What Does it Mean to be a Christian (part 2)

What does it mean to be a Christian? (part 2)


"Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to Life, and only a few find it."
- Matt 7:14 NIV

Upon which road are we walking?


"And He was saying to all, 'Assuming that anyone desires to come after Me as a follower of Mine, let him disregard his own interests, and let him at once and once for all pick up and carry his cross day after day, and let him take the same road with Me that I take as a habit of life.'" - Luke 9:23 (Wuest, The New Testament: An Expanded Translation)

Jesus took the narrow road as He walked upon this earth. He did not His own will, but submitted to the will of His Father. He picked up His cross daily - the burdens and testings of this life - and He carried them all the way to The Cross, not shrinking back, not swerving from His course. Even as the time of His greatest suffering and sacrifice approached He did not waver in His purpose or obedience to God, but "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem" knowing what awaited Him.

And it is in this way that He calls us to follow Him. Fixing our eyes on Him (Heb 12:2), and keeping our focus straight ahead, "pondering the path of our feet, not turning aside to the left or the right to do evil (Prov 4), not shrinking back unto destruction (Heb 10:39).

So, friends, let us "walk worthy of the calling with which (we) were called." (Eph 4:2), and "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able." - Luke 13:24

I'm sure we all know the verse - "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16). To that I say yea and amen. But when taken in context of the whole of Jesus teaching in the Gospels, and the whole New Testament, we find that the word 'believe' means much more than we understand. I submit to you that the word 'belief' as we currently use it to express our relationship to Christ falls far short of what we have been actually called to, and of what Jesus was talking about in the passage from Mark.

'Belief in Christ' as we use that word today is the wide road. Obedience is the narrow road. Which road are we willing to walk? Which gate will we enter in that Day? Bottom line... are we willing to obey?

As an apprentice learning a trade sitting under a master journeyman, who has to listen to, obey, and follow his teachers orders or else fail to achieve his goal, we must listen to, obey and follow our Teacher, lest we fail to apprehend what Christ apprehended us for (Phil 3:12-14). If that apprentice were to believe and agree with all that the journeyman told him, yet didn't do what he was told, could he expect to receive his own journeyman papers? No, in fact he would be kicked out of the program. Now we, (having entered discipleship with the goal of being "conformed to the image of God's Son" (Rom 8:29)) if we say we believe and agree with all God's Word, yet don't actually do it, can we expect to receive the adoption as God's Sons?

Dear friends, let us not be walking in deception, hearing but not obeying (James 1:21-27). We can read several times in the Gospels, Jesus' definition of a Christian. We never find Him saying that he who desires to come after Me must 'accept Me' or even must 'believe in Me.' Our proof of discipleship and salvation is based upon our obedience. Jesus often equates obedience with being a Christian. (John 8:31, John 15:1-11, Matt 28:20, 2 John 1:8-9). Jesus, the Scripture says, is the "Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." (Heb 5:9)

Many of us have heard taught that all we have to do is believe & accept Christ, and we shall receive salvation and be eternally secure and on our way to heaven when we die. That’s it. There is nothing else we have to do, for Jesus did it all on the Cross. Even when I first heard that years ago when I was still living in the world, it never quite sat right with me. Somehow I knew that there had to be more to being a real Christian than that. There is.

Let’s take a deeper look at the Word of God...

A common verse we hear along with John 3:16 is the following passage from Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome -
"If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
- Rom 10:9-10

And again, Paul & Sila’s statement to the jailer in Philippi -

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
- Acts 16:31


The Greek word for "believe", πιστευσης (pisteuo) - is not a mere acknowledgement of a thing, like we ’believe that the sky is blue’, but it means that what we believe in, or in this case, Who we believe in, we also trust in, have confidence in, and are committed to. Strong’s definition - "Pisteuo means not just to believe, but also to be persuaded of; and hence, to place confidence in, to trust, and signifies reliance upon, not mere credence, hence it is translated "commit unto", "commit to one’s trust", "be committed unto"..." (4100)

True belief in Jesus Christ means that not only do we merely believe in the fact of His death and resurrection and that He is the Son of God, but that we have committed our hearts unto Him, trusting Him in everything as we turn away from our own understanding, and, as the New Testament greatly stresses, we also obey His commandments. That is how are known to be His disciples. Paul & Silas were not telling the jailer to just know certain facts about Jesus and thereby his family would obtain salvation, but rather they imparted to him the Truth of the mercy and grace of God towards all who commit their lives unto Christ, denying their Adamic nature, obeying His commands, and following after Jesus our Lord.

