WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN? (7 OF 16)
by Tim Badal
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
This content is part of a series.
What Does It Mean to Be A Christian? (7 of 16)
Series: Ready
Tim Badal
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
We've been in this series entitled ''Ready,'' and today we'll discuss how we need to be ready to share the love of Christ and His Word in ways we may not have thought of before. Last week we spoke on the subject of sex and your attention was right with me. Your eyes were open and you were listening with bated breath.
Today we're moving from being in tune with our culture to something that may seem a little boring. After talking about an issue as intense as sexual morality, we come now to the topic of loving and serving one another-how we live differently in our world and at our jobs-and that may seem like a let-down. But just as it's important to please God regarding our sexual purity, it is also important to live out the truths in 1 Thessalonians 4:9?12. So as we look at this text, we're going to ask: what does it mean to be a Christian?
This question was brought to my attention this week as I was watching a news program where they were discussing the evangelical vote in this political campaign. They said 75% of South Carolinians who took part in yesterday's primary election defined themselves as ''evangelical Christians.'' The program anchor said, ''Can we just stop and ask a question? What is a Christian? Because the way they vote, it seems the issues that are most important to them are all over the place.'' He was kind of frustrated. ''Can someone tell me what a Christian is?'' Someone responded, ''It's a person who affirms the teachings of Jesus Christ.''
I thought about that and knew there was more. After all, even the demons in some way can affirm the teachings of Jesus Christ. They know Who He is, and the Bible says they shudder at the fact that Jesus is Who He is. It's real in their lives. So being a follower of Jesus Christ, being a Christian, is a much larger thing than simply affirming His teachings. So I began to investigate on my own. The d ...
Series: Ready
Tim Badal
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
We've been in this series entitled ''Ready,'' and today we'll discuss how we need to be ready to share the love of Christ and His Word in ways we may not have thought of before. Last week we spoke on the subject of sex and your attention was right with me. Your eyes were open and you were listening with bated breath.
Today we're moving from being in tune with our culture to something that may seem a little boring. After talking about an issue as intense as sexual morality, we come now to the topic of loving and serving one another-how we live differently in our world and at our jobs-and that may seem like a let-down. But just as it's important to please God regarding our sexual purity, it is also important to live out the truths in 1 Thessalonians 4:9?12. So as we look at this text, we're going to ask: what does it mean to be a Christian?
This question was brought to my attention this week as I was watching a news program where they were discussing the evangelical vote in this political campaign. They said 75% of South Carolinians who took part in yesterday's primary election defined themselves as ''evangelical Christians.'' The program anchor said, ''Can we just stop and ask a question? What is a Christian? Because the way they vote, it seems the issues that are most important to them are all over the place.'' He was kind of frustrated. ''Can someone tell me what a Christian is?'' Someone responded, ''It's a person who affirms the teachings of Jesus Christ.''
I thought about that and knew there was more. After all, even the demons in some way can affirm the teachings of Jesus Christ. They know Who He is, and the Bible says they shudder at the fact that Jesus is Who He is. It's real in their lives. So being a follower of Jesus Christ, being a Christian, is a much larger thing than simply affirming His teachings. So I began to investigate on my own. The d ...
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