As we learned last week, there is a behavior that is expected of Christians. When you see members of the royal family, you can tell. Why? How they talk, walk, sit, eat, dress, and carry themselves just says it all. When people look at our conduct, they should be able to tell that we are for Christ. We have discussed why it is important that we conduct ourselves in a certain way. As Christ’s representatives on earth, we should accurately depict Him to the world. Today we will learn what constitutes the expected conduct of a believer.
What are the ways Christians should conduct themselves?
A Christian should conduct himself in humility. Even God is repelled by a proud person (Jam. 4:6). Jesus was–and still–is the epitome of humility (Php. 2:5-8). We should follow in His footsteps, not seeing ourselves as more important than anyone. In the same vein, the gift of salvation is a gift. It is not something any of us deserved or worked hard for (Eph. 2:8-9). There should be no matter of seeing ourselves as better than other people because we have been saved or we are opportune to know better than they do. Instead, we should take it as a humbling experience and use the opportunity we have received to help others, not bragging and trying to create a sort of elitism around faith.
A Christian should be honest. I don’t think this requires any explanation but for the sake of people who question things and like to understand why, I’ll speak briefly on this. Honesty is a basic moral requirement. For Christians, its importance even goes beyond just morals. It is about who and what we represent. Jesus is the truth and we are His representatives (Jn. 14:6). A representative of the truth being a prolific liar doesn’t exactly speak well of the person they represent. Also, Jesus tells us that the devil is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). If you manipulate paperwork, bulk up budgets, and tell lies, you’re not following after your Father in heaven.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Colossians 3:9-10 ESV
A Christian should be merciful. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). This quality is not even about the other person. It does not benefit the next person as much as it benefits you. We all need God’s mercy daily and believers are well aware of how important it is. When you are merciful to others, you make yourself available to receive the mercy of God.
A Christian should be kind. In the name of wokeness, a good number of people have become brash and unkind. Even people from older generations are not exempt. The standard for Christians, however, remains kindness. God is kind to us all. Shouldn’t we extend this grace to others? Colossians 4:6 tells us to speak graciously and season it with salt. We are also told not to disregard anyone based on anything they are, aren’t, have, or have not (Jam. 2:1-9; Gal. 3:28). It is basic Christian conduct to be kind.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 ESV
A Christian should be grateful and content. Now this is tricky because many Christians often confuse contentment with complacency–we will discuss this in future posts–but the two are different.
Gratitude and contentment go hand in hand. Chronic complainers do not represent the values of Christ, who was always giving thanks in every situation. He was content with the lowly life He lived here while looking forward to the glory that lies ahead (Heb. 12:2). The spirit of thankfulness shows our trust and faith in God for both good and otherwise situations.
A Christian should be responsible and diligent. Sadly, many Christians are lacking in this area. They use the grace of God as an excuse for laziness. Some others even use God’s work as an excuse for not doing so well in other areas of their life. Jesus excelled in all ramifications. He found favor in the sight of God and men (Lk. 2:52). He was responsible and diligent with His work (Jn. 5:17).
The rule of life is that it is the diligent man who stands at a vantage point; before kings (Prov. 22:29).
A Christian should conduct himself in love. There is no greater way of showing the world that we belong to Christ than to show love. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of love. God is love. Whoever doesn’t love doesn’t know Him, and we cannot claim to belong to God if we don’t know Him. (1 Jn. 4:7-12)
Of all the expected behaviors, love is the only one that distinctly sets us apart from the world. Jesus said, “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (Jn. 13:35)
You may say “Loving is so easy, I’m a natural” but the standard of love expected from believers is impossible to attain naturally. It will require you to depend on the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said all of the 10 commandments and extra laws in the Bible can be summarised into one word; love (Gal. 5:14). We find it easier to follow through with other expected behavior when we are full of love and don’t shy away from expressing it.
This brings me to my next and conclusive point. You cannot uphold Christian conduct without upholding Christ. To live the lifestyle of a believer, you must revere Jesus in your life and you must do so well enough to depend on His help. One of the ways we show that we honor God is by acknowledging our need for His help.
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
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