"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
- 1 John 5:1-5

"He who believes in the Son has Eternal Life; but he who does not obey (yieldeth not unto) the Son will not see Life, but the wrath of God abides on (awaiteth) him."
- John 3:36 (NAS, Rotherham)

We can say that we believe, but if we obey not, if we are not surrendered unto Christ, then what good does our statement of faith do? The Lord’s brother, James, had much to write about this very thing throughout his letter to the churches, especially chapter 2 vs 17-20.


My own prayer is that the churches teach the whole Truth of the Gospel. A watered down Gospel ultimately will do much greater harm than good to those who accept it. God is not looking for lukewarm believers, He is calling us to be True Christians. Friends, God determines whether we are a Christian by what we do (our choices, our deeds, our actions), not by what we say we believe in. Never does God judge or reward anyone by their doctrine or statement of faith. He judges and rewards all men according to our works. (Psalm 62:12, Prov 24:12, Jer 17:10, Jer 32:19, Eze 33:20, Lam 3:64, Matt 16:27, John 5:29, Rom 2:6, Rom 14:12, 2 Cor 5:10, 1Pet 1:17, Rev 20:12, Rev 22:12)

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." - 2 Tim 2:19b (NIV)

Have we confessed the Name of Jesus as our Savior? Amen. By that He has saved us from the world (John 17:16), and from having to serve sin (Rom 6:11-13). And now He calls us to truly repent (deny ourselves and turn from the lusts of the fleshly nature), carry our cross daily (Luke 14:27), follow Him (Matt 10:38) and walk in the Light as He is in the Light (John 8:12, 1John 1:5-7). We do that by submitting Him and obeying all that He commands.

Jesus says - "why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
- Luke 6:46-49

We cannot confess His Name and then expect His blessings in this life and receive the promise of Eternal Life if we do not obey Him and do what He says. Jesus will not be ashamed to call us 'brothers' if we have allowed the Holy Spirit - who comes to teach us all things and bring to remembrance all that Jesus taught (John 14:26) - to sanctify us as we choose to do God's will. (see Heb 2:11)

"whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister..." - Matt 12:50

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."
- Matt 7:21 (NAS)

We are called to "present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. Not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (see Rom 12:1-2)

We can claim His Name, but are we truly denying our own will, even as Jesus did, and walking by the will of the Father? In both the Old and New Testaments, God speaks of the hypocrisy of those who claim to belong to Him because they confess His Name, yet their hearts are not committed to do His will -
"Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men."
- Isaiah 29:13

"This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."
- Mark 7:6-7

The doctrine of men says that Christians have nothing to fear from God. The doctrine of man often tells us that God does not see the sins we commit once we have accepted Christ as our Savior, but the Scripture says otherwise. Isaiah went on to warn those who follow after this false teaching -
"Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
"Who sees us? Who will know?"
You turn things upside down,
as if the Potter were thought to be like the clay!
Can the pot say of the Potter,
"He knows nothing"?
- Isaiah 29:15-16

Indeed God does see the things we do in secret, He knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.

Jesus spoke these words of warning, not to the unsaved, but to those who were closest to Him -
"He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"
- Luke 12:1-5

May the words of the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, exhort each one of us - "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His, " and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
- 2 Tim 2:15-16, 19


Brothers & sisters, I'll stop here for now, praying that these words sink deep within our souls and cause us to truly examine our hearts and our motives. Let us take time to come humbly before Him who also "searches our minds and hearts", submit ourselves to Him, and inquire of His will for our lives. Let us ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit, who will teach us all things and lead us on that narrow road to Christ. To Life. I pray that we are exhorted by His Word from the Scriptures, and strengthened in our resolve and commitment to the Father, and to our Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s peace & love to all,

Michael

Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
- Psalm 119:66


Hoping to look next at how the journey of Israel through the wilderness mirrors our Christian walk through this life.

as God wills...


selah

What Does it mean to be a Christian?

What does it mean to be a Christian?

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."


"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
- Luke 9:23

What does it really mean to be a Christian? Does attending a church occasionally, or even once or twice a week, make one a Christian? Does reciting a prayer or repeating the words of a pastor automatically make us a Christian? If we simply believe that Jesus exists and is the Son of God, are we now a Christian? How about if we prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus’ Name, does that make us a Christian?

