Luke 17:9 “Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.”
The Biblical Standard
God’s standard of a good Christian are different from the standard that most Christians think he has. The word of God is the ultimate standard from God, the incarnate (John 1:1) and written word. Jesus is our Master (Matthew 23:10), Lord (Luke 6:46), God (John 20:28), Savior (Acts 4:12), Shepherd (1 Peter 2:25), and Head (Colossians 1:18; 2:10, 19; Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; 5:23). Therefore, a Christian (Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16) should be a follower of Jesus (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 10:38; 16:24), as he said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26).
The example of Christ and the word of Christ form the basis of the rule we should walk by (see Galatians 6:16; Philippians 3:14-16). Jesus Christ is the standard whom must learn to be like (Ephesians 4:20; Matthew 11:28-30). We must imitate Jesus’ example: walking as he walked (1 John 3:6), following in his steps (1 Peter 2:22), and entirely being like him (Luke 6:40). We must also obey Jesus’ word: letting the word of Christ dwell in us (Colossians 3:16), having our minds changed in conformity to the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and keeping the commands of Christ (Matthew 5:48).
Colossians 2:6-7 “6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
Ephesians 5:1 “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children”
The Wrong Standards
Many Christians take THE WORLD as the standard. Often the media, entertainment, and advertising of the world are viewed as one’s standard for godliness. What one hears in the news, what they watch on the television, and what they see around town becomes their test for righteousness. The corruption and pollutions of the world (2 Peter 1:4; 2:20) should never be our standard, seeing that we are not of the world (John 17:14, 16), and God commands us not to be friends of (James 4:4), in love with (1 John 2:15-17), or conformed to (Romans 12:2), the world (see Galatians 6:14). Only error can result from having the spirit and rudiments of the world as our standard (see 1 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 2:8; see also Galatians 4:3).
James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
Christians also take OTHERS as the standard. Like Peter who compared himself to John (John 21:18-23), it is very common for people to compare themselves with other people. Having other people as the standard is dangerous, because not everyone does what is right (1 Timothy 5:24; 2 Peter 2:2). Although it is not wrong to follow the example (1 Corinthians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 9) and faith (Hebrews 6:12; 13:7) of others, we must only follow other people inasmuch as they follow Christ, as Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1; see also 1 Thessalonians 1:6).
2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Christians can often use THEMSELVES as the standard. Being wise in their own conceit (Proverbs 26:12, 16), and pure in their own eyes (Proverbs 30:12), a person can mistakenly suppose that the way which they act is right just because that is the way that they know to be best: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). The glory of God is his standard (Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 15:7), not the glory of man, or the pleasing of man (e.g., eyeservice: Ephesians 6:6; itching ears: 2 Timothy 4:3-4).
2 Corinthians 10:18 “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.”
The Christian Mindset
Jesus Christ demonstrates the humble mindset that a Christian should have in his Parable of the Unworthy Servant (Luke 17:7-10), wherein he shows that a person who behaves in a dutiful way is still not worthy of honor for merely doing their duty. God wants us to think humbly about ourselves as his servants, and does not want us to think of ourselves “more highly” than we ought to think (Romans 12:3), minding “high things” (Romans 12:16; see also Psalm 131:1), thinking ourself to be something when we are nothing (Galatians 6:3).
Psalm 16:2-3 “O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.”
Job 22:2-3 “2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?”
The Negative, Zero, And Positive Christian
According to the Bible, a Christian who does what God commands is a zero Christian, meaning that God does not consider them as a profitable servant, but a break-even servant. A Christian who does beyond what they are commanded to do is a positive Christian, who profits the kingdom of God, and a Christian who does not do what they are commanded is a negative Christian, harming the cause of the kingdom of God.
