Dr. Mike Jones

THE ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN!

[First, talk about the Attachment on redefining the Local Church.]

Consider this metaphor: a Christian with good ‘Character’ has a pocketful of coins. As long as the pocket is full, the Christian’s Character is intact, worthy of respect, and able to be trusted. Each time the Christian breaks a promise he/she makes, they must dibble up some of the coins in their pocket. When the coins are gone, so is the Christian’s CHARACTER. At this point, it becomes hard to WIN it back! In some cases, it may take years to regain it!

Let’s look at 4 basic/key attributes that EVERY Christian should possess, that will guarantee to keep their CHARACTER in tact:

1. SPEAK THE TRUTH – Be transparent, honest and upfront in every situation that you’re confronted with. Jesus said about 25 times in scripture, “I tell YOU the truth!”

In Ephesians 4:15, Speaking the truth in love. Truth is never to give way to false doctrine, but it must be spoken in love. Some cling to the truth tenaciously, but forget to speak it in love. Grow up into him in all things. This continues the characteristics of those “who are no longer children.”

Ps. 15:4, “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.”

John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth. Disciples are learners. Their object is to know the truth. The way to know the truth is to obey the truth. The truth shall make you free. The Gospel obeyed, frees – frees from the yoke of Satan, from spiritual task-masters, from fear, fills the soul with hope and the free spirit of a son who serves the Father from love.”

Warning in Romans 2:8, “But to them. God rewards the righteous according to their works as described in the previous verse; so also the wicked, as this verse describes. Contentious. Who seek their own way, instead of God’s way, and contend against God. Do not obey the truth. God’s law is truth. Sinners fight against God and “obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness.” This verse describes the character of the wicked. Romans 2:9 declares God’s judgment upon them.”

• DON’T HIDE BAD NEWS – Remember the scandals that shook and somewhat shocked the world, like Enron, WorldCom, etc. The CEOs of these large global companies confessed to be Christians: You can find their narratives in a book The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans are Doing it [By David Callahan]; the book talked about them leading Bible Studies in their churches, etc. One Christian businessman said in the book, “I do it because everyone is doing it in business to stay ahead in this bad economy, and we do what we have to do to stay afloat.”

Saints, people are hearing the bad economic news every day from various news channels; God doesn’t want us to embellish it or put a twist to it to make Him look good! Say what it truly is, and let God be God in changing a Christian’s circumstance in this wicked and perverted generation. [So tell me the truth about Bad News, upfront: Don’t cry to soften the news!]

One Christian writer gave an excellent example about a world leader, who communicated bad news as honestly, as he knew how: We’re talking about the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. In the midst of World War II, he let the British know they were in their darkest hour, their backs were up against the wall, and that democratic civilization rested upon their ability to win the war against Hitler. He never sugarcoated anything, and his sincerity instilled a grim determination in his people to sacrifice and persevere.

• NEVER MAKE PROMISES YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T KEEP – [When you do this, you’re basically lying. The Apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits 10 and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself…”

And in Proverbs 14:5, Bible says, “A reliable witness always tells the truth, but an unreliable one tells nothing but lies.”

Saints, all we’re saying is, DO NOT MAKE PROMISED YOU CAN’T KEEP! As one Christian write stated: “Why do YOU think politicians have such a poor reputation? Simply because they promised the world and very seldom deliver anything!”

We as parents to it with our kids; promise to take them to Orlando to Disney World, and know your schedule and/or finances make the trip impossible to take, but you keep telling the kids, “We’re going.”

I like what another Christian writer said: “A true Christian or highly credible leader, UNDER-PROMISES and OVER-DELIVERS!”

• KEEP YOUR WORD and DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU WILL DO – Saints, God kept/keeps ALL His promises. He expects the same from us! In Titus 2:7-8, he writes, “In all things you yourself must be an example of good behavior. Be sincere and serious in your teaching. Use sound words that cannot be criticized so that your enemies may be put to shame by not having anything bad to say about us.”

Like we do here at Free Gospel, when we baptize someone, we follow-up and follow through with the people letting them know that we, here in the ministry, care for them!

Saints, a broken promise is a SIN, and will be judged by the Lord. In Leviticus 5:4-5, “If you make a careless vow, no matter what is is about, you are guilty as soon as you realize what you have done. When you are guilty, you must confess the sin.” I remember one Friday night Revival Service that we were having, and the anointing was high. After the service, Apostle Green asked, “How many of the brethren would meet him Saturday morning about 9:00 a.m., to go down to the church retreat to clean away some of the brush, cut the grass, etc.” About 50 brethren raised their hands, and by 9:00 Saturday morning, ONLY about 10-15 brethren showed up! [It showed me that when the anointing is high, we will promise anything!]

By now, some of you may be thinking, “Dr. Mike, I’m guilty of not magnifying these attributes in my life. How can I restore the damage that I’ve done to my Christian character?

I’m glad YOU asked, because there are three steps YOU can take to restore YOUR character and credibility as a leader:

1. Acknowledge that YOU’VE made mistakes – when decisions turn out unexpectedly, you, as a Christian, owe the other person an honest explanation. Get your ‘EGO’ out of the way because the problem will persist and get BIGGER if it’s not corrected as soon as possible. Don’t let your acknowledgment be a result of you being caught in your lie because this will do nothing towards helping you re-establish trust.
2. Apologize – simply admit that what YOU did was undeniably ‘wrong’ and that YOU’RE sorry, and accept the responsibility of making it right. [I was truly blessed when I saw this in My Bishop: He acknowledged that he was wrong about Women in Ministry, and made it right. His willingness to make it right truly had blessed the ministry with some anointed Women of God!]
3. Make Amends – if at all possible, pay restitution. If you borrow $20 from me and promise to pay it back in 2 weeks, and after 2 weeks, you’re ducking me, come to me and tell me that due to your financial crisis at this time in your life, due to unemployment, set another time period for repayment: you may be surprised, the person may simply have a heart of compassion and release YOU from the debt!