A Christian possesses at least four things. First, he has Christ; a person is not a Christian if he does not have Christ. Second, he has the Bible; third, he has the church; and fourth, he has fellow Christians or companions in the Lord. In addition, such a Christian has four characteristics.
First, a Christian is peculiar in the eyes of the world. He is distinctly different from the worldly people. If a Christian walks like the worldly people, even though he may not be a false Christian, he is surely a questionable Christian. A normal Christian is most certainly peculiar before men.
Second, if a Christian lives before God and maintains fellowship with Him, his inward sense and outward behavior usually are in contradiction. His inner being often disapproves of his outward living, attitudes, and speaking. In other words, a proper Christian always experiences contradictions between his inward sense and his outward behavior. This is normal. Therefore, a Christian is both peculiar and full of contradictions.
Third, if a Christian lives before God, he will do all things from within his innermost part. He is reluctant to show off his good deeds because he does everything inwardly. A Christian who acts and moves from within is spontaneous, ingenuous, and honest, without outward pretense and imitation. Whatever he does in his daily walk, he does it out of his innermost part, because that is where the Spirit of God dwells. He takes his innermost part as the starting point of his walk; this means that God is his starting point. Therefore, a Christian lives, walks, and has his being not from without but from deep within. Inwardly he is in the light and he is good, while outwardly he is spontaneous and does not engage in mere outward activities.
In summary, the first three characteristics of a Christian include his being peculiar before men, his being contradictory within himself, and his walking before God with his innermost part as the starting point. People in the world all plunge into the current of this age, but a genuine Christian does not follow the current, is not fashioned according to this age (Rom. 12:2), and most certainly does not follow the bad examples of others. Hence, he is seen as peculiar. Inwardly he has the presence of God, the consciousness of Christ, and the enlightening of the Holy Spirit, which all constantly disapprove of his outward walk and living. Others may not condemn him and may instead even praise him. Inwardly, however, he always condemns himself for not coming up to God’s standard. This comes from his having fellowship with the Lord. The more he fellowships with the Lord and draws near to Him, the more contradictions he experiences. The more he enjoys the presence of the Lord, the more he feels that many aspects of his outward living are incompatible with God’s will and God’s holiness. Therefore, his inward being always disagrees with his outward conduct, and he constantly has a sense of contradiction between the inward and the outward. Moreover, a proper Christian is one who does all things before God out of his innermost part.
Besides being peculiar, being contradictory, and taking his innermost part as the starting point, a Christian is led by the Lord in all things. What is a leading? Perhaps this word is difficult to understand. In fact, the Word of God speaks a great deal about the matter of leading. Most people, however, do not speak much about it. What does it mean to be led? For example, I may want to go to a certain place but do not know the direction, so I get someone to lead me there-he walks before me while I follow from behind. This applies not only to walking but also to the handling of affairs. This is what the Bible refers to as leading.
A saved one must be led by God in all things, such as how he should behave, how he should walk, and how he should live. Generally speaking, he must be led by God in all things, great or small, that are related to his food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, as well as in the things related to his family, to himself, and to his education or knowledge. No matter how people praise us, if there are still some areas in our life and within us that are not under the leading of God, we know that there are still problems in us.
A normal Christian is one who is led even in the smallest matter of his living. Someone may ask, “To what degree of smallness is the smallest matter?” According to what I have learned, we have to fellowship with God and be led even concerning the style of our haircut. We also need to be led in the matter of determining how much to spend for a pair of shoes. Ordinarily, most Christians are so competent that they do not care about the Lord’s will and good pleasure. It is not until great things occur that they would pray, “Lord, I am about to be married. What should I do? I have to search for a job. How should I proceed with it?” In other words, they pray and inquire about important matters but not about the trivial things in their daily living. This type of Christian is abnormal and unhealthy. A normal and healthy Christian is one who lives with the Lord and who brings everything, both great and small, before Him.
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