Christian

"The children of God and the children of the Devil

are evident by this fact: Whoever does not practice righteousness

does not originate with God, nor does the one who

does not love his brother."

— 1 John 3:10

A **Christian** is one who follows the thoughts and teachings of the Christ closely.

## One faith

Jesus taught his followers only one faith, that is comparable to a road leading to everlasting life. Jesus said: “Few are finding” that road (Matthew 7:14). Jesus' Father accepts only worship based on his Word of truth. All true worshippers are united in one faith (John 4:23, 24; 14:6; Ephesians 4:4, 5).

## God's name

The Christian recognizes and gives glory to God's name. Jesus honored his Father's name by making it known. He helped people to know God the Father and taught them to pray that God’s name be sanctified (Matthew 6:9; John 17:26; Romans 10:13, 14). God's Divine Name is often translated as Jehovah.

## Christian love

The Christian has outstanding love for one another. From God’s Word, they learn to respect all ethnic groups. Although false religions have often strongly supported the wars of the nations, true worshippers refuse to do so (Micah 4:1-3). Rather, the Christian unselfishly uses their time and resources to help and encourage others (John 13:34, 35; 1 John 4:20).

## No part of the World

The Christian is no part of the World — World politics, World religions, World markets.
Jesus’ followers take no part in politics or social conflicts (John 17:16; 18:36). They do not imitate the world’s harmful practices and attitudes (James 4:4).

## Worldwide preaching

The Christian preaches about God's Kingdom. God sent Jesus to preach the good news of the Kingdom. God’s Kingdom is the only hope for mankind. Jesus continued speaking about it until his dying day (Luke 4:43; 8:1; 23:42, 43). He said that his followers would also preach about it (Matthew 24:14).

## True worship

“Be on the watch for the false prophets.”

**Titus 1:16**
“They publicly declare that they know God,
but they disown him by their works.”

True worshippers respect the Bible as God’s Word. They strive to live by its principles. The true faith differs from religions, who are all based on men’s ideas (Matthew 15:7-9). True worshippers do not preach one thing and practice another (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

Jesus warned that false prophets would corrupt Christianity. Outwardly, they seem like true worshippers. Their churches claim to be Christian. But you can recognize such people for what they really are. Only true worship produces genuine Christians with recognizable qualities and ways (Matthew 7:13-23).

## Does not bear arms

The institutions that govern human society pressure citizens to take sides in conflicts that arise. Just as the first-century Christians, a Christian does not participate in political controversies of this world; nor do they take up arms (Matt. 26:52). Being no part of the world, Christians rise above worldly rivalries (John 15:18, 19).

Love your neighbor
The nation in which Jesus lived was made up of people from various regions—Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and others. Bible accounts reveal that there were tensions between people of these different areas (John 4:9). Tensions also existed between Pharisees and Sadducees (Acts 23:6-9), between the people and the tax collectors (Matt. 9:11), and between those who had received a Rabbinic education and those who had not. (John 7:49) In the first century, Israel was ruled by the Romans, whose presence was deeply resented by the local people. While Jesus championed religious truth and acknowledged that salvation originated with the Jews, he never encouraged his disciples to foster rivalries (John 4:22). On the contrary, he urged them to love all men as their neighbor.—Luke 10:27.

Love your enemy
Jesus did not endorse common Jewish prejudices, because neither he nor his Father take sides in the World’s controversies. When God created man and woman, his intent was that they fill the whole earth (Gen. 1:27, 28). Neither the Father nor the Son exalts one race, nationality, or language above another (Acts 10:34, 35; Rev. 7:9, 13, 14). The Christian follows their perfect example (Matt. 5:43-48).

## Not divided

Christians do not say or do anything that could foment divisions or promote inappropriate loyalties among brothers—or among anyone else (Rom. 14:19; 2 Cor. 6:3).

There were some first-century Christians who were corrected due to a divisive issue within the congregation, where individuals in Corinth were saying: “‘I belong to Paul,’ ‘But I to Apollos,’ ‘But I to Cephas,’ ‘But I to Christ.’” Whatever the underlying issue, the apostle Paul was indignant about its effect. “Is the Christ divided?” he asked. What was the solution to such disruptive thinking? Paul exhorted the Christians: “Now I urge you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you should all speak in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you may be completely united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” Neither should there be divisions of any kind in the Christian congregation today (1 Cor. 1:10-13; Romans 16:17, 18).

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 GN, *How Can You Recognize True Worship?*
2. ↑ WT (2015) 7/15, *Maintain Your Loyalty to God’s Kingdom*, par.3
3. ↑ WT (2015) 7/15, *Maintain*, par.4
4. ↑ WT (2015) 7/15, *Maintain*, par.6
5. ↑ WT (2015) 7/15, *Maintain*, par.13
6. ↑ WT (2015) 7/15, *Maintain*, par.9