The "Real Deal" Christian

Several years back, my younger brother Troy and I were having a conversation about one of our good friends in the church. And in referencing this person, my brother Troy said this about our friend of ours. He says, he is the real deal Christian. He's the real deal Christian. That statement that he made about this friend of ours made me take pause and consider what makes someone a real deal Christian.

And it made me have to ask myself, am I the real deal Christian? Would somebody say that about me in passing reference? Would somebody call myself, might refer to me as the real deal Christian?

I've thought about this conversation and statement many times over the past few years. It's one that quite often comes to my mind as I'm contemplating my own behavior and attitudes and things.

And enjoying an evening with Laura's family a couple years ago, her uncle recommended this book to me. And actually, in leaving, he actually just gave it to me. He says, I'll buy another one.

But it's a book entitled Mansfield Book of Manly Men by Stephen Mansfield. That's a manly name. Stephen Mansfield. Mansfield's book of manly men. It's in a bright yellow, almost like a DeWalt tool color. I mean, it's a manly color he picked as well. Yellow. But it's a catchy book and it's an interesting one. It's one I recently started trying to read through again. I haven't finished it the first time all the way through, but I'm planning to over the next couple weeks because it's one of those that's been left on my shelf sitting there for a long time and it's time to get through it.

But I wanted to share a couple of things about it. You may be wondering if today's message is about being a manly man. It's not. So I don't want to, in case that disappoints you.

But I'm going to share a passage from this book because I found it's really interesting, not just from a man's perspective, but from a Christian's perspective.

And so as I read through this, I'd encourage you not to read it, think about it from a man's perspective as being a book written for men, but one for a Christian, just for these parts I'm pulling out.

He says, you only know who a man is and what he believes by what he does, not by what he sits around talking about, not by what he says he feels.

It's only when he acts, when he does something, that we start to know what he is. He goes on to say, the great mistake we have made in our generation is to think we can make a man with words. We need words, certainly. We just don't need words only.

Yet by making words our primary tool in building men, we have talked the modern man to death. He is awash in a sea of words.

He has language for things he hasn't even thought about doing, labels from a dozen therapeutic systems, lists, descriptions, and nifty slogans to keep him inspired.

Fine, but has it made him a man? Has it made him act in a noble, manly ways?

And he goes on to say, not usually.

And then he says, here's the question. When does he start the doing? When does he act?

He says, I think the more talk, the less action.

And then later on he says, true men do things, manly things.

Mere males who want to seem like men just talk. Manhood is in the doing. And then this is his first maxim of the book.

He says, manly men do manly things.

So as we consider this from a Christian perspective, I think you can see how I was able to draw this in.

That we're not to be only Christians of words only. We're to be Christians of action as well.

I've often thought, again, about the characteristics of the real deal Christian.

And it's more than can be addressed, of course, in one sermon.

So I'd like to, who knows, maybe this will turn into a series of messages.

But today, let's examine one of the traits of the real deal Christian.

And that is, the real deal Christian is the doing Christian.

The real deal Christian is the doing Christian. So if we start off, we have to ask ourselves, how are we doing?

How are we doing?

Your first thought may be that this message is going to be centered around service to others in the community, or service to others here.

Outward service is a critical component of being a Christian, and Jesus Christ spoke specifically to this in Matthew chapter 25.

I mean, these are the responsibilities that we have to care for one another. Those who are sick, those who are in prison, those who need clothes, those who need food. There is that requirement that Christ lays out very plainly that we are to care for one another.

But in Scripture, there's also a lot of mentions of doing, but more doing here in the heart.

There's a lot of doings that go on within us spiritually, and that's more of the focus that I'd like to look at.

So what does it mean to be a doing Christian? With this in mind, let's look at James chapter 1 and verse 22.

James chapter 1 and verse 22. Here, the half-brother of Jesus says this in James 1 and verse 22, he says, But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. Kind of like just glancing into the mirror, as we've talked about late last year. But then verse 25, But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

So much in society around us, we have so much talk, but so little action.

As a society, we've gotten really good at talk, examining things, breaking down subjects. We've gotten great at overanalyzing, beating a dead horse, going to the utmost degree, and of course, the pinnacle, giving our own opinion. We've gotten really good at these types of things. A lot of talk. All you have to do is look at things that are going on in the news. And so many times, a lot of that, especially when it focuses around either Lansing or Washington, D.C., there's a lot of talk going on, but very little action. We have talk radio, talk shows, late night talk entertainment. We have political talk. We have talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, but often we don't have very much action. It's not necessarily bad to talk, but with talk, must also come action.

