles (official doctrine of
the C of E) state (in rather old-fashioned language)
state that it is only if we have faith in Jesus that we
partake of the Body of Christ in Communion*
A
PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, I recognize that you are here, very
close to me. I acknowledge that you are the eternal,
divine Word, the glorious one from God. I now receive
you and ask you to enter and dwell in my life in an
intimate, mysterious way so that I might feed on you.
Help me to acknowledge my faith in you with gentleness
and sensitivity. Amen
*“Insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with
faith, receive the [sacrament], the Bread which we break
is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the
Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ.
The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the
Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And
the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and
eaten in the Supper, is Faith … such as be void of a
lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly
press with their teeth … the Sacrament of the Body and
Blood of Christ; yet in no wise are they partakers of
Christ: but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and
drink the sign or Sacrament of so great a thing.”
A person who trusts
in Christ
Some Christians tend to react against people who seem
over confident – even arrogant - about “being saved”
and going to heaven. They prefer what seems to be the
more humble approach of hoping they’ll get to heaven.
It seems more Anglican! But what does the New Testament
say?
Actually, the New Testament says we can be sure we have
eternal life (here and hereafter) without being arrogant
or presumptuous.
Of course, if I am sure I have eternal life and will go
to heaven because I think I’m good enough, I am a most
arrogant and mistaken person! The New Testament says
that if you sincerely trust in Christ as Saviour then
you have eternal life – here and now, and for ever.
God sent his Son in love so that we may have faith in
him. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
That is why Bible was written. “But these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God, and that by believing you may have life in his
name.” (John 20:31).
We cannot please God if we don’t have faith. Not having
faith is like saying to God: “I don’t trust you.”
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb
11:6)
So the sincere believer, who trusts Christ, as the one
who died for him/her to be forgiven, has eternal life.
Eternal life is in Jesus, so to receive Jesus is to
receive eternal life.
“Whoever believes in the Son HAS eternal life, but
whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's
wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36). "I tell you the
truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent
me HAS eternal life and will not be condemned; he HAS
crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24). “For my
Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day ….. I tell you the truth,
he who believes has everlasting life.” (John 6:40, 47)
Eternal life is knowing Jesus and Jesus is the
resurrection and the life.
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
(John 17:3). “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection
and the life. He who believes in me will live, even
though he dies.’” (John 11:25)
Jesus makes it clear that the believer – the one who has
childlike faith - will not be condemned.
To have faith in/trust Christ means: to believe he
exists and is here (Heb 11:6); to believe he is the
(eternal) Son of God from heaven (John 20:31); to
believe he died for me (John 3:16); to believe he is the
resurrection and the (eternal) life (John 11:25); to
believe that receiving Christ means receiving eternal
life – right now (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:40, 47) and to take
the risk of stepping out in faith (John 7:17)
A
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I believe you are here and that you are the
(eternal) Son of God from heaven. I believe that you
died for me. I believe that you are the resurrection and
the (eternal) life and that to receive you means to
receive eternal life. I now take the risk of stepping
out in faith to trust you with my life and accept you as
my Lord. Amen.
What is a Christian anyway?
A person re-born in
Christ
Sadly, some people, even Christians, refer sneeringly to
“Born again Christians.” Actually, according to
Scripture, there is no such thing as a Christian who is
not born again (or “born from above”)! A person who is
not born again is not a Christian. Of course, there are
Christians who call themselves “born again”, meaning
they feel superior to other Christians who may not use
that terminology. But that is simply spiritual pride –
a very unpleasant sin!
In John 3:3-5 Jesus says to Nicodemus: "I tell you the
truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is
born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?"
Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time
into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I
tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
What does being born again mean? It is referring to
being born into God’s family and includes:
1. Receiving the supernatural life of Father-God (shown
in Christ)
Being born again involves a supernatural change in a
person who loves/receives/trusts Christ. Becoming a
Christian is a supernatural event. A new Christian
receives new life – eternal life (infinite in quality
and eternal in duration). “Receiving Christ” is another
way of describing it. Another description is “being
baptized in the Holy Spirit,” which emphasizes the
supernatural power available to Christians through
faith. This is symbolised, but not automatically
achieved, in baptism.
2. Receiving the characteristics of Father-God (shown in
Christ)
Being born again means receiving the supernatural
ability to manifest the character of Christ, also
referred to as the fruit of the Spirit, namely: love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. This means that we
Christians can, by faith, call upon all these divine
qualities. For example, if, in our human weakness, we
lack love or patience, we can call upon God to release
his love and patience in us. If we really trust him this
will happen.
However, this new life and its divine qualities are
available to us “in Christ.” Therefore, in addition to
“receiving Christ” we must “remain in Christ.” Jesus
says is John 15:1, 4-5: “I am the true vine, and my
Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me
that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken
to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the
vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in
me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing. (Notice that God
“prunes” us as “branches” in “the vine” – Jesus. That
is, he can make us better Christians through experience
of suffering)
How do we “remain in Christ”? By:
Thinking of him often
Thanking him often
Praying to him often
Reading his Word often
Pleasing him always (including through repentance)
A
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, work in me by your powerful Spirit so
that I might fully experience the new birth and manifest
the life and characteristics of Christ, the fruit of the
Spirit. Help me to think of him, thank him, pray to him
and read his Word often so that I might please him
always. Amen. |
Do
We Believe in 3 Gods?
