The Qualities of a Good Christian
The qualities of a good Christian are spelled in the word love – that is love to God and love to man. Jesus confirmed that love is the greatest commandment. When the lawyer asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus answered: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Notice that these two love commandments are simply summed up in “all the law and the prophets.” All the law and prophets hang upon these two principles of love. If one loves Christ supremely with his heart, soul, and mind, he will obey the first four commandments that have to do with his duty to God (Exodus 20:2-11). He will not take God’s name in vain, worship other gods, etc. If one loves his neighbor as himself, he will obey the last six commandments which relate to his duty to his fellow men (Exodus 20:12-17). He will not be able to steal from his neighbor, lie about him, etc. Love will lead to obeying or fulfilling all the law. Therefore, Love underlies all the qualities in the Christian’s life.
How Does a Christian Receive God’s Love?
God gives the gift of love. When a Christian accepts the Lord by faith, God pours His love into the his heart. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Hebrews 8:10). There are two steps that a Christian must go through to have perfect love. These steps are justification and sanctification.
Justification: It is when a person -has been saved- from all past sins when he asks and accepts God’s forgiveness by faith. This is an instant experience. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28).
Faith in Christ means being grateful for what He did for sinners. It implies having a trust in Him without reservation. A Christians is willing to take Him at His word and follow Him. Justification is synonymous with the doctrine of “imputed righteousness.”
Sanctification: It is when a person is -being saved- from the power of sin as he surrenders daily to God and walks in obedience to His word. This is a life time process. “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
Sanctification takes place when a person holds to Christ daily by study of the Word and prayer. “For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:5). Thus, the believer cooperates with God’s power. The Christian will allow the Lord to do His will in his life. The only way he stops this process is to cut himself off deliberately and disconnects himself from the Lord. Sanctification is synonymous with the doctrine of “imparted righteousness.”
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
