TheoTrek — A Journey with God in Discipleship
Why Do I Think I'm a Christian?
Joel 2:23-32; Luke 18:9-14; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Central Baptist Church—Lowesville, VA
28 October 2007
(This sermon is written in two voices, voice two differentiated by the text in emphasis)
What does it mean to be a Christian? Originally “Christian” was a derogatory term for those who following Jesus as the Christ, God’s anointed. It mocked believers trying to emulate Christ. “There go the ‘little Christs!’” Believers, on the other hand, began wearing the moniker with pride. It addressed the heart of their identity—their commitment to become ever more like Christ Jesus. How committed are we to that principle today? Does the call to be like Christ resonate in the comings and goings of our lives? Do our lives have the authentic look and feel of Jesus’ presence?
This past Monday, I was eating by myself at an outdoor café in Charlottesville. The place was packed so it was no surprise when I felt the presence of someone standing at the empty chair of my table. The man asked if he could sit at the table with me. Because of his accent and skin color, I asked where he was from. He was from Ethiopia. After he’d talked a little bit about his country, he bowed his head to pray. Surprised, I asked him if he were a Christian. “Do you not know the Bible story of the Ethiopian with whom Phillip shared his faith and then baptized? Ethiopia was the first Christian nation in Africa and is about 80% Christian.” I felt a little ignorant that he had to remind me of the Bible story and then asked, also ignorantly, about Muslims in his country. It seems that Mohammed was given refuge in Ethiopia at one point and he admired the strength of the Ethiopians Christian faith. He told his followers not to touch Ethiopia. Coptic Christianity in Ethiopia has had its problems, but has held up through the centuries with the organized face of official worship of God in Christ Jesus. Not all is as meets the eye, however. It is all too easy to claim a faith that belies a false reality beneath the surface claim to Christ.
The prophet Joel spoke of a glorious day to come. His people—the chosen people of Yahweh—were beset with difficulties and the need for relief and restoration. They craved agricultural bounty, preservation from enemies, and divine favor. Joel spoke of more than these limited blessings, however. He looked to Yahweh’s restoration as more than the return to a glorious past. He anticipated a new hope in God’s provision for this people called by Yahweh’s name. Yahweh would break the molds, providing for the people’s needs in a much greater manner. Provision would flow from Yahweh’s intimate presence among the entire people.
My friend grew up in the official church. He watched his neighbor, however, and saw a different vitality of faith, meaning, purpose, passion, or something that was lacking in his own life. This neighbor began a house church in his own home. When someone would denounce him to the authorities, he would be dragged off to prison for six months or so. Upon release and looking worse for his confinement, he would continue with the house church activities. Once more, he would be denounced, the police would arrive, beat him, lock him up for another six months or a year. He would eventually be released after one more beating. He would reconvene the house church in his home. Youth in the neighborhood would come by, throwing stones during the meetings. The police would come again to imprison him, abuse him, but he would carry on.
Yahweh was coming to walk with the people, entering into the fabric of their lives. Access to God would not be restricted to a special priesthood. Not only would old men see visions and young men dream dreams, but the opposite would be true as well. The breath of Yahweh would reach even the slave class, male and female alike, granting prophetic utterance to both boys and girls. Yahweh would be fully accessible, present, and active among the whole of the nation without distinction. They would be intimately ushered into God’s presence, their needs met in the light of Yahweh’s personal attention. No longer would they simply be a people called by Yahweh’s name, but they would know the One by whose name they were called. It would make a difference in their lives.
There was something in this neighbor’s life that was missing in that of my Ethiopian friend. He attended services and participated in all the proper rites of faith. There was nothing in his life that meant so much to him that he would put up with this kind of abuse and return to it in faithful abandon. After watching the proceedings for some time, he decided to check out this neighbor’s faith. He wanted to know what this faith was about, for it obviously held more meaning and authenticity than his own.
