What is a Christian?
by David Luke, Pastor, 3 Sep 2006
There are of course many ideas about what a Christian is. And if you were to ask 100 different people it would be interesting just how many answers you would receive. The following is an attempt to answer this question from a biblical point of view.
But before reading any further answer try answering the following 3 questions by way of orientation:
- What is a Christian?
- Do you know for certain that if you died right now you would go to heaven?
- If you stood before God tonight and he asked ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ What would you say?
A Christian is someone who knows that if they die they will go directly the heaven. And they also know that God will accept them into heaven. So it is important that we know the answer to the first question what is a Christian?
What is a Christian?
Many people have many different ideas. Some think a Christian is just a good person. Others think that it someone who lives in a Christian country. Still others think it is someone who goes to church and has received the various rites of the church.
What should concern us however is to know what the Bible says a Christian is. For it is there that we find the teaching of Jesus. And Christianity is all about Jesus.
Now in the Bible we see that there are 3 key things that Christians believe.
- Mark 1:1 Jesus is the Son of God. The whole design of the gospels is to lead us to this conclusion—Jn 20:31. Jesus was no ordinary man but the Son of the living God.
- 2 Cor 5:21 — a Christian is someone who believes that Jesus’ death upon the cross was no accident. But that on the cross Jesus took the punishment for our sin so that we might be right with God.
- Acts 2:32 — that God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is not dead He is alive. He is now reigning at God’s right hand and one day everyone who has ever lived will appear before Him to give an account of their life.
Now Christians believe these three things regarding Jesus the Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
But they do not just believe them, in the same way they might believe that 2+2=4 or that Italy won the 2006 World Cup. Instead a Christian realises that these three facts call for some big decisions:
- If Jesus is the Son of God then He is also Lord. And we must either submit to Him or reject Him.
- If Jesus died to take the punishment for our sins, we must either accept what He has done or continue to take responsibility for our own sins.
- If Jesus has risen from the dead and will once again return as our judge either we must accept Him now and He will accept us then. Or we must reject Him now and He will reject us then.
A Christian is someone who believes these three basic things and has acted on them.
Acting on these beliefs
So how do we act on these three beliefs? How do you actually become a Christian? Mk 1:15 points the way:
(1) The first thing you need to do is give up. Give up on yourself. That is you need to give up on the idea that you can ever do anything to get right with God, anything to get into heaven. Why can we not do anything to get right with God? The problem is the problem of sin.
- God’s pass mark is 100%
- Sin is not just doing wrong things — it is having the wrong attitude.
- Sin is a problem of the heart. We cannot change our hearts
So we need to give up on ourselves and trust in what Jesus has done. We need to accept salvation as a free gift. A Christian is someone who has given up on themselves.
(2) The second thing you need to do is turn around. A Christian is someone who no longer lives for themselves but now lives for Jesus. A Christian is someone who puts Jesus first in their life. But in order to do that they need to turn around. Turn around from going their own way. And they start going Jesus way. They follow Jesus as the Lord of their life.
(3) The third thing you need to do is put your faith in Jesus. What is faith? Faith is putting your trust in Jesus. It is giving up on yourself; turning round and following Him and trusting in Him. It is trusting in Him now to forgive your sins. And it is trusting that when you appear before Him as Judge, He will not punish your sins but admit you to heaven.
Summary
A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for their sin and that He rose up from the grave and will one day come again as Lord of all and judge of all the earth.
Believing this a Christian is someone who recognises they can never make it to God on their own. So they have submitted to Jesus as Lord of their life and are trusting in Him for forgiveness of sins both now and at the final judgement.
Some Common Questions
- How do I actually become a Christian?
- Quite simply by praying. Asking God for the forgiveness that He offers through His Son as you repent of your sin. As you do so placing your trust in Jesus work upon the cross as sufficient to deal with your sin — past, present and future. And placing every aspect of your life under Jesus lordship.
- Is there a special prayer I have to pray?
- No. God is more concerned about the attitude of your heart than about the exact words that you say. There is no special prayer but you might pray something like, ‘Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and have lived my life apart from you. I’m sorry and I’m asking you to forgive me and come into my life and rule there as my King.’
- Can I be a Christian if I cannot name a date and time when I became a Christian?
- Some people can name a date and time when they became a Christian others cannot. For some people the change in their life is swift and sudden. For others it takes place over a longer period of time, like someone wakening from a deep sleep. The most important thing is not being able to name a date and time but being committed to Jesus as Lord and Saviour now.
- I would like to become a Christian but what if I could not keep it up?
- This is a very common fear. But again it focuses upon what we do rather than what God does. Remember that the person who becomes a Christian gives up on themselves and trusts in Jesus. And on becoming a Christian we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who comes and lives within us. And it is Him who helps us live the Christian life. We cannot live the Christian life in our own strength, only in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
- Do you feel any different when you become a Christian?
- Again different people have different experiences. Some people have very emotional experiences when they become Christians. Some have great experiences of sorrow as they break with past sins. Some have great joy as they receive God’s forgiveness. For other people their experience is much quieter and they do not really feel much different. But the important thing is not what we feel but that we now trust that God has forgiven us and begun this new work in our lives.
- Can you be sure that God will accept you into heaven? Might you not fail at the very last and be rejected?
- What we need to remember is that salvation rests not upon what we do but upon what God has done through His Son. And what God promises is that one he has begun a good work in our lives He will bring it too completion.
- Can you still be a Christian and struggle with sin and temptation?
- Some people feel that once they become Christians they must be perfect. But you are not made perfect, instead the reality is that you become more aware of the sin in your life. And you experience more of the reality of struggling with sin. Some days you seem to do well but more often than not you are aware that you have failed. And Satan will tell you that really you have blown it. But Jesus is for sinners, He is for failures. And God has promised that if we confess our sins He will forgive them completely.
- Is it not really boring being a Christian? You must ask yourself is it boring:
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- knowing God?
- having a personal relationship with Jesus?
- having a friendship with someone who knows you better than any living relative and who will stick closer to you than any living relative no matter what may happen?
- knowing that God has a plan and a design for your life?
- having a life in which God accepts you for who you are and wants you to enable you to realise your fullest potential as a human being by fulfilling the design that He has for your life?
- knowing that even now God is preparing you for a world which will be perfect in every way—without sorrow, sadness, sickness, death; without fear, anxiety or want; without war; without religious and racial strife; a world where you will be perfect and free from every effect of sin.
David Luke, “What is a Christian?”, 3 Sep 2006, Gilnahirk Baptist Church Web site. http://www.gilnahirkbaptist.org.uk/resources/christianity/christian.php (accessed 21 Nov 2008).
