What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?
Acts 11:26
Intro
Christian is a fallen term cheapened by common usage. It now covers a multitude of religious ideas, error as well as truth, paganism as well as the revelation of God’s divine truth. This term Christian has been stretched to the extent that it covers rationalistic modernism on one hand and a frothy sentimentalism on the other. It is ascribed to that which in some instances is gross worldliness and in other instances to that which is anything short of pharisaic self righteousness. The term is used to describe that which is coldly ritualistic but also that which is nothing more a distinctive impact due to our failure to understand what it means to be a Christian?
Some apply the term Christian to all who have high moral standards and at the same time believe in the existence of God. Others claim this title simply because they are members of a church. Still others claim the privilege of wearing this title because they have had a conversion experience. Ideally, they have a right to do so. However, the great test comes in what others think of our witness. When they see our lives, are they able to call us Christian? Do they see the evidence of the presence of Christ in our lives? If so, only then should we claim this title for ourselves.
The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. This was probably a term of derision because they were followers of the crucified Galilean. Evidently they thought and talked and acted in a manner that reminded their contemporaries of the Christ. What would your neighbors say about you? Is it possible for them to see features and characteristics in your life that resemble Jesus Christ? A government official in India once said to some Christian leaders, “If Christians would act like Jesus Christ, India would be at his feet.” It is time for us to cease being satisfied with a low level of Christian living. We must demonstrate that genuine Christianity is something more than cushioned pews, enjoyable music, and comforting sermon on Sunday, and business as usual during the week.
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I. To become a Christian one must first be saved.
a. It is absolutely impossible for one to be a Christian who does not have a personal redemptive relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.
b. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, “You must be born again.”
i. Individuals must repent – change their minds about the nature of God and the nature of sin and about self and others.
ii. Inseparable from genuine repentance, sincere faith must be placed in Jesus Christ as the Lord of life.
iii. As people respond to the gospel with repentance and faith, the Spirit of God brings about the miracle of the new birth within the soul.
iv. Believers become children of God
v. They are now new creations.
c. The new birth alone does not produce Christ likeness.
i. The new birth makes possible a growth and development into Christ likeness.
ii. It is absolutely impossible for one to be genuinely Christian who has not first had an experience of commitment and conversion.
II. To be genuinely Christian one must be surrendered.
a. Jesus was surrendered completely to the will of God.
i. John 4:34, “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.”
b. His surrender led to Gethsemane and Calvary.
i. Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
c. Jesus spoke to the Galilean fishermen and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him”
i. As they forsook their nets, they began the journey that would lead them to the place were others would be able to bestow upon them the title Christian.
d. To be considered Christian, the convert must be identified with Christ through baptism.
i. This is a visible symbol of an institutional relationship to Christ in which the individual accepts the demands and discipline of his lordship.
ii. To be genuinely Christian, the convert must be sincerely committed to the task of living the teachings of Jesus Christ.
iii. He or she must have a deep concern about keeping God’s holy law.
iv. The Sermon on the Mount will be something more than just a beautiful passage of Scripture, it will become a guide to life.
e. Commitment to the will of God will express itself in the home, throughout the community, within the business, and in every other area of life.
III. To be genuinely Christian the convert must be serving
a. Jesus said in John 5:17, “My Father is working until now, and I myself am working.”
i. Jesus added to that in John 9:4, when he said, “We must work the works of Him who sent me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”
ii. Someone has said that the best biography of Jesus is that which describes him as one “who went about doing good.”
iii. There are many inactive church members, but an inactive Christian is a contradiction of terms, for when we cease to serve, we cease to be truly Christian.
b. The genuine Christian deliberately gives himself to the task of doing good and does so with humility and gratitude and without display.
c. Let’s heed to words of Galatians 6:10, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
Closing
Who is sufficient for this ideal? It is impossible for the convert to be fully surrendered and graciously serving without the leadership and assistance of the Holy Spirit of God. A part of the wonder and the miracle of the new birth is the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within the heart of the believer. The Holy Spirit dwells in the heart to produce the fruit of a Christ like spirit and a Christ like life.
We must become Christ like within our hearts and minds before we can be called Christians.
A Definition of a Christian
A Christian is born of God, engrafted into Christ, and an habitation for the Holy Spirit. His nature is renewed, his mind illumined, his spirit changed.
He is not what he was, for grace hath made a difference; he is not what he desires to be, for grace is not yet perfected; he is not what he shall be, for grace shall be consummated in glory.
The knowledge of Christ is his treasure; the mind of Christ his evidence; the love of Christ his song; conformity to Christ his life; to be with Christ his preeminent desire.
By faith he rests on Christ, receives Christ, and looks to Christ. He hears Christ’s words, treads in Christ’s steps, and seeks Christ’s approbation.
He speaks the language of the Savior’s kingdom, reverses the Savior’s statutes and laws, obeys His ordinances, wears His costume, and lives to His glory.
The life of Christ within him is the principle of his being, and because Christ ever lives, he shall live also. In the Christian, Christ lives, and speaks, and acts.
He is Christ’s representative on earth, His witness before men, and His follower before God. The Christian hearkens to Christ’s teachings, rests on Christ’s sacrifice, avails himself of Christ’s meditation, and cheerfully obeys Christ’s royal laws. He inquires what would Christ have me know, what do, and what enjoy.
To know Christ, is Christianity intellectual; to obey Christ, Christianity practical; to enjoy Christ, Christianity perfected. As bread to the hungry, as water to the thirsty, as the rock in the sultry day, is Christ to the Christian.
The Christian is in the world, but not of it; among the world, but yet separate from it; passing through the world, without attachment to it.
The idolater boasts in his idols, the Mohammedan in the false prophet, and the Romanist in the virgin, but the Christian glories only in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Christian is a man and may err, an imperfect man, and may sin; but a renewed man, and shall have his fruits unto holiness and the end everlasting life.
The Christian is a warrior, and must fight; but he is conqueror, and must prevail.
The Christian sojourns on earth, but dwells in heaven; a pilgrim in the desert, but an enrolled denizen of the skies.
The Christian is the impress of Christ, the reflection of the Father, and the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Contrast him with the infidel, in his faith; with the profligate, in his life; with the merely moral, in his heart; and with the Pharisee, in his spirit. His pedigree, from Jehovah; his nature from heaven; and his name, from Antioch. Oh, Christian; great is thy dignity, refulgent they glory, interminable they blessed hope. All things are Thine, thou art Christ’s and Christ is God’s.
