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"A CHRISTIAN? WHAT'S THAT?"
"Christian" has become a confusing term. In two thousand some years the word Christian has become diluted into anything from a political direction to a philosophical term. Today it seems that the Christ in Christian has been lost somewhere. The term Christian was first coined in the city of Antioch to label a group of Believers in Jesus Christ. (10) Because of their behavior these people were obviously followers of Jesus Christ. Refreshing to see and hear. They were beautifully different and stood out from the masses of city dwellers. Just humble Jesus lovers. These were true Believers that had a love and goodness about them. They were called Christians. With so many in the world claiming to be Christians we can legitimately ask a couple of good questions, "Who is a Christian?" and "What is a Christian?" If "Christian" is the question it seems the best place to go for the answer would be the Bible itself. Where do we get the best picture of Jesus Christ? In the Bible, particularly the Gospels. The overworked verse in the book of John. The third chapter and sixteenth verse. (1) This verse talks about God loving the people of this world so much that He sacrificed His son Jesus Christ so that Believers anywhere and everywhere could come to Himself. Can anyone become a Believer? Well, that's an interesting question. In one sense yes and in another sense no. It seems that a person has to see a need for God. God says in His Bible that man is basically a lost creature. Man is a proud and independent creature. In a sense man is a "god like" creature who is confused about his purpose in life. He won't buy the fact that God created him. Until the point where man becomes deeply truthful and sees his condition and need for God the whole God thing becomes academic, just an interesting point of discussion. Just one more religion. Who is going to become a Believer if he doesn't see the need for it or point of it? Belief is a pretty heavy word taking a lot of faith. Lets look at it this way. God says man is basically lost and disoriented. (2) I have been lost on several occasions. I remember one time in particular. I was hiking with a friend in Borrego desert near San Diego. We kept hiking until we became lost in a big wide desert. The interesting thing was that we were lost way before we realized it. When we became aware of our lost condition everything changed. The first thing we had to admit was that we were indeed lost. Now our agenda was to become found. To orient ourselves. God says all mankind has gone astray, we have gone our own way (2) . . . in fact we have lost ourselves. God says in a simple way, I'm looking for the lost. But a person has to admit he is indeed lost and disoriented as to his true purpose and direction. Man can't find himself until he finds God. It takes some of us a long time being lost to finally admit we are lost and have become disoriented as to God and His purpose in creating man. Isn't it funny how ego trumps reason? In His Bible God uses the term saved. (3) He says that mankind needs to be saved from themselves and their destruction. He indicates that man is born into a self destruct mode. Looking at history and the world today I don't find it hard to disagree with that. It takes a real optimist to believe that mankind is improving in his behavior toward his fellow man. God puts it bluntly. Mankind is potentially wicked. According to God man corporately and individually needs to be saved. The act of this saving by God is called salvation. The Gospel is God's salvation message. An illustration of man and his need to be saved. Salvation doesn't come easy to man. Suppose the worlds greatest swimmer decided after years of preparation that he was going to swim the pacific from the West coast of America to the Honolulu in Hawaii. He was going to be the first man to conquer the Pacific ocean. Impossible? Of course! But as long as this individual felt he could accomplish that feat it would be impossible to change his mind. You couldn't talk him out of it and you certainly couldn't argue him out of it. Once he started swimming you knew what was going to happen. He would come to a point that his endurance would give out. You might even try and save him as he swam farther into the Pacific and deeper into danger but as long as he felt he could make it he wouldn't be savable. When he finally came to the end of his rope and gave up THEN he would be savable. Then he would willingly and gladly grab hold of the lifesaver. But not until then. (4) By the very act of accepting the lifesaver he would be admitting he was wrong. He was indeed mistaken. Can anyone indeed become a Believer? I don't believe so, not until a person knows deep inside of himself that he was lost and needed to be found. Not until he knows he is doomed and needs to be saved can he become a Believer. Not until he admits he has been wrong. God in His word says we are all sinners (5) and according to Him and His holiness we indeed are sinners. Sinners by choice. In some cases sinners by preference. Until we understand and are convinced that we are doomed by our very own sins we are not savable even by God Almighty! I feel true Biblical Christians are individuals who have realized their need of God and want to be saved . . . people who have admitted they are sinful and needy of God. People who have simply reached up and grabbed God's hand of love and become His child. People who willing become part of His kingdom. People who can honestly call Him Lord! (6) God says conversion is being born again. (7) That's where we get that Born Again term. Another term that has been tossed around and abused in political and media circles. Somehow I like the term "Born Again." (8) Even though the term has been abused and misused, Born Again makes sense. God creating an entirely new person from the inside out. A moment of creation and continued growth into maturity. It's apparent that many claiming to be new born Christians are in fact "still born" Christians, having the identical form but lacking the life. Religious and sincere but lacking true life. And God is about life, new life. We who know we are Believers are convinced in our relationship with God. (9) We who are Believers feel that Christian is a great label. Christian not only means a personal relationship with God but a lifestyle worthy of Christ our savior. Pastor von If you want to look up some of these terms and concepts in the Bible, here is where you will find them. |
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