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prov·o·ca·tion - something that provokes, arouses, or stimulates. pant - to long eagerly; yearn. a collection of thoughts intended to provoke and inspire. these posts are hoping to encourage people to think, especially Christians, and pant even harder for the waterbrooks of the Lord. If you are not a believer in Christ Jesus, I welcome your perspective and encourage your investigation on these matters.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Five Words

On the way to work last night, I was thinking about the defining marks of a Christian in one word answers, so I thought I would ask you. In your opinion, what are the five defining or distinguishing marks of a Christian, marks that you would want also to be said of you (ex. faithful, grace, joy, etc.)? Number them from one to five, one being highest in degree. I would love to hear what your top five words are for defining a true Christian. I know one can think of more than five, but your top five is what I am looking for. One caveat: "Jesus" or "Christ-like" cannot be one of your answers. This is default #1 or should be at least for all of us. It reminds me of when I would daydream in 6th grade Sunday School, and the teacher would ask me a question about the lesson. I would say, "Jesus" and always be right. Anyway, the point is - while we don't want to take it for granted, it is assumed that if you are a Christian, the number one defining mark is that you be like your Savior.

5 Comments:

Blogger Kenan said...

Not sure about order of degree, but

• Love for God/Seeing Christ as precious
• Love for the people of God
• Faith in Christ
• Repentant/contrite heart
• Merciful/forgiving toward others

These are five important marks of a true Christ.

4/07/2006 10:23:00 AM

 
Blogger Timmy Brister said...

Thanks Kenan! Great thoughts.

4/07/2006 03:06:00 PM

 
Blogger Stephen Newell said...

Let me take a shot at it too. While this is also pretty random, I think the first one must be true before any of the others can be true.

1. A testimony of repentance and faith in Christ and of sanctification since.

2. Fear of the Lord - a deep and abiding awe, reverence, and dread of God (and Christ)

3. Love for the Lord - which includes in my mind a love of the Word)

4. Love of neighbors - brothers and sisters in Christ as well as the lost

5. Missional attitude - concerned to fulfill the Great Commission in whatever setting one is in

This said, I love Kenan's list, but think many of those attributes are implied in this list. What do you think?

4/07/2006 04:37:00 PM

 
Blogger Joe said...

Just, merciful, gracious/compassionate, forgiving, humble.

4/07/2006 04:50:00 PM

 
Blogger Timmy Brister said...

Thanks guys for taking the time to share your thoughts! I think it is important for us to do such an exercise as this to remind us of the essence of Chrisitianty and what ought to define us in our day-to-day lives. Where theses can be helpful, so can one word.

4/08/2006 06:17:00 AM

 

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