October 11, 2016 (Tuesday)
The television show, “To Tell the Truth,” was introduced in 1956. A panel of celebrities listened as each of three guests identified himself or herself by the same name. The task of the panel was to pick the person who was telling the truth. Which person was the real person? That was the question that begged for an answer. When the questioning was completed and each “judge” had made his choice, the request came: “Will the real John Smith (or whoever) please stand up?”
Let’s pretend we are attending another kind of “To Tell the Truth” show. Imagine a scene in which each person states, “I am a Christian.” Only one of the three is actually a Christian. “Will the real Christian stand up?” Which person is it? How can you tell?
The Real Christian is God’s handiwork. All the credit for his claim belongs to God. God offers eternal life as a gift. The Real Christian understands that God deserves the glory for whatever is good in his life, “for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV). Christians are sinners saved by grace and born again to a new kind of life.
The Real Christian is different from others. The human race is a fallen race. In the Garden of Eden the only humans alive in this world chose to rebel against their creator. Spiritual death was the result. Christ came, however, to give us life. When a person accepts Christ as Savior and Lord, he is changed from within and given a spiritual nature in addition to his physical nature. His body becomes the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
The Real Christian is destined for glory. Jesus told us (Matthew 13:24-30) that a separation will take place at the close of this present age. Good and evil exist side by side today, but when Jesus returns, he will separate the good from the evil, and that separation will be permanent. What follows is either Heaven or Hell.
I am eternally thankful for the grace of God in Christ, who died and rose from the dead so that salvation for all eternity would be available to every person who believes in Him. By His grace, and only by His grace, I can claim to be saved. As humbly as I can, I bow before Him and thank Him for allowing me to be among those who are grateful to be called, “Christian.”