What is the distinguishing mark of someone who is a Christian?
I think that we sometimes think that Christians are distinguished or set apart from other people who are not Christians by our learning… our friends… our religious practices… our knowledge… our experiences… or our accomplishments and as good as all those things are they really aren’t the defining factors of what it means to come to Christ and follow him. So what is the distinguishing mark of someone who is a Christian?
Look at Luke 18:15 – 27…
15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
So I think that the distinguishing mark of someone who is a Christian or someone who has entered the kingdom of God, according to what we just read, is childlike faith. In other words… the distinguishing mark of a Christian is the evidence of childlike faith. The question for us is this… As Christians are we people who practice childlike faith? Do our children come running to Jesus? Do we come running to Jesus like children? Do we follow Christ regardless of the cost? Is there evidence of God doing the impossible in our lives? Are you practicing childlike faith?
1: Christians with childlike faith are marked by the way they let children come to Jesus… (15-16)
Luke tells us that many people “were bringing even infants to Jesus that he might touch them”. What a privilege it is to bring children to Jesus so that they might be healed by him and brought by the Spirit of God to a place of saving faith in him. What person do you know who has really experienced an authentic encounter with Jesus but does not labor hard to bring others, especially children, to Jesus too? Doesn’t it seem backwards to claim to have been saved by Jesus from the penalty and power of sin but then not go to the greatest lengths to also bring others, especially children, to that same place of saving faith? This is the mistake that Jesus’ disciples made.
Luke tells us that when the disciples saw the people bringing their infants to Jesus “they rebuked them”. In other words… there were people gathering together in some of the earliest Christ-centered church gatherings who were excited about bringing their children to Jesus so that they could encounter what it is like to gather with God’s people and receive a touch from Jesus but the disciples rebuked them. Maybe the disciples were concerned about the disruption of having kids in the gathering or maybe they were concerned about Jesus getting worn out by the demands of caring for families with children but either way, regardless of what motivated them they began to rebuke people for bringing their kids to Jesus. But Jesus sees this moment as a teachable moment.
Luke tells us that Jesus “called the children to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.’” In other words… as Jesus calls the kids over he rebukes the disciples for rebuking the people. He basically says… “Let them come to me… Don’t hinder them from coming to me… The kingdom of God is open to kids too!” I believe that it is primarily the responsibility of parents to bring their children to Jesus. To create a Christ-centered environment within the family. To regularly explain the Scriptures to their children. To regularly preach the gospel to their children. To regularly confront sin in the hearts of their children. To regularly pray with their children. Sadly… far too many professing Christians today have gotten sinfully lazy with this privilege and responsibility. Far too many Christian parents claim to be too busy to shepherd their children. Far too many Christian parents think it’s the responsibility of the church to shepherd their children. Far too many Christian parents think it’s the job of the church to set up more attractive programs that will train their children in entertaining ways because they’ve become bored with Jesus. Far too many Christian parents have tapped out in this area of bringing their kids to Jesus because they are afraid that they are too uneducated to round their kids up in the living room or around the dinner table for a good robust conversation about what the Lord is up to and wants to do in their hearts. Far too many Christian parents don’t let their kids come to Jesus because they are afraid of their kids. Far too many Christian parents actually hinder their kids from coming to Jesus because they are lazy. Far too many Christian parents have forgotten that their proclaimed faith in Christ and their encounter of walking with Jesus should make them ferocious evangelists with their children because the kingdom of God is open to children too. The kingdom of God isn’t a club for adults it’s a diverse family of people from all different walks, all different tribes, all different tongues, all different colors, all different ethnicities and all different ages. Christians with childlike faith are marked by the way they let children come to Jesus.
Is your life marked by the way you bring children to Jesus?
Are you making excuses for being lazy or fearful? Have you actually hindered your children’s ability to come to Jesus? Have you not taken the time that is needed to explain the Scriptures, encourage servant hood, confront sin and proclaim the gospel to your children? Are you a person with childlike faith who is marked by the way you let children come to Jesus?
2: Christians with childlike faith are marked by the way they come to Jesus like children… (17)
Jesus says that, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Now I don’t think Jesus is advocating for being immature in our journey of coming to Jesus. He’s not teaching us to come to him and stall out in our growth as Christians. The Christian life should be evidenced by the fruit of victory over the penalty, the power & the presence of sin. What Jesus is teaching us is that when we come to him we must come like children who are dependent upon the inner work of the Spirit who progressively sanctifies us and we must be receptive to the rule and reign of Christ as our King. Far too many people are comfortable in their walk with Jesus and are unwilling or stubbornly refusing to grow in maturity in their faith. They reject the counsel of their leaders & other Christians around them, they continue in their sinful patterns and they make excuses for their rejection of growing in holiness. The Christian life should not be marked by immaturity. The Christian life should be marked or distinguished from other people in the world by our childlike faith that receives rather than rejects the work of the Spirit as he transforms us into the image of Christ.
Is your life marked by the way you come to Jesus like a child?
Are you receptive to the message of the gospel? Are your receptive to the work of the Spirit of God as he works through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word as well as the family of the church around you? Are you like a child who rebels or are you like a child who receives and depends and seeks the help you need in the gospel? Are you a person with childlike faith who is marked by the way you come to Jesus like a child?
