Real expectations of a Christian: Avoiding frequent and common misconceptions

4 March 2014 by Tony Dibble –

1. Introduction

In John 6:44, Christ said “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Being a Christian clearly is not something that we of our own minds do. The calling by GOD is what draws a person to Christ.

Given that a Christian is one who is called by GOD to Christ, it is necessary for the Christian to have the correct spiritual perspective of his ‘being’ or position in relation to Christ.

2. Counter-culture

Firstly, Christianity does not necessarily mean just an alternative to the life and culture of the world around us. The world has a competitive spirit that thrives on an ethos where people compare themselves amongst one another to identify who outshines the other. This they do by acquiring assets in order to have an index of how far they have excelled when compared to their fellow men. Such a way of life may not appeal to many persons, and so they search for a more acceptable standard of meaning in life. They look for a ‘counter-culture’ and hope to find it in a religion. They trust that Christianity serves this purpose. However, Christianity is far more than a ‘counter culture’.

3. Emptiness and Activity

Religion may become an alternative to the meaningless, emptiness and loneliness that one may experience. Activities are generated that occupy ones time and a person hopes to find meaning from such activities. Christianity is not activity. Instead, it is about a spiritual relationship with GOD. Activity may be a result of that relationship–but being a Christian is not about being caught up in activity.

4. Fellowship

Thirdly, one may sometimes be captivated by the fellowship that could be drawn from Christians. A person hopes that entry into a Christian church-based community will help him enjoy the company of one another. Sometimes the commitment is to a humanitarian cause that is pursued by the members of the church. This serves as a bond that appears to keep them together. Such interaction and cooperative efforts are good. However, fellowship by itself can wear out if a relationship with Christ is not actively pursued alongside church membership.

5. Personal Development

One sometimes mistakenly assumes that Christianity is the development of the individual’s whole being as an independent personality, giving him a sense of identity and achievement in tapping into his full worth and abilities. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of Christ is not to develop the individual outside of Himself. Christ seeks to draw the individual to Himself without letting him live a life on his own strength (Matt 10:38; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:23; John 12:24; Rom 6:4-6; 1 Cor 15:31; Gal 2:20 & 5:24; Eph 4:24).

6. Security and Success

The search for security and success may cause one to view the Christian faith as a possible channel for fulfilling such needs.

Security

In the search for security, the physical dangers in life alarm a person. The individual wants assurance to be sheltered from the violence and calamities in life. An individual may feel that Christianity could guarantee the unfettered comfort a person needs. Bishop J C Ryle pointed out that the life of the Christian is not going to be a ride in an armchair to heaven. Nowhere in the Bible does GOD give the slightest impression that the life of a Christian is a luxury-ride through life on earth. However, the Christian is not alone during this journey as the Spirit of GOD is his ‘Resident Boss’, to quote Watchman Nee. He is guided and solaced 24 hours a day by the Spirit of GOD who also helps him pray (John 16:13-15; Rom 8:26-27).

Success

Neither is there any basis in the ‘prosperity’ gospel which maintains that GOD is showering ‘blessings’ of wealth and unlimited asset accumulation on His people. The Bible speaks of prosperity as an overall development in Rom 1:10, 1 Cor 16:2 and 3 John 2 with the use of the Greek word ‘euodoo’. It does not necessarily amount to success arising from the acquisition of material wealth but means overall development, well-being and growth across all facets of ones life.

7. Being in Christ

Christianity is having citizenship in heaven (Eph 2:19; Phil 3:20) and this belongs to a particular people (1 Pet 2:9) set apart by GOD for His own purposes. The Christian is in the world but is not a part of its spirit and culture (John 17:14-16; 1 John 2:15-17).Christ is the life of a Christian (Col 3:4) and a Christian’s life is hid with Christ in GOD (Col 3:3). A Christian is dead to his old ‘self’ and the claims of sin. It is a question of not just what he is saved from but what he is saved for. He seeks GOD for things permanent and not the incidental.

A Christian is strong when he is weak because that is when Christ is able to make him over completely (Eph 6:10; 2 Cor 12:9). The Christian does not act for his own prestige but for the glory of GOD in all things that he does (1 Cor 1:31 & 10:31).A Christian is devoted to Christ and not to a cause. The crux of the Christian faith involves living in continual, active relationship with Christ rather than having a rudimentary attachment to a belief system or to any social objectives as the primary focus of his life.

8. Similar Views of Murray, Lloyd-Jones and Lake

Andrew Murray said, “We were made for GOD, to seek Him, to find Him, to grow up into His likeness and show forth His glory—in the fullest sense to be His dwelling.”

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that what makes a man a Christian is not anything that he finds in himself but being in Jesus’ blood and righteousness. The ultimate purpose of the gospel is to make us obedient to GOD. A Christian, he points out, is one who worships GOD first and only then lets his requests be known to Him.

John G. Lake put across a similar concept in being Christian.

“The real purpose of becoming a Christian is not to save yourself from Hell or to be saved to go to Heaven. It is to become a child of GOD, with the character of Jesus Christ to stand before men pledged to the uttermost, unto death, by refusing to sin, refusing to bow your head in shame, preferring to die rather than dishonour the Son of GOD,” he wrote. Elsewhere he said, “The secret of Christianity is in being. It is in being a possessor of the nature of Jesus Christ. In other words, it is being:

Christ in character;
Christ in demonstration;
Christ in agency of transmission.”

9. Conclusion

The real purpose in being a Christian is to be in continual relationship with GOD through Christ, totally. We set aside completely our self-centred development whilst on earth. We put away all earthly concerns, totally, as our priority. Earthly matters are incidental and only ‘by-the-way’ side issues. Instead, we put on Christ and make no allowance for the flesh to be pacified, nurtured or glorified. The Christian is an outcast according to the spirit of the world. This is because he is an immediate citizen of heaven and all that it stands for. He is Christ’s ambassador on earth enjoying immunity from the spirit and ethos of the world. It is the Spirit of GOD who dwells in him. He is an ambassador not for his own status. He is a light to attract others to be citizens of heaven (Matt 5:14; 28:19-20; 2 Cor 5:20;1 Thess 2:4).

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