Just what is Christian? Do you consider yourself a Christian? Do you refer to yourself as a Christian? Of course, many people do, and in our society, even most people do. Yet, there are as many different ideas on what a Christian is, as there are people. Ideas on how to become a Christian and ideas on how to live as a Christian, are thought to be in the most part up to individual opinion. The Bible tells us differently. The Bible tells us that God is the one who outlines Christianity. The Bible tells us there is a specific way to become a Christian. and a specific way to live as a Christian, and all other ways are erroneous.
And so, we ask again, what does it mean to be a Christian.
IT MEANS YOU HAVE OBEYED THE GOSPEL
The Gospel is the good news of Jesus and His kingdom, and the gospel is what Jesus proclaimed.
Mat 4:23 And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,…
And then the apostles went out preaching the gospel
Acts 8:25 And so, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
And so to be a Christian, means that you have obeyed that gospel, but what does it mean to obey the gospel? It means you have heard and believed the gospel.
Acts 15:7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
But it doesn't stop there. Many today teach that that's all there is to becoming a Christian, you simply nod your head and say yes, I accept Jesus, but that message is not biblical. The Bible says you must confess. Confess what? Confess Jesus to be the Son of the living God.
Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
Rom 10:10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Now confessing Jesus as Lord is more than just saying I believe He is Lord. Confessing Jesus as Lord means you will submit to Him as Lord, and listen to all that He says. This confession requires our obedience to that confession, and that we do what that confession requires.
2 Cor 9:13 Because of the proof given by this ministry they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ,
Belief and confession are not simple words that we utter, it’s more than that. It’s the life we commit ourselves to. It’s the faith we are promising to live by.
And then the word of God says something else about becoming a Christian. The word of God says you must repent of your sins. To repent means you change your mind about what is wrong, and you purpose to turn away from it
Acts 14:15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn from these vain things to a living God,
Notice, Paul and Barnabas proclaim, that the gospel is preached, why? So that you should do something, so that you should turn from sin and to the righteousness of God.
Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Repent and return, turn away from sin and back to the Lord, that is all a part of becoming a Christian. And if you call yourself a Christian, this is what you are proclaiming.
And if you a truly a Christian, you are also proclaiming something else - that you have been baptized.
Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;…
This is what Peter said to those on the day of Pentecost who heard the gospel, who believed it, and who were willing to confess the name of Jesus. They asked Peter, what shall we do? And Peter didn't say, you've already done it, just by believing, no, he said, repent of your sins, and be baptized.
And as you read through the book of Acts, you'll never find anyone ever becoming a Christian who was not baptized to do so. (Acts 2:41; 8:12-13; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16). Then the epistles go on to explain baptism, and what it is, and how that God saves us by his grace when we respond to Him in baptism.
IT MEANS THAT YOU BELONG TO THE LORD’S CHURCH
Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Who was being added? Those who were being saved. Who were being saved? Those who repented and were baptized. What were they added to? The church, the kingdom of Christ. That's who all of these people, and us today, collectively become when we obey the gospel of Christ. We become the church, and are added to the church, and a few chapters later, they are described as the church
Acts 8:1 …And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem;
And men everywhere who obeyed the gospel, were identified as the church
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace,
In the epistles, the church is sometimes referred to as the body, the body of Christ.
Col 1:18 He is also head of the body, the church;…
Col 1:24 …and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church)
And so to be a Christian means, that you belong to the church. Which church? The church that belongs to Christ. Which church is that? Well there is only one church, in terms of the identify and people, .but then we must understand, that the church is manifest in local congregations.
IT MEANS THAT YOU BELONG TO A LOCAL CHURCH
In the New Testament, we read of the church, that is, Christians, being all over the place. In their local places where they lived, they belonged to and functioned in local churches. And so we read about a church at Jerusalem.
Acts 11:22 And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem,
We read about churches meeting in people’s houses.
Phile 1:2 and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
There were churches in Corinth, and in Thessalonica, and in Ephesus, and in all sorts of places. These were not various denominations, but all a part of the same church, the Lord’s Kingdom. Christians in those towns belonged to the local churches. And so all Christians need to belong to a local church. To be a Christians, means that you belong not only to the church overall, that is, the kingdom of Christ, it also means that you seek out God's people wherever you happen to live. You learn to identify God's people in contrast to those who are of the denominational world, and you ask to become a part of that church, that family, and to serve and work as a part of that local church That's what a Christians does. The bible shows it to be so on page after page
IT MEANS THAT YOU LOVE
Love is a commandment from Jesus.
