Sadly, there are almost as many definitions of what it is to be a Christian as there are denominations in Christianity. At one end of the spectrum, many believe that simply because they have “given their hearts to the Lord” they are true, saved Christians. At the other end of the spectrum, many sincere believers see the faults and failures in their own lives – perhaps even after many years of trying to walk in the Way – and wonder “Am I really living as a true disciple of Jesus Christ?” Thankfully, the New Testament gives us three clear tests by which we can tell if we really are a Christian and walking in God’s way of life. Those tests are found in the first epistle of the apostle John.
The first test John gives us has to do with our beliefs: “I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2: 21). Notice that John stresses that true Christians – those to whom he is writing – walk in the truth (something John mentions in all his epistles – 2 John 1:1–4; 3 John 1:3–4; etc.). But notice also that John is not talking about having perfect doctrinal understanding. That may be a goal God helps us grow toward, but it is not the present reality that we must already have. Truly essential belief, John tells us, is simply that Jesus is the Christ – in other words, belief that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the Messiah the Bible promised, and the One who has saved us from our sins. This first test is actually a very simple one that requires no theological training or years of biblical study. If we believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, we have passed the first test!
The second test John gives us relates to our actions: “But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:5–6). In case we have any doubt, John clarifies what this means: “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them” (1 John 3:24, emphasis added here and below). While our actions include all we say and do, John does not imply that we must have constant perfection in our behavior. He makes it clear that spiritually we all fall down occasionally (1 John 1:8), but that as Christians we do not ignore God’s commands, but repent and are forgiven when we do fall down (1 John 1:9), and are constantly trying to obey God with his help (1 John 2:1). This may seem like a harder test to pass than the first one, but in reality, it simply means we are sincerely and truly doing our best to obey and walk with God.
The third and final test John gives us is one of attitude: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14). This is a separate test from that regarding our actions because it is perfectly possible to do actions (for example, giving to charity) that seem loving, but which are not based on real love in one’s heart and mind. We may do good deeds simply to win the approval of others, but truly loving others is very different. In some ways, this may seem like an easy test to pass – and usually it is – but we should always be ready to analyze our own motives, if necessary, that our deeds are based in truly loving attitudes.
Passing all of these tests is necessary to be a true disciple of Jesus. We must have right belief, actions, and attitudes. John not only mentions the three tests individually, but also often groups two of them together, as when he writes “Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister” (1 John 3:10), or “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments” (1 John 5:2).
John also summarizes all three of the tests in several powerful verses. For example: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him” (1 John 3:18-19 ESV). Likewise, John tells us “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands … And his commands are not burdensome … Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:1–5).
In these verses, and others, John stresses that the truth of our belief, our continued effort to do what is right, and our attitude of love are all necessary – but he also stresses the good news that doing these things is not really burdensome or difficult, that these conditions can be present in our lives, and that through them we can we reassured of the genuineness of our life in God (1 John 3:19).
Naturally, as Christians, we understand that these “tests” are not a means to salvation – we do not do these things in order to earn God’s forgiveness or gift of eternal life – they are rather the evidence that we are saved by him. John’s letters to true Christians do not say “if you do these things,” but “we know that we have passed from death to life because” we do them. The good news is that through God’s love, those who truly seek to walk with him are not repeatedly failing, but continually passing the tests John gives.
One of the greatest examples of humility that we find in the Gospels – and in the entire Bible, other than in the life of Jesus – is seen in the story of the centurion who implored Jesus to heal his servant. Both Matthew and Luke record this story (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10), and the additional details each one gives paint a picture of a leader of men who was remarkably humble – and more.
Humility
The centurion’s humility is certainly one of the most memorable aspects of the story. As the ranking officer in his unit, he was an important soldier who gave orders to many men. Yet this same centurion willingly humbled himself in his request to Christ, declaring “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof … I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you” (Luke 7:6–7). This attitude is all the more remarkable as we know that most Romans looked down on the Jewish people, considering them to be a relatively uncivilized nation.
The story also shows the humility of Jesus in his willingness to go to the sick rather than having them be brought to him, but the centurion’s humility is what is highlighted. For a Roman officer to humble himself to the degree he did before one of the people he was charged to rule over was almost startling.
