Are you a
Horrible, Intolerable, Unpleasant, Repellent Christian:
Test
yourself against these four indicators.
First, do you have a growing disdain for others who aren’t as “spiritual” as
you? If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to get full of yourself rather than God’s
Spirit!
Ephesians 5:18b, “be filled with the Spirit,”
Second, are you more focused on measuring people’s failures rather than their
victories? Some speak of excellence in the church, and often that is code for
arrogance. They are more focused on raising the bar of expectations so high
that most fall short rather than helping people climb over it and succeed.
Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Phillippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility
value others above yourselves.”
Third, do you find yourself withholding grace and instead casting judgment?
As those who are to model the life of Christ, we are to be dispensers of grace.
Grace gives life. Legalism robs life. Legalism is just another form of being
judgmental.
Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all
people.”
Romans 2:1, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone
else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself,
because you who pass judgment do the same things.”
Fourth, do you think everyone should look like you? Isn’t it amazing at how
Jesus chose such a varied group of men to begin his movement. None of them were
alike.
John 7:24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
1 Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the
height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as
man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the hearts.”
In other
words, we can be overly confident that we are good, obedient Christians because
we do the things that we like, while we refuse to do the things we dislike.
Or…We think we are good Christians because we don’t commit certain sins that
are easy for us to not commit, but meanwhile we overlook all the other sinful
behaviors in our life. We have deceived ourselves! Big time! The behaviors that
are more difficult for us to change…these are precisely the ones that the
Spirit wants to transform in us.
1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the
truth is not in us.”
James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has
become guilty of all.”
The source
of motivation is critical as well. Too many evangelical churches (whether
directly or indirectly) still teach rule-based living, instead of grace-based and
Spirit-based living. We give people rules to follow. We try to externally
change their behavior…through rules, guilt, fear, etc. Rather…we should be
teaching them to love God wholeheartedly and truly grasp how amazing the grace
of God is! As we remember all that God has done for us through Christ, our love
and gratitude will bring change from the inside out.
Hebrews 12:28+, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us
show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service,”
Philippians 2:13, 4:13, “For it is God who works in you, both to will
and to work for His good pleasure,” so you can say, “I can do all things
through Him who strengthens me.”
Adapted from, “Are You an
Obnoxious Christian?” by Steve Lingenfelter, July 22, 2013.
Are you a
Horrible, Intolerable, Unpleasant, Repellent Christian:
Test
yourself against these four indicators.
First, do you have a growing disdain for others who aren’t as “spiritual” as
you? If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to get full of yourself rather than God’s
Spirit!
Ephesians 5:18b, “be filled with the Spirit,”
Second, are you more focused on measuring people’s failures rather than their
victories? Some speak of excellence in the church, and often that is code for
arrogance. They are more focused on raising the bar of expectations so high
that most fall short rather than helping people climb over it and succeed.
Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Phillippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility
value others above yourselves.”
Third, do you find yourself withholding grace and instead casting judgment?
As those who are to model the life of Christ, we are to be dispensers of grace.
Grace gives life. Legalism robs life. Legalism is just another form of being
judgmental.
Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all
people.”
Romans 2:1, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone
else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself,
because you who pass judgment do the same things.”
Fourth, do you think everyone should look like you? Isn’t it amazing at how
Jesus chose such a varied group of men to begin his movement. None of them were
alike.
John 7:24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
1 Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the
height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as
man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the hearts.”
In other
words, we can be overly confident that we are good, obedient Christians because
we do the things that we like, while we refuse to do the things we dislike.
Or…We think we are good Christians because we don’t commit certain sins that
are easy for us to not commit, but meanwhile we overlook all the other sinful
behaviors in our life. We have deceived ourselves! Big time! The behaviors that
are more difficult for us to change…these are precisely the ones that the
Spirit wants to transform in us.
1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the
truth is not in us.”
James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has
become guilty of all.”
The source
of motivation is critical as well. Too many evangelical churches (whether
directly or indirectly) still teach rule-based living, instead of grace-based and
Spirit-based living. We give people rules to follow. We try to externally
change their behavior…through rules, guilt, fear, etc. Rather…we should be
teaching them to love God wholeheartedly and truly grasp how amazing the grace
of God is! As we remember all that God has done for us through Christ, our love
and gratitude will bring change from the inside out.
Hebrews 12:28+, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us
show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service,”
Philippians 2:13, 4:13, “For it is God who works in you, both to will
and to work for His good pleasure,” so you can say, “I can do all things
through Him who strengthens me.”
Adapted from, “Are You an
Obnoxious Christian?” by Steve Lingenfelter, July 22, 2013.
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