What Is A Christian?

The answer to that question will depend on who you ask … but since the term ‘Christian’ comes from the Bible, it is the Bible’s definition that we need to seek and work with, not the diverse opinions of others around us.

A Christian is someone who has confessed to doing wrong in God’s sight, has trusted in the death of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only way to receive forgiveness, and who will therefore be received by God into heaven.

The Bible says:

“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.”

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9,13)

We call the message of this good news of forgiveness and salvation the “Gospel”. If you would like to know more of what the Bible tells us about the way of salvation, we have summarised it in 5 brief points, which we hope you will find helpful.

1. God rules

God really exists! He made the world, and that includes you and me. We believe this because he has clearly revealed himself in the historic person of Jesus Christ whom he raised from the dead. Jesus is the rightful ruler of the world.

The Bible says:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’ ” (Matthew 28:18)

“God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(Philippians 2:9-11)

 

2. Man rebels

None of us has lived consistently as though God made us. We have all by degree assumed that we have the right to run our own lives. Sometimes we have consciously disobeyed God; at other times we have just ignored him. It amounts to the same thing, rebellion. The Bible calls that rebellion ‘sin’.

The Bible says:

“From within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ” (Mark 7:21-23)

“All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:12)

“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” (1 John 3:4-5)

 

3. God calls us to repent

In Christ, God tells us that we have no right to live according to our selfish desires. It is God’s world and he made us. Therefore we should stop rebelling against him and live in the world in the way he has designed for us. He calls us to come into his ‘Kingdom’, that is to turn from our own rule, submit to his kingly rule in our lives and to have faith in his Son Jesus Christ to rescue us.

The Bible says:

“Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’ ” (Mark 1:14-15)

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”(Acts 17:30-31)

 

4. God forgives

If we stop rebelling and by faith in Jesus Christ submit our lives to God’s rule, he treats us as though we had never rebelled against him. He accepts us wholeheartedly because Jesus in dying on the cross, took upon himself the punishment we deserve. Because he rose again from the dead we literally have a living hope in a living Saviour. A whole new relationship with God then opens up. We become his friends and are adopted into his family!

The Bible says:

“For 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16 – 18)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

“Having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14)

 

5. God judges

If we refuse God’s offer of forgiveness and reconciliation, we will remain unforgiven and unreconciled. Ultimately, rebels will be overthrown and punished.

The Bible says:

“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:23,26-27)

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:18)

“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)

 

What next?

Please think carefully about the command of the Lord Jesus Christ to repent and believe. You could think more carefully about his claim upon your life by reading one of the accounts of his life, such as the message of John.

Want to know more. Then you could visit Tell Me More or Two Ways to Live. Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about this message, you may like to come along to Christianity Explored.

If you have particular questions that remain unanswered, perhaps objections to the Christian faith, why not check some of the video presentations we have, or contact us with your question.