What Is A Christian
Title: What Is A Christian
Subject: Evangelism
W H A T I S A "C H R I S T I A N ?"
by Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
I have friend who is an orthodox Jew. He lives in Israel now, but he used to be my neighbor. One would have to go a long way to find a nicer, more congenial person than he.
One particular conversation we had took place during the Lebanon turmoil in the 1980s. Factions were ripping the country apart as they vied for political control.
"Look!" my Jewish friend insisted. "Look at what the Christians are doing. Look at how vicious they are!" He was simultaneously right and wrong. Indeed the Christian Philangists were acting as viciously war-faring as anyone on the scene at the time. In that he was right. Yet, he was wrong to insist that they were "Christian" in the same sense that I was a Christian. Surely, he did not view my behavior in the same light. He did not.
All of this sheds light on an antiquitous need for discussion: the need to define terms. Furthermore, there is a need to determine who is qualified to establish the definition.
We have become a nation of cavalier definers. We observe a discussion between qualified professionals and immediately exercise a quantum leap into deep stuff of which we really know nothing at all. We define elements of the discussion to suit our selves and then adamantly allege our position as the only one tenable.
Nowhere is this more apparent than with religion. We form impressions, express opinions, and vociferously contend for or against groups of which we have read nothing and know nothing. Yet, personal egotism leaves no place for the admission of even the possibility of error!
Have you not noticed how some who have gained national acclaim, or even world fame, say in music or sports, speaks with authority on matters of science or religion? So far as I know, Magic Johnson has no expertise on anything except basketball. Yet, he became an overnight whiz kid on the AIDS issue.
What, then, is a Christian? My insistence is that we go straight to the only viable source for our definition: the Word of God, the Bible. The earliest Biblical reference to the word "Christian" occurs in Acts 11:26:
And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
There are two other Biblical references to "Christian" in the word''s plural form. Acts 26:28 notes, "And Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian."
And I Peter 4:16 reads, "...if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God."
The lexical definition of "Christian" is "little Christs" i.e., "Christ-like." Antiochian philosophers engaged in observing people from other cities and countries and applying their own designations to these people as a sort of "nickname." When they observed certain persons behaving in the manner of the one called "Christ," they assigned the designation "Christian" to them. The designation constituted no adulation, so far as the philosophers were concerned.
The question then arises, "How does one become a Christian?" Sometimes it is valuable to observe such questions first in the negative sense. For instance, one is not a Christian because he is not a Jew. Have we not heard of Hindus? One is not a Christian because he believes in God. Have we not heard of Deists and Unitarians? One is not a Christian because he resides in America, a Christian nation. One is not a Christian because he lives by the Ten Commandments or observes the mores advocated by Holy Scripture. One is not a Christian because he belongs to a certain church or denomination--Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or any other--and not because he has been baptized or partaken of communion.
Jesus said, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40).
The Apostle Peter said, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under Heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
The Apostle Paul said, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (I Corinthians 15:3-4); and,"...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:9-10).
The Apostle John said, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12)
Then Jesus Christ said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father''s hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30).
Now, the question has been answered with Scripture. Human opinion must necessarily agree with Scripture; because the Scriptures come from the Lord, and the Lord alone promises eternal life. Thus, the personal relevancy is:
ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN BY THE BIBLICAL DEFINITION?
If you are, praise the LORD! If you are not, and want to become a Christian, simply pray this prayer from your heart, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ to perform His miracle of Grace in you:
Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I know I've done many wrong things in my life. I am sorry for my sin. I know that Jesus loves me, and that He died and rose again to save me from my sin. Right now, in my heart, I willingly turn from my sin. And by faith I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer--and really meant it!--then BELIEVE that God has performed in you what He promised. He has! You are NOW a Christian! --not "going to be"--but are RIGHT NOW! Not because of anything YOU did; but, because of what HE has done in you!
Here are FOUR GOALS TOWARD PERSONAL, SPIRITUAL MATURITY:
1. Read the Bible every day! The Bible is God's Holy Word, and He nourishes our spiritual lives with it. Have a definite time and place to spend with Him every day.
2. Pray every day! Prayer is your talking to God. You need to spend time with Him if you are to learn of Him and understand His Word.
3. Start attending a Bible-believing, Christ-exalting Church! This is God's way both for you to learn more about Him and to grow stronger through fellowship with other believers in Jesus Christ.
