Jeremiah 6:16, John 20:21, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Which way are you taking? Are you on the way that is good? Or are you taking your own way? Creating a God in your image? God’s Word states, “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way…” (Isaiah 53:6). 

What is a Christian? The world has influenced the word “Christian “to the point that it does not mean much, the world laughs at today’s “Christians.”

So, last week we looked at the Church-believers being messengers; a messenger of reconciliation is an ambassador For Christ. 

The qualifications for messengers are basically the same as those for being saved, you must be born again. That means you receive new life in Christ, “the old has gone the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). You were, at the time of your spiritual re-birth, born into a different family; you are now a part of God’s family, the Church.

And you are a Christ follower. I cannot say this enough, a Christian is a believer who is following Christ: a person who believes in the teachings of Christ and His disciples and is putting them into action. 

A Christian is not one who attends church, they are not one because of a moment of belief or conviction; that is the worlds view. Let me give you Noah Webster’s definition: A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.

Got Questions.com defines it this way: A true Christian is a person who has put faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ, including His death on the cross as payment for sins and His resurrection on the third day. John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” The mark of a true Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word (1 John 2:4, 10). A true Christian is indeed a child of God, a part of God’s true family, and one who has been given new life in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 10:27, the His sheep listen to His voice. That ‘listen’ or ‘hear’ implies action, a doing of His will. He also said in that same verse He knows them and that they, His sheep, follow Him. Christians are Christ followers.

Your new family, your spiritual family, should now have your loyalties and should be a priority in your life. Like any new member to the family, people should be trying to get to know you and you also should be trying to get to know them. And the good Lord knows we are all different, that we need to make the time to get to know one another as we serve in and with that family.

You will never get to know anyone if you don’t invest time with the, that is true of your relationship with God as well as with those in this building.

The Church is made up of born again followers of Christ who are fulfilling the mission God gave to them (the Church). I have a habit of saying that you are the church… If you have a computer I highly recommend the Y’all Version…

Jesus died to bring people back into relationship with their Creator, so that we could be reconciled and have peace with  God.

Do we understand that in order to be messengers we have to first be recipients of the way?  Of reconciliation? The message is only received when it is seen to be true in the lives of those who are sharing it. That is how the church is growing in places where Christians are being persecuted, they are bold in their witness—in living out their witness. And they also share with their words. 

Have you crucified the flesh? Because in Galatians 5:24 the Word of God says, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” 

Discussion Questions:

• Which way are you following?
• Are you a messenger of Reconciliation?
• How does the bible define what a Christian is? 

Further Reading: Matthew 21:28-31, Matthew 16:24-27, Matthew 7:21-27, John 3:36, John 8:31-32, John 10:25-30, John 14:21, James 1:19-25, James 2:14,  1 Peter 2:15, Romans 6 (yes, all of it), Romans 2:13, 1 John 5:3, Luke 6:46-49, 1 John 3:21-24, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24