Mrs. PIE

Marks of a True Christian: Rediscovering God's Blueprint for Faith

Shelley Jeffcoat Season 4 Episode 133

We've lost our collective minds as Christians, rejoicing when others suffer and turning our backs on those who are different from us. It's time we return to the marks of a true Christian as outlined in Romans 12:9-21, which calls us to let love be genuine, bless those who persecute us, and overcome evil with good.

• The fractures in the Christian community have become increasingly visible this year
• Romans 12:9-21 outlines the marks of a true Christian: genuine love, perseverance in prayer, blessing enemies
• Christians are rejoicing when others lose their jobs and turning their backs on those who are different
• The marks of a true Christian have nothing to do with money, church size, or titles
• We must repent for the hate, envy, jealousy and lies we've been spreading
• Christians can't just wait for Jesus to return without fulfilling their responsibility to be salt and light
• We need to examine how we can introduce others to Jesus when we harbor so much hate
• Christians are called to love their enemies, feed them, and overcome evil with good

Please share this message with someone who needs to hear it. Together, we can turn things around and get back on right footing with God.


Support the show

Come join us at our virtual events monthly. Visit our website to learn more.

Speaker 1:

Hi y'all, happy Saturday. It's another Faith Fuel. I went into a rabbit hole on social media last night and I could not go to sleep, and this morning I had to wake up and try to pull myself back because I had this sense of like ick, just ick, especially for those of us who profess or say that we're Christians, those of us who say that we have given our lives to Jesus Christ, those of us who are supposed to be walking the walk. So this morning I just wanted to really quickly remind all of us the marks of a true Christian. What does that actually look like? Because the more we live this life, and especially this year, you can see, if you have eyes to see how fractured we are as a Christian community. So I'm talking to us. I'm talking to us who profess to be believers. I'm talking to those of us who say we're Christians. Whether you are a pastor, an usher, a deacon, I don't really care about your title. I want to remind all of us what the marks of the true Christian is, according to God's word and this is coming out of Romans 12, and I'm going to read it 9 through verse 9 to 21. So it's going to be a little lengthy, but if you have your own Bible, I ask that you, just y'all, let's just go back into this. And it is really difficult to live these principles right now and I'm saying that as someone who knows better but it's really difficult to live these principles right now while people are just showing as much hate and vitriol as possible they have. We have all kind of lost our minds, okay, um, so this is, uh, this is just to remind all of us of what the marks of a true Christian actually is. According to the word, not according to politics, not according to what your grandma says, not according to Facebook, not according to any you know any theories and you know none of that.

Speaker 1:

According to God's word, it says let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. It says be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all, if possible, so far as it depends on you. Live peaceably with all Beloved. Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Speaker 1:

And we are in, I'm telling y'all, we are in a state right now where you literally see people rejoicing when other people are losing their jobs. You see people rejoicing, you know, turning their backs on people. You know we don't look like each other, we don't live like each other. You know it's almost like we again. We have Christians now talking to us. We have lost our collective minds, and so I just want to remind us and maybe you don't care about this, maybe this is just a me thing and I have to remind myself what a true Christian looks like, okay, what a true Christian looks like, and I pray that this word, you know, when it reaches you, it touches your heart and it reminds you of the God we serve, and I pray that. I just pray that this will cause you to think a little bit differently, or maybe even just encourage you to go back to his word, or maybe repent for what you're doing, for the lies you're spewing and the envy and the jealousy and the hate that's in your heart. Maybe this will cause you to just pull back a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Oh y'all, I just, I just don't. You know we. You know we have a lot of christians or believers I don't even know what term to use anymore that are so, uh, distraught what's going on that they're literally trying to will jesus to come faster. He's coming now, he's coming today. No man knows the time or the day or the hour. None of us know. But but we have to make the best of things while we are here. We can't just throw our hands up and say there's nothing we can do, christians, because Jesus is going to come soon and he'll take care of all of it. You can't just give up your responsibility so that you have no accountability. To be the light and salt in this world that's what we're doing. To be the light and salt in this world that's what we're doing.

Speaker 1:

How are we supposed to model our Christian walk when we have so much hate and disdain for each other in our hearts, and I mean people who don't look like you, people who don't live like you, people who don't come from where you are? How can you do that? How are you supposed to introduce them to Jesus? How is the Holy Spirit supposed to reside in you, use you as a vessel to reach other people when you're living like that? All of us, all of us, all of us. So again, I'm just praying that we turn things around.

Speaker 1:

The marks of a true Christian has nothing to do with how much money you have, how big your church is. It has nothing to do with your title in your church. It doesn't matter if you're five-fold or none of that. None of those things matter. It doesn't matter if you have a platform or not. It doesn't matter.

Speaker 1:

Y'all the marks of a true Christian. You need to go back. We all need I keep saying you, but I mean me too we all need to go back, and I pray that this is going to wake somebody up this morning to just repent and go back y'all. We need to walk this thing back. We need to walk this thing back and help us, lord Jesus, because there's so many of us that are standing in need of a turnaround in our lives and so many of us are asking for you to help us in our material situations, in our health, in our finance, in our relationships, in everything. So many of us are asking for a breakthrough, for a job search, so many of us who are going to need health care, kids that need SNAP benefits and food, and even our neighbors who are starving, so many of us who are going to need health care, kids that need SNAP benefits and food, and you know, even our neighbors who are starving.

Speaker 1:

So many of us have turned against each other.

Speaker 1:

You're very people.

Speaker 1:

Those who you have called, those who have selected and volunteered, those who gave them their lives to you have lost their way, and I'm asking this morning that you'll drive us back home, that you'll put that seed in our heart, and I thank you for forgiving us for our sins, for those who are willing in their hearts to turn around and repent for everything that we are doing.

Speaker 1:

We're doing, lord God. So, father, forgive us for anything that we have said or done to each other, even in our hearts. I pray that you give us rest. Show us, holy Spirit, the ways that we are using our mouth to curse each other. Show us what we can do to turn this thing around and be on right footing with you. All these things we ask in your holy name, jesus. Amen, all right. I don't know Again, I don't know where this is going to land, but it kind of is what it is the marks of a true Christian. That's what's on my heart and I hope this blesses you. Please share this message with somebody, bless somebody with this message, and I just again, I just hope this helps you. Amen, all right, love y'all. See you later, bye.