Friday, January 9, 2009

The Cardinal Characteristaic of a Mature Christian

My last essay was on “Christian Maturity,” what it is and how it is attained. Searching for the leading characteristic, I wrote a letter to my correspondents asking for help. Twelve responded with great suggestions, which I list here; and then I give what I concluded to be the cardinal characteristic of the mature Christian. These are not ordinary human traits but qualities that set a mature Christian apart from immature Christians and unbelievers. I thought it might be helpful if I share these responses with you.

Control (self-control) - “A trait that I have often observed in the mature Christian .... The control of anger, control of patience, control of thought, control of language, all because they have turned over to God, complete control of their own lives. The mature Christian is the one who always appears to be in control of themselves in the most stressful situations, who always seems to be even tempered....” – Mike

Understanding – (as in 1 Cor.14:20). “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking, yet in evil be babes, but in your thinking be mature.”) – Bob

Selflessness – Lisa

Strong prayer life – Ernie

Love – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God” (1`John 4:7) – Rea

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Compassion – Karen

Forgiveness – “People that have a hard time forgiving puzzle me. They talk of how they can't forgive because of the pain someone caused them. I find it hard to understand why people feel that way. To me, it is simple when we look at how Jesus suffered. He suffered more than all of us could imagine and with his last dying breath, asked his father to forgive us because “they know not what they do.” –Nikki

Soul-Consciousness – We often see others with eyes that see only their physical nature and character flaws rather than a soul that will spend eternity somewhere. Frank

Compassion and patience – we all have these but not to the levels we should – Harry

Honesty – Kim

A to Z – My preacher friend Jack responded with a note saying, “You asked for one or two characteristics but I’m going to give you more anyway.” And he sent me the following list, which is so helpful that I have to publish it. But if it seems long don’t blame me; blame Jack! Brother Jack, I appreciate your excellent list and I urge everyone to print and study it. Jack’s contribution is as follows:

The Character of a Christian

Alertness -paying attention to all the lessons God is teaching through authorities, friends and experiences; learning to foresee dangers and understand consequences of behavior
Attentiveness - learning the wishes of others through facial expressions, words and tone of voice; listening to promptings of the Holy Spirit to God’s moral standards and will
Availability - learning to reject distractions that hinder me from fulfilling my responsibilities; rejecting ambitions that hinder my delighting in God-given priorities; completing a task
Boldness - basing words and actions in the authority of Scripture; demonstrating confidence that following the principles of Scripture will bring ultimate victory
Cautiousness learning that unfamiliar situations may be dangerous; gaining counsel before making decisions; seeing future consequences of present actions; recognizing temptations
Compassion - doing all that is possible to relieve the hurts of others; learning to use words and actions which will bring comfort and healing
Contentment - learning to enjoy present possessions rather than desiring new or additional ones; to control curiosity; to enjoy times of being alone
Creativity - completing tasks with greater efficiency and quality; finding ways to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles; discovering practical applications for Scriptural principles
Decisiveness - finalizing difficult decisions on the basis of God’s Word and ways; refusing to reconsider decisions we know are right; making present commitments to avoid future failure
Deference - limiting my freedom in order not to offend the personal tastes of those God has called me to serve; not allowing in moderation what others can then excuse in excess
Dependability - being true to your word even when it is difficult to carry out what you have promised; lifting pressures from those you serve by consistently fulfilling assigned projects
Determination - giving whatever energy is necessary to complete a project; learning to reduce a seemingly impossible task to achievable goals
Diligence - studying Scriptures for accurate insight and interpretation; relating all other learning to the higher truths of Scripture; concentrating on assigned tasks
Discernment -using your faculties to go beneath the surface of the problem; to detect the true wishes and feelings of others; knowing what to look for in evaluating people and problems
Discretion responding to difficult situations with the wisdom and character of Christ; knowing what is and is not appropriate; seeing consequences of words and actions down the road
Endurance -maintaining commitment to a goal during times of pressure; knowing how and when to invest my time and energy; keeping focus on objectives God has given me
Enthusiasm - learning what attitudes and actions please God and being excited about doing them; motivating others by a spirit of praise and joy; seeing value in discouraging situations
Faith - learning the basis of faith and putting personal trust in the finished work of Christ; developing unshakable confidence in God’s Word; investing in what counts for eternity
Flexibility- learning the wishes of the one I serve and adapting my priorities to meet them; to cheerfully change plans when unexpected conditions require it; avoiding what will hinder
Forgiveness -demonstrating Christ’s love toward an offender; understanding the motives and conflicts of an offender; learning to see spiritual value in the hurt God allows
Generosity -recognizing that all possessions belong to God; learning to be a good steward of time, money and possessions; discerning what will damage the life or attitudes of others
Gentleness - responding to needs with kindness and love; knowing what is appropriate to the emotional needs of others; administering direction without impatience or anger
Gratefulness - recognizing the benefits God and others provide; looking for appropriate ways to express genuine appreciation; learning to give all expectations to God
Hospitality -providing an atmosphere which contributes to the physical and spiritual growth or others; to invite them to our home and make them comfortable with our possessions
Humility - recognizing my total inability to accomplish anything for God apart from His grace; understanding how deceitful the heart is; redirecting praise to God and others
Initiative - taking steps to seek God with the whole heart; making the best of opportunities to witness; assuming responsibility to physically and spiritually encourage others
Joyfulness - lifting the spirits of others; learning to be happy regardless of outside circumstances; thanking God for every situation and seeing God’s benefit in allowing each one
Justice - recognizing personal responsibility to God’s unchanging laws; basing decisions on eternal values rather than temporal; learning to plead for mercy instead of covering sin
Love - giving to the basic needs of others; to hold dear; cherish; take pleasure in; having the same concern for others as the Heavenly Father has for mankind
Loyalty - adopting as your own the wishes and goals of those you are serving; learning to stand by those you are serving when conflicting pressures increase
Meekness - yielding rights and possessions to God; responding properly to anger when others violate personal rights; earning the right to be heard rather than demanding a hearing
Obedience - learning the importance of limitations and the meaning of the word “no;” responding to the wishes of God, parents and others; yielding the right to have to have final word
Orderliness - organizing and caring for personal possessions; giving attention to personal grooming; learning to write legibly; respecting the way God created you
Patience - waiting to fulfill personal goals; increasing the time you can wait between achievement and reward; accepting difficult situations as from God without giving Him a deadline
Persuasiveness - learning to guide important truths around the mental roadblocks of our listeners; thinking through objectives before presenting our case; understanding needs of others
Punctuality - arranging my schedule around the appointment that are made; showing esteem for other people and their time by not keeping them waiting; timely fulfilling commitments
Resourcefulness - seeing value in what others overlook; making wise use of what others discard; achieving tasks with a minimum of outside resources; using the skills and interests of others
Responsibility - assuming protection of what was entrusted to you; establishing personal restrictions and guidelines necessary to fulfill what you know you should do
Reverence - respecting the possessions of others; recognizing God works through those in authority; giving them honor; learning to care for our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit
Security - building affections around the person of Christ and His eternal Word; appreciating temporal possessions without making them the focus of your delight
Self-control - quickly identifying and obeying the initial promptings of the Holy Spirit; bringing my thoughts, words and actions under His control
Sensitivity - exercising my senses to perceive the true spirit and emotions of others; being alert to promptings of the Holy Spirit; avoiding danger by sensing wrong motives in others
Sincerity - having motives that are transparent; doing things because I desire God’s gain and fear loss to His reputation; having a genuine concern to benefit the lives of others
Thoroughness - learning what details are important for the success of a project; taking time and effort to validate facts before discussing a matter
Thriftiness - knowing how to accomplish the most with the resources available; not encouraging yourself to spend that which is not available
Tolerance - esponding to the immaturity of others without accepting their standard of immaturity; to accept others as unique expressions of specific character or maturity
Truthfulness - learning to be a reliable messenger; gaining approval of others without misrepresenting the facts; facing the consequences of a mistake
Virtue - learning to build personal moral standards which will cause others to desire a more godly life; reproducing Christ’s character in yourself and in others
Wisdom - seeing life from God’s perspective; recognizing a cause / effect relationship to life; tracing conflict to their roots; discerning and rejecting false philosophies
___________________

Faith - Now it’s time for me to enter what I consider to be the “cardinal characteristic of a mature Christian,” which is faith. W. E. Vine, in his Expositors Dictionary of New Testament Words, defines faith as having three levels: “(1) a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation of truth, (2) a personal surrender to Him, and (3) a conduct inspired by such surrender.” A mature Christian displays all three levels of faith. That’s why James says, “Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2: 17). And I want to add; faith that is not personal is not real. In a discussion of our differences, I once questioned a man’s belief. Not having a ready answer, he turned to his partner and asked, “What do we believe about that?” In Hebrews 11, we have a great list of those who triumphed by faith – their own personal faith. They were not victors simply because they believed God’s word but because they lived it. Most folk live by what they were taught when they were young or by what their church of party believe or by current movements; but the mature Christian, the one who understand the Word and has his own faith, live by a deep abiding trust in Jesus Christ. This is the cardinal characteristic of a mature Christian.

Note: I haven’t forgotten that we are studying Philippians; we’ll be back on track very soon for questions on chapter three and a look at chapter four.

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