Becoming An Identifiable Christian

“Becoming an Identifiable Christian” John 13:35

Synopsis:

When we look around us, it can often be easy to identify a person. If you see someone in a long white coat, they may be a doctor, or if you see someone in a police officer’s uniform, you would assume them to be a cop. The same could be said for a variety of different people with different kinds of jobs… but can it be said for Christians? Historically, God’s people have been identifiable; whether it was by the clothes, hairstyle, or circumcision, they were possible to identify. So what makes Christians identifiable? Jesus says that “everyone will know” that we his disciples by our love. Have you even been able to identify a person as a Christian by their love? Do you feel that someone would be able to identify you by your love?

Sermon Text: John 13:31-35

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him,God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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When we look around, it can often be easy to identify a person. If you see someone in a hospital with a long white coat, you assume them to be a doctor, or if you see someone in a police uniform, carrying a firearm and badge, you would assume them to be a member of the police force. The same could be said for a variety of different people with a variety of jobs… someone with a white collar and a robe would be assumed to be clergy and a person with a safety vest and hard hat would be assumed to be a construction worker of some kind. We all know that we can play this sort of game for quite some time, but what I wonder is whether or not this can be said for a Christian? Is there a way that we could be able to identify an individual as a Christian? A doctor for example would have to have a medical degree. He or she would also have to have a valid license to practice medicine. Additionally, if they wanted to be identified as a doctor, if they wanted people to know that they were a doctor, they would also have to act like a doctor. This primarily means that they would have to be in a position where they actively healed the sick and pain-stricken. Can this be true for Christians? If so, what sort of qualifications would be required to identify a person as such, as a Christian? What makes Christians identifiable and, more perhaps importantly for us, is are we able to be personally identified as Christians? With that in mind, I invite you to listen as the scripture for this message is read.

Reaching back into our past, God’s people have been identifiable; whether it was by the clothes they wore or didn’t wear, hairstyles they adorned or forbade, or in parts of the body that were removed, such as in the practice of circumcision, which continues to be practiced today… through these markers, as they are often called, they were possible to identify as God’s people. So if God is in the business of making known who his followers are, what makes Christians identifiable? If God is in the business of making known who his followers are, what makes Christians identifiable?

What I would propose today is that Christians, as has been the case for centuries, even dating back to the pre-resurrection ministries of Jesus, can be divided into two distinct groups: The 2D Christian and the 3D Christian.

In identifying the 2D Christian, we must look for several markers, as it were. To begin with, the 2D Christian must practice what John Wesley called “heathen honesty.” That is, the sort of truth and justice that is commonly expected in civilized society: Not lying, not stealing or robbing, not taking advantage of the poor nor extorting material gain from either the poor or the rich. In the same vein, the 2D Christian is willing to give to those that need from their abundance; this could be anything from canned food that won’t eaten, clothes that aren’t worn, to the occasional donation to a good and worthy cause. Additionally, this same expected sense of truth is accompanied by a sense of justice in which when one sees such practices being engaged, the 2D Christian would respond accordingly. In this, heathen honesty, we find some of what is needed to be a 2D Christian.

Secondly, in beginning to separate the almost Christian from a virtuous non-Christian, as clearly many of these characteristics can be found in those not interested in professing the faith, we find the form of Godliness, that is, the outward dressings or appearance of a Christian. This, the form of godliness, can be broken down into three distinct ideas:

Firstly is the ceasing of bad or sinful activities. The 2D Christian does nothing which the gospel forbids. They would not take the name of God in vain; they would not speak curses or swear. They would honor the day of the Lord, and even bring with them those that that are in their home, be them guests and/or family. They would not only avoid speaking gossip and slander, but only speak what is useful for building up… so that their words may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29) The 2D Christian does get drunk, whether it be from alcohol or other forms of gluttony. They avoid as they are able all forms of lies, strife, and gossip, and instead they pursue relationships of peace with all people, friendly or otherwise. And lastly, if someone hurts them, they do not pursue revenge in any way shape or form; they do not return evil for evil. They do not willingly wrong, hurt, or grieve any person; but in all that they do, they live by the Golden Rule: "In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you."

Secondly, the 2D Christian would seek to do good. And, in doing good, they would not limit themselves to cheap and easy acts of kindness, but labor and suffers so that they might help others. Regardless of the difficultly, " Whatever [their] hand[s] find to do, [they] do with [all their] might” be it physical, emotional, or otherwise. They admonish their fellow Christian, teach those lack full knowledge of Christ, encourage the good actions of those around them, and bring comfort to the afflicted. They boldly search out the lost sheep of God’s flock, pointing them back to the never-ending grace of God, and even encourage their fellow faithful, to speak the gospel of Christ in all that they do.

Thirdly, those who have the form of Godliness will practice the spiritual disciplines of a Christian. They regularly come to worship, and not only sit in their pews, but actively engage in worship. They do not talk to one another about matters unrelated to worship, bring attention to themselves instead of God, fall asleep, or engage in a staring contest with a spot on the wall. Would to God there were none even among ourselves who fall under the same condemnation! Those that engage in practices such as these have not even the form of Godliness. No, in all that they do in worship, every word and gesture echoes the prayer, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” We can add to worship, the disciplines of prayer and the reading of scripture, as well as a host of other acts of piety… and yet in all of these actions, done only as acts, we are left with someone who is still a 2D Christian. Lastly, in understanding the 2D Christian, we look at sincerity. By sincerity I mean, an authentic, personal interaction with the faith. And it is from this place that the 2D Christian’s actions flow. And, indeed if they don’t have this, we have not heathen honesty. For a poet once wrote: Good men avoid sin from the love of virtue; wicked men avoid sin from a fear of punishment. So, if a man only abstains from doing evil in order to avoid punishment, as the poet says, "thou hast thy reward." If, then, any man, with the same intentions, whether it be to avoid punishment, avoid the loss of their friends or reputation or otherwise; should they not only stop doing evil, but also do much good; and use all the means of grace – we could not say that this person, lacking sincerity but having all else, is even almost a Christian. If he has no better principle in his heart, he is only a hypocrite altogether. Sincerity, that is, a real desire to serve God, is necessary for the 2D Christian. They would have a sincere view of pleasing and pursuing God in all that they do; in all conversations, actions, and in all they do or don’t do. All of these things, heathen honesty, the form of Godliness, and sincerity, guides the totality of the 2D Christian’s life.

