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This note is really geared toward those that are Christians. Sure any one is welcome to read it, but the real focus is on how Christians live and interact in the world. If you consider yourself saved hopefully the following will challenge you, and your walk with Christ a bit.

Have you ever been called a good Christian? If so, that can be a very sad statement.

Sure sometimes it is a complement. If you hear it from a faithful encourager or prayer partner, then it probably is a compliment. However, when someone says you are good Christian think a bit more about it. Many times a good Christian is defined as one that never takes their faith into the world. “Good Christians” do not get their hands dirty with the consciences and results of sin. “Good Christians” look nice, smell nice, act nice, and play nice, but they have no real impact. “Good Christians” never challenge the immoral acts in their own life or in society, they excuse them by using circumstances or conditions as justification. “Good Christians” think that God stops where ostracism begins. “Good Christians” evaluate personal impact over Kingdom effect.

Most of the world wants Christians to keep their faith inside of the four walls of the church. They do not want Christians contending for the faith of Christ in the world of the lost and abandoned. The world wants the church sitting in pews, not impacting the world for Jesus. The world wants the church there for moral justification, but not for moral correction. Many times the world only wants to see Christians when they need something. They want the church to give them absolution of their life / lifestyle even when it contradicts God’s values. The world wants the church to commit them to marriage, but not hold them to their vows. They want the church to bury their dead and mourn at their loss, but never question the lives of those still living. The world actively celebrates the church’s holy days, but does not want to hear about the real meaning of the holiday. The world wants the benefits of church tradition, relief, aid, support and care, but does not want to hear about the source of our beliefs, values, gifts and blessings. Sure all of the above situations can be used to spread the gospel and contend for the faith, but the real work of Christ is not done on special days in special buildings, but is done day in, day out in the real world. Real Christians offer the world Christ continually, not just when the world wants something. So our goal should be to become real Christians, not good Christians.

There is nothing new about this situation. Christ was rejected by the religious leaders of His time. He knew that many in society would misunderstand His actions and activities. He knew that He would be viewed with contempt, hatred, and rejection by the religious. These facts did not stop Him. He spent time with people that would never have been welcomed into the temple due to their heritage, their race, their profession, or their past. Christ was a terrible example of what both society thought the church was, and what the church thought it should be. Christ preached the gospel both in and out of season. He wanted to save everyone, not just the ones that fit the mold of a good Jew. Christ’s passion was to meet them where they were, and then help them leave that behind by helping them move to where they needed to be. That meant being more concerned about people then status, and placing God’s call over the societies pull.

Christ was a perfect follower of His father God. He was not concerned about the voices of His opponents. He was not worried about what people said, or how He was viewed. He was here to save humanity, not adapt to it. Earthly standards were / are not His standards. His call was to follow the standards of Heaven and that is the same call that we accepted when we were saved. If Christ was alienated and rejected, why do we think it would / will be different for us.

Those that call themselves Christian’s should expect the above in their lives. We should expect misunderstanding, rejection, alienation, and contempt. If we follow God, we should not be worried about how we are viewed by society. Christ knew that nothing He did would ever be viewed as good by a lost society. His actions to challenge established religion were never going to be embraced. The key was that His call was to change the world, not conform to it. To do that meant being rejected by many where the few could see how to truly live for God. To do this does not mean we must sacrifice our character or integrity, it means we must sacrifice our life, including it’s goals and our status in society to Him.

It is vital to remember this call does not require us to sacrifice our character or integrity. While we should not be concerned about our societal status or the views of others, we should be concerned about the quality of our character / witness. Christ ministered to the worst of the worst, but He did it in open and common places. He did not go to the “den’s of sin” or participate in their immoral acts, to reach them. What Christ did was meet them wherethey were, normally that was in public, and then share with them what they needed. He meet them on common ground, not their turf. It is not that He could not resist the temptation, it was He knew that His followers could not and where no one could ever charge Him or His followers with immorality. Notice as well, that with the exception of correcting the priests and cleansing the temple (which was the turf of the lost religious class) Christ did not meet even the religious on their ground. Christ meet and corrected people while He was going about His normal day, in normal circumstance and situations.

Christ witnessed to people where they were. The reason He could do this is that God’s temple is the entire earth. God is not limited to specific places, with specific architectural features. God can and does work throughout the world. Christ met people at times when they were open to His word, not when they were self absorbed in sinful activities and unwilling to see His love and wisdom.

Paul continues this same example by telling us that (Team Swap paraphrase follows) all things are permissible, but not all things are profitable. The Bible also commands us not to cast our pearls with swine. In other words, we are to share Christ wherever we go with all that we meet. That also means that there are some places that we do not need to go. The fundamental test is that we must share Christ in ways and in places that do not disgrace or degrade the word and work of God.

That idea is easily said, but is often difficult to implement. Christians have many different views on what is and is not profitable and appropriate. Christian disagreements over such things are a large reason so many churches and believers are ineffective. They are also a means the world uses to define and degrade the work of God because it appears to be so unified. Christians allow piety arguments over things that are eternally unimportant to hinder the work of God.

The solution to this and other problems is simple though. What is it you ask? Simply it is pray to God and really listen to His answer. He has an answer to every question personally for you. We trust Him enough to know that if Christians prayed about it and listened to God’s truth that it would sort both you and me out if we would listen to Him.

Remember that the path to heaven goes directly through Jesus and His work on the cross. That path is difficult and trying. It is difficult due to pressure from society, culture, personal relationships and our sinful nature. So there is no doubt that we will all fail at following Christ’s example. There will be times when we become the example of what both society wants and expects from Christians, and that is hypocritical, sinful, and ineffective. The fact that we will not always succeed though is no reason to not try.

Our goal should be to live to the example of Christ. That means never allowing the prejudices and views of society to direct our actions. Society will call us to an ineffective relationship with Christ. Christ will direct us to an uncomfortable relationship with society. Today Christians need to decide which path they will pursue - 1) the path of ineffective faith and acceptance in society or 2) effective faith and alienation of society. Christ’s example was the second. Long term Christ changed the way society functioned, short term they hated Him. Today it is your choice as to what you will do.