From a Christian perspective, we can talk a lot about what it's like to be a Christian, but never really do Christian things. We can talk about Christian characteristics, but never really get to the point of developing those characteristics in ourselves. We can read books. We can attend seminars. We can even be part of a men's or women's group, but then never really implement what we hear and start doing.

This next one I'm guilty of. We can hear a great sermon, one that really inspires us, and we can talk to our friends at church about it, how great that sermon was. And then I don't ever open up my notes again to review that sermon, or it kind of just drifts away into thought. Maybe once in a while it comes back, but did I really go back and consider the concept again, or put that message that I told others about, recommended. Maybe even we stood there and talked for a while about it, but it never really turned into action in my life.

I think we've all done this at certain times. But the truth of the matter is when these moments are upon me, I have to choose to stop the talking and choose to start the action, to start the doing. I believe one of the characteristics of the real deal Christian is being a doing Christian. A real Christian is identified by what he does and who he is becoming. In order, though, not to get off track, let's remember that salvation does not come from what we do, but is a gift from God. Let's turn to Ephesians 2 and verse 8 as we consider this. Ephesians 2 and verse 8. It's important that we review this concept because many Christians have been accused at times of trying to earn salvation by how they behave, what they do, how they serve.

And so we have to be reminded of the true source of salvation from time to time. And we see one of the reminders. There's multiple reminders. There's multiple explanations throughout God's Word. But here in Ephesians 2, verse 8, the Apostle Paul addresses the issue. He says, But some may ask the question, but wait, doesn't this conflict with what we have recorded in the book of James, where James says, faith without works is dead?

The book of James is viewed by some in Christianity circles as being negative. Some are misguided that James spoke of salvation through works, but this just isn't true. In actuality, James and the Apostle Paul's writings actually harmonize beautifully together. If you really ever take an opportunity to study what Paul says about faith and then look to how it harmonizes with the book of James, it actually comes out beautifully. Because you and I are grateful for this wonderful free gift of salvation, we desire then to use this gift to walk in newness of life, taking those active steps in a new direction of being the doing Christian. Let's flip back to the book of James, because it's important that we see what he actually says as well and how they do harmonize so wonderfully together.

James 2 is where we'll start this time. As your turning as a reminder, the book of James is written by the half-brother of Jesus, who became one of the central leaders in the early church in Jerusalem. His leadership in the church was vital to maintaining doctrinal purity and unity among a growing and diverse church.

So he was the kind of pastor, if you would say, for the Jerusalem church, and he was critical and was heavily involved. So this isn't a conflicting, misguided pastor. This was the pastor in, you could say, pastor in Jerusalem was the writer of the book of James. And here in James 2, verse 14, he gets to what I referenced a little bit earlier. He says, What does it profit, my brother? And if someone says he has faith, but does not have works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked in destitute of daily food, and one of you sayest to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, just as emptiness.

But then he says, But then you do not give them the things that are needed for the body. What does it profit? Thus also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. And he says, Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God, you do well, even the demons believe and tremble. But do you want to know, foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

In verse 24, he says, You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only? And verse 26, For as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. The truth of the matter and how these two passages harmonize, Paul's writing and James' writing so beautifully, is that our faith in God, as it builds and as it transforms and changes our heart, it motivates us to serve God, to serve others, to do actions that are godly. Jesus Christ had every opportunity just to come to this earth, to be just the Son of Man, to just give his life as a sacrifice for all of us and all of humanity. But we see his actions all along the way. He was one of action, one of service, one of work. And so we know that true faith should transform our conduct in how we handle ourselves and how we become a doing Christian. Again, we do not earn salvation through works or actions, but such actions show that our Christianity is real and that it's alive. Remember, as we just read, the demons believe and tremble, so the demons have that belief in God, yet they do not obey.

That's that key difference. Their actions show that they do not obey. The Life Application Study Bible says this about the passage. It says, James and Paul's messages are not contradicting, but complementing each other. Faith brings us salvation. Active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine. So with this foundation built, let's consider the life of Jesus Christ as we consider the real deal Christian is the one who is being the doing Christian. From the youngest age, when Christ himself stayed back in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ was always about doing his Father's business. Christ was constantly doing in how he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. He was doing in his talk. He was doing in his actions. He was even doing in his private time with the Father. And he was always active in doing the will of the Father.

