Christian
Part 1
Scriptures: Act 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16; Matthew 7:13-14; 28:19
Introduction
The title of my message this morning is “Christian” and I really want you to understand how this term describes someone who follows Christ today versus when it was first used some 2000 years ago. Some of what I have to say to you this morning may sound blasphemous but please hear me out before you make your determination about whether or not is Scriptural.
By now I’m sure all of you know about the tragedy in Orlando. And some of the responses were pretty typical of what you would expect to hear. When it comes to this one issue – the gay and lesbian community – there is a divide in the body of Christ. You have one side that supports them and believes that they should have the right to live as they please and love whom they please because God loves and accepts everyone regardless of their chosen lifestyle. Then you have the other side who say you don't have the right to live any way you please. This side will condemn them and tell them that they are going to hell unless they repent. If they don’t repent then they deserve any and everything that happens to them – from someone killing them to their dying from AIDS as this represents God’s judgment upon them for their sins. These two opposing views place God in a man-made box.
Matthew Vines, author of “God and the Gay Christian,” noted in an op-ed for TIME Magazine that nearly 50 percent of LGBT Americans are Christians, like himself. He notes that for them, Sunday mornings are a reminder that they are not accepted in many pews – that many traditional churches view homosexuality as incompatible with Christian beliefs. Mr. Vines told Religious News Service that “The core problem is that so many Christians still talk about the LGBT community like they’re not a part of the church and like they’re not part of the same family. That’s the core problem: They use ‘othering’ language that presupposes that Christians and LGBT people are separate, mutually exclusive groups,” Vines told RNS. There are Christians who believe that a person can be a part of the LGBT community and still be a Christian because their lifestyle does not conflict with God’s word because God loves and accepts everyone. There are just as many people who believe anyone living this lifestyle cannot be a Christian because their lifestyle is wrong and they are going straight to hell unless they repent.
After the shooting in the Orlando nightclub Christians used the social media to speak out against the shooting. Leaders came forth and spoke about the need to stop the violence and have more gun control laws. They talked about how this act goes against the very fabric of what Christianity stands for. Very few said what this was – an actual planned act against the LGBT community. This man did not want to kill just anyone, as he could have chosen many nightclubs if that were the case, no he targeted this nightclub because of who partied there, members of the LGBT community and their family and friends who approved of their lifestyle. This was an act of violence targeted at one group of people because of how they chose to live their life. This was one segment of Christians who came forth speaking out against the gun violence while ensuring they did not appear to support the lifestyle of the LGBT community.
On the other side of the “Christian fence” we find people like the two pastors who received a lot of public attention when they rejoiced and/or approved of the killing. One pastor from a Baptist church in Sacramento, CA told his congregation that Christians “shouldn’t be mourning the death of 50 sodomites. People say, like: ‘Well, aren’t you sad that 50 sodomites died?’ This he said referencing the initial death toll in Orlando, which authorities later clarified, included 49 victims plus the gunman. “Here’s the problem with that (he continued), it’s like the equivalent of asking me — what if you asked me: ’Hey, are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?’ ‘Um, no, I think that’s great. I think that helps society. You know, I think Orlando, Fla., is a little safer tonight.’ He added: “The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die. The tragedy is I’m kind of upset that he didn’t finish the job!’ ‘I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out.” For the media and those who might not understand what it means to follow Christ, this pastor’s personal beliefs are judged to be reflective of most conservative Christians even if that is not the case.
The second was a pastor of another Baptist church in Tempe, AZ. He celebrated the shooting stating, “The good news is that at least 50 of these pedophiles are not going to be harming children anymore,” Anderson said. “The bad news is that a lot of the homos in the bar are still alive, so they’re going to continue to molest children and recruit people into their filthy homosexual lifestyle. The other bad news is that this is going to now be used as propaganda not only against Muslims, but also against Christians. I’m not sad about it; I’m not going to cry about it,” Anderson said of the massacre, adding that the victims “were going to die of AIDS and syphilis and whatever else; they were going to die early anyway.”
