August 20, 1950 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN Micah 6:8; Matt. 5:16, 38-45; Phil. 2:1-11 The Christian is one who wears the name of Christ because he has married Christ at some time in his life and made the Lord Jesus the Lord of his life and the Saviour of his soul. The Christian is joined to Christ by eternal bonds. He has been bought for God with that precious blood. He has been redeemed from Satan’s bondage to become a child of God through faith in the Lord Jesus. The Christian has been made a new creature by the power o f the Holy Spirit. The Christian is Spirit-led, Spirit-taught, Spirit-guided, and Spirit-filled. At the wedding, the bride assumes the name of the bridegroom. She loses her identity to become identified with her lover. So the Christian falls in love with Christ, takes Him as her Lord, gives herself to Him in utter devotion and thereby takes His name. Those who fol low Confucius take his name; those who follow Buddha take his name; those who believe in Mohammed take his name. We, having seen in Christ Jesus the de sire of our hearts, take Him as our Lord and Saviour and thereupon wear His name. The Christian is not just a well- behaved person living as a Christian lives. The Christian is one who has been given the very life of God in his soul because he receives the Saviour and has become a part of His body. The Chris tian is one who has been regenerated by this new life which is given to him at his conversion. This life manifests itself in love for God, love for Christ, love for the Holy Spirit, love for Christians, love for the Bible, love for godly things and separation from worldly things. This life is easily seen by his friends and neigh bors. Since the Christian possesses the very life of Christ, it is only natural that that life will be manifested in his daily ac tions. The life of Christ does not act one way on Sunday and a different way on Monday. The life o f Christ is not affected by holidays nor by seasons nor by time. That wonderful life placed in the heart o f a béliëving man leads him always and in every place to live godly and de votedly for the glory o f Christ Jesus. This life makes thé Christian to live and love as Christ lived and loved. THE KI NG ' ¿ ^BUS I NES S The Christian Takes Christ’s Name Acts 15:14 The Christian Possesses Christ’s Life Rom. 6:23 The Christian Adopts Christ’s Ways Col. 3:1
recreation. The Scripture does mention, “ Six days shalt thou labour.” The sev enth day was given for rest, not for exertion. Man has upset God’s plans and program to make Sunday a day for vio lent activity in exciting sports and games. The five-day week is a curse to our people. It was never intended by the Lord and certainly serves no good end. Labor and work are God’s provision for fallen men. Playtime Should Be Defined Each individual should be the master of his life. When play controls the man, the cart is before the horse. Many minds and hearts need playtime in our present day stress and strain. Relief from the hurry and rush seems to be demanded by the heart and mind. The time, how ever, of this activity should be guarded lest it rule the individual and usurp the place that godly matters should have. We should control our play so that it does not interfere with those duties and responsibilities which are our portion. Playtime Should Be Delightful Many forms of amusement leave a heartache and a heartbreak. God’s peo ple should be godly in their exercise of play as well as in all other activities. Many of the world’s pleasures are sur rounded by w ick ed n e ss, blasphemy, liquor, tobacco, and other ungodly things. Gambling seems to be the vogue in every circle of pleasure. The play should be selected which will leave only a happy heart and a feeling that the time has been profitably spent and in a way that will not dishonor the Lord nor hinder the Holy Spirit. Playtime Should Be Definite Every person needs to decide in his own mind what time he will give to pleasure and when he will forego pleas ure. Time elapses very quickly. The hours are gone before we notice it when the heart is intent on some exciting game or program. Unless one carefully watches his time it will be easy to con sume a large part of the day or the eve ning which would not have been wasted if consideration had been given to the matter. Pleasure has a way of stealing one’s attention and of robbing a person of blessed privileges. Playtime Should Not Be Destructive There are forms of. pleasure that en rich the heart and mind and really leave one with a happy heart over the occa sion that has been thus enjoyed. A trip to the mountains, a view of the valley, a search for an elusive fish, hunting for a hidden animal, studying birds—all of these enrich the heart and are forms of pleasure that may be used to bring profit to the soul and enrich the messages that may be given. There are other forms of pleasure that destroy the mind, rob the pocketbook and hurt the heart. These should be avoided.
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