Strength
But humility is clearly not the only trait this centurion displayed. As commander of at least 80 men (see our post “Ten Centurions,” here) he said that “I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matthew 8:9). Centurions were often battle-hardened individuals who were not chosen for weakness of any kind – rather their strength was often deeply respected by the men they led. This is an important fact because it shows that the biblical quality of humility so clearly demonstrated by this man is not in any way an expression of weakness. The centurion’s humility was all the more noticeable because of his strength.
Compassion
There is also another quality of this soldier that we should not overlook, and that is his compassion. Clearly, he was concerned for his servant’s welfare, but the sick man was apparently not an indispensable or key person in his household. Luke tells us, in fact, that the sick man for whom the centurion asked Christ’s help was not an important servant, but simply a lowly slave (doulos). This centurion was obviously concerned for even the least members of his household staff.
Faith
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the story of the humble centurion, however, is the man’s faith. On hearing the centurion’s request that Jesus simply command that his servant be made well, Jesus responded “Let it be done just as you believed it would” (Matthew 8:13) and Luke adds the further detail that “Jesus … was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (Luke 7:9). As a result of the soldier’s great faith, his servant was healed at that exact moment (Matthew 8:13).
The level of detail given in both Matthew and Luke’s accounts of this healing shows how important the story is from a New Testament perspective. While the Gospels could simply have recorded that Jesus healed the servant of a Gentile centurion, they stress that the soldier was a man of strength and compassion and of outstanding humility and faith. These are fitting goals for every soldier of Christ.
* This post is the fourth in a series on the centurions of the New Testament. For the other posts simply search “centurion” using the website search page.
Seal Impressions of Jeremiah’s enemies, Gedaliah (left), and Jehukal (right).
Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal a son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, “…This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.” Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death…” So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah … it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. (Jeremiah 38:1–6)
The names of Jeremiah’s enemies who refused to accept God’s warning through the prophet are hardly familiar biblical names, but this makes it all the more remarkable that evidence of two of these otherwise unknown men, mentioned in the same biblical verse, was found in archaeological excavations in Israel.
In 2008, during work conducted just south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, excavators discovered a seal impression inscribed with the name Gedaliah son of Pashur. The late Dr. Eilat Mazar, who headed the excavation, noted that the newly-discovered seal was found just yards from the spot where, three years earlier, another seal had been found with the name of another of Jeremiah’s enemies – Jehukal son of Shelemiah.
Both Gedaliah and Jehukal were high-ranking officials of King Zedekiah, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Judah before Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Jehukal was the man that King Zedekiah sent to the prophet Jeremiah with the message: “Please pray to the Lord our God for us” (Jeremiah 37:3) – which doubtless secretly angered Jehukal as we then read that this individual was one of Jeremiah’s enemies intent on killing him (Jeremiah 38:1–6).
The seals were both found in a controlled archaeological excavation only a few meters from each other and both were securely dated to the time of Jeremiah. The names are unusual enough that in the specific combination of the two names together – and both said to be sons of the same fathers – they are undoubtedly the same individuals mentioned in the biblical account who opposed Jeremiah and who brought about his imprisonment. As such, the seal impressions rank among some of the best documented evidence of biblical characters and are immensely important. As Dr. Mazar herself wrote:
“The exceptionality of the discovery is fully appreciated only when holding the two bullae in hand: two small seal impressions inscribed on clay objects only 1 cm across, now laying before our eyes unblemished after having been buried in rubble of the Babylonian destruction for precisely 2,595 years, the names they bear still clearly legible. Only on precious, rare occasions do archaeologists experience discoveries such as this one, where figures from the annals of history materialize themselves so tangibly” (Eilat Mazar, Biblical Archaeology Review, 2012).
Thanks to Dr. Mazar’s patient and careful work, Gedaliah and Jehukal – named specifically in the biblical account as two of Jeremiah’s leading enemies – are now substantiated as real people who participated in events of the time just as the book of Jeremiah tells us.
As for the prophet Jeremiah himself, he was probably lowered into a cistern full of mud so that the clinging mud, like quicksand, might compress his chest and lungs and suffocate him without his blood being directly on the hands of those who wanted him silenced. But Jeremiah’s life did not end there. Fortunately, one of the few God-fearing officials in Zedekiah’s court, the Ethiopian Ebedmelech, learned of Jeremiah’s plight and went to the king to plead on Jeremiah’s behalf. With Zedekiah’s approval, Ebedmelech organized a rescue operation to extricate the prophet from the cistern and certain death. Jeremiah was then returned to a prison in the palace, where he continued to preach God’s warning message in the final months before Jerusalem’s destruction (Jeremiah 38:7–27). In this, as in many other cases, the Bible tells us far more than archaeological artifacts possibly can, but the artifacts help substantiate the biblical account in a way nothing else might.
