WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT BEING A CHRISTIAN? (part one)
I spent the last couple of weeks talking about how God and Jesus are the real thing. And with that comes the truth that real is better than counterfeit. But why is it better? You have tried the store brand items that just don't measure up to the brand name items. Sometimes the store brand is pretty close; sometimes what you're paying for with the brand named item is just a name. But we all know that more often than not the original is the best.
Most of the time we will choose real over imitation any day. Why? Two reasons-we have tried both and it's clear that real is better. Or, we love the real so much we wouldn't think of trying anything else. And we would be able to explain to someone why the one we choose is so wonderful. We tell them about the quality of the product. We tell them about the durability, the performance, the taste (if it's food); whatever the reasons we have for our stamp of approval. But what about Christianity? What is so great about being a Christian?
I am a child of God.
1) Through faith in Jesus.
Perhaps you've heard people say, "we're all God's children". The reality is, we are all God's creation but we need to become a Christian in order to be part of the family. Gal. 3:26-27, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
We become God's child through faith in Christ, expressing itself in repentance and baptism. In Galatians 3 Paul is arguing whether we are saved by faith or by observing God's laws. The law is good but it can only point out what the expectation is; not give us the power to keep it. The law shows us God's standard and reveals our sinfulness; since if we break any part of it we are a lawbreaker. We can't be successful at keeping the law; therefore we needed a Savior.
The Jews thought they were God's children through their ancestry; through Abraham. But Paul points out that Abraham was not justified by keeping the law but by faith. Therefore, we are not God's child through the law but by faith in Jesus, who fulfilled the requirements of the law by his sinless life and sacrifice on the cross.
In John 8, Jesus challenged the Jews who rejected the idea of their need to be set free.
John 8:31-47, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.’”
“Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Ouch! Note that vs. 31 says these Jews believed Jesus. There are many people who believe in Jesus but that doesn't make them a child of God. Everyone sins and therefore need to be set free by Jesus in order to become a child of God. These Jews didn't want to hear that; anymore than many people today don't want to hear that.
The Jews here pointed to their being descendants of Abraham to provide legitimacy that they were God's children. People today want to point to various things to try and provide legitimacy that they are God's child. "I was baptized as a baby; I've always been a child of God". People say this although they haven't lived their lives in submission to the Lordship of Christ.
But they think they're okay because of that one act so many years ago. "I made a profession of faith when I was 12." That's good; but what have you done since then? We can't point to one or two religious acts and think that solidifies us as children of God.
Jesus told the Jews they had no room for his word. That's a question for us. People call themselves believers but do they have room for the word of God in their heart? Or is their heart filled with other things? Jesus told them if God were your father you would love me. If God is our father then we will love Jesus. Our heart will have room for his word. If we love Jesus we will obey his commands as he said later in John 15.
Jesus told them the harsh truth that they were not children of God but rather children of the devil. If Jesus hasn't set you free then you are a child of the devil. If we don't have faith in Jesus as the only way to be set free then we are not children of God.
Jesus is God's natural son; his only begotten son. The rest of us are sons and daughters through the Spirit. John 1:12-13, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." The Jews thought they were God's children through their natural descent from Abraham. But that's not how it works. I am a child of God not by any natural means but only by spiritual means.
2) It is a privilege.
And this spiritual adoption as children of God is a wonderful privilege and blessing. 1st John 3:1, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." How great is God's love that he has given us the ability through faith in Jesus to become part of his family.
As a parent, we may love all children but we have a special relationship with our own. We give special privileges and attention to our own children. God loves everyone but there are special privileges given to his own children. Jesus pointed out in Matthew 7 that if we, though we are sinful, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more so will a perfect and holy God give good gifts to those who ask him.
Dad-good gifts of car repairs and furniture at no cost. People who are not his family get charged but he pretty much refuses to take any payment from his children. I couldn't even begin to calculate the value of what he has done for me. This is the generosity of my earthly Father. How much greater is the generosity and value of my heavenly father's gifts?
God gives his children the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have the way opened up for us to understand and possess the things that matter most like true love, true joy, true peace, true contentment, true power and strength; all sorts of wonderful things like that. And as a parent goes out of their way to provide for and protect their children; God does the same for us. Not that it means no harm will ever come to us-but God will be there to strengthen us through every adversity.
Just like we don't shield our kids from everything; God doesn't either. We allow our kids to go out and make their own choices and deal with the consequences. We give our kids the freedom to learn life lessons so they can be prepared to face the world. Sheltering them would only hinder their growth.
