REAL DEAL CHRISTIANS

REAL DEAL CHRISTIANS

Second of seven devotions in Master Class Series

Jude 1:3

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”

A couple sixth graders watched three fourth graders throw football to each other during recess from school. (See Masterpiece devotion).

Labron snickered, mocking them, “Heah Miguel, you throw the football like a girl!”

Liam—bent over in laughter—asked, “Heah Jules, do you want to play quarterback on my team?”

Greg yelled back to the upperclassman, “You wish, Liam! Jules is MY quarterback!”

It’s getting harder to weed out the sleaze from the pure-in-heart. Not everyone’s disrespect is as obvious as these upperclassmen’s. Jesus’ advice for telling apart good from evil dates over 2,000 years ago in Matthew 7:15-16: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from a thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”

Greg shows us how to deal with mockers. Stand firm and embrace what’s true. Sometimes people are fooled by good looks and popularity, but it’s important to identify what’s the real deal. Genuine believers-in-Christ are real deal Christians because Jesus—whom they follow—is the real deal.

We’re the real deal because God created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). Jesus’ blood saved us (Ephesians 1:7). God’s Spirit indwells us (1 Corinthians 6:19), sculpting us into Christ likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). Heaven awaits us (John 14:2).

Real deal Christians show love for others (John 13:35), marking us as Jesus’ disciples. As soon as real deal Christians sin, we immediately confess it to God. This keeps hearts pure from evil. Proverbs 4:23 advises real deal Christians, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

We guard ourselves against the world’s assault of sinful temptations. Real deal Christians—like Greg claiming Jules as his quarterback—proudly proclaim to the world whose we are.

Take Home Nugget

But many Christians are deceived. Jude’s warning in the opening Scripture uses the word, “contend.” Contend means to challenge, to assert one’s position on the gospel of Christ. Some churches are filled with false prophets who’re teaching wrong gospel. They don’t produce real deal Christians. Test yourself. Is your church’s teaching from the Bible?

Real deal Christians follow the Jesus proclaimed in the Bible.
J.D. Griffith

Click here for an Interactive-Online-Lesson for Real Deal Christians

A personal, private lesson experience with our staff
Written for http://www.biblestudyforkids.com
For FREE Online Bible Study Resources click here.