____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ July 18, 2004 ____________________________________________________ What is a Christian? by Tom Edwards If you went into a crowd and asked a dozen people what being a Christian is, you would probably hear various answers. But what really is a Christian? Is it Being of a Christian Nation? Some people might feel that being a citizen in a "Christian nation" makes one a Christian. But what is a "Christian nation"? I suppose our nation has been called this because it was founded upon many Bible principles. It is true that many of America's early European settlers made the long voyage to this land because of religious reasons; but what we often hear in the news today, locally and abroad, certainly doesn't evoke thoughts of a nation ruled by God -- but, rather, just the opposite. Thousands of people in America today are not only atheist and non-Christian, but also strongly opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. But even with those many who are true followers of Christ in our country, it is not the nation that makes one a child of God. Is It In Being a Good Moralist? Others might say that being "good" and "moral" is what proves one is a Christian. But do these qualities in themselves make this so? Cornelius is described in the Bible as having been "...a devout man, and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, and prayed to God continually" (Acts 10:1,2); yet he still had to hear the gospel in order to be saved (Acts 11:14). The rich, young man of Matthew 19:16-22 had been a very moral individual and quite a keeper of the Law. Out of all the commandments, he lacked in just one thing. But all his goodness and moral rectitude could not save his soul. Is It in Being Sincerely Religious? Still others might assert that being a sincerely religious person will attest to that individual being a Christian. But is this so, according to the Scriptures? Think again of Cornelius who was obviously very religious, but still needed to be saved. Think, too, of Saul who, when giving his defense before the Council acknowledged that he had "...lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day" (Acts 23:1). Paul had been sincerely religious, prior to his conversion, even when he thought he "...had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth" -- and did so by not only locking up the saints in prison, but also by casting his vote toward their execution. He had "punished them often in all the synagogues" and "tried to force them to blaspheme" (Acts 26:9-11). Paul was sincere, and did all of this out of his service to God, but sincerely mistaken. Notice what Jesus said about some sincere people in John 16:2: "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God." These people, rather than seeing themselves as the outright murderers they had become, would view themselves, instead, as being servants of the Lord, and who simply were doing their duty. We might wonder, "How could they have been so blind?" Jesus answers that: "These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me" (v. 3). Paul met quite a group of religious people in Athens. He refers to them as having been "very religious in all respects" (Acts 17:22); yet, they were also very wrong in their beliefs and practices -- and, therefore, very much in need of salvation. From these examples, and others in the Scriptures, we can infer that just being religious -- no matter how sincere -- is not enough. Is it Having a "Religious Experience" that Shows One is a Christian? Many people today on hearing personal testimonies of those in our time who claim to have had a "religious experience," would think that these would certainly be Christians. But is that so? Again, we can think of Cornelius. It was actually an angel of God that Cornelius saw standing before him and imploring him to "...'Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household'" (Acts 11:13,14). This, no doubt, was a genuine religious experience; but it was not by this experience -- even in seeing and hearing the angel -- by which Cornelius was saved. He still needed to hear the gospel and respond to it -- like anyone else. Paul also had a "religious experience" when he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Saul was made temporarily blind. He spoke with the Lord and obeyed Him by going to Damascus to find out what it was he must do. In that city, Paul spent three days fasting and praying; but he wasn't saved by any of this. Rather, he had to hear and obey the gospel plan of salvation. Though a penitent believer who could now acknowledge Jesus as being Lord, Paul still had to be baptized in order to be saved from his past sins; and that was the thing he was told to do by Ananias (Acts 9:1-9; 22:16). Never do we read of anyone in the Scriptures becoming a Christian through a "religious experience" that would be apart from obeying the plan of salvation (which is done by hearing the gospel, believing in the deity of Jesus, repenting of sins, publicly confessing faith in Christ's deity, being baptized in water for the remission of sins, and remaining faithful unto God). Is It When One is Part of a "Denomination"? Still others might say, "Well, if one is a member of a denomination, then surely that shows him to be a Christian." Being a member of a denomination, however, doesn't mean anything. Many denominationalists would tell you this, that you can be a Christian without being a member of their denomination. Just because someone was able to be enrolled in the membership book of a particular denomination does not mean that his name will also be recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. In contrast to this, the true church of the Lord is not a denomination; and one must be a part of it in order to be saved, for Christ is the "Savior of the body" (Eph. 5:23), and the "body" is the "church" (Col. 1:18,24). The Bible's Description of a Christian: Disciple According to Acts 11:26, "...the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." We can turn this statement around to learn something about Christians: they were "disciples." What is a disciple, though? Is it merely one who accepts the truth about the Deity of Christ? Looking to Jesus, He answers this: "...If you abide in [continue in, NASB] My word, then you are disciples of Mine." The true disciple of the Lord is not merely one who studies God's