The Negative (-) Christian
The Negative Christian is the incomplete Christian, who does less than what is expected by God. God does not set the zero line at nothing, but rather at his level of expectation. Not doing what is right is negative: not fishing for men means not following Jesus (Matthew 4:19), there is a woe unto those that do not preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16), and Jesus said “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth” (Luke 11:23). In the Parable of the Talents, the servant who hid his talent and did nothing was called “Thou wicked and slothful servant” Matthew 25:14-30), because when Jesus finds you not doing what he commanded, he is angered (Revelation 3:1-6).
James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
The Zero (0) Christian
The Zero Christian is the complete Christian, who does everything that is expected by God. They leave nothing undone like Joshua, as it is written, “As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:5). Doing what God commanded is equal to doing the minimum (Ecclesiastes 12:3; Deuteronomy 12:32), and to do anything less is to keep things back (e.g., see Acts 20:20, 27).
The word “perfect” in the Bible means complete (James 1:4) or mature (Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 1:28), so God expects that each of his people be a complete Christian (2 Corinthians 13:9; 1Peter 5:10), standing “perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12), being “perfect in every good work to do his will” (Hebrews 12:21; 2 Timothy 3:17).
The Positive (+) Christian
The Positive Christian is the zealous Christian, who does more than what is expected by God, rendering the maximum possible service. As Paul was convinced about Philemon, “Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say” (Philemon 21). Such a Christian does not merely keep the letter of the law, but also the spirit (e.g., Matthew 5:21-37), they do not simply abstain from evil (1 Peter 3:10-11), but also “from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). These individuals seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) and seek it often, and become like the family of Stephanas in that “they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” (1 Corinthians 16:15).
Matthew 5:41 “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”
Practical Examples Of The Negative, Zero, And Positive Christian
Because the Bible never tells us exactly what level of devotion is commanded, none of the examples of requirements we can think of are absolute. However, one should keep in mind that God does have minimum requirements, and for us to base minimums on a daily or weekly schedule is Biblical, because God himself has set up days, weeks, etc. (Genesis 1:14-15).
CHURCH ATTENDANCE: God commands us to go to church (Hebrews 10:25; Malachi 3:16-18), and it seems that God’s expectation is that every Christian attends church at least once a week (e.g., Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). This means that The Negative Christian does not go to church at all or only goes biweekly, The Zero Christian goes to church once a week, and The Positive Christian goes to church twice or more weekly. Joshua and Jesus were Positive Christians, because Joshua “departed not out of the tabernacle” (Exodus 33:11), and Jesus was always in church (e.g., Luke 2:49).
BIBLE READING: God commands us to read the Bible (e.g., Proverbs 5:7; Deuteronomy 12:28; Jeremiah 22:29; Revelation 2:7), and God’s expectation is that every Christian reads the whole Bible (Matthew 4:4; Psalm 119:13), perhaps at least once per year, but certainly every day (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). This means that The Negative Christian does not read the Bible, reads only parts of the Bible, does not read every day, or it takes them longer than one year to read the whole Bible, The Zero Christian reads the whole Bible once a year, and The Positive Christian reads the whole Bible in less than a year. Many of the leaders of Israel were Positive Christians, like Moses (Exodus 24:1-7), Joshua (Joshua 8:32-35), and Josiah (2 Kings 22-23), because they read the whole Bible before the congregation of Israel in a short amount of time.
PRAYER: God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:17), and it seems that God’s expectation is that every Christian prays every day. This means that The Negative Christian does not pray, or only prays periodically throughout the week/month, The Zero Christian prays at least once every day, and The Positive Christian prays more frequently every day. Jesus and Daniel are examples of Positive Christians, because Jesus at times would “continue all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12), and Daniel “kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10).