Whenever I hear a discussion about what makes one a Christian, a true Christian, that verse above from Luke chapter 9 immediately comes to mind. Also found in Matthew and Mark, let’s take a look at the Amplified Bible's rendering of Jesus definition of a Christian -
"If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me]."
- Mark 8:34 (Amplified)

According to the Scripture, a Christian is a disciple (Acts 11:26). Strongs defines - "A disciple is one who follows One’s teaching. A disciple is not only a pupil, but an adherent; hence they are spoken of as imitators of their Teacher." (Greek 3101)

In defining a Christian, Websters Dictionary (original 1828 version) reads - "A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the Truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety." , with this piety being the "exercise of veneration and reverence (fear) of God, in obedience to His will and devotion to His service."

Follows His teaching... Imitates The Teacher... Obeys His commands... Is devoted to serving Him... These are some of the characteristics that define a Christian, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the perfect Disciple of His Father. He denied Himself, picked up His Cross and followed His Father in everything. Even now the Son is obedient to the Father always, in everything. As a disciple, a Christian, a follower of Christ, we are to be imitating Him, that we may always abide in His love.

"If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love." - John 15:10

"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."
- John 15:8

To be a Christian is not to be affiliated with Him, but to walk through the trials and and persevere in the tribulations of this life as He did, learning from His example, following His steps. (1 Pet 2:21). Claiming His Name is meaningless if we are not obeying His commands.

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."
- 1 John 2:3-6

The promises often applied to all who have made a profession of Christ, are actually reserved for those who have followed and obeyed Christ Jesus as He obeyed the Father, who have overcome as He overcame -
"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." - Rev 3:21

"And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations -
‘ He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ -
as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star."
- Rev 2:26-28


Dear friends, I cannot get away from these passages of Scriptural Truth lately. I've visited churches all over and too often I hear soothing messages about how Jesus loves us, always will, and how He wants us to be happy and prosperous. I hear that I will always sin, and how if I do righteous deeds I’m only attempting to take away from His perfect work on the Cross. I’ve heard that God only sees us through Jesus so He will only see good no matter what we do. Yet when I read the written Word of God, it tells me I must obey His commandments to remain in His love. It tells me I must forsake all else if I am to gain Christ. Scripture says it is the righteous deeds I do that prove my faith. It tells me I must walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." - Matt 10:37-38

Using several parables, Jesus describes the cost of becoming His disciple, a true Christian. That cost is everything.




"Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate (love less than Him) his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."
- Luke 14:25-27, 33

Do I love my wife more than I love Jesus? Do we love our children, parents or spouse more than Christ? Do my own desires take top priority in my life? Are my earthly possessions of utmost importance to me? Do I balk at the thought of having to bear a cross of my own? If I answer 'yes' to any of these questions, then I am not a true Christian.

Am I still hanging onto activities or behaviors that I would feel uncomfortable doing if Jesus was standing next to me? Do I accept any pastors teaching that tells me that as long as I am on this earth I will continue to sin, because we all fall short of the glory of God? Do I believe that God's commands don't apply to me because I have 'accepted Christ'? If so, then I am not a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All throughout Paul’s writings, he stresses that those who continue to allow sin to remain in their lives after they have professed Christ will not be permitted into the Kingdom of God. Those who walk in an unworthy manner, not pleasing to the Lord, will face an angry God in that Day...

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord."
- Eph 5:6-10

"Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them." - Col 3:5-7

One who is a follower of Jesus is one who no longer walks in known sin. The wrath of God will indeed come upon all who submit themselves to these things.

I originally began writing this when I came across a post in a Christian forum in which someone asked what it meant to be a real Christian. A few people had responded with nice sounding quotes from pastors, or with their own opinions, but I noticed that none referred to the written word of God, the Bible. Brothers & sisters, there is only one Truth. And that is Jesus Himself, the Word of God made flesh. In addition to the many verses we’ve looked at above, our Lord also said...

"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."
- John 12:25-26

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them Eternal Life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
- John 10:27-28

To those He called, Jesus did not say, ’accept Me’, rather His words were, and still remain - "Follow Me". Over a dozen times in the Gospels, Jesus says "Follow Me." Not once does the phrase "accept Me", or "accept Christ" appear in the Bible. It is His teaching that we need to accept, and then we are to walk in it. Jesus and His Apostles spoke and wrote much about "walking worthy" of our calling, and about "bearing fruit". We’ll take a look at that later...

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all Truth as we study the Word, and seek the Lord. May each of us fulfill what Jesus has called us to. May the Father be pleased with us.

Peace and blessings to you & yours,

Michael

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain...
- John 15:16...


to be continued...