3: Christians with childlike faith are marked by the way they follow Jesus…(18-22)
In some areas of the world it seems very acceptable to say that you follow Jesus while in other areas it is almost like a curse word to say that you follow Jesus while in other areas it could get you killed to say that you follow Jesus. In some areas of America like the area we live in it is still fairly popular to claim Christ with our lips while our lives are barely distinguishable from the world around us. I want to argue that our lives should be marked by childlike faith that follows Jesus regardless of the cost.
I think this is why Luke tells us that a ruler approached Jesus and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This man appears to have some interest in entering the kingdom of God as a follower of King Jesus so Jesus responds by saying “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” To which, this man replied, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” There are two things I notice from the first part of this dialogue. First of all I think that Jesus isn’t rebuking the man for calling him “Good Teacher”. I think Jesus is asking a rhetorical question like “If you call me a good teacher then you’re recognizing that I am God right? And if you recognize that I am God then you must recognize that I am the king of the kingdom you wish be a part of so listen close to what I say is the distinguishing mark of someone who is a part of God’s family.” Secondly I don’t think Jesus is advocating a works based salvation here but I do think he is advocating a kind of childlike faith that is evidenced by works which, if you read the Pauline Epistles, the epistles written by John or the letter from James then you too will arrive at the same conclusion as you hear the Spirit speak through those writers. Our Christian life should be marked by childlike faith that is evidenced by personal holiness while following Jesus regardless of the cost.
So this man says that he has done everything that the law commands since he was a child so he must be in the family but Jesus responds by saying “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Jesus’ message is consistent with anyone who desires to follow him. His message is simply this… “To follow me will cost you everything because it cost me everything so leave everything behind and come follow me on a journey of dying to yourself and continuously learning what else you may leave behind to continue following me.” The problem with us when it comes to following Jesus with childlike faith that leaves everything behind is that we want to follow Jesus while still holding onto some things. We want to hold onto our sinful patterns while claiming to follow Jesus while using the excuse that we are all sinners. We want to find out where the boundaries are and live as closely to them as we possibly can. We want to be entertained because we believe Christian’s should have fun too at the expense of truly growing in holiness. We want to sacrifice as little as possible for Christ because we cheapen and minimize his sacrifice for us.
Is your life marked by the way you follow Jesus regardless of the cost?
Are you too busy making your lists of all that you have done to gain a position in God’s family to realize that there’s more you can give because you are a part of his family? Are you caught up with some sin pattern that you’re unwilling to cut off? What areas of obedience is God calling you to walk out by the Spirit’s power as you continue to grow through the study of God’s Word, the preaching of God’s Word and the voice of the church family around you? Are you a person with childlike faith who is marked by the way you follow Jesus regardless of the cost?
4: Christians with childlike faith are marked by the way they stop trying to do the impossible…(23-27)
Whenever I take on a task that is impossible for me to complete I get depressed and sad. Some auto mechanic work is impossible for me to do and inevitably when I try to do it on my own I wind up depressed, angry and sad and I usually want to throw some tools across the room and give up. Instead of throwing some tools in these moments it’s a good opportunity to call up a mechanic buddy who has the ability to do what is impossible for me to do so that we can do it together. It’s often the same way in the Christian life. I know for a fact that I’ve been trying to do the impossible on my own when I feel depressed, sad, angry and I’m ready to give up or I’m ready to choke someone. When that happens it becomes obvious that I have an opportunity to quit trying to do the impossible on my own and come to Jesus with childlike faith that trusts God to do the impossible.
I think this is precisely what Jesus is teaching us when Luke tells us that when the rich young ruler hears what Jesus says “he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. (And) Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Ever try fitting a camel through the eye of a needle? It’s impossible! Try it sometime and you’ll become depressed, sad and angry and you’ll want to throw something or choke someone! But if entering the kingdom of God is as impossible as that then where’s our hope?
That’s essentially what people who heard Jesus say these things asked! They said “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” In other words… the work of salvation & sanctification is impossible for us to achieve on our own. It’s as impossible as trying to thread a camel through the eye of a needle because we are all like the rich man. We are human and we are limited in our abilities so we get depressed, sad and angry when we realize we have to give up the things we love or the relationships we hold dear or the habits we enjoy to follow Jesus.
Oftentimes… instead of truly following Jesus and growing in holiness as we trust God to do the impossible in terms of salvation and transformation we just keep hold on the things we love more than Jesus and we cloak our lives with religious rhetoric and religious practice to cover the fact that we are trying to do the impossible on our own. We are trying to save ourselves and put ourselves in a position where God owes us a place in his kingdom because of our accomplishments. We in a sense begin to hope in our own abilities instead of embracing our limitations and our brokenness while trusting God in obedient childlike faith.
Is your life marked by the evidence of God doing the impossible?
Is your soul downcast and depressed because you can’t be good enough? Are you preoccupied with everything you’ve done right? Are you unwilling to face the fact that you have to give up your life to gain true life? Have you forgotten the good news of the gospel and the hope of the cross and empty tomb of Jesus? Are you a person of childlike faith who is marked by the evidence of God doing the impossible in your life?
In conclusion…
I think the distinguishing mark of someone who is a Christian or someone who has entered the kingdom of God is childlike faith. Childlike faith that brings kids to Jesus… Childlike faith that comes to Jesus like a child… Childlike faith that follows Jesus regardless of the cost… And childlike faith that depends upon God to do the impossible.
The question for us is this… Are you a person who practices childlike faith? Do children come running to Jesus because of you? Do you come running to Jesus like a child? Do you follow Christ regardless of the cost? Is there evidence of God doing the impossible in your life? Are you practicing childlike faith?