2023.07.23.Sermon Notes. TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER
What defines a Christian? - Believe and Confess
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: What is a Christian…really? Many believe they are Christian because they go to church. In a world where people profess or call themselves or identify as Christian, the question lingers, are they truly saved? Unfortunately, the dictionary definition lacks the biblical truth of what it means to be a True Spirit Filled, Christian Believer.
SCRIPTURE READING: JOHN 3:1-21
***ILLUSTRATION: A Jewish comedian shares this story…
A guy goes to his Rabbi and says, “Rabbi, you’ll never believe what happened to me. My son left the house and became a Christian”.
The Rabbi said, “Shhh! You’ll never believe what happened to me! My son left the house too and became a Christian.”
Guy: So what do we do?!
Rabbi: We pray to GOD!
So they prayed to GOD, and GOD said, “You’ll never believe what happened to me...”
***
CHRISTIANS.
What is a Christian…really?
WHAT DEFINES A CHRISTIAN?
Many believe they are Christian because they go to church…
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines a Christian as “a person professing belief in Jesus as the Christ or in the religion based on the teachings of Jesus.”
But this definition lacks the biblical truth of what it means to be a Christian.
THE WORD “CHRISTIAN” IS FOUND THREE TIMES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Followers of Jesus Christ were the first to be called “Christians” in Antioch because their Christ Like behavior, activity, and speech. The word “Christian” literally means, “belonging to the party of Christ” or a “follower of Christ.”
Acts 11:21-26 (NKJV)
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that 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 26:28 Then (King) Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
1 Peter 4:16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter (name).
However, the word CHRISTIAN over time, has lost its true meaning and significance.
Today its more often used regarding someone religious, or who has high moral values, but may not necessarily be a true follower of CHRIST.
Many people who do not believe and trust in Jesus Christ consider themselves Christians simply because they go to church or they live in a “Christian” nation.
But actions such as going to church, serving others, or being a good person does not make you a Christian. Even being a church member, attending services, singing in the choir, and helping the church doesn’t make you a Christian.
Being a TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER is NOT by works of righteousness, but rather through ITS NOT BY YOUR WORKS, but rather by what the HOLY SPIRIT does within us.
THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT GOOD WORKS DO NOT MAKE US ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
Titus 3:5 (NLT) HE saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of HIS mercy. HE washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the HOLY SPIRIT.
Titus 3:4-8 (NKJV)
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
THE BIBLE TELLS US…
A CHRISTIAN IS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN BORN AGAIN BY GOD AND HAS PUT FAITH AND TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST.
WE MUST BE CHANGED
CHANGE=REPENTANCE
BORN AGAIN – BELIEVING IN JESUS
John 3:1-7, 14-21 (NKJV)
1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
WE MUST BE CHANGED - REPENT
BY HIS SPIRIT
1 Peter 1:22-23 (NKJV)
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
WE MUST BE SAVED
SAVED BY GRACE, GOD’s GIFT THAT BRINGS CHANGE FOR GOOD
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NKJV)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
WE MUST BELIEVE TO RECEIVE
John 1:12-13 (NKJV)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER IS ONE WHO HAS PUT THEIR FAITH AND TRUST…
IN THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD IN FLESH,
AND HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS AS PAYMENT FOR OUR SINS, EXCHANGING HIS LIFE FOR OURS
AND HIS RESURRECTION ON THE THIRD DAY, PROVING LIFE AFTER DEATH.
THE MARK OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER IS LOVE FOR OTHERS AND OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD
1 John 2:4, 9-10 (NKJV)
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER IS INDEED A CHILD OF GOD, A PART OF GOD’S TRUE FAMILY, AND ONE WHO HAS BEEN GIVEN NEW LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST.
Galatians 4:4-7 (NLT)
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
SO HOW DOES ONE COME TO FAITH IN JESUS AND BEGIN THIS RELATIONSHIP?
IT’S NOT BY GOOD WORKS OR FOLLOWING A LIST OF RULES.
IT’S BY GOD’S GRACE, HIS GIFT TO ALL WHO WILL RECEIVE IT.
Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
A TRUE CHRISTIAN HAS FAITH IN JESUS AS THE SAVIOR.
CONFESSION COMES FROM WITHIN.
Romans 10:9-10 9 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
PROFESSION VS. CONFESSION
PEOPLE MAY PROFESS (SAY) THEY ARE CHRISTIANS…PROFESSION COMES FROM THE MIND, WHAT THEY THINK THEY ARE…
ANYONE CAN PROFESS TO BE SOMETHING, EVEN SOMETHING THAT THEY ARE NOT.
BUT CONFESSION IS SO MUCH DEEPER. CONFESSION COMES FROM WITHIN. IT’S HEART AND SOUL AND SPIRIT. CONFESSION IS ALL IN, NOT JUST SOME SAYING.
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT FILLED BELIEVER CONFESSES AND MAKES THEIR CONFESSION FROM THE HEART, OF THEIR FAITH IN CHRIST. THIS IS THE WORKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN THAT BRINGS IT FORTH FROM THE HEART.
A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER IS NOT ASHAMED TO SAY JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVES JESUS WAS RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD.
PAUL WRITES TO THE PEOPLE OF CORINTH, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT IS THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
THE RESURRECTED CHRIST IS MOST IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND.
1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER LIVES BY FAITH IN THE RESURRECTED CHRIST UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
Romans 1:16-17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
SPIRIT FILLED
A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER HAS GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT LIVING WITHIN. MAKING THE BELIEVER “SPIRIT FILLED”.
Romans 8:9 (NKJV)
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER IS CHANGED TO NEW LIFE, FAITH AND ACTION WITH A NEW DIRECTION.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
FAITH IN ACTION
A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER SHOWS FAITH BY HOW HE LIVES
James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
DESPITE THE VARIETY OF BELIEFS AND WORLD DEFINITION OF CHRISTIAN, THE BIBLE DEFINES A TRUE CHRISTIAN AS A ONE WHO BELIEVES AND HAS PERSONALLY RECEIVED JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR, WHO TRUSTS IN THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST ALONE, FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND WHO HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVING AND RESIDING WITHIN, AND WHOSE LIFE CONFESSES, DEMONSTRATES CHANGE, CONSISTENT WITH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS.
1 John 4:7-13 (NLT)
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
IF WE ARE A TRUE SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIAN BELIEVER, WE ARE A STUDENT, A DISCIPLE, A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST, AND OBEDIENT TO HIS INSTRUCTIONS, HIS COMMANDMENTS WHICH WILL SET US APART FROM THIS WORLD.
John 13:34-35 (NKJV)
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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They will know we are Christians by our love. Lyrics by Carolyn Arenda.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord (x2)
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other, we will work side by side (x2)
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand (x2)
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
Love is patient, love is kind
Never boasts, not full of pride
Always hopes, always trusts
The evidence of Christ in us
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Perhaps You have “professed” to be a Christian, but today you realized there is something missing.
Perhaps you are a Christian, but desire to be closer to GOD, needing a new start, rededicating your life to CHRIST.
Believe and Confess the NAME of JESUS.
Pray this with me now,
HEAVENLY FATHER,
I receive YOUR Word today, I receive YOUR gift of salvation today, I receive and believe and put my faith and trust in JESUS CHRIST as my Savior.
JESUS, there is Power in YOUR NAME.
YOU, Who came to rescue me.
YOU, Who came to redeem my life from sin by dying on the cross for my sin, dying, and then made to be alive again, raised from death to life as promised.
I believe in the POWER of THE CROSS, THE BLOOD, THE RESURRECTION and THE LIFE.
I receive JESUS as the WAY to YOU FATHER, and THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE.
I ask YOU to come into my heart, my life, LORD JESUS.
Fill me and seal me with YOUR Presence, YOUR HOLY SPIRIT, to change me from the inside out.
Help me to live for YOU.
Guide and direct me, speak to me in POWER and TRUTH.
Give me a burning desire to know YOU more, to live my life as pleasing to YOU FATHER.
Turn my life around, in the NAME of JESUS, Amen.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Bill