So the question may be asked, "Is it possible for anyone to do all this and still be only almost a Christian? What more can be required for someone to be a 3D Christian? I answer, that it is possible to do all these things and come this far, and still be but a 2D Christian.

So what is required to be a 3D Christian?

I answer first, the love of God for scripture says, "…love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." And the love of God is this: A love that engrosses the whole heart, a lovethat moves all affections, and a love that fills the entire capacity of the soul and utilizes the fullness of our bodies. Someone that loves the Lord like this, oh his spirit is ever praising the Lord, finding delight in God, his Lord and his All, to whom " everything he gives thanks.” His heart is ever crying out, "Who do have I in heaven but You? And there is none on the earth that I desire besides you." Indeed, what can we desire beside God? Not the world, or the things of the world: for we have been "crucified to the world” and are no longer “of the world, but only in the world.”

In that same vein, the 3D Christian is also called to the love of neighbor. We say this because Jesus said, "… love your neighbor as yourself." And if someone asks, "Who is my neighbor?" we reply, every man, woman, and child in the world who is the Father’s, which is everyone. We do not exclude those that we consider problems or enemies, for every Christian is called to love even those as themself, even "as Christ loved us." Those that seek to understand this love can remember the words of Paul who told that love is is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

But there is yet one more thing that we must consider. While it cannot actually be separate from love, which is required in being a 3D Christian, it is the ground and root of all, namely faith. Indeed, scripture tells us much about faith. In the Gospel of John, we hear that “all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” And, later in this same gospel, we hear that "this is the victory that overcomes the world." Even our Lord himself declares that anyone who "hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life." Indeed, faith is a wonderful things through which despite our own wrongdoings, we can be saved, but let no one be deceived. For Wesley, in his sermon Homily on the Salvation of Man, writes:

The faith which bringeth not forth repentance, and love, and all good works, is not that right living faith, but a dead and devilish one. For, even the devils believe that Christ was born of a virgin: that he wrought all kinds of miracles, declaring himself very God: that, for our sakes, he suffered a most painful death, to redeem us from death everlasting; that he rose again the third day: that he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father and at the end of the world shall come again to judge both the quick and dead. These articles of our faith the devils believe, and so they believe all that is written in the Old and New Testament. And yet for all this faith, they be but devils."

What Wesley is saying is that it is not enough to simply believe in what scripture tells us. It is a sure trust and confidence in God that, by the merits of Christ, by his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead, that our sins are forgiven, and we reconciled to God. It is a sure trust and confidence that we are not bound by our sins and transgression, but that we are set free to live fully, praising and loving our God.

Those that have a faith such as this which purifies the heart, which fills it with love stronger than death, a love that joyfully partakes in the works of God, glorying to spend and to be spent for all people--whoever has a faith such as this, working by love and faith, is not only almost a Christian, but a 3D, altogether Christian.

You may be asking yourselves, "Which am I? Do I practice justice, mercy, and truth, as even a virtuous non-Christian? If so, do I have even the outwards dress of a Christian, the form of Godliness? Do I abstain from evil, --from whatever is forbidden in the written Word of God? Do I seriously use all the means of grace at all opportunities? And is all this done with a sincere heart and desire to please God in all things?"

If we are honest, we must be wondering if we have even come to level of a 2D dimensional Christian. Do we have even the common courtesy of heathen honesty, or the form of Christian godliness? Do we so much as intend all our words and works, our business, our studies, and our other joys to his glory?

But, is it right to believe that good intensions and sincere desire make a Christian? By no means, as Paul says! As it is often said, "Hell is paved with good intentions." The great question of all, then, still remains: Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart? Can you, with sincerity, cry out "My God, and my All"? Do you desire nothing but God? Are you happy in God? Is he your glory, your delight, your crown of rejoicing? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Do you love every man, even your enemies, even the enemies of God, as you love your own soul, even as Christ loves you? Do you believe that Christ loves you, and gave himself to die for you? Do you have faith in his blood? Do you believe that the Lamb of God has stripped you of your sins, and cast them as far as the east is from the west, that he has blotted out all your sin, removing them and nailing them to his cross? And does the Spirit bear witness in you, that you indeed a child of God?

God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who even now, in this very moment, is with us in this sanctuary, knows that if any person dies without this faith and this love, that it would have been better for him or her that they had never been born. So I urge you my friends, wake up! You that remain asleep, that are yet to embrace the fullness of faith and love in Christ our Lord, call upon our God. Do not let him rest till he makes his "goodness pass before you;" Let no one persuade you to rest short of this prize, but cry unto him day and night, who, "while we were yet sinners died for us," until you know and trust in Him, and can say, "My Lord, and my God!" Remember, "always pray, and do not grow weary," so you also can lift up your hands towards heaven, and declare to God who lives for ever and ever, "You know all things, You know that I love You."

May we all so experience what it is to be, not only almost; but altogether Christians; not just 2D Christians, but fully embodied 3D Christians. May we all be justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus; knowing that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God and having the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, by the power and grace given to us by the Holy Spirit!!!

Amen.