The Christian Faith
“For a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” - Acts 11:26
In the earliest days of the Christian movement, the followers of Jesus were not called Christians. They were called “followers of the way”, because Jesus had said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”- John 14:6. The book of Acts tells us that the disciples were called Christians for the first time in Antioch. But what does it mean to be a Christian?
It does not simply mean that you have been baptized, and you are a member of a local congregation. Being a Christian does not mean that you are a member of a certain denomination. There is only one Christian church. It is divided into many parts and goes by a variety of labels, but there is only one church. There is no church of “born again Christians” or “charismatic Christians” or “Bible believing Christians”, or “evangelical Christians” or “high church Christians”. If you are a follower of Christ, you are a Christian.
Being a Christian does not mean that you have a certain opinion on a given subject. Too many people have their own opinions, and they usually ask, “Do you agree with me?” But the fact is: there are many complex, difficult issues we face. And many sincere Christians will sometimes disagree.
“The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” But what does it mean to be a Christian?
I. To be a Christians is to belong to Christ:
Christianity begins with a relationship with God and then expresses itself in a lifestyle.
In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus says that He is the good shepherd, and “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” - John 10:27. The good shepherd knows His sheep by name. He cares for them even to the point of laying down His life for them. The sheep know His voice. They trust Him. They follow Him. So, what does it mean to be a Christian? Christianity is to know, trust, and follow Christ. It is a relationship with Christ.
The Bible says that God has created us to be His sons and daughters, living in a loving, trusting, obedient relationship with Him. Of course, we have rebelled against that and wandered away from His voice. Therefore, God sent Jesus to get us back. Jesus reminds us of who we really are: we are the children of God. Our worth is not something we achieve by our performance. Rather, our worth is a gift. It is a gift blessed upon us for the simple and significant reason that we are God’s children. God wants us to live in the warmth and security of His love for all His children. “And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.” - John 17:10
When we talk about conversion, we are talking about the process by which we come to believe all of God, and we decide to trust God and to live by it. Jesus said, “I am the way; come, follow me!” Conversion is the experience by which we come to believe that Jesus is the way.
The most critical and essential thing in our lives is when we are able to say and mean: “I believe…I belong…I trust…I commit!” However, that is only the beginning point. Now we are here, spending the rest of our lives growing and understanding what it means to be a Christian.
To be a Christian is to belong to Christ. That’s the first thing.
II. Christians belong to Christ’s Family
Second, to be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s family, the Church. For more than 2,000 years, there has never been such a thing as a solitary Christian. To belong to Christ is also to belong with others who belong to Christ. It is a family of faith. “You are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s own country, and you belong in God's household with every other Christian.” - Ephesians 2:19b (LB)
An illustration of the shepherd and his sheep is perfect here. By definition, a shepherd has to have a flock of sheep. Not just one ram or one lamb, but a flock. So, when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd”, he is talking about all of us, who belong to His flock. We all belong together.
Of course, there are many kinds of sheep in Jesus’ flock: big and small, old and young, insecure and adventurous, cooperative and unruly, and sheep of a variety of habits and opinions. In fact, there are no two sheep that are exactly alike. The only thing we all have in common is that we all belong to the same shepherd, and we all respond to the same voice.
A Christian cannot stand apart from the family of God. We need each other. “God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 3:15b. It is in the congregation of believers that Christ’s presence is most alive. You cannot belong to Christ without belonging to His church. The church was where we heard the story of Jesus. The church produced the Bible, translated the Bible, and protected the Bible in times of persecution. It is here in the family of God that we are cared for, nurtured, encouraged, and helped in so many ways.
In all the world, there is no feeling quite so blessed as the feeling that we are loved, that we are known by name, and that others are with us. There is no feeling as good as the feeling that we belong! So, that’s the second thing: to be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s family.
III. To be a Christian is to do what Christ asks us to do.
Clearly, if we belong to Christ in faith, we will want to do what He asks us to do. The more we get to know him through the pages of scripture, the more we allow His spirit to shape our lives through prayer, and the more we come to know His mind and His heart, so the more we understand what He asks us to do. Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” - John 6:28-29
There is a distorted version of Christianity in which God is primarily interested in helping us to do the things that are important to us. But that is not how the Bible is written. No, to be a Christian is not to have a God who will do whatever we ask him, but to be a Christian is to deliver ourselves to Christ. To allow God to shape our becoming, to shape our minds with his mind, to shape our eyes by His eyes, to shape our hearts by His heart, to shape our lives by His life. “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
And then, obediently, to do it. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15. What Christ asks us to do is to pass on to others the life-giving gifts that we have received from Him. We have been loved, so we are to love. We have been forgiven, so we are to forgive. We have been blessed, so we are to bless. We are to live the servant lifestyle. We are to invest ourselves on behalf of the neighbor’s needs…not just when it is easy, or convenient, or inexpensive, but when it is needed.
The good news of the gospel is not just about what God has done for the world through Jesus. It is also about what God wants to do for the world through us, the body of Christ. It’s clear, isn’t it: to be a Christian is to do what Christ asks us to do.
Conclusion:
What kind of Christian are you? A respectable Christian, a conventional Christian, a “sort of” Christian, or a real Christian? Are you an admirer of Jesus, or a follower of Jesus? Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle.
To be a Christian is to belong to Christ; to whole-heartedly submit yourself by faith into the will of the Father. To be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s family; to surround yourself with the sheep of God’s flock and to belong with God’s family. And finally, to be a Christian is to do what Christ asks us to do; to bless others as God has blessed us. It is to love others as God has loved us. Christianity is a relationship and a lifestyle that is built on faith. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.” - Ephesians 3:16-17. Amen.
