What Sets You Apart?

Why Christianity? Do you think that religious beliefs are a cause of disruptions or even violence in society?

As we have been looking into Kingdom Grace, what it is to be accepted into the Kingdom, live in the Kingdom, live with each other and with God, a few questions may come to mind. The world in which we live has many religions and they are all, basically, forced upon us daily, even the “religion” of atheism. We read about them in the news, we see them on TV, we are told to be tolerant and understanding of everyone and let them have their say. Often we are even told that they are all “the same.”
So, what sets Christians apart? Are we better? Are we nicer? Are we different?

As we have found in our study of “becoming like little children” Christianity is all about grace. Ephesians 2:8Ephesians 2:8
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. e treats us much better than we deserve: The Greek word charis, traditionally rendered “grace,” is translated here and other places in the CEV to express the overwhelming kindness of God. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.

WP-Bible plugin says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—“ What makes us different? Christ does actually. Are we made perfect in Him? Go read 1 John 1:1-21 John 1:1-2
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
^{1 1} . The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen, and our hands touched this Word. ² . The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us.

WP-Bible plugin:6

‘John addresses a problem that had arisen in the early church – and lingers badly today – one brought up by false teachers.’ Holy means ‘set apart; separate from’ and God is called holy because there is simply nothing like Him in all of creation. He is utterly perfect, beyond which we do not even have a definition, much less the imagination, to describe. ‘If God is holy and you and I are not, how can we say that we know Him? False teachers were spreading the word that those who could truly claim to have eternal life had achieved a state of sinless-ness. John says that sinless perfection is a delusion, but fellowship with a holy God is reality. We are allowed fellowship through our substitute, Jesus Christ. We are sinners, Christ is righteous. Sinful people can walk with a holy God if, and only if, they are in Christ!’(1)

Because Christ saves us by grace alone, He makes us different. It is nothing in ourselves, but Him. Believing that we could do something, anything to merit the glory of God really seems a kind of blasphemy, usually leading to terrible pride – the kind for which Satan was cast out of heaven! Perhaps it is for this reason that we are condemned if we trust in the law.

Pride in one’s actions leads to self-righteousness. It is this pride and self-righteousness that leads us to look down on others. We treat others as not worthy of our attention, help nor especially our love. In fact, it’s pride that causes most conflict. As wills battle against each other – my will against your will, the will of one country against another – the turmoil can cause strife, violence and eventually even war. Sometimes that is done in the name of one god or another. We cannot, however, attribute God to our own actions; the God of Israel is very clear about this. The Ten Commandments says “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD, thy God, in vain.” In fact, when it comes to how we treat others, God says to even “love thy enemy.” No exceptions.

As well, if we hold the wrong kind of importance to the good of our actions, those standing outside the circle of “righteous by action” look on as if unwelcome, often condemned. That may either be attributed to them or self-condemnation. This was the state of many of those with whom Jesus ate meals. Society had rejected them because of sin or sickness. Jesus shared meals with them for the precise reason to break their bondage of pain, exclusion and condemnation. He welcomed the unwelcome and gave worth to the unworthy. And we must truly come to realize that an honest look at the law shows we are all unwelcome or unworthy. It is only the Gospel of Grace and the Unimaginable Love of Christ for all (1 John 2:21 John 2:2
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
2 Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people.

WP-Bible plugin) that can unite us back to God and bring true peace and healing to the world.

What makes you, as a Christian, different from those around you? Christ Himself.

1) Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) material Book of John, lesson 22.