Question:
Who were some of the greatest Christians that ever lived? What made them outstanding?

Answer:

Abraham, because he was a pillar of faith. He was willing to offer up his only son after he was told he would be “the father of many nations” (Genesis 17:4). We can have the same faith as Abraham (Galatians 3:6, 7). By faith in God’s Word Abraham saw the day the Lord would come to this world (John 8:56). “For faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were three young men “on fire” for the Lord. Actually they weren’t on fire, but those who put them into the furnace were. But they were willing to die for what they believed. (See Daniel 3.)

The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 5. His faith was based on the Spirit and power of God. God used him to write many books in the New Testament. In Luke 7:40-43 the Lord tells the story of two people who both had debts. One person was a bad sinner, and one wasn’t so bad. Paul was the “chief of sinners” but we all were dead in sin. If you had been the only sinner, Christ still would have had to die for you. Sins are not the debt, sin is. James 2:10 shows that if we commit only one sin, it will keep us out of heaven.The difference between bad sinners and not so bad sinners isn’t how much sin we have, but how much we realize how much sin we have. We don’t go to hell because of our sins, but because we reject Jesus. All five of the above examples of the greatest Christians realized what the Lord had done for them. Matthew 5:22 and 28 makes us realize how bad we are. Where do we see how serious sin is to God? At the cross!