Welcome. Today we are going to talk about what it takes to make a strong Christian. Are you a strong Christian? This is something you need to be sure about, it is very important. That is why we’re going to review the features of a strong Christian so that we can all make sure we’re strong in the Lord.

In today’s times, we need our faith and we need to be strong. The world is closing in on us and I believe the End Times are near, but that does not excuse us from our responsibilities as believers.

What makes a man, so to speak, in the world is not always, or even often, what God wants of us. (1Sa 16:6) And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him. (1Sa 16:7) But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Samuel is being given the task of anointing the next king of Israel, he quickly found out that what impressed him as a man did not impress God at all. He declared that Eliab must be acceptable to God because he was impressive to Samuel. God tell Samuel not to be fooled by appearances, since He looks where no one else can, in the heart.

This means that to be a strong Christian it must be in our hearts. What you do on the outside has no consequences beyond this world. What matters is your heart, and you better believe God can see that!

Jesus spoke about people who looked impressive in a religious manner. He said (Mat 6:5) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. He also said (Mat 6:16) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

These people would appear to be strong in their faith, but they are hollow inside, and they gain their reward on the earth, and do not have their treasures stored up in Heaven, where they belong.

The measurement of a Christian today is different from what God would have. People that do good things, and go to church are often looked on as pillars of the community or as a good Christian. If they never witness and try to spread the Gospel to all the people they can, they are not good Christians. They may be Christian, but they are not fulfilling their service to the Lord.

There is a lot more to being a true Christian than just volunteering for the cakewalk at the local fundraiser. The requirements are not stiff, but there are things we are supposed to do. (Mat 11:30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

But make no mistake, there are responsibilities included. (Luk 12:48) But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Now think about this: you were given eternal salvation, which is a gift beyond magnitude. This means that you are expected to do good works for the Lord. This is not hard, but it does require some action on your part.

We typically measure Christians by their attendance of church. If they attend every service, they must be very faithful and strong. If they attend only one service a week, they must be weak Christians.

I personally am looking for a church. At the current time, often times I’m not able to attend a church at all. I spend a great deal of time, however, listening to ministers.

That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go to church, but I am saying I am not neglecting the learning that a sermon should give you. But I refuse to go to churches that are not faithful to the Scriptures.

Besides, how often a person shows up for something is a measure outside, and not necessarily a measure of their hearts. You can attend every church service you can think of and still not be a truly saved Christian. Where you go does not make a difference. The truth of salvation is found in the Book, not in the bricks.

Another method of judgment is whether or not someone participates in Church functions and activities. If someone goes to all the bake sales, visitations, show up for Sunday School, or even teach it, they must be strong Christians. If they don’t attend any of these things, or even just a few, then they must be weak.

This is a problem because of the fact that people are once again just judging the outside and are not considering what might be inside. The works are fine in themselves, but they must have faith to go with them or they are worthless. (Eph 2:8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Eph 2:9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

You can work and do everything you want, but that will not save you, not by itself.

Leadership abilities are also examined when someone is trying to determine if someone is a strong Christian. This has the problem of the fact there can be only so many chiefs in a tribe. You cannot have nothing but leaders, you must have a flock, those that are strong by paying attention to the Word of God.

If women are strong because they lead a Sunday School class, then there will end up being more teachers than classes. These are not signs of a strong Christian, just signs of someone being willing to do something, which has nothing to do with if you’re saved or not.

The biggest problem with these measurements is that they often lead to judgment. (Jas 4:11) Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

What are the signs of a strong Christian?

(Gal 5:22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (Gal 5:23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. These are the measure of a strong Christian. The part about ‘against such is no law’ means the true believer that walks in faith has nothing to fear from the law, because they are doing what they were told to do.

Let’s look at these attributes one at a time.

Love means more than just love your wife or your dog. It is much deeper and important than that. One example is (Deu 6:5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Jesus confirms this verse later on in (Mat 22:37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Love is not superficial when it comes to God, love is deep, something you’re supposed to give to God with all your might. When you love one another, you are to love deeply as well. (Mat 22:39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Most people are confident in themselves and love themselves. To love a neighbor at this level is just not common, as this kind of love is reserved usually for family, spouses, and children.

Love is not limited to those that love you back. (Mat 5:43) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. (Mat 5:44) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Mat 5:45) That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Mat 5:46) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Mat 5:47) And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Those that hate you, or persecute you, they love those that love them, don’t they? They probably have a caring mother or father, or someone else in their life that loves them. So giving love only to those that love us back is not getting us anywhere. You are commanded to love your enemies as well, because this is the seriousness of love. It is more than a word.

(1Jn 4:8) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. This is the breadth and scope of love, for God is love.

Next we have joy. Joy is an excitement and a passion, happiness, and something to be enjoyed. What have we to be joyful about? Well first off we have Jesus Christ to be joyful for. All praise be unto His glorious name! There is joy in the Lord!

We can be happy by the word of God, for it brings us the hope of salvation, and without it there would be no way of knowing how to reconcile ourselves to God. The Bible should bring us happiness and joy.

The word joy appears some 165 times in the Bible, Being joyous is something that is common, and something we should feel ourselves because the Lord bought and paid for us.

