Introduction:
When a person says, “I am a Christian”, do you or the listener of that statement really understand what that person means? Even a more important question is this: Does the person making the statement understand, with certainty, what it means and can honestly affirm that he…or she is truly a Christian?
“Christian” is such a common term in our modern culture. It has become the cultural umbrella for much of the United States’ citizenry and abroad. It is an almost generic go-to title for anyone who, at the very least can casually or even whimsically affirm “some” of the truths and traditions of Christianity. Because the term is applied to individuals with such a broad religious brush, the important details, which define the real truths associated with being a true Christian, are being lost, eclipsed by the cultural demand for relativism, moral subjectivity, and the pseudo-spiritual desire for some passive deity who has no real authority or supernatural power over human lives apart from what human beings give him. If we know of anyone who defines his Christian identity in this way, it would be very difficult if not impossible for us, based on what the Scriptures teach, to affirm that in that particular individual, we have found a Christian.
However, if a person’s claim to be a Christian is truly legitimate, his life, and message should be the antithesis of relativism and religious ambiguity. Amid the myriad of voices out there claiming to be Christian, the authentic faith of Jesus Christ is quite clear, quite true, and quite powerful. Although God alone could ever truly know the heart and motivations of any individual, we can go to God’s clear record, The Holy Scriptures, which define what a Christian is, and test anyone’s Christian claims against a sound, biblical standard. This, being said I would like to begin the first of my blogs with the purpose of bringing “clarity” to the term “Christian”
To begin, I would like to summarize the definition of “Christian” using several biblically derived statements. We will then, with a careful examination of what the Bible teaches, explain these statements over several blog posts. My prayer is that after you read these series of blogs over the next several weeks, you will have a very good understanding of what the Bible says a Christian “is” and should be.
We will conclude this, first of “Bringing Clarity to the Term… Christian” blog articles with:
“The Statements”… A Christian is…….
Statement 1:
A Christian is a person who has submitted himself to the truth and authority of the Bible as the Only Inspired and Infallible Word of God, in which God has revealed Himself to man and is the means by which God introduces, provides and sustains the Christian life to whomever he so chooses.
Statement 2:
A Christian is a former slave to sin and enemy of God.
Statement 3:
A Christian is a person who was under the judgment of God for his sin.
Statement 4:
A Christian is a person who would never of himself have a desire to know God.
Statement 5:
A Christian is a person whom God, by an act of His own free will, extended His love towards, even though, at the same time, that person remained a sinner and God’s enemy.
Statement 6:
A Christian is a person who has had God’s love shown to him by having the penalty for his sin, paid for by the death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Statement 7:
A Christian is a person who has had the righteousness of God applied to him through the life and death of Christ, and his eternal life secured through the resurrection of Christ.
Statement 8:
A Christian is a person whose sinful and rebellious heart has been changed by a miraculous act of the Holy Spirit of God, and upon hearing the message of what Jesus Christ did on his behalf, placed whole-hearted faith in Jesus Christ, and in sincere sorrow, confessed his sins to a Holy God, and turned away from all of his sins in genuine repentance.
Statement 9:
A Christian is a person who has received the Holy Spirit into his heart, giving him the ability to live a righteous life, as he submits to God and His Word in everything he does.
Statement 10:
A Christian is a person who has an awe and reverence for God and His holiness.
Statement 11:
A Christian is a person who is aware of the sin in his own life and seeks personal holiness through confession of sin, repentance, growing in the understanding of God’s Word, and learning to be led by the Holy Spirit in his everyday life.
Statement 12:
A Christian is a person who desires others to become Christians, and is willing, because of the love God has given him, to become a means by which God brings others to faith, repentance, and eternal life, through sharing the redemptive message of Jesus Christ, which the bible calls the gospel.
Statement 13:
A Christian is a person who will faithfully confess Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, even to the point of death if necessary.
Statement 14:
A Christian is a person who is in expectation of the return of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction to what I hope to be a helpful and enlightening understanding of what it is to be a true Christian.
Please return to “Powerful God- Practical Faith” for Part 2 of:
“Bringing Clarity to the term… Christian”
God Bless you and yours…..
English
Hi Cody, I’m glad you are having this discussion. The Bible says that iron sharpens iron. It is good to have peaceable dialogues about Christianity. One of the things I believe that hinders an individual once they enter into the soteriology of faith is that they stop there. They don’t enter into the anthropology process of their faith wholeheartedly and therefore they themselves display a lack of outward manifestation of the resurrection power of Christ within. Without the two links touching and agreeing with one another, what you see on display from some who profess their faith, is the natural man and not the supernatural.
Dan,
It is so refreshing to see that you are using your knowledge of the scriptures, and your commitment to God and Jesus Christ, to reach out to others in an attempt to help them understand.
I recently made some long overdue changes in my life, and I’ve come to the realization that God has always made those options available to me. I can look back now and see that there were clear cut signs that I chose to ignore simply out of fear, and because I was not prepared to deal with the reality of his message. Once I accepted the truth, I can now see the error of my ways, and I try to start every day out with the Lord in mind, giving him thanks for all that I have, and keeping Jesus Christ first and foremost in my thoughts and deeds.
This sort of blog will help many who are confused or unsure about the true nature of Christianity, just like I used to be. I hope to benefit from it as well, for I, like the majority of us, am still a work in progress.
In any event, I pray that you and your family are doing well, and I’m looking forward to exploring your writings on these matters. Take care, my friend.
Dale,
Loved your comment man and thank you very much. I’m very glad you will be following the blog but even more glad that you have a heart that is seeking after God and his truth. That is the best news in the world coming from and old friend! My family is doing well and I pray yours is also.
God Bless my friend.
Thank you Daniel. I would love to share this discussion with you as I find the Bible (to be for me) both enlightening and ambiguous. I know there is a God with whom nothing is impossible but I question humans interpretation of God’s expectations of us. What is God’s word and what is man’s weak and selfish manipulation of what God intended?
Hey Maxine.
So glad you will be reading and sharing in my blog. Answering the questions you raised in your comment are exactly what I am desiring to do with this blog post because there seriously needs to be a spiritual but also clear and objective response to God, the Bible and what it really means to be a genuine Christ follower. I really pray to God that I can be as true, honest and objective to the Scriptures through this whole process as I possibly can. I owe that to you as well as the rest of my family friends and viewers who will follow us.
Thanks again Maxine.
Hi Daniel, I have enjoyed your introduction and plan to read futher. Looking forward to your next blog.
Hi Joselyn,
Thank you for reading my blog. I really hope it will be a blessing to you and also to others who will decide to follow it. Please let some friends know about it. I hope to make this blog a helpful resource for objective biblical truth to as many people as I can.
Thanks again.