Am I the Real Deal?
The other day I went to the bank and cashed a check for $ 100.00. I received 5 crisp new $ 20 dollar bills. Then I met my good friend Tony for lunch at Rally’s. When I went to pay for my food, the casher told me that my new $ 20 was a counterfeit. She took her special pen and drew another line on my new $ 20 dollar bill to show me that it was the wrong color. Well I began to explain to her that I had just come from the bank and they were the ones who gave me the bill. “Well it’s counterfeit” as she placed another mark on my bill.
Then my good friend Tony just had to inform her that I was a preacher trying to pass off a counterfeit bill. I couldn’t tell the difference and unless you had the magic pen or a trained eye, you couldn’t either.
I have been told that the training that is given by banks to determine what is real and what is counterfeit is not by recognizing the counterfeit; but rather knowing the real so well that anything that falls short is a counterfeit.
And that is what I want to do this morning is have you determine if you are the real deal or if you are a counterfeit or if you are a real Christian or not. Now first of all I want you to know that it’s not up to me to judge you. Not my job. But we can learn from God’s word and what it says about who is a Christian.
What makes a Christian a Christian? As I was growing up in church we always referred to someone who is a Christian as someone who is someone who is saved. But the term Christian can only be found in the Bible 3 times. The term “believer” is used 80 times. The word “saint” is found 60 times. The word “disciple” is found 30 times. But the word Christian is only found 3 times. However the three times that this word is found can tell us a lot about a real Christian is.
But before we begin, let’s look at a little history. The church did not come up with this term Christian. They didn’t call a meeting and say, “what should we call ourselves?” and then someone say, “How about Christians”. The unbelievers came up with the term Christians.
In 116 AD, there was a Roman historian who wrote about the persecution under the leadership of Nero, of the common people called Christians. Some 2000 years ago it was not a good thing if someone called you a Christian. But what was a name of shame is now a name of honor. You will find that out the next time we have an election.
So as we look at these 3 times we find this term Christian we hopefully will find will find out if we are the real deal or not. And we will do so by asking ourselves 3 simple questions to either persuade ourselves to become a Christian, or to test ourselves to see if you really are a Christian.
Question #1 to see if you are a Christian is…
Have I been saved by Christ Acts 11:25-26
This is the first we find the term Christian mentioned in the Bible. The interesting thing is where Christians were first given the name Christians, in Antioch. Antioch was the 3rd most important city in the Roman Empire. It was about 300 miles north of Jerusalem. If you read back through Acts, you find that Antioch became the headquarters for Paul’s missionary journeys. When Paul would get tired or need refreshed, he mainly went to Antioch for his rejuvenation.
It was a very religious city but in a very pagan way. If you would go to Antioch 2000 years ago you would not find many churches but what you would find is a bunch of statues and carvings of Caesar. The god that was primarily worshiped was Caesar. As a matter of fact, Caesar built a Temple to honor all of the “little g” gods of Rome. But as you went into the Temple, no matter which temple it was, the greatest most elaborate statue was one of Caesar.
And it was in this pagan unbelieving city who had no clue about Christianity was about, that the people began to notice a certain group of people. They would talk differently. They lived differently. They didn’t go the same places that others did. They had a character and a compassion that they had never seen before. So they began to call this group of people Christians.
Do you know what this name means? The word Christian means “little Christ”. Evidently these pagans began to watch these groups of people and they saw how they walked and how they talked and how they acted so differently from everyone else so they began to call them “Little Christ” or Christians.
But that raises a question. How does a person become a Christian?
Think about it like this. Most of us, if not all of us, here are Americans. How did we become Americans? By in large people are born into Americans. You can say that Americans are someone who belongs to America. So a Christian is someone who belongs to Christ.
But there is one big difference. You become an American by being in America, but you can only become a Christian by being born again. And that is what Jesus meant in…
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
You might have heard someone say that they are a born again Christian. But that is really the only kind there is. If you have never been born again they you are not a Christian. I don’t call how good you are or what you do or have done.
Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
You have to be born again. You can be born once and be an American, but you have to be born twice to be a Christian.
When we us the term saved, if you are like me and you have been raised in a church then we know what that means. It means to have been born again.
But for some, it can be confusing. A lot of times we as a Church us a language of our own. I know Jeff Titta shared with me a story about going to a church when he was a boy and they were talking about carrying the ark into the Temple and he was wondering how in the world they were going to get that boat in there.
If a young child comes to the altor and I ask them what they came for and they share with me that they want to be saved; I often respond with, “Saved from what?” I want to make sure they know what they are doing.
And some people have no clue what you mean when you say that you are saved. They might wonder saved from what? What do I need to be saved from? I haven’t killed anyone; I don’t steal. I pay my taxes. I am a good person. What do I need to be saved from?
The Bible tells us in one word. You have to be saved from sin. Romans 3:23 For ALL of sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We all fall short. No one is perfect. And because of that we have to face the punishment for those sins. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Not just the physical death, but a Spiritual death, being separated from God. We are born sinners.
Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Now you may read this and look at a beautiful newborn baby and say how can anyone call them wicked. But the Bible says they are born liars. You don’t have to teach a baby to lie; they do a pretty good job by themselves. Why? Because we are ALL born sinners, and that is why we all need to be saved, and that is what a real Christian is; someone who has been saved. So the first question you have to ask is have I been saved. The second question you have to ask yourself to see if you are the real deal is…
Do I stand for Christ Acts 26:28
This is the second time we find the word Christian mentioned. The second time we find this term mentioned is by a King. We are not sure where he found this term but let’s do a little background of this statement.
This is what we know about King Agrippa. He was the great grandson of King Herod, who had all of the babies killed at Jesus birth. He had come to visit with what we would call the Mayor of the town, Festus. He had heard about Paul and had heard that he was in prison for preaching the gospel. Now they called it treason and said that Paul had defiled the Temple and he was the leader of the Christians. So in this town of Caesarea while Agrippa was there, he called for Paul to be brought before him. He wanted to see this person that he had heard of. So King Agrippa sits in what they call the judgment seat. And as Paul is escorted by guards he stands before the King, but instead of giving a defense. He ends up giving a witness. That is what one of the marks of a Christian is when you are given an opportunity; you will give a word for Jesus. Not necessarily going door to door as some would have you to believe. But when you are given an opportunity we will stand up for Jesus Christ.
When you go into a restaurant, you might not think it’s a big deal to bow your head and pray before you eat. But people are watching you an d when you do that you are taking a stand for Jesus Christ. It may be at your work, you have a Bible on your desk and it’s not just there for looks. By your actions and your character you can take a stand for Jesus. In your conversations with others you can take a stand for Jesus. We need to always look for opportunities to take a stand for Jesus Christ.
That’s what Paul did. Paul as I can imagine was weary and torn. I sure he was rugged looking with his body scared from the beatings he had been given during his missionary journeys. But it all started in all began in Acts 26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”
But in Paul’s eyes that would be like the “Cable guy” saying, “Get er done”. When he said to Paul, you have the floor, you can say what ever you want. I can see Paul stand strait up and with a smile on his face; he took a stand for Jesus. And from that time on the power shifted. Paul was no longer on the defense, he was on the offence. He took a stand for Jesus. He could have told of his innocence and begged for his release. He could have said anything but instead of trying to save his own skin, he used every moment he had to take a stand for Jesus.
And King Agrippa saw something that he never saw before. He heard something he never had before, and he said to Paul. “Almost you persuade me to become a Christian”. And when we take a stand for Christ, others will see something different too and they will want to be like you.
Have I been saved by Christ, will I take a stand for Christ, and the last point and the toughest one is…
Will I suffer for Christ 1 Peter 4:16
Now this one is the third and final time we find the term Christian used. Not the most popular way to persuade someone to become a Christian by telling them that they will suffer as a Christian. Especially right before the invitation, but the truth of the matter is that if you have been saved by Christ; and you take a stand for Christ; you will suffer for Christ.
Remember when I told you what the word Christian means. “Little Christ” When you begin to act like a little Christ, and you began to talk like a little Christ, you won’t have to look for trouble, trouble will come looking for you.
Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:12-14
The more you are like Jesus Christ; the more you are going to be different from the world. And the more you’re going to suffer in this world. But let me tell you about the promise from God.
Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My names sake.
John 15:18-20 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, “A servant is no greater than his master”. If they persecute Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.
Sounds encouraging don’t it? But before you turn off my last point, let me give you this thought. Yes you will suffer if you are the real thing, that is a real Christian. You will suffer if you take a stand for Christ. But listen to this. You will suffer more if you don’t take a stand for Christ.
Remember we read about Peter denying Jesus those three times after His arrest in the Garden before they crucified Christ? Remember Peter’s response for not taking a stand for Jesus? The Bible tells us “Peter went out and wept bitterly”. He was miserable. He had a chance to stand up for Jesus and look what happened.
Then we go over just a few books to the book of Acts 5, we find a different Peter. He stood up when they told him to sit down. He spoke up when he was told to shut up. He was cast into jail, beaten, but listen to his words when he left.
Acts 5:41-42 So they departed from the presence of the council, REJOICING that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
What a difference, just a few weeks before that, Peter couldn’t even stand up before a maid. Then when they told him that he could not say one more word about Christ and if you do then we are going to beat you to within an inch of your life and we are going to put you in jail. Well he did and they did and he came out happier than he had ever been in his life because he had learned a lesson that we all need to learn. I’m going to suffer if I take a stand for Christ, but I’m going to suffer more if I don’t.
We don’t need to bring the name Christian down to the way we live. We need to live in such a way that we live up to the name we are called, Christian’s. So that when people ask what is a Christian, they won’t have any doubt. They won’t even have to ask you if you are a Christian. They will know it be the way that you walk. By the way that you talk; And you can take that stand to lead others to Christ.
