A young Christian man got a job as a roughneck in the oil patch. A friend warned him that he might be surrounded by ungodly men who would give him a hard time when they found out he was a Christian. But the young man really needed the job, so off he went. A year later, the two men met again. The friend asked, “How did it go? Did they give you a bad time because you were a Christian?” “No,” the man replied. “They didn’t give me a bit of trouble. They never even found out!”

I remember once in my ministry after conducting a funeral, one of the deceased’s acquaintances was walking out of the service and said, “I never knew he was a Christian!”

Someone once posited the question, “If you were put on trial for being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Matthew 7:16–20 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.

That has a positive and a negative side to it, doesn’t it? You should be able to recognize believers in Jesus by how they live, just as you can recognize non-believers by their actions. Those who have taken to heart the message that Jesus paid for the sins of the world, including their own, will be changed. They will not be perfect, but they will live a new way, a different way, not like those who do not have faith. Rather than “trying to fit in” or sinking to their level, we should seek to bring them into a faith relationship with Jesus.

1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

There should be no doubt in the minds of others that you are a Christian. Let them see Jesus in you by the way you live.

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.