In this series, we are going to consider some character examples of individuals we can read about in the New Testament.

Usually when we consider examples like this, we focus on some “great” Christians – men like Peter, Paul, John, and others. We certainly have much to learn from men like these who were leaders and diligent workers in the early church. Lessons about their character and example are important for us today.

Yet do we sometimes feel “inferior” to these “great” Christians? After all, we were not personally selected by Jesus; nor have we spent a few years learning from the Lord in person, received a special commission to go into all the world as His ambassadors, or been directly guided by the Holy Spirit in order to perfect our remembering and teaching of God’s word. In those ways, we are not like them; we are just “regular” Christians.

However, the New Testament does include examples of “regular” Christians – disciples like Dorcas, Tychicus, and Antipas – who were not apostles and in most cases would not be considered leaders in the church; yet what they did was significant. The Holy Spirit included them in the record of Scripture for a reason. They were “regular” Christians who serve as examples for “regular” Christians like us today.Continue Reading