What does a true Christian look like?

Right now my wife and I and our two youngest children are camping in Canada. So far we’ve hit Dawson, Whitehorse, Liard Hot Springs and now Dawson Creek. We’ve traveled a lot of miles! The beauty is incredible. Yes, the heavens do declare the glory of God. We’ve met many friendly, great people. God has blessed us in that we live, I believe, in the greatest place in the world. Living in Alaska and enjoying God’s creation is a great thing!

The most important thing is to be saved. The greatest, most important thing, is to be right with God. Every one of us will stand before God one day. What does a true Christian look like? Thankfully, Jesus answered that question for us. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest and most famous sermon Jesus ever gave. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:1-6, Jesus reveals four characteristics of a true Christian.

The first characteristic is being poor in spirit. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Being poor in spirit means to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy. Spiritual bankruptcy is the opposite of self righteousness. A self-righteous person says, “I am a good person who occasionally does bad things. God will be impressed by my good works.” No! The Bible says in Isaiah 64:6 that all of our good works are like filthy rags in God’s sight. God is holy and perfect. Even our best works are not adequate in His sight.

The word poor speaks of a beggar. It is a person who has absolutely nothing. Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the poor.” No. He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Remember the story Jesus told in Luke 18 about the Pharisee and the tax collector? They both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee was self righteous. He said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men… I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” God was not impressed by the Pharisee. The tax collector would not even lift his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat upon his chest and said, “God, be merciful to me the sinner!” The first step in salvation is understanding that we are sinners who need a Savior.

The second characteristic of a Christian is mourning over sin. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). The word mourn means to grieve over a close family member who has died. My nephew, Nick, died at age 16. My sister, Katie, died last year. To lose a close family member is difficult. In this context, Jesus is talking about mourning over sin. A believer mourns over his personal sin.

Our greatest enemy is sin because sin results in separation from God. Sin is anything that is against God’s character. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We fall short of God’s perfect standard. God’s standard is to love Him with all of our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves every moment of every day for our entire lives. That is an impossible standard!

The third characteristic is being meek. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Meekness is not weakness. The word meek means submissive. It is a person who reads the Bible and obeys it. Has God spoken? Definitely! Every time you read the Bible God speaks. The good news that Jesus died for our sins is found in the Bible. You must come under the authority of God’s Word.

The fourth characteristic is hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). As a starving man hungers for food and as a dehydrated person thirsts for water, so we must hunger and thirst for God’s perfect righteousness.

How can an unholy person stand before a perfectly righteous God? We need God’s righteousness credited to us. This is only possible through Jesus, God’s Son, who saves us from the wrath of God.

So far, in our travels through Canada, we have seen bear, moose, elk, buffalo, fox, porcupines and sheep. It is wonderful and amazing. Far greater than this is understanding God and being right with Him. My prayer is that you will come to saving faith. May eternal life be yours in Christ.

Ethan Hansen is the pastor of Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.