What does it mean to be a Christian?
The ‘Christian’ title has been used and abused by many people for centuries. A true Christian is one that puts all of their faith/trust in the sinless life Jesus of Nazareth. His completed work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. A Christian has a living relationship with Jesus and daily devotes their life to following this Jesus.
The term “Christian” was first introduced in Antioch (Acts 11:26). The term “Christian” means Christ follower. Jesus of Nazareth paid the price for ALL of our sins <Acts 13:39/Hebrews 10:10>. He is alive and well and waiting for you in Heaven. This same Jesus is gently knocking on the door of your heart <Revelation 3:20> and waiting for you to receive the free gift of forgiveness and grace.
So how does this ‘follower of Jesus’ thing work? It’s called the Gospel.
Gospel means “Good News”, but you can’t truly appreciate good news until you fully understand the bad news.
There is a God. God is Holy (cannot be near sin). God is Just (He will punish EVERY sin). God is good and we are not. God created Hell to punish those (angels and humans) who rebel against Him. In simple terms, Hell is the quarantine of evil. ALL mankind is sinful.
- God is light, and in him there is no darkness <1 John 1:5>
- Only God is good (sinless) <Luke 18:19>
- We all have sinned <Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23>
- God is perfect Justice and must punish every sin to be a just God. <Exodus 34:6-7 >
- We ALL deserve eternal punishment from a just God.
- Our good works can’t undo our sins. <Isaiah 64:6>
- If someone murders their neighbor and stands in front of a judge, a just judge will demand just punishment.
- No matter how many good things this man had done, a just judge passes judgment for the crime and not the good things he did.
There is a God. God is merciful and God is loving. He made a way for sinful mankind to approach a Holy and Just God. Our sins deserve punishment from a Holy God. God took that punishment upon Himself, sending His own Son (in the person of Jesus of Nazareth) into the world to die on the cross for every one of our sins.
- God demands payment for our sins and became that payment. <Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8>
- The only person able to atone for our sin is God. So God became human (Jesus). <John 1:1-5; 1 John 1>
- Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life. Because of His love for everyone, He willingly died to pay the price for our sins and then proved that He is God and has conquered death by rising from the dead. <1 Corinthians 15>
Why the Cross?
- A hanged man is cursed by God. <Deuteronomy 21:23>
- Jesus willingly bore the curse of our sin by death on a cross. <Galatians 3:13> His last words were ‘It is finished’ <John 19:30>. This means He paid the price for all your sins. <Acts 13:39>
Justified before God
- Justified means ‘just as if we have never sinned.’
- Jesus is also the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means “appeasement of wrath.” <1 John 2:2>
- We must be born again. <John 3:1-21>
- When we are born again, we are a new creation. <2 Corinthians 5:17> Our old self has not been ‘improved or fixed’ by God. Our old self has died and now Christ lives His life in us and through us. (Galatians 2:20).
Salvation is a GIFT <Romans 6:23>, we can do nothing to earn it. <Ephesians 2:8-9>. BUT it does require faith, repentance, and acceptance. Those who will accept this, ALL of their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future).
Faith:
- Faith means full trust in Jesus’ completed work. Our good works are good, but they can never pay the price for sin. <Romans 4:3; Romans 5:1-5>
- We put on Jesus like someone jumping from a plane puts on a parachute. You trust only and fully in Jesus just like you trust fully in the parachute. <Romans 13:14>
- God promises eternal life to those who fully trust in Jesus <1 John 5:13>
Repentance:
- Repentance means to change direction. You stop following the ways of the world and your selfish desires and you follow Jesus all the time. Just like a lost hiker follows a compass, you follow Jesus by reading the Bible and praying. The hiker follows the magnetic needle. Every few minutes we stop and study the needle to make course corrections. In the same way, read the Bible and pray often to correct your walk with Jesus. <1 John 1:9; Romans 6:1-11>
Acceptance:
- If you want to accept Jesus’s gift, then talk to Him in prayer. He promises that if you seek Him <Matthew 7:7-8; 1 John 5:14; He will reveal Himself to you.
What now?
If you want to grow and experience the freedom the Bible talks about, then read the Bible. Start in the book of John, then Luke, then Mark then Matthew. When something doesn’t make sense. Pray and ask God to reveal the meaning in your life. If you can, invest in a good study Bible. Attend a Bible-believing church.
From there, continue on with the books following Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Bible
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.Romans 1:16-17