[Image: "Textures", 2007, JAVanDevender]
Isaiah 52:1 (NKJV)
Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments,O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.
Jon. Edwards once noted, "THERE is no question whatsoever, that is of greater importance to mankind, and that it more concerns every individual person to be well resolved in, than this: What are the distinguishing qualifications of those that are in favor with God, and entitled to his eternal rewards?" (Edwards, J. (1996). A treatise concerning religious affections: In three parts ... Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
It certainly is of the utmost importance to be "well resolved", "clearly discerning", "confident" in one's understanding of how to distinguish between those who are "in favor" with God and those who remain (until such time as God may change them) under His wrath. We need to know "what are the marks of a Christian: a person for whom Christ certainly died and about whom one can, with confidence, ascribe as being the object of God's saving favor?
Why is it important? First of all, most intimately and subjectively, we need to discern our own status with respect to Him. If we are to "call on the name of the LORD" we must have some expectation that His ear is turned toward us (cf. Prov. 15:29). Where do we stand with the Almighty? That should be a pressing question to any person who does not already know the answer.
Second, it is important for us to form an opinion, which is not the same as passing judgment, on others. It makes a difference how we are to relate to people when we have an idea of their status with God. Quite frankly, if a person is outside the Kingdom, don't expect Christian behavior from them. As sinners they are governed by their addiction to their own autonomy. If the love of Christ does not hold their hearts how can we expect them to conform to Christian expectations. We must remain at somewhat of a distance from them in this regard. We must not be "unequally yoked" to them in binding relationships that may become snares to us. If we have reason to be confident in a person's covenant status with God then we should expect much more of them, we should be holding them accountable for our trust in them and our desires for them.
Therefore, it is very important for us to form working opinions about ourselves and others regarding status with God.
So, what distinguishes a person who can confidently be acknowledged as a Christian? The short answer, not unsurprisingly, is "faith." "If you confess with your mouth, Jesus Christ as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9 - my translation) The problem is, however, that common use of the word "faith" has turned it so colorless and insipid that the bare word is almost useless. If we think about Romans 10:9 a bit and ponder the implications of it, we discover that what it actually communicates is a state of being where folks around us would, with some justification, say "Man, you're nuts!"
What these words mean is that we, with conscious intent and sincerity of heart, actually believe and conform to the idea that a man who died 2000 years ago is alive... and not only is he alive... but that he is our individual Lord. We "confess" him as such with our mouths and believe it in our hearts. As our Lord, we against all earthly expectations, look to him for directions, orders, commands, exhortations, strength, comfort, provision, etc. In other words, we have something in common with the "serfs" of Medieval manors. We look to Jesus as the "Lord of the Manor" for all those things that serfs would expect from him.
Think about that. A "serf" was always conscious of his or her status. His or her every activity was conditioned by their "lord's" expectations and control. If there had ever been such a lord of the manor who loved his serf's then their orientation toward him would have been one of a certain, conditioned joy. They would have seen the plight of other serfs under other lords and their gratitude would have been exceedingly great. But, though they were grateful, yet they saw that still he was their lord and that their life must conform to that relationship.
It is this recognition of Jesus' authority in our lives that constitutes the bedrock of "faith" and on which all else is conditioned. In the story of the centurion's servant it was Jesus' authority that the centurion acknowledged for his confident statement that all Jesus had to do was say the word and the servant would be healed. Jesus's resulting commendation was that He had not found such a great faith in all of Israel.
A person who confesses Jesus as Lord, from the heart, will be as clearly distinguishable from the world around us as an ostrich is distinguishable from a buzzard. There is no confusing the two. The person given over to Christ will appear just a bit 'nuts' to those outside the Kingdom but to those within it, they are the only truly sane people on the planet.
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