Perception Of Christian Values

What does it mean to be a Christian? Perception versus reality of what the Christian faith means may be vastly different. Our beliefs are our own, but I believe there are some universal truths and values that all Christians share, irrespective of denomination, as shown and given by Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus left the world such a wonderful legacy, and I believe that if we all follow Jesus’ teachings we will experience breathtaking transformation in this world we live in, regardless of whether or not each of us believes in God.

My Take on Christian Values

• Love God: We accept Jesus as our saviour to know and glorify God the Father. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 KJV), and Jesus said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30 KJV)

·         Love each other: Jesus said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34 KJV) Some qualities that show this are:

• Acceptance
• Compassion
• Kindness
• Giving

• We honour Jesus and God by accepting and helping each other: Jesus said to His disciples, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (Matthew 10:40 KJV) Jesus said that when we help each other, it is as if we are helping Him. Jesus said, “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:35–40 KJV)

·         Follow the Ten Commandments given to Moses: Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19 KJV) (See section below called “The Ten Commandments” for more information on this subject)

·         Fear of God: The path of righteousness is narrow and difficult. Just as parents discipline their children to teach them how to behave, so God will guide His followers and ensure His commands are obeyed. See God’s discipline as a gift so you are not led astray. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19 KJV) We may experience times of trial when God is trying to teach us key lessons, like patience, and He will give us tests. Temptation does not come from God, but He will ensure we are not tempted by more than we can manage, and He will help us overcome temptation. I have heard these concepts many times in church, and I find it difficult to recognise each situation. I may think Satan is tempting me when things just do not go my way, but God might be testing me to make sure I learn a lesson through trial before using me. Suspend judgment and try to see if God is trying to tell you something.

·         Knowing God causes a change of heart: We become new people in Christ. Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV)  I have felt a change in myself since becoming a Christian, as I have noticed I have become less judgemental, more patient, more able to let worry slide away—I do have to catch my thoughts still! I am far from perfect! Some might say I am still an impatient person, but if they knew me 10 years ago, they would see the difference!

·         Be non-judgmental: Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1 KJV) Some qualities that show this are:

·         Acceptance

• Empathy
• Avoiding assumptions

·         Spread peace: Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 KJV)

• Act peacefully: If we retaliate against evil with evil, are we then at fault ourselves? Jesus said, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27–28 KJV)

• Peace in Jesus, not in the world: Life and people will hurt you, but this can be overcome by inner strength, and peace, and understanding others, and following Jesus’ teachings. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27 KJV)
• Do good, do not tolerate injustice: A good analogy for this is that when a light is switched on, it is the end of darkness. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 KJV)
• Be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”: I believe by this statement Jesus meant something along the lines of be aware of politics, but do not play politics. There are people out there who will hurt others, and some people have hidden agendas. Do not be caught napping and be hurt unnecessarily, but at the same time make sure you do not cause harm. In sending His disciples out, Jesus said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;” (Matthew 10:16–17 KJV)
• Forgiveness: Do not bear grudges against other people, and give people second chances. Ask for forgiveness from others when you do something wrong, and apologise with meaning. Jesus said, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” (Matthew 6:14 KJV) Asking forgiveness from God does not absolve you from asking forgiveness from other people when you hurt them, for Jesus also said, “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23–24 WEB)
• The Holy Spirit is with us, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth: Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:16–17 KJV)
• Our hearts are our truth: Do we display integrity and love for good or do we love money, fame and power at any cost? Jesus said, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. (Matthew 6:20–21 KJV)

Jesus’ Teachings

Jesus left us with incredible teaching, especially His Sermon on the Mount. These are short paragraphs in my own words summarising the first part of the sermon, but I believe what Jesus said needs no translation, as His words transcend centuries (The Bible, Matthew Chapter 5):

Jesus held a significant place in His heart for people who were broken hearted and lost and lonely. He wanted everyone to hear about His love for God, His Father, and to find the Father through Him.

Jesus comforted mourners saying they would find comfort in God. He said that people who show mercy to others would have mercy shown to them and that the pure of heart would see God. Jesus blessed peacemakers as true children of God. Jesus said many people would be persecuted for righteousness sake, and foretold that there would be times when true believers would be persecuted and hated and would be wrongly accused of committing evil themselves, just as had happened to many of God’s prophets before them. I truly hope this time is past for all Christians, in this new world where Human Rights is so vital, and discrimination must be of the past.

In His words about salt and light, Jesus spoke about fulfilling your purpose here on earth, about being who you are and doing good works. He preached that salt must keep its salty flavour to be of use as salt, just as you need to fulfill your own God-given purpose, and be who you were always meant to be. You must let your lights shine and take pride in all that you accomplish, so that all of the good works you do can bring glory to God the Father.