4. Tell someone else about Jesus Christ! When we believe in anything, we want to tell others. You may not know much about Christ, but you can tell someone how you came to know Him.
by Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
I have friend who is an orthodox Jew. He lives in Israel now, but he used to be my neighbor. One would have to go a long way to find a nicer, more congenial person than he.
One particular conversation we had took place during the Lebanon turmoil in the 1980s. Factions were ripping the country apart as they vied for political control.
"Look!" my Jewish friend insisted. "Look at what the Christians are doing. Look at how vicious they are!" He was simultaneously right and wrong. Indeed the Christian Philangists were acting as viciously war-faring as anyone on the scene at the time. In that he was right. Yet, he was wrong to insist that they were "Christian" in the same sense that I was a Christian. Surely, he did not view my behavior in the same light. He did not.
All of this sheds light on an antiquitous need for discussion: the need to define terms. Furthermore, there is a need to determine who is qualified to establish the definition.
We have become a nation of cavalier definers. We observe a discussion between qualified professionals and immediately exercise a quantum leap into deep stuff of which we really know nothing at all. We define elements of the discussion to suit our selves and then adamantly allege our position as the only one tenable.
Nowhere is this more apparent than with religion. We form impressions, express opinions, and vociferously contend for or against groups of which we have read nothing and know nothing. Yet, personal egotism leaves no place for the admission of even the possibility of error!
Have you not noticed how some who have gained national acclaim, or even world fame, say in music or sports, speaks with authority on matters of science or religion? So far as I know, Magic Johnson has no expertise on anything except basketball. Yet, he became an overnight whiz kid on the AIDS issue.
What, then, is a Christian? My insistence is that we go straight to the only viable source for our definition: the Word of God, the Bible. The earliest Biblical reference to the word "Christian" occurs in Acts 11:26:
And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
There are two other Biblical references to "Christian" in the word''s plural form. Acts 26:28 notes, "And Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian."
And I Peter 4:16 reads, "...if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God."
The lexical definition of "Christian" is "little Christs" i.e., "Christ-like." Antiochian philosophers engaged in observing people from other cities and countries and applying their own designations to these people as a sort of "nickname." When they observed certain persons behaving in the manner of the one called "Christ," they assigned the designation "Christian" to them. The designation constituted no adulation, so far as the philosophers were concerned.
The question then arises, "How does one become a Christian?" Sometimes it is valuable to observe such questions first in the negative sense. For instance, one is not a Christian because he is not a Jew. Have we not heard of Hindus? One is not a Christian because he believes in God. Have we not heard of Deists and Unitarians? One is not a Christian because he resides in America, a Christian nation. One is not a Christian because he lives by the Ten Commandments or observes the mores advocated by Holy Scripture. One is not a Christian because he belongs to a certain church or denomination--Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or any other--and not because he has been baptized or partaken of communion.
Jesus said, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40).
The Apostle Peter said, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under Heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
The Apostle Paul said, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (I Corinthians 15:3-4); and,"...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:9-10).
The Apostle John said, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12)
Then Jesus Christ said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father''s hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30).
Now, the question has been answered with Scripture. Human opinion must necessarily agree with Scripture; because the Scriptures come from the Lord, and the Lord alone promises eternal life. Thus, the personal relevancy is:
ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN BY THE BIBLICAL DEFINITION?
If you are, praise the LORD! If you are not, and want to become a Christian, simply pray this prayer from your heart, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ to perform His miracle of Grace in you:
Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I know I've done many wrong things in my life. I am sorry for my sin. I know that Jesus loves me, and that He died and rose again to save me from my sin. Right now, in my heart, I willingly turn from my sin. And by faith I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer--and really meant it!--then BELIEVE that God has performed in you what He promised. He has! You are NOW a Christian! --not "going to be"--but are RIGHT NOW! Not because of anything YOU did; but, because of what HE has done in you!
Here are FOUR GOALS TOWARD PERSONAL, SPIRITUAL MATURITY:
1. Read the Bible every day! The Bible is God's Holy Word, and He nourishes our spiritual lives with it. Have a definite time and place to spend with Him every day.
2. Pray every day! Prayer is your talking to God. You need to spend time with Him if you are to learn of Him and understand His Word.
3. Start attending a Bible-believing, Christ-exalting Church! This is God's way both for you to learn more about Him and to grow stronger through fellowship with other believers in Jesus Christ.
4. Tell someone else about Jesus Christ! When we believe in anything, we want to tell others. You may not know much about Christ, but you can tell someone how you came to know Him.