Joel was assured that knowing God intimately would make a difference in their anxieties and concerns. Being able to take one’s worries directly to Yahweh as friend should make all the difference. Direct intimacy with God should grant confidence of God’s providing for all one’s needs. Rather than bearing the name of Yahweh, they would know the One whose name they bore. What difference does knowing Christ Jesus make in our lives in contrast to those who don’t claim Christ? Do our lives give faith a stamp of authenticity?
After becoming a Christian, my friend came to the United States to study. He found a house church that reminded him of his fellowship of believers in Ethiopia, but as he looked around at those who called themselves Christians here in the US, he was reminded too much of those that were involved in Coptic Christianity in Ethiopia. They said that they were Christians, but there seemed to be nothing to show others that they were true believers. He definitely did not see anything like the “faith in action” of his former neighbor.
Jesus spoke of people going through the motions of faith for show. His story resonated with the crowds. They understood the difference between a showy faith and an authentic faith. They knew that what looked good and sounded good was not always good. They were not quite as about God’s acceptance of those who did not meet established standards of righteousness. They understood, however, that hypocrisy fails to reach God’s standards. Jesus taught and lived God’s forgiving the humble and repentant. He extended God’s grace to all willing to embrace their need. Jesus’ life displayed an authentic confidence in God’s love, care, forgiveness, and provision. Do our lives look like that of Jesus? How do we display faith in more than name alone?
My friend encountered some troubles. He was thrown out of school and kicked out of his housing. He had to leave the area for a time but when he came back, the first thing he did was to look to his brothers and sisters in Christ from his former church. He needed temporary housing until he could find a job, and he needed the love of the Christians with which he had formed family. Knowing that the pastor of the group had a large house that he wasn’t sharing with anyone, he turned to him for help. All he wanted was a little corner to lay his sleeping bag until he could get on his feet. He didn’t feel that he was asking for much. He called the pastor and talked with the pastor about his repentance for what he had done. After the pastor had assured my friend of his love and forgiveness, my friend asked him if he could help him with housing until he had a job. The pastor said, “I don’t know of anyone that has a room that they can let you stay in. Let’s pray together about this.” For some reason, my friend didn’t feel much like praying about it. Later on, he tried to return to his church. People hugged him, said they were glad he was back, and then went on with the regular church service. They never asked him how he was doing, where he was living or working, or anything about his life. They were “glad” he was back in their fellowship, though.
To Paul, suffering for the sake of Christ was a worthy prospect. It just meant that he was closer to becoming like Christ than before. It was a stamp of authenticity for his faith when others cast scorn, anger, and violence against his earnest attempts to emulate Christ and advance the gospel. He was assured by God’s standing by him in the midst of persecution, imprisonment, and trial. He kept his eyes on issues of eternity, rather than the attacks on his expressions of authentic faith. Would we claim Jesus under threat and persecution?
My Ethiopian friend recalled again the way that he was led to know the Lord in an authentic manner. His neighbor loved and worshipped the Lord and called the other faithful Christians to his house to worship and study the Bible. He was imprisoned and beaten numerous times. He had stones thrown at him and his house. Each time he was released, he went back to praising and serving the Lord. He never hid his faith, but joyfully shouted from his rooftop, asking others, “Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you be with Him in heaven if you die today?” He then asked me, “Where are the Christians here? I see many who read the Bible and go to church. I see some who will even, on special occasions, go out on missions trips to help others. There are a few that will attempt to tell someone about their faith. But where are those that will daily live for Christ, not worrying about what others say about them? Where are those who will give of themselves, no matter what, to make sure that everyone around them comes to know Christ in a personnel, and real, manner? Where are those who would lay down their lives for the most despised person they know, just as Christ laid down His life for them? Why can’t people who live in a place where worshipping the Lord is allowed seem to truly live for Him?”
What is too high a price for us to pay for the sake of Christ Jesus? How much worth do we truly attribute to the gospel? Perhaps it is simpler to understand the gospel’s demands under threat of life and limb. When faith is comfortable, it is too easy to view faith issues as an array of choices with little eternal significance. We get too worried about who hurt whose feelings and give less attention to building the body of Christ to share authentic faith with the world. How will our daily actions display faith in more than name alone? At the end of the day, how far can Jesus count on our faithfulness?