How should a Christian behave?

Tellyontellyon

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?
 

Hazelelponi

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

I think the Bible is full of examples. Proverbs is a good start.
 
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RDKirk

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The Sermon on the Mount is a good summary, in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7).

The letter of First Peter is essentially the field manual for Christians operating operating as ambassadors of the kingdom of Heaven in an unbelieving world, and it's wholly useful.
 
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HTacianas

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

Christianity has always taught that we are to do our best to emulate Christ. He said to his apostles:

Mat 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Mat 28:20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

All of his teachings have been handed down since the beginning and are recorded in the gospels.
 
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Freth

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The law.

Matthew 5:17-19 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil(1). For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

(1) Strong's G4137 fulfil (plēroō): to fulfil, i.e. to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfilment.​

Mark 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 8:3-4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony [of Jesus Christ; the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10)]: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Perfected character.

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Look at the description of Job's character.

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright [righteous], and one that feared God, and eschewed [abstained from] evil.​

The questions then are:

Q: How do we know the character of God?
A: God's law shows His character. Obeying God's law develops His character in us.

Q: How did Jesus walk on this earth?
A: Jesus obeyed God's law, and lived a sinless life. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments", and points to the receiving of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17). Jesus was amplifying the law of God, as per His clear language shown above (Matthew 5:17-19). Jesus expanded on the law by hanging all the law and the prophets on loving God and loving your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3)

Conclusion:
  • We are to be obedient unto righteousness (i.e. the law was not done away with).
  • We are to have perfected character (i.e. through obedience of the law of God).
  • Receiving of the Holy Spirit is linked to obedience.
The right way for Christians to think, talk and act is to take on the character of God, as shown through scripture, which means removing sin from your life (transgression of the law of God; 1 John 3:4) and taking on righteousness. Of course, this includes loving God and loving your neighbor, but the law and the prophets hang on these two; love is the foundation, but the law wasn't excluded whatsoever. In fact, the commandments of God show us how to love God and love our neighbor.
 
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grasping the after wind

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

For most Christians , salvation is a no strings attached gift. We are saved by Grace through Faith not by Faith. Nonetheless, it is expected that we act in the same loving manner towards others as we have been treated by Christ. As a previous poster pointed out the law of the old testament, most especially the Ten Commandments , has not been done away with. We are expected to act morally and piously according to the tradition set by the OT and the teachings of Christ just because it is the right and honorable thing to do, not because it will gain us something in return.
 
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BobRyan

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

Eph 6:2 "'honor your father and mother' which is the first commandment with a promise" - Paul speaks of the entire unit of ten - and says it applies to NT saints since that is the only unit of law where "honor your father and mother" is the first commandment with a promise.

James 2 does something similar saying that in that unit of Law defining our moral obligation (which includes the TEN) - "he who breaks one breaks them all". Which deals with the moral law of God as a unit and unsplittable unit when it comes to what defines sin.

Jer 31:31-34 (and Heb 8:6-12) quotes the NEW Covenant telling us that under the New Covenant, God writes His Law on the heart and mind.

1 John 3:4 says "sin IS transgression of the Law" and in that same book - in 1 John 2:1 "these things I write that you sin not"
 
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BobRyan

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For most Christians , salvation is a no strings attached gift. We are saved by Grace through Faith not by Faith. Nonetheless, it is expected that we act in the same loving manner towards others as we have been treated by Christ. As a previous poster pointed out the law of the old testament, most especially the Ten Commandments , has not been done away with. We are expected to act morally and piously according to the tradition set by the OT and the teachings of Christ just because it is the right and honorable thing to do, not because it will gain us something in return.

Amen - saved by grace through faith -- yet as the New Covenant states in Hebrews 8 - having "the Law of God written on the heart" -- as opposed to dumping it.

Matt 7 points to many believers being disappointed - those who act and speak in "Jesus' name" turned away as workers of iniquity.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’​
 
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aiki

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

Hmmm... While for some Christians salvation is "about faith" (though, I'm not sure what you mean by this), God says salvation is fundamentally about a Person - Jesus Christ - and our love of him.

1 John 5:10-12
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.


1 John 4:14-16
14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.


Matthew 22:35-38
35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him
a question, testing Him,
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
37 And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
38 "This is the great and foremost commandment.
(All caps in the Bible software I use.)

Faith, of course, is a vital part of salvation, but the vital center of salvation doesn't rest in us, our faith, but in Christ, the object of our faith.

Anyway, Christian conduct is supposed to arise directly out of the First and Great commandment, which precedes and motivates all the disciple of Christ thinks, desires and does - or ought to. The apostle Paul made this point very powerfully and bluntly:

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.


Many Christians conflate love and obedience, making the latter identical with the former. But as the Pharisees demonstrated, obedience to God's law can hide a heart far from Him. (Matthew 15:7-8)

As well, Godly love, agape love, is not a sentimental, semi-romantic, highly emotional feeling but a deep, over-riding desire for God (Psalms 42:2; Psalms 63:1; Psalms 143:6; Psalms 84:2; Philippians 3:7-10). One can love God powerfully, one can desire Him fiercely, without ever shedding a single, sentimental tear.

God has made us to follow our desires. And the greater the desire, the more we conform our lives to our pursuit of that desire. God intends that the Christian live as such out of an intense, life-ordering desire - love - for Himself. When they do, the sacrifices and constraints of holy living, obedient living, are a joy and lead, not to the moralistic legalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisee, but to deep, rich, life-transforming communion with God.

Such a person is a necessarily holy person, becoming more and more so as time passes. What is a holy person? A person set apart from the World, the flesh and the devil unto God, forsaking anything that hinders fellowship with Him. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:15-16, Ephesians 5:3-12; Philippians 4:8, etc.)
 
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Hawkins

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

Most of the commandments are in the New Covenant as well, possibly excluding the Jewish style Sabbath. As most of the 10 commandments can also be found in Jesus Christ's teaching. The 10 commandments in the Jewish covenant are like laws. It means a Jew is subject to a kind of sentence when he broke any of the commandments. While in the New Covenant they appear as Christ's teaching for Christians to follow. You are not subject to any sentence of Law when you broke teaching. However, everyone is subject to a final judgment by Jesus Christ Himself.
 
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ViaCrucis

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

We're supposed to act like Jesus.
To think like Jesus.
To love like Jesus.
To talk and act like Jesus.

Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow Me", anything less than Jesus isn't good enough. Of course, none of us are good enough; and yet the standard remains the same, it's Jesus.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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James_Lai

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I understand that, for most Christians, salvation is about faith. Repent and be grateful for the gift of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection... and that the extensive Law of Moses was mostly done away with (including much of the ten commandments.)

However, what guidance is there about how Christians should act, speak and think in general....

* Please summarise the right way for Christians to think, talk and act?

Obey Jesus. For example, he told young rich ruler “sell everything you own, give away the proceeds to the poor and follow me”. Jesus was against any private possessions. It’s a good starting point. Churchianity has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus
 
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