God allows us to go through things to cause our growth; that we would become stronger as a result. Parents don't like the bad things their kids go through; they feel their children's pain. God does too. In fact, God grieves more than the natural parent does. But that doesn't change the fact that it is a great privilege and blessing to be a child of God.
Paul goes on to say in Galatians 3 that if we belong to Christ we are heirs according to the promise. We have been given the full rights of sons. Gal. 4:6-7, "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."
Many parents leave their children an inheritance. He may inherit my business, my money, my property; whatever. We, as children of God have an inheritance too. Our inheritance is in heaven. 1st Pet. 1:3-4, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you."
That sounds pretty special; right?! Even though we have gifts and privileges now as a child of God, our greatest blessing is a future one; albeit a present reality. Like a normal inheritance we will have to wait to receive it. And what a glorious day that will be. It's thrilling when we get to look forward to something. Whether it's our birthday or Christmas. It may be the arrival of a family member or friend. We are eager in anticipation for the event to arrive.
It's no different as a child of God. We are eagerly awaiting our heavenly inheritance. Not just for the purpose of being able to be in that perfect place where there will be no more sorrow or pain or evil, but also because of who we will get to see. First and foremost being in the presence of God and Jesus. But also those who have gone before us. All those people in the bible we read about we will get to meet someday. That's pretty exciting. But we also look forward to seeing our family and friends that have gone ahead of us. We have much to rejoice about as a child of God.
3) And a responsibility.
While we do have a lot to look forward to, we have a lot of work to do while we wait for that glorious day. Being a child of God is a wonderful blessing but it comes with a serious responsibility.
Rom. 8:12-17, "Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
As a child of God we have some responsibilities. We need to change and live according to our new nature. As a child of our parents we had responsibilities. We had chores to do and rules to follow. It's no different as God's child.
And we need to understand that in this world we will have trouble and difficulties. As a child of God we will come up against opposition like Jesus and the Apostles did, and the prophets before them. But we can deal with all that because we are looking forward to sharing in the glory of Jesus. So, no matter what we have to endure while we wait, it's all worth it in the end.
As Paul said in 2nd Cor. 4:16-18, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
If you're not a child of God, all you can really benefit from is what is seen; which is temporary. However, as a child of God, you get the benefit of not only what is seen but also what is not seen; which is eternal and therefore completely more valuable. Being of the world can get you material wealth, it can even afford you glimpses of real blessings like happiness and love. People who aren't Christians can be happy and in love with their families and show loyalty to friends and enjoy life.
But there is still something majorly missing-Jesus. And with that comes true fulfillment and pure and lasting love, joy, peace and contentment. Being a child of God comes with the assurance of knowing you have a parent that loves you perfectly, a storehouse of heavenly treasures too numerous to count and the hope of an eternal future the mind can only minutely comprehend.
These things aren't a dream or a false hope; they are solid and sure. They are real because of the changes that have happened to us in the here and now. The joy we now have, the gladness we now possess; the wisdom, power and understanding we have now received as a child of God. These are all a foretaste of the fullness that awaits us in heaven.
What's so great about being a Christian? The fact that I am now a child of God and all that comes with it.
Dr. Fred Craddock tells a story about vacationing with his wife one summer in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests.
Craddock leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." He didn’t want anyone intruding on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma," Craddock answered. "Splendid state, I hear, although I’ve never been there," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University," Craddock replied. "Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a story to tell you."
And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife. Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly and thought to himself, "Oh, no! Here comes another preacher story! It seems like everybody has at least one." The man stuck out his hand. "I’m Ben Hooper," he said. "I was born not far from here across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born, so I had a pretty hard time.
When I started school, my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and lunch time because the things they said to me cut me so deep. What was worse was going to town on Saturday afternoons and feeling like every eye was burning a hole through me, wondering just who my father was.
When I was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in the church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. ‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’ he asked. I felt this big weight coming down on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down.
But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. ‘Wait a minute!’ he said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You're a child of God.’ With that he said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’ The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "Those were the most important words anybody ever said to me, and I’ve never forgotten them." With that, he smiled, shook hands with Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends.
As he walked away, Craddock – a native Tennessean himself–remembered from his studies of Tennessee history that on two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected to the office of governor men who had been born out of wedlock. One of them was named Ben Hooper." Ben was able to stop focusing on who he was to the world and instead focus on who he was to God.
We can do the same. Regardless of who you are, regardless of how the world sees you, if you are a Christian you are a child of God. And we should rejoice in the reality of what that means. It should give us a sense of satisfaction, encouragement and determination to be all we can be in Christ. As a child of God we can realize our true potential and accomplish the goals God sets for us. So go out and claim them!