Christ was always a doing person. Even when it appeared that he wasn't doing, maybe it was in prayer, meditation, or just in thought, maybe walking alone by himself, he was still someone who was active in what he was doing. He was constantly about his Father's business. He wasn't distracted, but was always very focused. Again, as I referenced, Christ knew who he was. He knew that he was the Son of God. He knew his purpose was to come and to be that complete and perfect sacrifice for all of humanity. This he knew. That alone could have just maybe made somebody think, well, there's nothing for me to physically do. I just have to... I know these things. These are factual things. This is knowledge.

But yet he continued to serve. He continued to be active. He continued to do. He knew that he was to be that atoning sacrifice for the whole world. But again, it wasn't just the things that Christ knew about who he was. It was what and his purpose. It wasn't just about that knowledge. It was also about what he was to do while God in the flesh.

But we see the exact opposite with the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23. This is one of those things that Christ did do while on this earth. He critiqued and admonished many others to not follow the path that the scribes and the Pharisees took in the way that they handled themselves.

They had the knowledge piece, but they weren't the doing Christians. They weren't doing what they were supposed to do. This is in Matthew 23, verse 1.

It says, Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees, they sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works, for they say and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders. But they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

He goes on to say, Verse 11, he says, It's an aspect, it's an inward aspect of changing ourselves, allowing God's Spirit to change ourselves. And he goes on to verse 13, He says, He says, In verse 23, he says, In verse 23, he says, Again, he's not saying that these scribes and Pharisees didn't do physical outward things. They were tithing. They were doing what God's Word said. But what was the motivation behind what they were doing? What was the heart? And we see that they neglected the weightier matters of the law. Justice, mercy, faith. These are inward actions that then changes our hearts, and they come out in how we handle ourselves. And he goes on to say, He goes on to say, He says, Blind Pharisee first cleansse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. And he finishes up, This is one of those powerful passages that we have where Christ Himself was active in condemning those who were parading themselves.

Lifting themselves up, saying, See, I have all this knowledge. Let me share it with you. And let me point out all of your flaws, all of your character deficiencies. Everything that you're not doing right when they themselves had major, major problems. We could go through countless examples of the actual actions that Christ did on this earth. It's all recorded through the Gospel accounts. His actions, the things He was doing. All of this was a complete reflection of the character and nature of both Him and the Father that was still in Heaven. And Jesus Christ left us instructions to follow Him in the works that we do in our life today. One of those passages is in John 14, verse 12.

John 14, verse 12.

Here Christ speaks of greater works that man would do than He was even able, that He had the time to do Himself. He knew that He had limited time and He had limited influence. He knew where He would be able to travel and those He'd be able to speak with in the time that He had on this earth. And He's speaking of these greater works that others would do. He says here in John 14, verse 12, He said, He said, But then He goes on and He says, We know Christ is speaking about the Holy Spirit being given as a helper to mankind, freely, openly, given to anyone who would believe, anyone who would repent and change their lives. He was speaking of having that Spirit would allow them to go and share this Gospel message in leaps and bounds to what one man himself was able to do. And He's sharing this with them. And as we have the opportunity ourselves to also do an amazing work, but it starts with us doing that amazing work and allowing God to do that amazing work with us first. That's that doing aspect of Christianity that you and I have to do. We have that amazing opportunity to be a doing Christian. Another aspect to consider about the doing Christian is that knowledge is critically important, but for what purpose? What purpose? Let's look at 2 Timothy 3 and verse 14 to understand the purpose. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 14.

