If you're

you know, the world. If you're a Christian, can people tell that you're different from the surrounding culture?

On Truth for Life weekend, Alistair Begg highlights four attributes that should mark the Christian community, individuals as well as the church as a whole.

Let's turn to Ephesians chapter 2 in the Bible, where we're focusing today on verses 19 through 22.

Now let's come to this, so then.

So then what?

So then what is the implication? What is the

result of this? Well, there's not the complete result, but it is the result that Paul, by the

Holy Spirit, wants us to focus on just now. We are now, he says, fellow citizens with the

saints and members of the household of God. I remember when we were studying this

earlier, we said that by nature we were both stateless and friendless. We were outsiders. We did not

belong. Verse 12 at that time, separated from Christ, alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel. We were far away.

But now in Christ, he's gone on to say, we have been given a new identity and we have been

made part of a whole new community. We are, if you like, kids of the kingdom. We are citizens

in God's kingdom.

And our new identity secures us because now we belong.

And our new identity transforms us because now we behave.

I know you've fed up with me mentioning it, but I'd never

stopped me before and won't stop me now. But remember when Eric Little left Edinburgh to go to

China and eventually he was to die in China? And when his train pulled out of Waverly Station,

the last thing that he did before he left was roll the window down and lead the vast crowd gathered in Waverly Station, the last thing that he did before he left was roll the window down

and lead the vast crowd gathered in Waverly Station underneath the castle. Many of you have been

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