Jesus told us firmly that He was not abolishing the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses (see section below this titled “The Ten Commandments”). He admonished people to continue teaching these laws to be seen as great in Heaven. Jesus gave additional meaning to some of the commandments, turning the commandment “thou shalt not kill” around by stating that if we even become angry at someone without just cause, we are in danger of judgement ourselves and that we may be in danger of a fiery hell if we call another a fool.  Jesus said if there are any grudges between us and other people, to make sure we reconcile our differences first before bringing our offerings before God. If we even just think lustful thoughts, we are committing adultery. Jesus said we must deny those parts of ourselves that cause us to sin, and we must cast them away from us. Jesus asked us not to make vows, not to swear an oath on any object, as just “Yes” must suffice as “Yes” and just “No” must be “No”.

Jesus was the ultimate example of a martyr, and His crucifixion shows this as truth. He believed we should not resist evil, and if we are slapped on one side of the face, to offer the other side too, and if we are sued and an article of clothing is taken, we are to give something else in addition. We are to go two miles with someone who asks us to go one, and should give to anyone who may ask to borrow money from us. Jesus used extreme examples! I believe Jesus was trying to change the way the world worked, to move to new paradigms, to change perception. How can there be an argument when someone does not argue back?!

Jesus asked us to love our enemies: to love anyone who curses us, hates us, uses us, or persecutes us. This is an amazing concept! Jesus said that, just as God allows the sun to beat down on everyone and it rains on both the just and the unjust, so we must love all people. All people have the potential to change for the better. It is better to overcome evil with good, for if we do something evil in return for an evil deed, we are doing exactly the same as those we may criticise.

I wish all people would follow Jesus’ teachings, whether they believe He is the Son of God, or just a man, or even if they do not believe in Jesus’ story as historical fact. His is such a wondrous message of love for all mankind: loving one another, blessing one’s enemies instead of cursing them, spreading peace by making peace, doing good always and letting our lights shine. Unfortunately, people may have wonderful values, but the way these are put into practice often falls short, and we may claim values as our own, but do not live by them. In other words, we do not always practice what we preach. I know this is still true of me and parts of my life, and I am still living the journey, and I am also still in the process of change. But what an ideal benchmark Jesus set for us to follow!

The generalisation of Christians is that we have an unfortunate reputation for hypocrisy and being judgemental, yet Jesus’ values were so astounding, and the two greatest commandments He gave the world were to worship the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love one another as you love yourself.  Do not judge Jesus on the failings of you and me, His followers! You will slip and fall short in following Jesus. This is natural, as His is a narrow path to walk, and even expect this as none of us is perfect. Do the best you can. Forget what others may think. Let Jesus guide your heart and mind, and bring you strength and peace and abundant hope through faith.

The Father and the Son

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 KJV)

I believe in Jehovah God (Yahweh), Maker of Heaven and Earth, Father of all creation. I believe the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live amongst us as a person, and to be crucified, and to die for our sins, and to be raised to life again, conquering death and overcoming Satan. Jesus traded his life in exchange for our sins, so that when we believe in Him and follow Him, He is the key to salvation of our souls. What an amazing example of good winning over evil in the most unexpected way! Jesus experienced terrible persecution, especially just before His death, yet was able to continue praising God the Father and loving other people. No-one can fault Jesus for the way He lived, and He was killed even though He had committed no crime. Christians believe Jesus set people free from what is known as the law, for example, the eating of unclean food, and that relationship and right standing with God are necessary for salvation. By accepting Jesus as our Saviour, He will change our hearts and minds and make a life changing difference in our lives, renewing us from the inside, so we are born again.

As a Christian, I worship God by coming to know the Father through Jesus. Jesus is our greatest intercessor, and I believe God sent Jesus to earth as a person to try to change the way we all live on earth, and to show a tangible presence of God, as people believe what they see. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 KJV)

The Holy Spirit

Jesus said He would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be with us, to guide us into all truth. Different translations of the Bible use different names for the Holy Spirit: the Holy Ghost, the Counsellor, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, and the Advocate. When you are baptised with the Holy Spirit, you have an indwelling of God’s presence inside of your spirit, often allowing you to feel God’s presence at certain moments, for example, during prayer, or during praise and worship. It is an unbelievable feeling to feel God’s love surrounding you.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:15–17 KJV)

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26 KJV)

When you are anointed by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will give you spiritual gifts to use to further God’s kingdom, like the gift of prophecy, or the gift of healing, or even an abundant measure of faith. Some people will believe in God no matter what may come their way, and they then have the spiritual gift of abundant faith.

“Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages. But the one and the same Spirit works all of these, distributing to each one separately as he desires.” (1 Corinthians 12:4–11 WEB)

 I believe Jesus is our true Foundation Stone of Hope (www.amazon/com/author/shirleyanne).

I'd like to state that this article is my own personal opinion. Others who are also Christians may not even agree with some of my statements, but I hope they do. Please would you comment if there are glaring errors, as I feel the walk along my path is new and I am always happy to consider other opinions. I do sometimes rewrite things when new facts or thoughts come to light.