Peace is listed as a virtue of the strong Christian, and that peace should come easily to us. (Joh 14:27) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Don’t worry, be happy man! Even when the world gets you down, you should still feel the peace of the Lord. (Joh 16:33) These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Next is longsuffering, which basically means patience. We should be able to be patient as we try to fulfill our duties to the Lord and bring others to His glory. (Exo 34:6) And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. God is patient with us.

(Num 14:18) The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Here the Lord is telling us that He will wait a time for us because He is patient, and He will forgive your sins, but He will not wait forever for you, and if you pass away while guilty and covered in sin, bad things are going to happen.

(2Pe 3:9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Here is a verse confirming that we are to be longsuffering like the Lord is towards us. (2Ti 4:2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Gentleness is important. There is no way to show aggression if you are showing the love of God, which we’ve already mentioned is a sign of a strong Christian.

Goodness will follow these fruits without any effort, really, since they are all good things.

We are to have faith, and we must have faith to be believers. (Eph 2:8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by (grace ye are saved;)

Meekness is a softness of temper, a gentleness and humility. This a value held very important in many places in the Bible. (Zep 2:3) Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger. (Tit 3:2) To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.

Temperance is patience; calmness; sedateness; moderation of passion. All of the attributes are positive, as common sense itself would tell us.

(Col 3:12) Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. Here is another list of great things for a person to be, and proof of them being a strong Christian, secure in their faith.

(1Ti 6:11) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Many commentators and theologians consider this a verse written towards the preachers of the world. This is a requirement for them to be strong Christians, to walk after Christ.

Now what about the call to be such a strong Christian? This requires you to change on the inside, first, and not on the outside. What is outside will naturally follow that which is in the inside. You cannot just change superficial features and expect to grow and be strong in your faith. It must first come from your heart. This is what makes the change difficult for so many. They are not ready to change inside, they only want to change that which is outside and cling to their worldly lusts on the inside.

Change takes time, and many are not willing to devote the time it takes to build one’s faith and grow strong in Christ. They are too busy with soccer practice and laundry to have any time for God.

We need to remember that God can see all, so that those that we run into at church may not completely understand us. They might think we are one way when we are another. We might be great sin-warriors in our lives and we might reach out to others close to us, but those in church may never see this. God does, and believe me, He is taking notes on your good behavior.

The most important thing about being strong Christians is realizing some truths: This information is not to judge others. (Luk 6:37) Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. But also we must remember that God says to us (2Ti 3:16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Correct each other, that is acceptable, but do not judge or condemn lest you wish to receive the same fate.

This information is so that we can be cautious on how we judge other so that we do not mistake someone that is strong for someone that is weak and needs exaltation.

We also must use this ruler to apply to our lives, to make sure we are the Christians we should be! (1Sa 16:7) But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

This is as true today as it was when it was spoken all those years ago. Make sure your heart measures up my friends.

If you do not know Christ as your personal Savior, I would like to talk directly to you for a moment. I want to tell you about how we, as humans are, and what we can do about it.

The first thing you need to do is realize that God loves you. As we’ve talked about earlier, this is a deeper love, a love beyond that which is of the world. How do we know God loves us? (Joh 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (Joh 3:17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God loves you so much that He gave his Son so that we might find forgiveness. That’s some serious love there. Would you give your kid to save the entire world? This is the power of God’s love.

(Rom 5:8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Even when we’re in a state of darkness, God still loves us and sent His Son to be a sacrifice for our sins. We are a rebellious lot, turning away from God, and some even spitting in the name of religion, and God still loves them, for while they are against God, they can still be saved if only they believed.

Now why can’t we just go along with this whole idea that God loves us and leave it at that? Well, because (Rom 3:23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. We’ve all done something wrong in our lives, whether it be stealing a candy bar from a store or a car from the lot. We’ve all done things that are wrong, whether it be something huge, or something tiny, no matter what, it’s been done.

You see God does not tolerate sin in His presence, so we must find a way to cleanse ourselves so we can present ourselves to God. This is where Jesus comes in.

(Rom 3:10) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. God is in fact righteous and that’s why we must be cleansed.

(Rom 6:23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You should get the sentence of death for what you’ve done wrong, both in thought and deed. But God is a merciful God and offers us a gift; the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

(Joh 1:12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. This is a remedy to the sin that condemns us to death. You can come to Jesus and He will receive you and you will become a son or daughter of God, if you believe on His name.

(1Co 15:3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; (1Co 15:4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Jesus died for our sins, and rose to defeat death. He did everything He promised He was going to do. Does that not make him trustworthy?

(Rev 3:20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Jesus just wants to be with you. He just wants you to open the door so that He can remain with you, and ‘sup’ with you as it says.

Here’s the lowdown, and the important part: (Rom 10:9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

This is what it takes to be saved. I beg you if you are not saved to become so now, to pray in your heart that you accept Jesus and confess with your mouth that He is Lord and Savior, who has risen from the dead.

This is the most important decision in your life. Your entire human soul hangs in the balance, and you never know when a sparkplug will fall off an airplane and strike you dead. We are not promised tomorrow, so don’t put off your salvation for it might come to be too late for you very soon.

Words fail me, but I feel like someone needs to hear this message, so I pray God moves in your heart, whoever you are.

Until next time, God bless.

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