What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

The understanding of what it truly means to be a Christian has changed over time. In today's culture, there appears to be a common misconception that occasional church attendance or a simple belief in God automatically qualifies one as a Christian.

However, the Bible offers a distinct perspective and a more comprehensive definition of a true Christian, and we need to follow the word of God to ensure we are truly in the faith; after all, our eternal destination is at stake!

At the heart of the Christian faith is a relationship with Jesus.

Many people know who Jesus is and may profess faith in Him, but they don't really know Him. They will say that they believe in Jesus, but is that enough?

Well, according to the word of God, no, it is not enough! Look at the book of James, the brother of Jesus: James 2:19 - You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! So, even demons believe in Jesus, but they certainly can't be considered to be Christian!

To become a Christian, it is important to make a deliberate and personal commitment to Jesus Christ, similar to the commitment one makes in marriage. Whether you were raised in the Church or not, being a Christian involves an ongoing journey of faithfulness to Jesus.

To make this commitment, it is essential to understand who Jesus is and the significance of his actions for you. This is what is known as the Gospel, or the "good news," of Jesus Christ.

God, the creator of the world, designed us to have a loving relationship with him. However, despite being initially created good, human nature became flawed, causing us to become separated from God. 

This is known as the Fall and happened in Genesis 3, and the result is that we are all in rebellion against God. In biblical terms, this is known as sin and we are all considered sinners, burdened with guilt and separated from God.

The good news is that the Gospel reveals that God took compassionate action through Jesus Christ to save us from this mess that we got ourselves into. Here are the key facts about this divine intervention:

God the Father sent his eternal Son to reconcile us to himself, to set us free so that we can love and serve him, and to prepare us for a glorious life in the future where we can share in his glory.

Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, lived a perfect life (something that we are incapable of), sacrificed himself for our sins, and triumphantly rose from the dead to reconcile us with God.

Given divine authority by his Father, Jesus now reigns as the sovereign King of all creation from his heavenly throne, tirelessly advancing God's kingdom across the earth. At the appointed time, Jesus will return in glorious splendour to establish his eternal kingdom on earth, ushering in the new heaven and earth. What a glorious day that will be!

Jesus Christ, reigning in heaven, holds dominion over all things and will continue to draw sinners to himself until His return. Through the power of his Holy Spirit, he empowers us to wholeheartedly renounce our sinful and self-centred ways. This is known as repentance and results in a change in direction for your life as you begin to love the things God loves, and hate the things God hates.

Moreover, he invites us to place our complete trust in him, forging a deep relationship that allows us to live in harmony and close communion with him; this is known as faith. Spiritually speaking, sin leads to death, while fellowship with Christ paves the way to everlasting life.

So, if you truly repent of your sins, ask for forgiveness and put your trust in Jesus, you will be saved. Salvation means that you can be reconciled with God and gain everlasting life.

And all of this is given by the grace of God. Grace basically means that we are given the gift of everlasting life, even though we don't deserve it. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation, and this is the major flaw of all works based faiths, such as Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and Catholics.

They believe that they can earn salvation, but this basically amounts to trying to bribe the Judge. You can't do that in a human court, so why would you think you could do that with the ultimate Judge, Holy God?

The real key to being a true Christian is realising that you can't earn salvation, so you must trust Jesus completely, and to commit to a lasting relationship with Him. Commit to reading the Bible daily without fail; this way you can learn more about the Lord and grow even closer to Him when you begin to understand all He has done for you and how much it cost Him.

True faith and repentance will always draw you to the foot of the cross in gratitude, and you will spend the rest of your life living for Christ. 

As I said at the beginning of this article, many people know who Jesus is, and believe in Him, so they have an intellectual 'conversion' to Christianity. But this isn't enough. That intellectual, or head, conversion needs to go to your heart, and that will only happen when you realise that you are a sinner in Gods eyes and He hates sin, and there is nothing you can do to save yourself.. This realisation can come through the moral law, or the Ten Commandments. 

We have all broken pretty much all of the Ten Commandments and our God-given conscience will attest to this; we have all lied, stolen, blasphemed etc. So, we broke the moral Law, and on the cross Jesus paid the fine in full so we could have everlasting life. That is at the heart of the gospel.

It is not easy becoming (and remaining) a Christian. It is exclusive, and that is offensive to modern cultures cult of inclusivity. This is why there are many people professing to know Christ, but will end up in Hell because they believe a false gospel and have made up a Jesus that they feel comfortable with. This is at the heart of the progressive Christianity movement; these people reject a lot of what Jesus actually taught, yet they have the audacity to call themselves Christians. 

Many state churches, such as the Church of England, are so heavily compromising God's word, that their salvation remains in doubt.

If you are a Christian, please pray for discernment and don't be led astray by false teachers. Always go back to the word of God, and you won’t go wrong.

So, are you a true Christian, or do you just believe in Jesus in your head? Don't you think it's worth finding out, as your eternal destiny hinges on it; everlasting life in Heaven, or eternal punishment in Hell. 

I urge you to determine where you are at with your relationship with Jesus at the moment, and I pray you will be honest with yourself, so you can get right with God if you need to.