As we continue to consider how the real deal Christian is a doing Christian, let's see what the Apostle Paul told Timothy here in 2 Timothy 3 and verse 14. He says, But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures. So that knowledge, that information aspect that you and I know, because our minds have been open to God's Word, we have been students, we have read this. Some of us for many, many years we've read the Scripture. He's saying that from childhood you've known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Again, it's only through the faith that we have salvation. And he goes on in verse 16, he says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof. This is that important. This is what knowledge is important for. It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. And verse 17, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped, for every good work. We must never forget the purpose of the Scriptures that God has given to us. It's not knowledge only for knowledge's sake. Some people do study Scripture for that purpose so they can seem wiser to others around them, so they can point out other people's flaws, so they can say, but don't you know what the Scripture says here? And they use it as a way to parade themselves, to carry themselves in a higher-than-thou way. But that's not what the Scriptures is for. It's not for us to simply grow in knowledge so we can seem smarter to others around us. But the purpose of Scripture is to equip us to be a doing Christian. Scripture provides the knowledge that our nature is flawed, and it gives us the contrast to what God expects from our lives. And then God creates that change within us when we yield to His working within us, and then we become a tool in God's hand to be an example to others around us of that hope that lies within us. That understanding of the promises that you and I have been given if we just continue living our lives in remembrance of the Scriptures and the commandments. This is the real deal Christian that each of us desires to become. We want to become someone who takes the knowledge and wisdom from God's Word, and then we apply it to our lives. Paul goes on and shares this with Titus as well in Titus 1 and verse 10.

So just one book forward, Titus chapter 1 and verse 10.

Here again, the Apostle Paul says, Then he says in verse 15, Nothing is pure, but even their minds and consciences are defiled. Their minds may be full of knowledge. They may know Scripture, and they may be able to just recount it back without a book or without God's holy word in front of them. But he's saying even their mind and consciences are defiled. Verse 16, That's a powerful word not to skip over. Disqualified for every good work. These who are described here are not the doing Christians. But then in chapter 3, Chapter 3, Paul describes those who are ready for every good work. Titus 3 and verse 1, These are those on the other hand. He says, Titus 3 verse 1, he says, Remind them, Meaning, You tell them, remind them that they already have all this knowledge. They already know the Scripture. Remind them of this. He says, Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, To obey, To be ready for every good work, To speak evil of no one, To be peaceable, To be gentle, Showing all humility to all men. Again, as we read through this, This is the doing aspects of Christianity. Verse 3, he says, For we ourselves were also once foolish, Disobedient, Deceived, Serving various lusts and pleasures, Living in malice and envy, Hateful and hating one another. But then what changed within you and me? What caused us to go on a new path? Why did we say, That is not the life that I want to live anymore? And he says in verse 4, But when the kindness and the love of God, Our Savior toward man, appeared, Not by works of righteousness, Which we have done, Again, not speaking that we've earned salvation through our works, But he says, But according to his mercy, He saved us, Through the washing of regeneration, And renewing of the Holy Spirit, Which he poured out on us abundantly, Through Jesus Christ our Savior. It's through this power that we are able to obey, To be ready for every good work. It's through the power of the Holy Spirit That we're able to speak evil of no one, To be peaceable, To be gentle, And to show humility to all man, This is what allows us to become a doing Christian. He goes on to say in verse 7, That having been justified by his grace, We should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, And these things I want to affirm constantly, That those who have believed in God Should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

So how about it? Are we ready to continue to be a doing Christian? I have to ask myself that as well. Am I ready to be a doing Christian? We know that every journey begins with a single step. We all have our honey to-do list, right? We have those lists that are on the fridge. Things that we have to get done. Maybe it's on your desk at work. Maybe it's on your desk at home. You have that list of projects that you want to do around the house. Tasks that need to be completed. Sometimes our task list grows quite a bit. It can be overwhelming. But each of us know that you can only do it one step at a time. One task at a time. You can't normally just cross off multiple things. I try to do that. I try to see how many things I can get done in one shopping trip or whatever. But it's rare that you can check off more than one thing at a time.

Sometimes our Christian to-do lists can also be overwhelming because we consider the state of ourselves. God's Word opens our hearts and our minds to examine and say, Man, I've missed the mark again. Not only there, but there's a whole list of items I've missed the mark on. And that sometimes lists can become overwhelming, even to us when we look at our spiritual status with God. But we know, as we've done multiple Passovers, we've lived multiple years, you still have to handle even those lists one step at a time.

Piece by piece, item by item, we start doing more of the Christian things in our lives. Again, every journey begins with that single step. Many times in life, people approach a situation with a specific goal in mind. This goal helps keep them focused and helps them to remember their purpose.

What would you say is your spiritual end goal? Eternity with God? Eternity with God in His Kingdom? That's a pretty good one. You can put that on your list. But the question comes, how do we get there? I think if you bring your trusty road atlas, atlas along to church, it may give you some guidance. Because you know what an atlas does. It shows you the route to get to someplace. So for me, where I'd like to get is the two eternity lanes here in Temecula, California. Eternity lane. I thought there would be an eternity city.