While I know that the gay/lesbian lifestyle is wrong in the eyes of God, Scripture does not support what came out of the mouths of these two pastors and other “so-called” Christians after this tragedy happened. There was no joy in heaven on that early Sunday morning. God did not ordain, orchestrate or condone the killing of those 49 individuals who died that morning. He was not issuing out punishment based on the sins of those people for if He were, all of us are at risk of the same punishment because we have all done something that violates God’s word. If we understand this, we can understand the outrage that the world feels when they read what some Christians say about these people deserving what they got. I believe that God saw what happened and grieved with the hosts in heaven. Why, because some of those people who died might have ended up in hell, forever separated from God. I use the words “some” and “might” because none of us know who of the victims was or were not saved.
Christianity today is under attack. Christianity is under attack because we can no longer judge what it means to be a Christian by looking at Christians today! Jesus did not like most of the behavior of the people He dealt with and He spoke the truth to them about their condition and what would happen without repentance. However, unlike “Christians” today, He did so with love and compassion. How can we evangelize the world if we do not have love and compassion that is supposed to be the core of what it means to be a Christian? Exhibiting love and compassion to everyone does not mean we accept and agree with the behavior, but we keep the door open for the conversation and possibly the conversion of a soul. Do you know that Jesus never referred to His followers as “Christian?”
I. Christian
In the eleventh chapter of Acts, Barnabas brings Paul to Antioch where they preach and teach for a full year. Acts 11:26 says “And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Christ’s disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Why were they called Christians to begin with?
The city of Antioch had a reputation for coming up with nicknames. Someone in this city, other than the disciples themselves, came up with this nickname for the disciples. The name apparently stuck and Peter endorses it when he said “But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” (1 Peter 4:16) So the name Christian was assigned to all those who were initially “followers” of Christ and His teachings. There were not the variances in interpretation of Scripture as we see some two thousand years later. For this reason the title “Christian” today is also used as a label to identify people who associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity, irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practices. Do you understand what this is saying? The only belief that all Christians’ share is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died for the sins of the world. All Christians believe this, but the real question is, "Are all Christians truly followers of Christ?" Did I lose you? Let me give you an example.
When Jesus called His disciples, He told them to “follow” Him. The Greek word that He used for follow is akoloutheo and it means “a particle of union, follower/companion, union, likeness, as one going in the same way.” What Jesus asked of His disciples was for them to become a companion follower of Him which would require them to go in the same direction as Him. These were the men (and later women) who would be first called Christians. They followed Christ! They became disciples.
To understand this fully we need to understand what it means to be a disciple. The Greek word for disciple is mathetes. It means “learner, one who follows one’s teacher. They are imitators of their teacher.” A disciple is a student of a teacher who follows the teachings of the teacher. As they learn, they begin to imitate their teachers as they fully incorporate the teachings of their teacher into their lives. Again we see the word “follower.” A true disciple learns as a student and then takes what they learn from their teacher and incorporate it into their lives with the final result being they become imitators of their teacher. This is what the disciples did and why they were nicknames “Christians” in Antioch. They were actually imitating Christ by living His teaching and teachings others to do so. This is also what Jesus commanded His disciples to do when He left them. Matthew 28:19 says “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” We were supposed to be disciples!
When we look at the current definition of Christian, you will find that it includes what I shared previously, that it is a label to identify people who associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity, irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practices. In other words you can be a labeled a Christian by being an “associate” with the cultural aspect of Christianity regardless of what your religious beliefs and practices are. Does this definition sound like a disciple? Remember, a disciple learns from his teacher and then takes that learning and incorporate it into their lives. They do not augment the teacher’s teaching, but begin to imitate the teacher. (Remember the issues that Jesus had with the Pharisees when they “augmented” the Law of Moses with their traditions which they ended up placing more importance on? This is what our society is doing today – augmenting what God’s word says.) The problem we are facing today is that we have a lot of “Christians” by the world’s definition and not enough “disciples” by the Jesus’ definition.