Each of the four gospels contains information on the life of Jesus that the others do not. But almost half of what we read in the Gospel of Luke is not found in any of the other three gospels. If it were not for Luke, we would not have much that we know about the life of Jesus, or many of his most famous teachings – such as the parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and many others. Luke contains so much unique material that it is worth especially careful study – and this e-book opens up the third gospel in unique ways to show you just how much you have been missing! Download your free copy here.
Sadly, ours is an age in which restraint is becoming increasingly rare and anger is increasingly common. Each day brings news stories of uncontrolled and unleashed anger in the home, in the workplace, and in incidents of “road rage” and other forms of violent anger. The verbal and physical expression of anger has become so common that it is almost an accepted fact of life. Perhaps this is to be expected in societies where far greater stress is placed on not bottling up emotions and freely expressing them rather than on learning to control them – and this is especially true when it comes to restraint in what we say.
The result is unbridled speech that regularly leads to broken families and relationships – and even to assaults and homicides. When the Bible tells us that “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21), it is not exaggeration – which is why Jesus firmly instructed his followers “I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment … anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22). Here, Jesus was not speaking of simply experiencing the emotion of anger – which is not wrong in itself as the apostle Paul showed when he wrote “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26 CSB; etc.) or, as the NLT renders this verse, “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Rather, Jesus was speaking of unrestrained anger that leads to exactly the kind of verbal abuse – or worse – that we see so often today.
Even if, as Christians, we do not exhibit unrestrained anger to the degree Jesus spoke of, we all need to restrain our speech and the Bible emphasizes this continually. For example, the book of Proverbs tells us “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19 ESV). And in the New Testament, James tells us “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry … Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (James 1:19–20, 26).
So how do we restrain our speech? Because most of us speak with others daily, we can and should pray for help with this on a regular basis. As David wrote “Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3), and that is a prayer we can all pray. But we also have the responsibility to do what we can in this regard, and there are a number of strategies – habits of restraint– that we can develop. For instance, sometimes we need to simply ignore things that would almost certainly arouse anger. Thinking of insults or other verbal provocations as pits or traps to be avoided can often help us to defuse anger before it has a chance to flare. This may not be easy for some of us, but it is always possible.
If we do get involved in a verbal disagreement and feel anger rising, the old advice of counting to ten before answering can often give us time to remember the need for restraint. And we need to continually remind ourselves that when we do answer, we should do everything we can not to escalate the situation because “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). This takes work. A “gentle answer” involves multiple words, whereas an answer that makes matters worse need only be a single word!
Sometimes the best strategy is simply hat of silence. As David tells us in the Psalms: “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” (Psalm 39:1). David realized that there were times when he needed to be particularly careful (“while in the presence of the wicked”), and his caution at these times sometimes went as far as “I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good” (vs. 2). In most of the circumstances we may not need to remain totally silent, but David’s example is a powerful one of a person going to whatever lengths are necessary in order not to be drawn into unrestrained speech.
These examples of things we can do are all basic strategies, but in reality that is all it takes to utilize restraint. The problem is not that the solutions are basic, but that we do not utilize them often enough. Yet when we do, they are almost always effective – the smallest strategy can change the course of our conversations and steer us away from angry speech. As James wrote: “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go” (James 3:3–4). James uses these analogies to describe the tongue, of course, because left alone our tongues will steer us; but if we consciously begin to utilize strategies of restraint, we will find that we can and do steer our tongues and words in the right direction and can begin to use their power for good.
Restraint in our speech then becomes like the line in the center of the highway – holding us back from potentially hurting ourselves and others. Sometimes it is the blanket we throw on the flames of anger, saving us or others from certain hurt. But we all need to utilize restraint by developing, remembering, and using strategies that suppress and control the anger that can so quickly get out of control in the human mind.
Excerpted from our free e-book The Power of Speech: The Potent Force that Every Christian Is Called to Use Wisely! Download a free copy here.
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