#1 What's a Christian
 

    There are some clubs I've never been in, and there are many, many clubs of which I'm not a part. But I really don= t care, because I qualify for the greatest club in the world. Let me tell you about my membership.
    I am a member of the Saints in Light and I have available to me all the inheritance of God. And I qualify, not because of anything I did, but because Jesus took me by the hand, introduced me, and recommended me for membership. Boy, am I thankful!
    My life has changed because God touched my life and gave me the light of the knowledge of himself, casting out the darkness, ignorance, shame, and sin, washing it all away, and setting me apart for himself.
    I'm thankful for emancipation, too. You see, Christ rescued me from the dominion of darkness. Spiritual ignorance, disgrace, and guilt no longer reign in my life.
    Through Christ's death and resurrection I was delivered from ignorance and evil, had my eyes opened to the truth, and was rescued from all things I was ashamed of. He set me free and gave me a new life.
    I don't need to chase after every new thrill that comes along. I don= t need to spend my time and energy looking for something else. What do they matter?
    I've become a member of the kingdom of the Son of his love, and I'm thankful for the redemption I have in him. Redemption means freedom from sin's power and forgiveness of sin's record, and it was purchased for me by Jesus on the cross.
    I will never forget what he did. I will never forget what it cost him. And I will never stop being grateful to him. Somebody has said that the theology of Christianity is grace and the ethic of Christianity is gratitude. I couldn't have said it better myself. When I understand what God in his grace has done for me, the spontaneous response my heart is thankfulness.
    Is it fulfillment you want? You'll only find it in a rich relationship to the living God.
    Is it satisfaction you crave? You'll only find it in a life of loving devotion to God.
    When you= re fully involved in doing good, in trying to please God, a full life is the natural result. Do that, and you'll find yourself living a winsome, distinctively attractive Christian life.
    It's called fulfillment. And it's found in a living, growing relationship with Christ.
 

A New Spirit, New Morals, and a New Mind
 

. . . to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ.
(Colossians 1:2)
 

    It would be easy to slide over the phrase "in Christ,@ but these words, common in this epistle and in all Paul's writings, are ones he loves to use to describe people who are related to the Lord Jesus. He means that Christ is the atmosphere they breathe, the dominating factor of their lives, the one who directs them in the way they ought to go.
    He also means that when God looks at people who are "in Christ@ he doesn't see them in all their failure. He sees them in all the righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
    When Paul writes to people who are "in Christ,@ he is talking about their spiritual position and condition. But these people are also called "holy@ from a moral point of view.
    Just imagine what would happen if someone were to ask a young person in school, "What is your ambition?@ and she were to reply, "I want to be holy.@ What would be the reaction? The class would crack up. People would think the kid was loony.
    This is because we don't like the word holy. And we don't like it because we don't understand it.
    The root from which we get the word holy is the word meaning "to cut,@ to separate something from the rest, to make it distinctive, other, something else. When God picks a word to describe himself, he uses the word holy. That means he's distinct, separate, other.
    People who are "in Christ@ spiritually are required to be holy and moral - to live distinctively. There are some things holy people won't get into. They're too smart. They won't get into destructive habits because they have a new set of priorities.
    Holiness, however, shouldn't only be seen in negative terms. The basic idea of holiness is not negative, it's positive. If we are holy, we live attractive, winsome, definite, distinctive lives. People notice.
    Finally, these people are described intellectually as "believing.@ It is important to note that the word here translated faithful can equally well be translated believing. Faithful and full of faith come from the same Greek word - they have only one word for both. If you are full of faith, you demonstrate it by being faithful. If you are trusting, you demonstrate it by being trustworthy. The two always work hand-in-glove.
    These believers in Colosse had intellectually subscribed to the gospel, but it had more than intellectual ramifications. Morally it shaped their lifestyle, and spiritually it place them into Christ.
    Do you see yourself as living 'in Christ'? Do you see him as the atmosphere you breathe, the environment in which you live?
 

~ Stuart Briscoe ~