There are a lot of people who identify themselves as Christian because they were born in the U.S. and aren't Jewish, or because they are conservatives, or because they've attended church services at some point in their lives, or have a Bible in their home, or were baptized, "dedicated", or confirmed.
The truth is, it is possible to attend church regularly, be active in the church, to give to a church, to celebrate Christmas and Easter, to have been baptized, and to read the Bible without really being a Christian.
A Christian is a follower of Christ - someone for whom Christ is Savior and Lord. I know there are people who like to define Christian as anyone who attends or is a member of any church that uses the word "Jesus" somewhere in their statements or sermons or has Bibles, or anyone who identifies themselves as Christian. I suppose for broad sociological purposes that may work. But in the theological sense, there are plenty of people who attend church who aren't Christians, even if they identify as such.
Since words mean things, it is important to define who I'm talking about when I refer to Jesus Christ. Why? Well, as the Scriptures warn, there are false Christs proclaimed by some as the genuine Jesus Christ - the one who is written of in the Bible and who walked this Earth.
The Jesus Christ I’m writing about - the Jesus of the Bible and orthodox Christian theology - is both fully God and fully man. I write "is" because He is alive. He is the "Second Person" of the Trinity - meaning He isn't the Father and isn't the Holy Spirit. He took on a human nature and grew as a normal child in Mary, a Jew. His conception did not involve a human male as it was a miracle that took place inside of a virgin. Jesus lived the perfect life without sin - quite unlike the rest of us – though He did experience much of what we experience. He lived as Jew, preached, taught, prophesied, confirmed the truth of the Scriptures (what's called the "Old Testament" in many circles these days), and performed miracles. He was beaten and crucified and died on the cross. In doing so, He became the perfect sacrifice, the fulfillment of the Jewish system and examples, taking away our sins so that we can fellowship with a holy God. After that, He was resurrected from the dead (that means bodily) to everlasting life. He still lives and will judge the world at the end of this age - whenever that may be.
Oh - and there is one God, a triune God, hence the Trinity. There is no other true god. Nobody can "become" god. God is God and has always been and always will be God. So, it isn't like we can be just like Jesus in every way. He is unique.
Anyone who has made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is "born again", making the term "born again Christian" a redundancy. You don't have to stand on street corners shouting about Hell to be a Christian. You don’t have to walk around saying "praise God!" every minute. You don't have to be some wimpy person people walk all over. If Jesus Christ - the true Jesus and not someone some are calling Jesus - is your Lord and Savior, you are a Christian. You are born again. Your sins are forgiven. You have eternal life. Do we still screw up? Yes. We will until we are resurrected or transformed.
If Jesus Christ is really your Lord and Savior, then there should be some evidence of that in your life:
You have a relationship with Him.
He is your priority.
You live His way, not your own way.
You own up to your sins, repent of them, and ask forgiveness, even if you have to do it many times over.
You seek to avoid those sins in the first place.
You seek to help others as He has delegated those tasks to His people.
If you aren't a Christian but want to be, you can become one right now. It is between you and Him. You don't need to go to any particular building or perform any sort of ritual or lose a body part or talk to anyone else - just Him. Once you are a Christian, though, you will find it helpful (and you will be obedient to your Lord) if you do find a healthy, well-balanced Bible-teaching church to attend, study the Bible, and pray frequently. Don't know how to pray? Just start by talking to Him, and be willing to "listen".
The truth is, it is possible to attend church regularly, be active in the church, to give to a church, to celebrate Christmas and Easter, to have been baptized, and to read the Bible without really being a Christian.
A Christian is a follower of Christ - someone for whom Christ is Savior and Lord. I know there are people who like to define Christian as anyone who attends or is a member of any church that uses the word "Jesus" somewhere in their statements or sermons or has Bibles, or anyone who identifies themselves as Christian. I suppose for broad sociological purposes that may work. But in the theological sense, there are plenty of people who attend church who aren't Christians, even if they identify as such.
Since words mean things, it is important to define who I'm talking about when I refer to Jesus Christ. Why? Well, as the Scriptures warn, there are false Christs proclaimed by some as the genuine Jesus Christ - the one who is written of in the Bible and who walked this Earth.
The Jesus Christ I’m writing about - the Jesus of the Bible and orthodox Christian theology - is both fully God and fully man. I write "is" because He is alive. He is the "Second Person" of the Trinity - meaning He isn't the Father and isn't the Holy Spirit. He took on a human nature and grew as a normal child in Mary, a Jew. His conception did not involve a human male as it was a miracle that took place inside of a virgin. Jesus lived the perfect life without sin - quite unlike the rest of us – though He did experience much of what we experience. He lived as Jew, preached, taught, prophesied, confirmed the truth of the Scriptures (what's called the "Old Testament" in many circles these days), and performed miracles. He was beaten and crucified and died on the cross. In doing so, He became the perfect sacrifice, the fulfillment of the Jewish system and examples, taking away our sins so that we can fellowship with a holy God. After that, He was resurrected from the dead (that means bodily) to everlasting life. He still lives and will judge the world at the end of this age - whenever that may be.
Oh - and there is one God, a triune God, hence the Trinity. There is no other true god. Nobody can "become" god. God is God and has always been and always will be God. So, it isn't like we can be just like Jesus in every way. He is unique.
Anyone who has made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is "born again", making the term "born again Christian" a redundancy. You don't have to stand on street corners shouting about Hell to be a Christian. You don’t have to walk around saying "praise God!" every minute. You don't have to be some wimpy person people walk all over. If Jesus Christ - the true Jesus and not someone some are calling Jesus - is your Lord and Savior, you are a Christian. You are born again. Your sins are forgiven. You have eternal life. Do we still screw up? Yes. We will until we are resurrected or transformed.
If Jesus Christ is really your Lord and Savior, then there should be some evidence of that in your life:
You have a relationship with Him.
He is your priority.
You live His way, not your own way.
You own up to your sins, repent of them, and ask forgiveness, even if you have to do it many times over.
You seek to avoid those sins in the first place.
You seek to help others as He has delegated those tasks to His people.
If you aren't a Christian but want to be, you can become one right now. It is between you and Him. You don't need to go to any particular building or perform any sort of ritual or lose a body part or talk to anyone else - just Him. Once you are a Christian, though, you will find it helpful (and you will be obedient to your Lord) if you do find a healthy, well-balanced Bible-teaching church to attend, study the Bible, and pray frequently. Don't know how to pray? Just start by talking to Him, and be willing to "listen".
Amen. :)
ReplyDeleteOf course, only Christ, Himself, has the authority to pronounce who is/has been a true Christian/disciple, or not. We are so fortunate to have His own word, as well as His own authorized servants, in addition to His own perfect example, to set the standard, so we know how to direct our lives and choices, aren't we?
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite hymns about Him, says, "He marked the path, and lead the way..."
http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=195&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=195&searchsubseqend=ZZZ
I'm grateful that Jesus gave us such clear direction in the Great Commandments (Matt. 22:37-40) and the Sermon on the Mount. It's cool because we don't have to worry about whether others are real Christians or not, or whether they're living up to their potential, or anything like that. All we need to do is follow Christ so far as we understand him. It's put down beautifully in Micah 6:8: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
ReplyDeleteWords to live by.