Who Is A Christian?

At first Christians were called followers of 'The Way' which refers to the fact that Jesus is the way to a relationship with God.  Here are some verses showing this to be true.

• John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
  
• Acts 19:9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

• Acts 19:23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.
• Acts 22:4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women...
• Acts 24:14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.
• Acts 24:22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

The word 'Christian' was first used around 45 A.D. to refer to the disciples or followers of Jesus.  The historian Tacitus said that Nero blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome which took place around 64 A.D.  This shows that early historical records reveal that the word 'Christian' had become the common term to refer to those who follow Christ.

• Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.  So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people.  And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

• Acts 26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
• I Peter 4:16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

In the New Testament a Christian is someone who has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them. You receive the Holy Spirit when you become born again or born of the Spirit.  (Read my article entitled “What does it mean to be born again?”)  A Christian is a person who has a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus the Christ.  A Christian is someone who knows Jesus personally - they have met him and have been transformed by him by the Spirit.  The Bible says Christians are those who are committed to the person of Jesus not merely the teachings of Jesus.  Remember Jesus rose from the dead and is alive today!  To surrender to the living Jesus is a life changing experience.  One person referred to it as wearing sunglasses all of your life and for the first time the glasses are removed and you can see everything as it really is.  Consider these verses that refer to being in Christ and Christ being in a person.

• Roman 8:8-11  So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
• Colossians 1:27  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
• II Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified.

Not everyone has the Spirit of God living in them, but everyone can.  We were created by God, but our sin has separated us from God.  We all need to be reconciled to God or reunited with him.  God has made that possible in the person of Jesus not in the teachings of Jesus.  Here are some false beliefs about what it means to be a Christian:

• Attending a church - A lot of people go to church or even teach in a church who are not Christians in the true sense.  They might believe that what Jesus said is a good way to live and believe that everyone should live that way, but that does not make them a Christian.
• Raised in church -  A lot of people are raised in the church by their parents and so to them going to church is a normal way to live, but that does not make them a Christian.
• Water Baptism - Being baptized in water by sprinkling or by immersion does not mean you are a Christian nor is that the means to become a Christian or of obtaining heaven.
• Communion - Taking communion does not mean you are a Christian nor is that the means to become a Christian.
• Religious rituals - Performing religious rituals such as saying a certain prayer, lighting candles, wearing certain religious clothing does not mean you are a Christian nor is it the means to becoming one or of obtaining heaven.
• Being good - In the same way being an honest person who does good kind things, gives to the needy, or volunteers for a disaster relief effort, does not mean you are a Christian nor is that the means to becoming one or of obtaining heaven.
• Religious practices - A person who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus is not necessarily a Christian.  A person who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus is a religious person, but that does not mean they are a Christian.  (Read about a fellow named Cornelius - "Believing In God Is Not Enough")

I knew a fellow who was raised in church, went to college and maintained a Christian lifestyle, and went to seminary.  About a month after he graduated from seminary he became a Christian.  I have met many Catholics who experienced the same thing.  They thought they were Christians because they belonged to the Catholic Church and believed in Christian teachings.  A person can say they are a Christian and do unchristian like things because they are either not born of the Spirit of God or they have been taught incorrectly or they are simply being disobedient.  God says a Christian is a person who has been born of the Spirit of God through faith and surrender of themselves to Jesus who is real and alive today.  They have experienced a personal life changing encounter with Him.  Do you know Jesus personally? Knowing him is the key.  Jesus said that there would be people who come to him at the judgment claiming that they worked and lived for him and he will say to them “depart from me, I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23.)

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