John 15:12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
John 15:17 "This I command you, that you love one another.
And Jesus goes on to say, that by our love for each other, as His people, others will be able to identify us.
John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Now someone may argue, how can love be commanded, love is a feeling, that you either have or you don't. Well we have to Identify and understand love, and carry out love, as the word of God defines and describes it, not as the romantic notions of the world try to tell us. In the bible, loving is not simply saying I love you, and it's not simply having a good feeling about others. it is doing and serving the needs and interests of others.
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
Words and feelings have their place, but the love that is commanded in the Bible, means we love according to the truth, and we love by what we do, by our actions. That means that I should help you, and forgive you, and do for you, and work for you, even if I don't find you to be perfect or doing everything as I want you to, I love you. This is the supreme example Jesus gave me when he gave his life for the sinful (which is everyone). Of course the Bible goes on to tell us a great deal about love, real love, such as in 1 Corinthians 13. To be a Christians is to love, this love, for one another. That means we are patient with each other, and kind, and never jealous. That means we are not arrogant and not conceited towards one another. That means we are not selfish. That means we are not prone to fighting and arguing and reacting in a harsh way towards one another. It means we are devoted towards one another in this kind of love
Rom 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
We don't just love one another when we're forced into a corner with no other option. We pursue it. We seek the opportunity to show this love for one another. That's a part of what it is to be a Christian.
But there is another aspect of love that must be present in our lives if we are to be New Testament Christians, and that is, the love for truth.
IT MEANS THAT YOU LOVE TRUTH
This world is characterized by darkness, and by a denial of truth. When Jesus the light, came into this darkness, the darkness did not comprehend Him, or receive Him, John 1. That was a great contrast. And we too, if we follow that light, will find ourselves in contrast to this world. We will find ourselves in contrast to the world because we love the truth, and the world does not. The world does not seek, and does not desire, and does not regard the truth of the gospel, and ultimately, the truth of reality. When it hears truth, it covers its ears, and it pushes it away. It mocks it, and it rejects it. But the child of God, the Christian, loves truth, why? Because as hard as it may be to look into truth at first, truth is what brings us to salvation.
Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--
The Gospel, is about truth, and that truth means we have sinned, we have fallen short, BUT, we can also enjoy the riches of His grace if we obey Him. And thus, Christianity is to be focused on truth, because without truth, we're nothing, we're in darkness. Having the truth in our hands however, we are to love it, cherish it, and pursue it with all diligence.
2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.
To be a Christian means you love the truth, and you work hard so that you may handle the word of truth accurately, and faithfully. Also, you rejoice with the truth.
1 Cor 13:6 (love) does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
The world runs from the truth, the world doesn't want to hear the truth. The world loves sin and darkness, but Christians rejoice with the truth, and embrace the truth, and that's what being a Christian means
IT MEANS THAT YOU CONTINUALLY APPLY YOURSELF TO GROWTH IN GODLY LIVING
You're not just baptized and call it good there. You don't just start “going to church”, and try to sum up your Christians existence in that. To be a Christians means that you continually examine and increase and grow in all aspects. To be a Christians means that you are on a lifelong journey to become like Jesus, and that every day you pray and study and apply yourself to growing in His will.
2 Pet 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
Everything continues and grows, such as grace and peace, they all multiply as we study and increase in the knowledge of the Lord
2 Pet 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
How do we have life and godliness? By the knowledge He gave us, and by us learning that knowledge and obeying it.
2 Pet 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
What's being a Christians about? It's about partaking of His nature, and coming closer and closer to Him every day. And so we apply ourselves to growth.
2 Pet 1:5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge;
2 Pet 1:6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness;
2 Pet 1:7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
2 Pet 1:8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't want to be unfruitful. I need to continually increase in these qualities Peter has just listed out
2 Pet 1:9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
2 Pet 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
2 Pet 1:11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
2 Pet 1:12 Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.
To be a Christian means you pursue and increase in these things. To be a Christian means that you understand the brevity of life, but also the purpose of life, your purpose of life, and your work, your duty, and your eternal hope
Are you a New Testament Christian. Let us all examine ourselves according to the word of God so that we may know the truth.
-Derek Chambers
Albuquerque, New Mexico
