The Outstanding
Christian
by Barbara Henderson
All
people have at least some desire to ‘stand out’ from among the crowd. They want to be seen as smarter, prettier,
more handsome, wealthier, more intelligent, more gifted, more talented, and
generally just better than average.
I
have news for Christians. ALL Christians
are outstanding. Some just stand out in
different ways than others. I want to mention 3 types of ‘Outstanding Christians.’
Number one are the Christian
who stand out because of their obnoxious, overbearing, bossy, demanding,
‘holier than thou’ attitude. They are
quick to call other Christians names like lazy, ignorant, backslidden, and even
claim to know others are headed for hell because they attend the wrong
Christian church, or haven’t been ‘baptized correctly’, or they are engaging in
sinful activities such attending movies or wearing makeup. These Christians are worse than legalists. They follow to the letter the things that can
be seen on the outside. They add their own brand of morality to the rules God
has set. I have personally known women who will not wear makeup or cut their
hair, yet they make gossip and dissension their daily business. I have known men who demand utter submission
from their wives and children, yet they themselves have not submitted anything
of their own life to the God who created them.
There are Christians who live in the pride of what they have
accomplished and do not give God the glory.
They are quick to condemn other Christians in need, or who are facing
illness or trouble as ‘out of the will of God’.
They are without humility. They
see the small sin in their brother’s life, but ignore giant sins in their own
lives. They are proud, without
thankfulness, without forgiveness for others, without humility, and without
repentance because they cannot see their own sins. They would not help a brother or sister in
need if their lives depended upon it, because they see God as punishing those
in trouble. In fact, they condemn those
in need as though they themselves were without sin or need. They are
hypocrites.
Someone I know defines a hypocrite like this; ‘A hypocrite is someone who – seeing an
illness or trial in YOUR life says, ‘well – there is sin in you life and God is
punishing you.’ BUT, when they face the
SAME illness or trial themselves they say, ‘The devil is persecuting me. That proves I am doing the will of God.’
Believe
me, these Christians are really outstanding.
They stand out in any crowd. They
make God sick. They make fellow
Christians sick, and they make the whole non-Christian population despise God’s
gift of salvation.
Number two are the worldly
Christians. They are so much like the
unsaved that they blend in completely until someone finds out they are
Christians. Then the people of the world
say, ‘What is the point of Christianity?
It requires nothing. It is no
different than anything else.’ In a
world constantly seeking satisfaction through something ‘new’ and ‘different’
worldly Christianity has no appeal. The
worldly Christian is a beacon leading nowhere.
They are lukewarm at very best.
They make God vomit.
Number three are the
Christians who show their heart felt commitment to God in how they live their
personal lives. They apply Bible
teachings to personal actions. God
can use such people to turn the tide of battles, both great and small.
I
just watched ‘The Patriot’ again. Toward
the end, the armies of the Colonies are beginning to retreat. The hero, seeing defeat as unacceptable,
raises up the flag of the United
States, and runs against the tide of the
retreating army shouting ‘HOLD THE LINE’.
The soldiers stop to watch him run in what appears to be the wrong
way. Then some turn and began to follow
him. Then the entire army turns around, charges
up the hill, and wins a decisive victory.
My
Christian brothers and sisters, today is such a day for Christianity. Christians are running in retreat instead of
charging to victory. The armies of
darkness are crushing the freedom to worship our God and our King throughout
the world. ‘Outstanding Christian’ types
one and two are aiding and abetting the enemy! America, the beautiful, bastion of
freedom, is gasping for breath. Yet
there is hope. Out God is a God of
victory, not of defeat. He is willing to
help those who are willing to change their lives to suit God. Will you be such a Christian? Will you be a light that leads the lost to
God? Just by claiming the name of
‘Christian’ you have become an ‘Outstanding Christian’. The question is , ‘Which type of Christian will
you be?’
Will you be:
a
Christian that stands out as obnoxious? (type one)
a
Christian that stands out as nothing special? (type two)
a
Christian who charges up the hill to victory? (type three)
Whether
you make a choice or not, you will fall into one of those categories.
To
be a ‘Type 3 Outstanding Christian’ begins when a Christian becomes willing to
change what is bothering God in his or her own life. Just do a quick self check and see if you
find pride, lack of thankfulness to God and forgiveness to others, gossip in the place of help, lies in the
place of truth, lack of honor where honor is due, wicked thoughts in place of Godly
thoughts, or lack of reverence and awe for the God who created you.
The
Type 3 Outstanding Christian wants to please God more than they want anything
else. Hebrews 13:16 says, ‘but to do
good and communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well
pleased.
In
the movie ‘The Patriot’, the hero charging up the hill wasn’t really looking to
see who followed him. He was looking
forward to victory. That is what every
Type Three Christian needs to do.
Christians need to fix their eyes on Victory in Christ Jesus our
Lord. They look beyond the day and even
the years. Type Three Christians
understand they are not playing a ‘numbers’ game.
Let
Christians be like the Psalmist in Psalm 57:6-7 who says, ‘They have prepared a
net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into
the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.
Selah (7) My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is
fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Type
Three Christians must remember that those who seek our destruction will dig a
well for their own destruction. Fix your
heart on God. Sing and praise God louder
than the doubt that troubles your mind.
Isaiah
50:7 says, ‘For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded:
therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be
ashamed.
Isaiah
49:23b says, ‘for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.’
Actually,
in the movie the hero who charged up the hill was not really going at a fast
pace. He was exhausted. He had short legs and probably couldn’t run
fast even when he wasn’t ‘plum tuckered out’.
(‘plum tuckered out’ is mountain folk talk meaning really really
tired.) The point is, he went forward
against the tide in spite of physical exhaustion and without visible hope of
victory or making a difference. The hero
gave his all to getting up the hill to victory. That is the job of Christians today. Ignore what you see; fix your gaze on Calvary’s Lamb; go forward to victory.
The
song for this article is ‘Follow On’. It
takes a Type Three Christian to follow Jesus. If you are following Jesus –
you are always going in the right direction!
God
bless you. Thank you for reading my
article.
Barbara Henderson
--------------------------------------
Follow Follow I Would Follow Jesus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uGKoqc6_J0
Where the flowers are blooming and the sweet waters flow;
Everywhere He leads me I would follow, follow on,
Walking in His footsteps till the crown be won.
Refrain
Follow! follow! I
would follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I would follow on!
Follow! follow! I would follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I would follow on!
Down in the valley with my Savior
I would go,Anywhere, everywhere, I would follow on!
Follow! follow! I would follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I would follow on!
Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow;
With His hand to lead me I will never, never fear,
Danger cannot fright me if my Lord is near.
Refrain
Down in the valley, or upon the
mountain steep,Close beside my Savior would my soul ever keep;
He will lead me safely in the path that He has trod,
Up to where they gather on the hills of God.
Refrain
