Characteristics of Effective Christians
One morning in my Quiet Time I was reading 2 Corinthians 8:16-24 and was impressed to see the characteristics of those Christians who Paul trusted to share his ministry. As Paul travelled about he was concerned about the inequalities in the lifestyles of Christians in different areas. In the successful commercial city of Corinth, with its 750,000 inhabitants, Christians were well off, whereas in Judea there were widows who were very deprived. Titus and another companion, who significantly is unnamed although it was likely to be Luke or Barnabus, are depicted as examples of godliness.
Titus
Concerned for the young church at Corinth
What a wonderful way to be introduced.
“I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.” 2 Corinthians 8:16
He was already known well by the Corinthian Christians. He was the sort of person who was always encouraging others. Doubtless he could see the problems in other people but he overlooked these, preferring to see the good points. We had a member in our church who could only see the bad in others. The effect on her was misery and loneliness. God is the opposite, he longs to encourage and build others up and he generally does this through his people in whom he has put his Spirit. How much better to be a Titus about whom Paul wrote earlier,
“But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” 2 Corinthians 7:6
2. Much enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is so infectious.
“. . . but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm.” 2 Corinthians 7:17
It motivates others and is a quality Paul clearly admires. Paul repeats this word in the next chapter, when discussing the collection for poorer Christians, and comments on the beneficial effect the Corinthians enthusiasm had had on others.
“ . . . and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” 2 Corinthians 9:2
Enthusiasm motivates others and is a quality Paul clearly admires. He repeats the word ‘enthusiasm’ in the next chapter, when discussing the collection for poorer Christians, and comments on the beneficial effect the Corinthians enthusiasm had had on others.
“ . . . and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” 2 Corinthians 9:2
Obviously to be active for Christ is what Paul was looking for in Christians.
3. Has initiative
To be effective for Christ, we must be constantly looking for opportunities so we can promote our Lord:
“ . . .with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.” 2 Corinthians 8:17
Perhaps one reason that so many Christians are ineffective for Christ is that they don’t think in this way. Too many of us think that going to church, believing Biblical doctrines and being kind people is sufficient. Churches do need team members who support church initiatives but we all need to take initiatives ourselves. Something is wrong if Christians regularly attend church over the years but do not bring friends every now and then. In years past, many open brethren churches held evangelistic services every Sunday evening but over the years numbers tended to go down. The same faithful few attended out of duty but no one had managed to bring outsiders with them.
We do need to be making friends and finding ways for them hear or learn the gospel. It is really not difficult to give people we meet, perhaps on a walk or who come to our home for some reason, a short evangelistic article. It is really not hard to say:
“Please could I give you this to read. I have found it very helpful. I’ve put my contact details at the bottom if you would like to follow this up.”
There are many Christians whose only friends are members of their church. How such people need to be encouraged to find ways to make friends with others, perhaps by joining a gym or a club of some sorts but to be there for Christ.
4. Get on with people and be reliable
The other Christian who was to accompany Titus has this very attractive feature:
“And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.” 2 Corinthians 8:18
‘Praised by all the churches’ implies that this man was well known but we are told that it was through ‘his service to the gospel’. How attractive such people are, going around encouraging others, perhaps sharing what they have learned. This person was also utterly trustworthy. The churches were certain that they could give him the responsibility to care for the money that they had collected for the poor in Judea.
5. Christ centred
Paul and Timothy, who wrote this letter, emphasise that all effective Christians have a common purpose in life must be:
“. . . to honour the Lord himself . . .” 2 Corinthians 8:19
Without this mindset no Christian will be effective. Most of us will be too concerned about our own reputations and therefore will find it hard to talk to others about Jesus and salvation he offers or even to invite others to think about him.
6. Eager to help
Another attractive feature of Paul and Timothy was that they were wanted to show:
“ . . . our eagerness to help.” 2 Corinthians 8:19
How attractive a willingness to be involved in God’s work is. Volunteers are needed for all areas of church work, from helping with the children’s work youth work, coffee and meals. What a disaster it is for Christians not to want to be involved in extending God’s kingdom by being active members of the church team. Involvement in the church h team is vital but so is a willingness to use our homes. Being hospitable is an important feature of effective Christians.
7. Zealous
There was a third member of this team and his characteristic was that he had:
“’ . . . often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous . . .” 2 Corinthians 8:22
Being full of zeal for Christ is not a temporary enthusiasm that fades as pressures and problems arise. This man’s zeal kept going, he ‘proved to us in many ways’ and that must have meant over a long period of time. Zeal is defined as:
“Great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.”
Great continued commitment to the cause of promoting the reputation of the Lord Jesus is a characteristic of an effective Christian.
Peter’s concern
When Peter wrote his last letter to the churches, probably written a short time before his execution, he similarly urged Christians to be effective and productive for Christ. He recognised that this would require a persistency and determination which can only come from being centred on living for the Lord Jesus. Having a Christian faith is not an end in itself, it is the beginning of a new spiritual life that is growing in both understanding and godliness. Peter wrote:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8
There is no spiritual growth without much dedication and effort. We encourage people to be determined and dedicated to progress in their careers but there is much less talk about commitment to our eternal future. Having a Christian faith is clearly just the beginning. All of us need to add to it. This list of seven features are striking:
Goodness
Knowledge
Self-control
Perseverance
Godliness
Mutual affection
Love
Serving and caring for others is a key feature of a growing Christian but significantly ‘knowledge’, which must mean ‘knowledge of God’s word’ comes early in the list. Today so many Christians are Biblically illiterate because this need for us all to grow in understanding of the Bible’s message has not been emphasised. All Christians really do need to be involved in a Bible teaching church, in a home group where the Bible is discussed, and we also need to spend some time every day sharing all we are involved in with our Lord and studying his Word. If Christians don’t work at understanding the Bible, experience shows that most will stagnate in their walk with Jesus. Knowing more and more of the Bible will keep us learning from God but it will also enable us to encourage others with what we have learned.
The effect of adding all these virtues to our underlying faith will have an important effect:
“. . . they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:8
The Lord wants all Christians to be effective and productive. He wants to use each of us to extend his rule in his world.
Paul’s concern
Paul longed that all Christians to have his priorities that reflect Christ’s priorities. He wrote a similar message to both the Corinthian and Thessalonian churches
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,” 1 Thessalonians 1:6
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians could relearn these priorities and our churches again become effective for the Lord Jesus as we work together for his reputation and glory.
BVP
January 2024
