By Pastor Greg
Coming home from work, a woman stopped at the corner deli to buy a chicken for supper. The butcher reached into a barrel, grabbed the last chicken he had, flung it on the scales behind the counter, and told the woman its weight. She thought for a moment. "I really need a bit more chicken than that," she said. "Do you have any larger ones?" Without a word, the butcher put the chicken back into the barrel, groped around as though finding another, pulled the same chicken out, and placed it on the scales. "This chicken weighs one pound more," he announced. The woman pondered her options and then said, "Okay. I'll take them both."
Apart from the fact that today each chicken would be individually wrapped and labeled, there is still a tremendous lesson to be learned here. Eventually our conduct will either condemn us or confirm us. Our conduct toward others will testify what sort of person we really are. Jesus touched on this when he said, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matthew 7:20).
Many places in the New Testament call believers to act in ways far different than the world. Not only did Jesus expect His disciples to change the way they acted toward God, but He also expected them to change the way they acted toward one another. As He spoke to the crowd from the mountain side, He called His followers to reconcile broken relationships before giving an offering to God (Matthew 5:24). He called His disciples to turn the other cheek when wronged, to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:39-44). He said, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Later on Jesus taught His disciples to go to the person who has hurt them or wronged them. Speak to them face-to-face about what they have done or how they have hurt their feelings. Instead of gossiping and complaining to everyone else, Jesus says, “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back” (Matthew 18:15). When two of His apostles were trying to gain positions of power, Jesus reminded them, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27). I could go on, filling several pages with statements like “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). But the point is that Jesus expected that those called by His name (Christian) should conduct themselves in this world in ways that are not of this world.
As Christians, we no longer have the freedom to act anyway we please. We no longer represent ourselves; we are Christ’s ambassadors, and we are expected to behave in this world with Christian conduct; to turn aside from the ways of the world and walk according to Christ. Now, when I say this; when I point out that we are to turn aside from the ways of the world, most think about turning aside from smoking or drinking or sex. Many will think about increasing church attendance or reading the Bible. But what Christ expects is far deeper than that. He expects that our minds be completely renewed. Consider what Paul says in Ephesians 4:17-32.
So much of what Paul says here deals with our Christian conduct toward other people, not just our personal vices. Much of what Paul mentions addresses our interactions with other people, and the way in which we act toward others gives significant testimony to what sort of person we really are.
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (Philippians 2:3-4), says Paul. He also calls believers to, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6). The truth is Christ expected His followers to be different from the world. Not just different in their beliefs about Him, but also different in their conduct toward others. He expects the same from you and me.
Christian conduct demands that we consider our behavior toward God AND toward others. That’s the real shocker for many people. Many people feel that to be Christian only means that we consider our conduct toward God. But scripture says that our conduct toward one another is just as condemning. As Christians we MUST remember that not only is murder a sin, but so is character assassination, better known as gossip and slander (where we speak poorly about someone behind their back). Look at Paul’s words in Galatians 5. In verse 19-21 he says, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).
As we spoke recently about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, Paul says that He (the Spirit) will transform us into Christians filled with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). And Christians who conduct themselves in the world in this way do not condemn themselves but confirm themselves as believers. These are the behaviors and the attitudes that set the Christian apart from the rest of the world.
“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:10), says Paul. And if our conduct is controlled by the Holy Spirit; if the Fruit of the Spirit is found within us, our conduct will convince the world that we are indeed followers of Christ. But, woe to the person whose conduct condemns them. Woe to the “Christian” who continues to act just like the people of this world, for, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21).
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