What is a "Christian"?
Being a Christian literally means "One who follows Christ." Being a Christian means, by the grace of God, that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and we trust Him to reconcile us to God, by the sacrifice of His perfect life, in place of us due to our imperfections that separated us from God. In short, Christianity is all about Jesus, the Christ. Let's analyze scripture to determine what a "Christian" truly is:
Repentant - Knowing our position in front of God, as we have studied so far, leads to a repentant spirit, which then leads us to Jesus: "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret...See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves..." 2 Corinthians 7:10a, 11a
How do we obtain this salvation, as provided to us from God? "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:21-22
So what does this mean? Lets analyze one of the clearest verses in the Bible regarding this question:
"...to all who RECEIVED Him, to those who BELIEVED in His Name, He gave the right to BECOME children of God." John 1:12
There are three key words in this passage: BELIEVE, RECEIVE, and BECOME. Lets study these:
Believe - So far we have studied the reasons to believe. The evidence is clear and compelling - we know now that the belief is NOT BLIND! What a Christian believes is that JESUS is the Christ, the Chosen One who can reconcile us to God. We therefore BELIEVE in Him as our SAVIOR.
"Therefore my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." Acts 13:38-39
"But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." John 20:31
Receive - "Belief" is with the mind. But we "receive" with the heart. We receive Him as LORD, which means He is 'in charge.' He has earned the right to be our lawgiver, our purpose in life. "If you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." 1 Corinthians 8:6
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:36-38
Become - Sanctification is a fancy word that simply means 'growing in spiritual maturity toward the Kingdom of God.' It is a work that God does in us, and that we must strive to achieve, because our Savior asked us to. We do it for Him in response to His gift to us, with thankfulness and of strong purpose. Like a marriage covenant where the wife takes the name of the husband, we take the name of our Savior upon us, and submit to His will because of our love for Him. We work to make the relationship strong, by obeying what He asks of us.
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness..." 1 Peter 2:24a
"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." 1 Corinthians 4:2
"We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5b
"And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:15
"We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands...Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:3, 6
"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2
So in summary, a Christian is a person who, after searching for meaning because of a God-enabled REPENTANT spirit, has BELIEVED in Jesus as the Christ, RECEIVED Him as LORD, and is BECOMING sanctified.
WhyIBelieve.Org Ministries Copyright Pending 2002 M. Sutherland |
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