What makes you a Christian?
When you look at various definitions of the term “Christian” in any number of dictionaries you will find statements such as these found at www.yourdictionary.com:
- Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
- Relating to or derived from Jesus or Jesus’s teachings.
- Relating to or characteristic of Christianity or its adherents. Showing a loving concern for others; humane.
- One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
- One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.
What does the bible say about Christianity?
Acts 11:19-26 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Romans 10:1-13 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That 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. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile– the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
John 14:1-6 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
What Makes You a Christian? In a growing environment of political correctness and the constant cry for tolerance it seems to me that the basic message of Christianity is being lost. Ask any number of religious leaders and for that matter “church” people “what makes you a Christian?” and I would expect a variety of answers. It is time for some biblical clarity. I begin by telling you what Christianity is not.
Christianity is not:
An adherence to a particular political ideology- There may be ideology’s that are inconsistent with the biblical message, but your politics are not the determinant of your Christianity.
Christianity is not:
Determined by your family background. Family background will have a major impact on your beliefs, but being raised by a Christian family does not make you a Christian, anymore than standing in your garage makes you a car.
Christianity is not:
A Philosophy in the sense of a study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, an academic discipline OR a system of thought OR an attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behavior.
Christianity is not:
A product of your denominational affiliation; God won’t ask you if you were a Baptist, Methodist or Catholic. There is a phrase I have heard that captures the essence of Christianity: Christianity is not a Religion; it’s a Relationship.
What does this mean?
If we were to only focus on our the text from Acts 11:19-26 above, we could draw two solid conclusions. Christianity revolves around (from vv. 20-21):
- Belief in the good news of the Lord Jesus
- A change in direction or turning in faith to Christ
The text says that some men told the Greeks in Antioch the good news of the Lord Jesus.
What is the good news of the Lord Jesus?
Message to the shepherds:
Luke 2:10-11 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
The reoccurring proclamation in the New Testament (in theological terms known by the Greek work Kerygma), was a specific view of the purpose of Jesus Christ. One who came according to the foreknowledge and plan of God the Father, born of a virgin, lived among us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died and was buried but rose again for us and for our salvation.
To the Corinthians Paul said:
By this gospel (good news) you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…
In Acts Chapter 2 during Pentecost, after receiving of the Holy Spirit, Peter preached Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of sins. Paul’s message at a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch:
Acts 13:32 We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers…
Acts 13:38-39 “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.
The good news of the Lord Jesus Christ is the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of our fellowship with God. What was lost in the garden, was found through Jesus Christ. But does intellectual acceptance make you a Christian? Consider again the text from Acts 11:
“men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed …”
The Greek term translated “to believe” means to have confidence in, faith, to entrust.
If I just have a mental assent of Jesus Christ as a historical person, much like I acknowledge that George Washington was a real (and worthy) person. Nothing changes. BUT, if my belief causes me to entrust myself to Jesus Christ, there is…
A change in direction
The people who heard the “Believed and turned to the Lord.” They entrusted their fate to God. They put their confidence on the finished work of Jesus on the cross. As a result they changed direction. They turned to the Lord! There was a difference in the way they lived.
I use a GPS a lot when I travel. If I miss a turn or deviate from the route the GPS is giving me, I hear “RECALCULATING” as the device tries to find a new way for me to travel. God does not recalculate. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me!” (John 14:6). If I keep going in an opposite direction from the GPS device will eventually say, “Make a U Turn as soon as possible.” That’s what we need to do when we believe in the Lord. We need to follow his directions, His lead. We need to make a U-Turn.
Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Are you a Christian?
Bible Quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
