There are a number of popular definitions of what a Christian is! Some people define a Christian as:
- Someone with fine morals (a “good” person)
- Someone who goes to church
- Someone who lives in a “Christian country” (like Canada)
- Someone who was baptized at some point in the past
- Someone who is a member of a particular church
However, none of these really captures the essence of what a Christian is. A Christian may have good morals, may have been baptized, and may go to church, but that is not what makes him/her a Christian!
It IS true that Christians are encouraged to be baptized, attend and belong to a church, and try to live lives that follow the model set by Jesus.
So, what is a "Christian"?
Jesus said: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Very simply, a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus! If you believe Jesus is your Saviour, you ARE a Christian.
To explain a bit more … All of us have sinned (made mistakes) and fall short of God’s perfect standard for us. The Bible tells us that (Romans 3:10-23); but most of us don’t need the Bible to make us aware of our imperfections! If we are honest with ourselves, we know them all too well! And, as imperfect people, it makes sense that we cannot relate directly with a holy, pure, perfect God! The results of our sinfulness are separation and alienation from God — ultimately death.
The good news is that God loved the world (including you!) so much that He gave His one and only Son – Jesus – to die in our place. Jesus, fully human yet also fully divine, is just as holy, pure, and perfect as God is. He paid the penalty for our sin when He died in our place on the cross (Romans 3:21-26), reuniting us with God.
When we believe in Jesus, we can have a close, personal relationship with God, because Jesus’ death has removed our sins and reestablished our relationship with God. We are certain we have eternal life, because He died in our place (Romans 5:6-11; Colossians 1:15-23)!
God does everything to save us—the Bible calls this “grace” (Ephesians 2:1-9)! We don’t save ourselves by our own efforts! Being “good” doesn’t save us. Being baptized doesn’t save us. Going to church doesn’t save us. The death and resurrection of Jesus DOES save us! All we do is accept the great gift God gives us – Jesus Christ. Being a Christian then, means accepting Jesus as your Saviour.
Christians (try to) Follow Jesus
Christians are ordinary people! But they are ordinary people who know they have been saved by the grace of God! Christians still sin. Christians still make mistakes. Christians still get sick. Christians still burn supper. Christians still lose their tempers. Some people expect Christians to be perfect or they call us hypocrites. Christians are still human beings – human beings saved by the grace of God and the death of Jesus!
Jesus did say: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Christians try to live lives in obedience to Christ. Our behavior ought to be becoming more and more Christ-like all the time! None of us will ever be perfect in this life, but we are to aim for perfection and avoid deliberate sin (Philippians 3:12-14). Paul loves to compare what we were like, before we believed in Jesus, and what we ought to be like, now we do believe in Jesus (See Galatians 5:16-25, Ephesians 4:17-5:21, Colossians 3:1-17).
We often refer to this as making Jesus the Lord of our life. Making Jesus our Lord is an ideal to which we ought to strive, continually. But it is a goal we aim for, not a plateau that we ever reach. Try as we might, none of us will ever be perfect. But we keep on trying.
Interestingly, the first people to believe in Jesus, in the New Testament, called themselves "followers of Jesus" or "followers of the Way" - not "Christians" - because they recognized that believing in Jesus changed how they lived. They tried to live more and more like Jesus would live if He were in their situation.
What Do I Do Now?
Those who put their faith in Jesus as their Saviour (Christians!) are commanded by God in Scripture:
- to be baptized;
- to join together with fellow Christians in a local church (Acts 2:38);
- To be Jesus’ students (disciples) in learning to live God-honoring lives, trying to live as Jesus would live;
- To grow spiritually through prayer, Bible study, worship, and fellowship in a church;
- To be his “witnesses” — sharing what God has done in our lives with others.
These are things we do, AFTER we come to faith, in obedience to Jesus Christ! They are crucial parts of our Christian growth as we strive to make Jesus Lord of all of our lives. But they do not save us – our salvation is guaranteed by our faith in Jesus, our Saviour!
Talk to the pastors about your next step of faith ... today!