SOUL-WINNING: God commands us to go preaching the gospel (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15), and it seems that God’s expectation is that every Christian preaches the gospel at least once a week. This means that The Negative Christian does not preach the gospel, or only preaches once every few weeks/months, The Zero Christian preaches the gospel every week, and The Positive Christian goes preaching the gospel more than once a week. Paul the Positive Christian immediately preached the gospel (Acts 9:20), boldly preached the gospel (Acts 9:27, 29), often preached the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:10; Romans 15:19), and ceaselessly preached the gospel (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
SINGING: God commands us to sing only godly music (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16) unto him (e.g., Psalm 30:4), and it seems that God’s expectation is that every Christian sings to him every day (Psalm 145:2; 113:3). This means that The Negative Christian does not sing, or only sings when they go to church, The Zero Christian sings a hymn, say, every day, and The Positive Christian sings the songs of God several times each day. The Psalmist is an example of a Positive Christian in this area who said “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:164). Paul and Silas singing at midnight in the Philippian prison also modeled the Positive Christian in singing (Acts 16:25).
GIVING: God commands us to tithe to him (Deuteronomy 14:22; Leviticus 27:30), and God’s expectation is that every Christian gives ten percent of their income (Malachi 3:8-12). This means that The Negative Christian does not tithe, or does not consistently tithe, The Zero Christian tithes on all that they earn, and The Positive Christian both tithes and gives extra offerings (e.g., for a given outreach ministry). The Corinthians and Philippians were Positive Christians when it regarded giving, because the Corinthians gave much alms to the poor saints at Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9), and at one time the Philippians solely supported the evangelistic ministry of the apostle Paul (Philippians 4:14-18).
Questions for Consideration about the Type of Christian You Are
- How thankful are you? Our works display our thankfulness (Luke 7:36-50).
- How great is your faith? Our works display our faith (James 2:18).
- How much do you love God? Our works display our love (1 John 5:3; John 14:15).
Sanctification
Sanctification is the process whereby a Christian becomes more and more holy throughout the course of their life, abounding “more and more” in pleasing God (1 Thessalonians 4:1-4; Philippians 1:9). Because the great end of every Christian is to be “conformed to the image” of Christ (Romans 8:29; see also 1 Corinthians 15:49), Paul described that he struggled in the flesh (see Romans 7), and that his life was a pursuit of Christ-likeness (Philippians 3). Sanctification is therefore a life-long process in which one is progressively made more righteous and brought closer to Christ. God is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless (Jude 24). It is God who performs his work in us until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6, 10; see also 1 Thessalonians 3:13), and confirms us unto the end (1 Corinthians 1:8), “to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:22; see also 2 Peter 3:14).
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Every person is either growing or backsliding (Jeremiah 3:22), sliding backward or moving forward (Jeremiah 8:5), becoming more carnal or more spiritual (Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:23). We must seek to daily become better Christians, like the Israelites who went out a different gate than the gate they entered in during the solemn feasts (Ezekiel 46:9), or the man of God who came out of Judah who was told by God not to “turn again by the same way that thou camest” (1 Kings 13:9-10). People who met Jesus left changed by the encounter (e.g., the ten lepers: Luke 17:11-19; the woman: Luke 8:43-48), and Saul became “another man” by meeting with the prophets (1 Samuel 10:5-6). This work of sanctification is effected through the word of God (John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26), and is accomplished “by little and little” (Exodus 23:29-30; Deuteronomy 7:22), “day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Pharaoh attempted to make several deals with Moses to limit Israel’s complete service to God, and the devil also seeks to make many deals with Christians to limit their total sanctification: Pharaoh offered that Israel serve God in Egypt (worldly service) (Exodus 8:25-28), without their children (specified demographic service) (Exodus 10:8-11), and without their flocks (non-sacrificial service) (Exodus 10:24-26). Nevertheless, we must, like Moses, not compromise for anything less than full sanctification.
Just as Joseph slowly acquired everything from the Egyptians, so also does Christ slowly take control of our lives: Joseph took their money (Genesis 47:13-14), then their cattle (Genesis 47:15-17), then their land and their bodies (Genesis 47:18-26). The more grain Joseph gave the Egyptians, the more they sold themselves under his hand, and the more we devote ourselves to the word of God, the more we will serve Jesus.
Luke 11:23 “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth”