What Is A True Christian

WHAT IS A TRUE CHRISTIAN?

Colossians 3:1

I. What a Christian is – John 1:12

a. Man’s Action

i. Receive the gospel

ii. Believe in Jesus Christ

b. God’s Action

i. “T1`1ower to become the sons of God.”

ii. Word power means “the right or authority”

iii. To them gave he the right to become the sons of God

II. Christians seek the things of God – Colossians 1:1-2

a. As Christians we forget our past and strive for our futures – Philippians 3:13

i. Paul had a lot in his past, but he had to forget in order to move forward.

ii. Steven Curtis Chapman – “Burn the Ships”

1. Chorus – once our sin is behind us (our ship is burned) there is no way we can go back

iii. The word forget means “to be hidden” or “with out knowing”

b. Keep your thoughts on God and heaven, not on secular things

i. Affections are transliterated into thought or mind

III. Kill your old Nature – (vs. 3:5-9)

a. Mortify means to “make dead” or “put to death”

b. Identification of the sin nature

i. Fornication – sex before marriage

ii. Uncleanness - Physically and morally

iii. Inordinate Affection – love of evil

iv. Evil Concupiscence – desire to do evil

v. Covetousness Idolatry

vi. Anger

vii. Wrath

viii. Malice

ix. Blasphemy

x. Filthy Communication

xi. Lying

IV. Put on your New nature – (vs. 3:10-23)

a. Christianity is for all people – (v. 3:11)

b. Identification of a Christian

i. Bowels of mercies – tender mercies – the bowels were the seat of emotions in the Old Testament

ii. Kindness

iii. Humbleness of mind

iv. Meekness

v. Longsuffering

vi. Forbearing one another – lifting one another up

vii. Forgiving one another

viii. Love

c. Allows God’s peace to rule your life – (v. 3:15)

i. God’s peace is not always understood – Philippians 4:7

ii. Rule means “to be an umpire”

d. Study your Bible – (v. 3:16)

i. Teach and admonish others through your study

ii. Praise God through your study

e. Do everything to the glory of God and give Him the praise for it – (v. 3:17)

f. Husbands and wives need to love one another I the way Christ loved us – (vs. 3:18-19)

g. Children obey your parents – (v. 3:20)

h. Fathers shouldn’t upset their children

i. They shouldn’t put them down

ii. Children are easily discouraged

i. Obey those in authority (vs. 3:22-25)

i. Eye service – with the master looking on

ii. Do your work with a sincere heart

iii. Fear God because everything you do should be to His glory

iv. You will be rewarded eternally for a good job

v. If you do wrong, you will be judged accordingly

vi. No matter who you are