I mean, who wouldn't want to live in eternity, right? There's not an eternity California. I wish there was. It would have made the analogy a little bit more fun. But there is an eternity lane in Temecula, California, down between LA and San Diego. And if you were trying to figure out how you would get there, you could focus on eternity lane. It's right here. You can't really see it.

It's not zoomed in enough. But it's here. It's really there. If you went out on Google Maps and you zoomed in, you could see it. You can get there. And you could focus on it. You could spend a lot of time thinking about eternity lane. The house, maybe, that you want to build there on eternity lane out in California. But we're way over here in Michigan.

How do I get to eternity lane all the way from Michigan? I can focus on it. I can look at it. I can see that it's right here in California. But just focusing on eternity lane itself doesn't get me there. Focusing on the end goal does have meaning, and it does provide a purpose. It provides a direction we need to go.

We know from looking at an atlas we've got to go west from Michigan. We know from looking on an atlas, approximate distance, that we have to go to get there. And we know there's roads that will lead us to eternity lane. We know there's turns, twists and turns, different highways. We can even see where we have to make our turns at point. It's kind of like planning a vacation. You're planning to go to the feast. You're planning to take a new job, to change and get more education. You have that goal out there, but just having a goal and focusing on it, it's an important aspect, but it's a step.

It's the end goal, but there's many steps in between to get us there. Simply focusing on the end goal of reaching eternity lane out in Temecula, California, won't get us to eternity lane. We have to be mindful of the single steps that it takes on our journey in order to reach our end goal. God continues to lead us, each of us, one step at a time. Maybe at school or work, when you know you're going to have an interaction with a difficult person, you put in your mind ahead of time how you're going to handle that.

Today is going to be a different day when I approach that person or they approach me. Today, I'm going to have a smile on my face, and it's not going to be a fake smile. I'm going to really give them a good smile, and I'm going to try to be helpful, regardless of what they do. Or maybe you didn't have the best of weeks this week, but you decided, I'm coming to church to Sabbath, and I'm going to put a smile on my face, and it's going to be a real smile, because this is where I want to be at the end of my week.

I want to be here, regardless of what I've gone through, and I'm going to be a positive person today. These are those inward, single steps of doings that you and I can do. Remember, the real deal Christian is the doing Christian. When we put on the fruit of the Spirit, we are doing the Christian. We are the doing Christian. When we change our attitude, we are the doing Christian. Working to be a better parent is being the doing Christian.

Working to be a better friend is being the doing Christian. Or working to be a better son or daughter is being the doing Christian. This is how God is working in our lives, one step at a time. And it wasn't so much different for how God worked with the Israelites in the wilderness as He guided them onto the Promised Land. God provided guidance for His people at every single step of the journey through that wilderness. It says that whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after the children of Israel would journey, and the place where the cloud settled there, the children of Israel would pitch their tents.

At the command of the Lord, the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord, they would camp. As long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle, they remained encamped. That's from Numbers 9, verses 17 and 18. It took the Israelites, being active in their faith, to follow God, to choose to follow Him when the pillar of the cloud rose, and they knew it was time to pack up camp.

It took faith. One step at a time, they traveled through that wilderness, most of the time having no idea where they were being led. It wasn't simply enough for them just to believe that God would bring them to the Promised Land. They had a responsibility themselves to each time that that pillar of cloud rose above, and it was time to journey on, they had to take those next steps.

Is it really that much different for us? As we heed God's guidance and take steps each day, we're the doing Christian. We will be there where God wants us to be. We have God's Spirit as our eternal guide.

We have His Word as that external guide as we study, as we learn, and as we contemplate, am I living the Christian life? And as the Holy Spirit prompts our thoughts and it changes our actions and our motivations, and as much as God led Israel to the Promised Land, God will lead us step by step on our journey as we seek His guidance and will for our life.

So the real deal Christian is the person who continually tries to follow Christ's example and to live a life based on the example of Jesus. So let's be those who are about our Father's business and our own lives, those who are not just about talking but about the doing. Let's be the real deal like our Savior and elder brother Jesus Christ is. And again, let me read just the opening quote that I shared from this book again. He says, Christianity is in the doing.