The Christian Distinction
Whenever we tell people that we are Christians, they will form certain expectations about our character. Thankfully, most of these expectations involve good qualities, such as being peaceable, kind, magnanimous, honest, and truthful. If we were asked to sum up the Christian’s distinction in a single word, the best answer would be charity or love . In a master-disciple relationship, the principal objective of the disciple is to develop the characteristics of the master. Believers were first called Christians in Antioch because they wanted to identify with their Master, Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26). Since God is described as love ( agape ) in 1 John 4:8, it is imperative that all Christians possess the attributes of love as a distinctive component of their character. The Chapter on Love The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers to address various contentions among Christians in the church (1 Cor 1:11). These involved several issues, including matters of discipline, baptism, lea...