In my previous post I posed the question of what defines one as a Christian. Here I suggest one possible answer (amongst many), but raise another question…
Taking a passage of scripture to illustrate what I mean:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:1-17
There is also this passage:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
And, lastly (and slightly out of context, but it does, I think, make the 'right' point):
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:16-20
So it seems that, perhaps, one way to define a Christian is by the 'fruit' they exhibit? Of course, this gives rise to some problems… Going by this measure, some folks who aren't Christians 'score' much higher than some Christians! I know of some rotten Christians, who don't noticeably possess any of the 'fruit' laid out on the verses from Galatians, and I know some atheists who have the full set, and then some!! There is also the fact that some people who become Christians are terribly damaged in their former lives - damage which can take decades to heal; those people are a 'work in progress', and it is perhaps not surprising that they may seem often to be 'rotten Christians' - sometimes for many years - they may need a lot of healing and 'pruning' before they begin to grow 'fruit'.
So what gives? Well, in Genesis, it says:
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
I'm not going to go into whether we should read Genesis literally or not, here and now, but let's for the moment, just accept that God made the universe, including people, at some time in the dim and distant past, and go with that… Anyway, the important point here is that God made people in His image - so, whether they believe in God or or not, I believe everyone exhibits some of the characteristics of God which, presumably, include to a greater or lesser extent, those nine 'fruits' from above. And that, perhaps, is why some atheists bear so much resemblance to the 'Godly character' we Christians are supposed to strive for.