Armchair Christianity??

  We've probably all heard of the stereotype in which the man sits in the chair all day barking out orders to his wife, eating lots of food, and demanding complete access to the remote control.  This, of course, is a very unhealthy situation.  Unfortunately, however, this is a view that many Christians hold concerning what it is like to be a child of God.

A Christian Is To Study

    Before any of us ever become a couch potato we need to ask ourselves if we are studying like a Christian should.  I don't mean, are you studying like everyone else in the congregation but are you studying as the Bible says a Christian should.  It is important that we understand just what the scriptures teach about our study habits.

   Ephesians 5:17 says, "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Paul had said a couple of chapters earlier that when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (3:4).  So we must observe first of all that we CAN understand God's will and secondly, that this revelation is recorded in the inspired scriptures.  The way we go about finding out about God's will is simply by reading.  This is how we know what God would have us to do.

    Being lazy with our study habits will not help us increase our knowledge.  This will only come when we commit to getting our hands off the remote and onto the Holy Word.

    Our study habits are not the only thing that we can become lazy towards.  We can also become lazy with

Our Example.

    The way people observe us comes mostly from what they see of our example. We often focus our attention on how we behave when we come to worship God but somehow forget that we are Christians all the time, not just on Sundays and Wednesdays.

    Jesus taught in Matthew 5:14-16 that we are the light of the world.  When you are in a dark room, the first thing that comes to your mind is turning on the light.  This should be the same instinct that we have in the world.  The world is darkness.  The main thing we should want to do is be that light.  A little light in a lot of darkness goes a long way.  Let us never forget that.

    Letting our lights shine will show others not only who we are but what we are.  We cannot be afraid to show the world these things.  The Christian that hides his light is no Christian at all.  How can we claim to be light but yet be darkness?  "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all" (I John 1:5).  If we want to be like God we must not give in to the temptation of conforming to the world.  "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).  We cannot be afraid to stand up to the devil.

    We cannot expect to make it to heaven by not doing anything.  Our study habits and our example are not the only things we need to concentrate on but they are certainly important.  There is no such thing as an armchair Christian that is right with God.  Anyone who claims to follow Christ will have to prove that claim by their actions (John 14:15).  There is much involved in being a Christian but it starts with knowing what God says (study) and showing others what you are about (our example).

                                                          --Shane Williams