word, but one who also applies it and continually does so. Child or Son of God Galatians 3:26,27: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Just as a child is born into an earthly family, a child of God is born into the family of God -- and is, thus, "born again," which is necessary for salvation (Jn. 3:3-5). Continual obedience is also necessary to maintain this relationship: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). The Spirit leads through the "word of God," which is "the sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17) or, in other words, that instrument He uses to deal with mankind. As God is a Father to the Christian, the Christian is a child to God. Brother Christians are referred to as "brethren" (Rom. 12:1). And we are, therefore, exhorted to "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love" (Rom. 12:10). In showing what qualities we are to build in our lives, Peter includes, "and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love" (2 Pet. 1:7). "To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit" (1 Pet. 3:8). Being of the "brethren," therefore, means more than having this term to define the Christian; it also connotes the attitude and conduct that should be characteristic of such. Heir of God and Fellow Heir with Christ Because the Christian is a child of God that also makes him an heir of God and a fellow heir with Jesus, as Paul speaks of in Romans 8:16,17; but he also points out in that passage a condition for this: "if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." We cannot even begin to conceive the "inheritance" that is in store for the Christian in heaven. Citizen of the Kingdom "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col. 1:13). Those who are of the belief that God's kingdom has not yet come need to give some serious thought to this verse. The Christian has already been transferred into God's kingdom. And because of this, hear what Paul is able to say in Philippian 3:20: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." According to Scripture, God has already made the saint to sit "in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7), for the Christian has come to "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels" (Heb. 12:22). Saint A Christian is a saint. This term is never used in the Scriptures to refer to merely a certain few (in exclusion to the rest) that make up the church or as someone who has been "canonized" after his death; but, rather, this designation is used to stand for anyone who is a Christian. In addressing his letter to the Corinthians, Paul states, "...to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints..." (1 Cor. 1:2). "Saint" means "holy" or "sanctified." "Sanctified" expresses something or someone that has been set apart. Surely, every Christian has been "called" to be set apart for a very special life that is lived unto God. And the Hebrew writer shows how important this is: "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification [holiness, KJV] without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). We must, therefore, each live as a saint if we want heaven for our eternal home. Spiritual Priest Just as the term "saint" is not used in the Scriptures to refer to merely a few individuals (in distinction to other Christians) that make up the church, even so, the term "priest" is never used to designate only particular Christians from the rest of the saints. Rather, every Christian is a spiritual "priest." Paul speaks of this in 1 Peter 2:5,9,10. As spiritual priests, part of our "offering" is to be the "sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15). Along with that, we can also offer up our "incense" of prayer (Rev. 5:8); and by those "intercessory" prayers, the Christian can intercede for the whole world -- and is to do so (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Functioning Member From what we can infer in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, every Christian is an important and needful member in the body of Christ. We must each, therefore, realize our responsibilities and strive to carry them out. The Hebrew writer exhorts the brethren to "...consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24). It is not merely the job of the preacher, the elder, the Bible class teacher, or the song leader; but we all have various parts to perform -- just as we are all to blend our voices in the singing of spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19) and all to pray, etc. The very term "faithful," which the Christian is to be, implies that he must be busy in doing his Father's will. For could one possibly be faithful by never doing anything? We must, therefore, each be an active, functioning member, doing our part in the body of Christ. Christ-like The Christian is not to merely "like Christ," but, more importantly, also needs to strive to be "Christ-like," for He is our perfect example (1 Pet. 2:21). Paul had made that his ambition and was, therefore, able to say: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20). The Christian is one who has laid aside the old self and "put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him" (Col. 3:9,10). The child of God is to strive to develop more fully the "mind" (KJV) or "attitude" (NASB) of Christ (Phil. 2:2-8); and through the Gospel, we can be "transformed by the renewing of" our "minds" (Heb. 12:1). In Christ In order for us to have Christ in us, as considered in the above topic, we need to be in Him. For, according to the Bible, the Christian is "in Christ": "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." How does one get into Christ? We saw that earlier: "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Those in Christ are "the saved." "For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory" (2 Tim. 2:10). Just as it was vitally important for Noah and his family to be in the ark, in order to be saved from that overwhelming deluge, even so, it is imperative for us to be "in Christ" in order that we will be saved from the wrath to come. Conclusion God's word clearly shows what a Christian is, where he is, and what he is to do. Are you a Christian? If not, why not give your life to Christ this very day by obeying His gospel plan of salvation? If you do, you will never regret it in the Judgment Day! ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________