Christian Character

Before proceeding, I would like to set some context here by defining a Christian.

It is understandable that it may be difficult to determine who a Christian is in this world.  It is label used by so many that the real meaning has been obscured.  Thankfully, however, it has not been lost.

In the original Greek the work Christian is Χριστιανός (Christianos) and is translated “follower of Christ”.  It may be surprising to learn that the term is only found three times in the Bible (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16), but I believe this is sufficient to establish that term “Christian” was attributed to  followers of Christ.

In Acts 11:26, the term Christian is used to describe the disciples teaching in Antioch.  Acts 26:28 shows that the term “Christian” was already commonly known based on King Agrippa’s response to Paul’s address; “…Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Finally, in 1 Peter 4:16 Peter is addressing the persecuted and tells them not to be ashamed to suffer as a Christian.

I don’t know that anyone could actually consider themselves as a follower of Christ without first acknowledging why Christ came, died, and arose.  I believe the following eight verses explain what his life, death, and resurrection means to us:

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” –Romans 3:23

“For God so loved the works that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not parish but have ever lasting life” – John 3:16

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He save us.” –Titus 3:5

“Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish” –Luke 13:3

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” –Romans 10:13

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” –Acts 16:31

“If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” –Romans 10:9-10

I believe that those last two verses, Romans 10:9-10 are at the core of what it means to be a Christian.  Although they speak to salvation, I believe that the transformation that occurs is so profound and complete that it does exactly what 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Accepting Christ regenerates us and reconciles us with God.  We are completely transformed and our relationship with God is restored.

Since we are regenerated and reconciled to God, should there not be some way to identify the character of a Christian?  Are there any traits we can see that reflect the new person we are?  I believe there are and this series will dive into those.

This series is not trying to establish some type of litmus test that can be used to say whether a person is a Christian or not.  If it were, we would all fail because we all still sin and any snapshot of time in our lives would show where we failed to demonstrate one or more of these character traits.  Only God can know a person’s heart and only He can know the truth.

Instead, I hope that this series can be used to help the reader examine his or her own heart and better understand their Christian character and that of those around them.

This series will focus on Matthew 5:3-9.  It is the first seven of the eight Beatitudes that begin what has been called the “Sermon on the Mount.”  Those seven are:

·        Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

·        Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

·        Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

·        Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

·        Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

·        Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

·        Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

I believe that Jesus is highlighting the character traits of His followers with these Beatitudes, and these traits exist because of the regeneration and reconciliation found through salvation.

Are these the only traits?  I do not think so, but they are of such importance that Jesus began his sermon with them.

The next submission in this series will begin with the first Beatitude, the poor in spirit.


The entire series can be found at these links:
Poor in Spirit
They That Mourn
The Meek
Those Who Hunger and Thirst
The Merciful
Pure In Heart
The Peacemakers
Conclusion