Credentials Of A Committed Christian

HoHum:

A young Christian enlisted in the Army just after graduation from high school. His friends from church were concerned about his faithfulness to the Lord amidst all the military pressures. When the young soldier came home on leave from boot camp, his friends asked him, “Did the others ridicule you for being a Christian?” “Oh, no! That was never a problem,” was his answer. “They never even knew that I was a Christian.”

Do people around us know that we are a follower of Jesus Christ? It is easy in this culture to blend in with the crowd. No need to be obnoxious but if we are a follower of Jesus our faith should shine through and be obvious to others.

WBTU:

The apostle Paul hated to brag, but in the case of the Corinthians he felt like it was necessary. In Corinth, his credibility was undermined by false teachers who claimed to be superior to him. Paul felt like he had to establish his credibility. He felt uncomfortable talking about himself this way. It sounded like selfish ambition. He reluctantly did so- not to exalt himself, but to save the weak Corinthian Christians from being led into false teaching. Paul talks about them as servants of Satan in vs. 13-15. Paul wanted to save them so he begins in Vs. 16-19- read

Beginning here we see 3 credentials of a committed Christian. Last time looked at signs of carnal (unholy) Christians that we should avoid. Here are things for which we should aspire. Good to talk about things to avoid but what ideals to replace the bad. Stop doing this and that, but what are we to do? Christians, we should see these things increasing in our lives.

Thesis: 3 credentials of a committed Christian

For instances:

1. Integrity in relationships with people. Vs. 20-21

Read vs. 20- They enslave you. Take them captive by their selfish ambitions or dogmatic doctrines. Shallow people are inclined to follow somebody who is dogmatic. They are vulnerable to being enslaved by rules. This is the reason cults are so powerful. Believe this, do this, don’t do this, be more strict than everyone else because this is the only way to salvation.

Paul said they take advantage of people. The word here pictures a fish being caught on a hook. They bait the hook and it looks appealing. They promise prosperity, freedom and harmony but they are just being opportunistic. They want to hook us and destroy us. Why do some people give hundreds of dollars to an astrologer to predict their future, dictate their choices of behavior?

Pushes himself forward- Just want to promote their egos. Long to have followers and popularity

Slap you in the face- In the 1st century some teachers would slap their students to show their superiority and to keep the students under subjection. These “super” apostles were publicly embarrassing some of the Christians by hitting them or insulting them. See this in some cults

There are some “Christian” groups today who go to such extremes about the authority of the elder/ shepherd that they cannot do anything without the permission of their shepherd. They won’t move, change jobs, or even paint their homes without getting their decision approved by their shepherd. To be baptized must meet approval of shepherd- one such shepherd refused to approve a baptism until the shepherd’s whole house was cleaned by the family. I don’t think so...

One of Paul’s credentials as an apostle was that he had not manipulated his followers. Vs. 21- To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Paul did not take advantage or exploit them. A Credential of a committed Christian is to be a person of integrity, an integrity that is obvious to the world. We see the loss of values in the military, in government, in athletics, and even in the church. The motto seems to be, “Do unto others before they do it unto you.” People think that we have to lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead in this world. Wayne Smith told about a man who was applying for special insurance, and the insurance agent asked him. “How old is your mother?” He said, “She’s dead.” “How old was she when she died?” “She was 41.” What did she die of? Tuberculosis. How old is your father? He’s dead. How old was he when he died? 43. What did he die of? Heart attack The agent tore up the form and said, “You’re a terrible risk! There’s no way you can get this special insurance; your family medical history is horrible.”

So the man went to another agent, and the agent asked the same questions: How old is your father? He’s dead. How old was he when he died? 94. What did he die of? He fell off a horse, playing polo. Ok, how old is your mother? She’s dead. How old was she when she died? 91. What did she die of? Childbirth. Need to twist the truth to get ahead- tell the truth and do not exploit or take advantage of others.