Consider this example. In the past three weeks I have flown to Seattle then to Indianapolis and last week to North Carolina. On my flight to North Carolina, I had a connection through Atlanta. When I boarded each flight (Kansas City to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Raleigh), I followed the line of people in front of me because we were going in the same direction – to the plane. I did not know the people I followed onto the plane and did not say anything to them. But I followed them onto the plane because we shared a common initial destination. I did not ask them what they believed about the plane, I just followed them on because I knew this particular plane was taking me to my initial destination. (Notice I am saying initial destination.) Each of us held our own thoughts and beliefs and that did not stop us from getting on the plane. When we got on the plane we all now shared a common bond – the plane. It did not matter who the pilot was or the steward/stewardess serving us, we were all in agreement that this flight would get us to our destination so we boarded the plane. When the steward/stewardess told us to turn off our phones and buckle our seatbelt, we all complied because we knew this was one of the foundational rules for being able to fly on this plane. When they told us to stay seated, we kept our seats. Why – because we understood that the plane could not take off or land until everyone was seated with their seatbelts fastened. On that plane were a large group of people who did not know each other, most did not talk to one another, we held differing beliefs about a variety of subjects based on our individual backgrounds and there was no emotional/spiritual connection between us. The only bond/commonality we shared was that we had each purchased a ticket to be able to fly on that plane to get to that initial destination. Once we landed in Atlanta, I followed the same group off that plane to go get on my flight to take me to my final destination. As I boarded the second flight, there were different people on this flight than my first flight, yet the rules for being on the plane were the same. We still had to buckle our seats, turn off our phones, etc. Here is what I want you to see, the people on this flight shared the same final destination that I had even though we did not all start in Kansas City. It was not the starting point that mattered necessarily, it was where we were going. A lot of the people on my first flight were not going to Raleigh, NC so they did not board the second flight. However, when I landed in Raleigh, there were other planes from other cities bringing other people to Raleigh because like me, Raleigh was their final destination.
This, my friends, is representative of Christianity today. Christianity today consists of a large group of people with varying starting points, beliefs, ideas, and ways to get to the same destination - heaven. Proverbs 16:25 points to the fact that there is a way that seems right to us (man) but it actually leads to death. (One point here, not every person who considers themselves to be a Christian today became a “Christian” because they confessed their sins and asked God to forgive them. When you believe that sin is relative and not Scriptural there is not much to confess in order to “get saved.” Our society is limiting the definition of sin and in the process expanding what people believe is allowable in order to become a Christian.) As I stated earlier, we hold some core truths (like buckling our seatbelts and turning our phones off when we’re on a plane) which is Jesus the Christ being the Son of God and dying for our sins, but after that everything else is up for interpretation (especially what sins He actually died for.) Because everything else is up for interpretation, how one get to the final destination are not consistent. I can “purchase” my ticket from any place I want and still get to the same destination. I can fly any airline I want and still get to the same destination. On my trip to Raleigh I flew one airline but my airline was not the only one flying into Raleigh. What I am saying is that Christianity, with our multitude of varying beliefs about how to serve God and get to heaven, does not truly represent the “Christianity” that existed in the New Testament. When you read the New Testament you will find that people did disagree on interpretation, but in the end the final decision matched up with what God said and what Jesus taught. Before I close, let me give you an example of what Christianity in the New Testament was like. Again, I will use the same example of flying on a plane, but not just any plane.
Imagine flying on Airforce One (the official term for any plane carrying the President of the United States.) The presidential aircraft is a prominent symbol of the American presidency and its power. Those traveling on Air Force One with the President can include senior advisors, Secret Service officers, traveling press, and other guests. While each individual maintains their own thoughts and individuality, when they get on that plane there is only one destination – wherever the president is going. The president is in charge and that plane will go wherever he/she dictates. The only individual(s) to get on that plane is by job role or by invitation. You cannot buy a ticket to fly aboard that plane as it is not available to anyone. This is a special plane and there is nothing common about it. Christianity in the New Testament was like flying on Air Force One. When you boarded the plane you knew it was because you had received a gift – an invitation. When you accepted the gift, you boarded the plane and were in awe of being included. You did not know exactly where the plane would land, but you accepted the invitation to board and you were glad you did. When you stepped on this plane it was a straight shot to the final destination. There were no connecting flights or detours because this plane did not require that. When you got on the plane you were assured of getting to “the” destination. Now here is what is different from flying commercially and flying on Air Force One: “When flying commercially we decide where we are going and how we will get there. When flying on Air Force One, someone else, the President, decides where we are going and how we will get there.” Christians in the New Testament allowed Jesus to tell them where they were going and how they would get there. Christians today attempt to tell Jesus where we are going and how we will get there. I want to leave you with a Scriptural view of flying commercially (which everyone does) and flying on Air Force One (which few does.) “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Not everyone who calls himself/herself a Christians are actually following Christ’s teachings. I would rather be called a disciple of Christ versus a Christian if the definition of Christian remains what it is today. I will continue this message next week.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
