If you ask the vast majority of ex-churchgoers why they left the church, a lot of them will tell you the same thing. They’ll tell you there was a Christian, or someone in the church, that hurt them or began representing Christ poorly. They may not always word it like that, but that is the gist of what they mean.
Some people have bad church experiences. Others are told things about Christianity that simply aren’t true, and they expect something different from being a Christian. A major issue today is that the church doesn’t always focus on Jesus, but on the lights, the fun worship and all the other attractive things. Those things are not necessarily bad, but they should never be our main focus. We know that, and others know that. That’s why it is another example of Christians being poor representations of Christ.
In a world that is so relational-based and feelings-based, it’s incredibly important that we represent Christ well. People can’t see Jesus in his physical body, but they should be able to see him in us. So, in order to begin representing Christ well, we need to look at the life of Jesus, see what he did, and find practical ways that we can live how he lived.
Rooted in Christ
If we are to begin representing Christ well, we first must tackle a very big dilemma. That is, that we can never be good representations of Christ. In ourselves, we have no potential to be good, and no potential to consistently do good things (John 15:5). We do not have the potential to be an actual “good person” on our own, thus, by ourselves we cannot represent Christ well. But we have a luxury in Christ.
In Christ, we are not alone, and we are not doing life on our own. We are doing life with and through Christ. In our spirit, we have the potential to do good, and with Christ, the good that is on the inside of us can begin to come to pass in the flesh (Philippians 4:13).
But we must be in Christ, not only in Spirit but also in our minds. This is shown in Colossians 2:6-7.
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
This passage tells that we must walk in Christ and be rooted in him, just as we were taught. We could take that to mean that we must be rooted in him spiritually, but we aren’t taught how to be born again. Being born again comes from having believed and confessing that belief as a sign that we believe. Rooting ourselves in Christ spiritually is simply not something that is taught. We must be rooted in Christ in some other way too, and it can’t be by our flesh, and it is unwilling (Matthew 26:41).
Representing Christ with Our Actions
One must plant their minds in Christ, in order to become rooted in him. This happens by coming into agreement with the scriptures and believing what they say. Although that may seem simple, it is a little more complex.
Coming into agreement with the scriptures is more than just believing what they say. We can believe that the stories happened, and believe that Jesus really did die, and that he really was sinless. Those things are pivotal to our faith. If we don’t believe them, we really aren’t Christians. But coming into agreement with scripture means that we have to come into agreement with what they say about us.
Representing Christ well means that we must represent him with our actions. But in order to act like Christ, we must first come to agree with what scripture says in regard to us, and our relation to Christ. There are many truths in the New Testament in regard to us and Christ, but I find it important to stick to a couple.
Dead to Sin
The first truth is this: we are dead to sin.
“How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:2-3).
When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, there was a process that took place. In order to be born again, we first had to die, and in that death, we died to sin. Our old selves died, and a new self came, but the new self was not born into sin, but it was free from sin.
So, we are no longer enslaved to sin, and can walk in this live sinless. This is a truth that we must begin to understand. It is going to be very important in beginning to walk in Christ and living like he lived.
Alive to God
The second truth is this: we are alive to God.
“For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:10-11).
If we have died with Christ, which we have already discussed that we have, then we must also be alive with him as well. Being alive with Christ doesn’t just mean that we are born again and get to go to Heaven. But it also means that while we are on this earth, we can start to live like Christ.
Knowing these truths are prerequisites to living like Christ. We can try and try to live right, but unless it is genuine and comes from what it is already inside of you, then it won’t last.
Meditate and think on these truths, and let them change you. You will see yourself act and feel differently, and from that, you will be a better representation of Christ.
Representing Christ by Serving
The next way that we can represent Christ well is by serving. I believe whole-heartedly that one of the greatest ways to love people is by serving them. That is why one of the core values or pillars of Lighthouse Teaching is serving through love. It is one of the greatest ways that we can, in this relationship and feeling driven world, be a representation of Christ to those around us.
Serving is simple. It does take some time, and it may take some effort, but sacrificing and giving of yourself is the only way to truly love others well. There are so many ways to serve, but because we are looking at representing Christ, it’s best to look at how Christ served others.
Jesus served the communities he came to. He fed people, healed them, and even rose a few from the dead. He used his God-given power to perform miracles and preach the gospel. Jesus was also sacrificial and at times, took the role of a servant, even washing his disciples’ feet. He did everything and anything to serve others and even sacrificed his own life for the sins of the world. He was continually exhibiting sacrificial love and servitude, and we should mimic that.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in church or not, you can serve others and your community. If you don’t know how to, pray about it, or just go out and sacrifice something of yours, whether it be your time, money, energy, or something else, for someone else. This is one of the best ways to be actively representing Christ to the world around you, as sacrificial mission and love were at the focal point of Jesus’ ministry.
Representing Christ by Reconciliation
One of the most important ways that we can be representing Christ is by the process of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is the process of bringing two things together, or the restoration of relationships in most cases. You see it often in movies and TV. The main character and their best friend fight over something stupid and end up coming back together towards the end of the episode to give each other a big hug. It’s always played out and sappy, yet it gets us more emotional than we care to admit.
Reconciliation is one of the reasons why the life of Jesus is so important. Jesus’ life not only saved us, but it also reconciled us back to the father, and also, gave us that same ministry of reconciliation.
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
He reconciled us to him, and he also gave us that same ministry of reconciliation, that we may help reconcile others back to him. As ambassadors, or representatives, for Christ, God uses us to help reach the lost and reconcile them back the father. Therefore, as we live and walk in this world, we can’t just focus on loving others well, or serving, or even acting like Christ. All those are important and crucial, but we must also look to reconcile others back to Christ, and help others know God.
Final Thoughts
As Christians, we must long to represent Christ well. If we do represent him well, that bodes well for others and helps them come to know God. If we fail to represent him well, it could turn people away from the church and draw them even farther from God. That may seem like a heavy weight to make us bear, but Jesus gave us help.
We have the luxury in Christ that we don’t have to do life alone. We get to walk with God and be rooted in Christ, both in our mind and in our spirit. This helps us to live like Christ and begin to act like he did, though we must depend on the truths of the Word of God. We can also serve others in a variety of different ways, which is one of the greatest ways that we can love others well. Look at the life of Jesus and find some way to emulate his ways of serving others. I’m sure that you can find some way to serve others right where you’re at. We also must live to reconcile others to God. As Christians, it is our job to represent Christ well, and with the ministry of reconciliation, we can do that.
Representing Christ well is one of the challenges of the Christian life. It’s not always easy, and it will take persistence and patience, but it can have the power and the weight to change someone’s life. The world is looking at Christians to be judgmental, hypocritical, and hateful. But we can show them a different side of Christianity. We can show them Christ.
Have a great week!
