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The Consistent Christian

by Jennifer Champion  
9/01/2014 / Christian Living


consistency - constancy: the ability to maintain a particular standard or repeat a particular task with minimal variation

Christian -believer in Jesus Christ as savior: somebody whose religion is Christianity

Christianity - religion that follows Jesus Christ's teachings: the religion based on the life, teachings, and example of Jesus Christ

Now that we have established what these words independently mean, let's define what it means to be a "Consistent Christian". Based on the definitions above, it should mean something like this: The constant ability to maintain the standards of following and believing in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us seven things about consistency and being a "Consistent Christian".

They are as follows:
1. It is the way to a good reputation.
2. It is the way to renew our relationship with God.
3. It is in obedience to God.
4. It is done in faith.
5. It is a truth that only God is always consistent.
6. It reveals good character.
7. It is necessary for discipline.


It is the way to a good reputation.
The book of Ruth in the bible is a beautiful illustration of how a few people remained strong in character and true to God despite the fact that the society around them was collapsing. It was written during a very dark time in history when people lived only to please themselves and not God. It is the story of Ruth, a destitute widow whose faith and kindness went before her. Ruth had a good reputation. At one point, Ruth asked Boaz, a very wealthy farmer who bestowed much kindness upon her, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me a foreigner?" (Ruth 2:10 HCSB)

Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband how you left your father and mother and homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:11-12 HCSB)

Ruth exhibited very admirable qualities. Boaz had heard and seen that she was hardworking, loving, kind, faithful and brave. It wasn't enough that she was these things but that she was consistently these things. Wherever she went and whatever she did, it was consistent.


It is the way to renew our relationship with God.
When the ark of the Lord's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A God has come into the camp," they said. "Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We're doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck down the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. (1 Samuel 4:5-8 HCSB)

The Philistines were scared because they remembered all the stories they had heard about how God intervened when the people of Israel left Egypt. However, now Israel had turned from God and holding onto to what they once were. Israel was clinging to its past victories because they had failed as a people to keep renewing their faith in God. People and many churches today do this as well. We try to live on our former glories and memories of past blessings from God. The Israelites has assumed God would bring them victory because he had done so in the past even though they had turned and strayed from him.

We must renew our faith and relationship with God every day. It's not something that we are to do just on Sunday at church. By reading the bible every day and praying consistently and constantly, we are building and growing in our relationship with God. We must seek him and be renewed by him always.

It is in obedience to God.
2 Chronicles gives us an example of someone who was not consistent in their belief of God and it led to this downfall and death. King Uzziah was only sixteen years old when he began his reign in Jerusalem. He reigned for fifty two years.

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success." (2 Chronicles 2:4-5 HCSB)

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.(2 Chronicles 2:16 HCSB)

Uzziah was not consistent in his relationship with God. Because of his many victories and successes, he became full of himself and disobedient. He knew he wasn't supposed to go in the temple and burn incense. It was not his place to do so. He knew that his successes were all because of God and not his own abilities yet he chose himself over God. Uzziah then lost his cool and got angry when the priests scolded him and then he was struck down with leprosy and had to live elsewhere. He knew then he had done wrong and went away to live in a separate house from the rest of his family.

God requires lifelong obedience. He requires us to be consistent.


It is done in faith.
King Solomon is said to have been the wisest king in all of history. He was os wise that people came from afar to hear his words of wisdom. Everyone that came to hear the words God put in his heart brought elaborate and expensive gifts. People knew that he had great faith in God and that God had blessed him immensely. Solomon grew to be a very wealthy man.

Solomon had an insatiable appetite for women, especially foreign women. He had acquired many wives from many different areas.

God had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." (2 Kings 11:2 HCSB)

As Solomon grew old, his wives had turned his heart against God and towards their gods. It was his desire for his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines that caused his faith in God to stumble greatly. He allowed his wives and assisted them even in erecting altars for their gods.

So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. (2 Kinds 11:6 HCSB)

The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other Gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command. (2 Kings 11:9-10 HCSB)

Solomon was not consistent in his faith to the Lord. He allowed others to come between him and his faith.

It is true that only God is always consistent.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:11 HCSB)

God is always consistent. He is the one that never breaks a promise. He is the one whose standards never change.

He is the only perfect example of perfection. Although we will never achieve perfection or consistency in everything we do all the time, it should be our goal to be constant in our love, faith, and obedience to the one that is and was and ever will be.

It reveals good character.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mt. Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. (Psalm 125:1 HCSB)

We all know of someone who is drawn into every new fad and idea of the day. People such as this are inconsistent and unreliable. The key to being consistent is to trust in God and only him. Why? He never changes. He is not shaken by the things of this world. People who constantly change their way of thinking to suit others or the way world indicates they should be do not have a good character. Their character is one of a person that changes with the wind and seeks to please others in order to gain approval and feel better about themselves. They put their trust in every new scheme or gadget that comes their way. They put their trust in money, fame, and worldly desires instead of placing it in God. Their character is that of the world, not of the father.

It is necessary for discipline.
We, as parents sometimes find it hard to discipline our children. We feel like all we ever do is nag them about things. We scold them and punish them all the time so sometimes we are tempted to just give up. We just get tired of always fussing at them and we are pretty sure they are tired of it too. However, correction that is kind and firm helps them to grow, learn and become wise. We are to be consistent in our discipline with our children so they will be able to consistently discipline themselves and their children in the future.

A rod and reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother. (Proverbs 29:15 HCSB)

This verse in the bible is so often misinterpreted. It does not been that we should all beat our children with a rod. It means we should discipline our children when they do wrong so they will become wise and not disgrace their family. There is nothing wrong with discipline. God is consistent in that he will discipline his children when we step out of bounds. Our children must be taught the same.

Jennifer Rubino Champion is actively involved in prison and jail ministry in Central and West Alabama. She and her husband Patrick have five children and a fur baby, Maggie. She is an author and artist and you can visit her website at www.jenniferchampion.com

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