2024.03.20 - Character

2024.03.20 - Character

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

3:55 PM

 

How can you tell if a person is mature?  It would depend on what your definition of mature is . . .

• o Mature can mean age
• o Or personality

 

When it comes to character - I am not sure character can be learned - manners can be learned. Character is who you are, it flows from the inside.

 

How can you tell if a Christian is mature?

• o Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. KJV

• • Fruit grows where it is nurtured, though the Spirit is strong, our flesh my prevail if allowed 

• o Romans 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. KJV

• • Transformation comes from the inisde out - when the heart changes, so does the character of a person

• o Luke 6:45

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. KJV

 

You cannot count one mature in Christ because they do good things,  bad people do good things - though the opposite is not true:

• • Good people do not do bad things - because there is not such thing as good people . . .
• ♣ Mark 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good(comes from a root meaning honest, worthy)? there is none good but one, that is, God. KJV
• ♣ Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; KJV
• • Be your own witness - can you see Him on the Cross, beaten, bleeding and bruised, do you deserve that love?

 

Old Dogs And New Tricks

Luke 5:36-38

36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.

37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.

38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.

KJV

• • Being born again is not the learning of a list of do's and don'ts but a transformation of life, a new way of being
• ♣ A caterpillar doesn’t just wake up and take classes and sit in pews and learn to fly - he is completely transformed, literally from the inside out!
• • Christians are not caterpillars that have learned how to fly- they are butterflies that have forgotten how to crawl! 
• • Butterflies are what it looks like when the caterpillar is all grown up

 

For character to grow transformation continues . . .to be saved and cease to be thankful is to cease to be transformed . . .arrested development(which is defined as an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely, a synonym is regression which means to go back/backslide)

• • In  Romans 1 Paul gives a list of "fruits" of those who have ceased to be transformed or have never been.  This list is a symptom list of those who 
• ♣ Did not glorify God
• ♣ Were not thankful to God 

 

 You cannot for any extended period of time live outside your character - you will eventually be who you are. What’s inside of you will come out when you are squished  -Peter before and after Pentecost.  To be filled with The Spirit is to be emptied of self.  

 

Being  a mature Christian means I don’t just do Jesus things, but I am continually becoming LIKE Him 

 

By the way - people will often treat you the way they do based on their character - not yours