What Is A Christian?
What Is A Christian?
Acts 11:26
1. A local businessman was teaching a Sunday School class of fourth grade boys, and he was really trying to impress the class because his son was a member. So during the lesson he asked the class this question: “Why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?”
2. Well, there was dead silence. Not one boy or girl spoke up. He asked the question again: “Boys and girls, why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?” There was still no response.
3. Finally, the man paused, scratched his chin, and said: “Now come on, think about it. Why do people call me a Christian?” His own son broke the silence and spoke up and said, “Maybe it’s because they don’t know you!”
4. Well, why do people call other people Christians? What do they mean by that term? In fact, what do you mean by that term?
5. Today that term is used more than any other term to describe a follower of Christ, and to describe so many things. People talk about the Christian church, the Christian faith. They debate whether or not we are a Christian nation. Yet, I believe the average person has no real clue what a Christian really is at least biblically speaking. Many who profess to be Christians really are not Christians at all, and many who use the term don’t even really understand what they’re saying.
6. To illustrate this, think about the following: You can be born and raised in a Christian home, attend a Christian school, join a Christian church, live by Christian principles, read a Christian Bible, and even have a Christian worldview, and still not be a Christian. These things may mark a Christian, but they do not make a Christian. There is a difference between being Christian in name and a Christian in nature.
7. Two stories that happened to me personally this past week will illustrate this. I was on an airplane flying to Dallas, Texas working on this message, and I’m always looking for a way to get into the gospel. So I turned to the man next to me and I said, “Sir, I am a minister working on a message and you can help me if you would.”
8. He said, “I will be glad to, what can I do for you?” I said, “Just simply answer a personal opinion poll.” I said, “What is your definition of a Christian?” He gave me a great answer. He said, “A Christian is one who learns and follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Well, I thought that was a great answer, which allowed me to ask him the second question. “Are you a Christian?” He said, “Yes,” but then quickly added, “I am a ___.” (a different denomination from mine) That made me a little bit suspicious.
9. As I began to ask him further questions, his meaning of a “Christian” was greatly clarified. For example: He let me know he did not believe a lot of the Bible. He did not believe that you could really know for sure that Jesus said anything he was purported to say in the four gospels. He said that neither a Buddhist nor a Hindu nor a Muslim had to accept Jesus Christ in order to go to heaven.
10. When I asked him how I could become a Christian if I was not a Christian, he stroked his chin, and said “That is a very tough question,” and then basically said, “I guess you would have to study the Bible.” (Which really confused me because he admitted he did not believe a lot of the Bible) In fact, when I asked him if the plane were about to crash, could I become a Christian before it did, he said, “That would be impossible.”
11. “What is a Christian?” One lady said, “A Christian is someone who lives by the Golden Rule and treats other people the way they should be treated; tries to be honest and do the right thing.”
12. When I asked her if according to that definition a Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim could also claim to be a Christian if they tried to live by the Golden Rule, she said, “Absolutely.”
13. Now, I want to go to what the Bible says a Christian is. I was amazed to learn that even though the term “believers” is used 80 times to describe Christians, “saints” is used 60 times, and “disciples” is used 30 times, the word “Christian” is used only three times. Yet these three instances are crucial because they tell us what a Christian is all about.
14. Now although the word was used commonly, both inside and outside the church by the middle of the First Century, Christians themselves probably did not use it in either place in the Bible. In all three verses we are going to note that people were “called” Christians by the outside world.
15. In AD 116 the Roman historian Tacitus wrote about the persecution by Emperor Nero of those whom “the common people were calling ‘Christians.’” The word “Christian” was clearly a term of abuse, derision, and shame. But Christians took that name of shame and turned it into a badge of honor, and when you see what a Christian really is all about, and what a Christian really is, you will understand why.
I. A Christian Is Someone Saved By Christ
1. “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 11:26) It is interesting that Antioch is mentioned as the place where believers were first called Christians. Antioch was the site of the first Jewish Christian outreach to the Gentile world. It was a city 300 miles north of Jerusalem. It became the headquarters of Paul’s missionary journeys. They had a population of about a half million people and it was the third largest city in the Roman Empire.
2. What makes the city so interesting is that it was strongly religious, though not Christian. Julius Caesar built a kaiserion there for emperor worship. He rejuvenated Antioch’s Pantheon, which was a temple honoring all of the many different gods that the Roman Empire had. In this city you could see the groves of Daphne and the sanctuary of Apollos.
3. It was in this city that a pagan world began to take notice of people who walked differently, who talked differently, who lived differently, who exhibited a character and a compassion never before seen in the history of the world, and they began to call these people “Christians.”
4. Now you notice that we are told that “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” “Disciples” and “discipleship” are words that dominate both the gospels in Acts with over 250 mentions. A disciple is literally “a learner.” That is, a disciple is a learner who listens to only one teacher--Jesus Christ. The word “Christian” literally means “little Christ.”
5. Believers called those referred to as “Christians” by unbelievers “disciples.” The two titles were synonymous. Both words describe the same people. All true disciples were Christians, and all true Christians were disciples. A disciple is simply someone who learns the truth that is found in God’s word, and then lives the truth that is found in God’s word. In fact, the definition Jesus gave the disciples was this one: “If you abide in My word you are My disciples indeed.” (John 8:31)
6. An American is someone who belongs to America. A Christian is someone who belongs to Christ. Now how does a person become an American? By being born in America generally speaking. Well, how does one become a Christian? Also by birth, by being born again into the Christian family. You can be born once and be an American, but you have to be born twice to be a Christian.
7. Let me put it this way: A Christian understands that there was a time that he was not a Christian, and that he had to be saved, and has been saved in order to become a Christian.
8. Now I know we are being told today that we have got to be careful that we don’t use too many Bible terms for unbelievers because they don’t really understand them. But one term that we need to get back to is the term “saved.” We need to teach people what being “saved” really means, because it’s a good Bible term.
9. Acts 2:47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” The Philippian jailer said to the Apostle Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts. 16:30) Rom. 10:13 says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 1 Tim. 2:4 says, “God desires all men to be saved...”
10. You see, we were all born lost, and that’s why every person needs to be saved. As a matter of fact, David said in the book of Psalms that we began to speak lies from our birth. Now I often have wondered how a little baby could lie. But I realized after I had my first son that it is indeed possible for even a little baby to lie.
11. When we brought James home from the hospital, he wasn’t but a couple weeks old. One time in the middle of the night he began to cry. I looked over at Teresa and I said, “You need to go check on your baby.” She said, “I’ve been getting up with him all through the night. You go check on him.” So I got up, went into his room, and when I picked him up he quit crying.
12. As a matter of fact, when I looked close at his face there wasn’t a tear in his eye and he looked up at me and, at that time didn’t have a tooth in his head, and grinned from ear to ear. All of a sudden it hit me. He wasn’t crying, he was lying. He wasn’t hungry, he wasn’t hurting, he wasn’t wet; he just wanted somebody to pick him up and play with him. We can lie from the time we are born. That’s why we need to be saved because we are born in sin.
13. I like the way an old Indian chief described it. He was asked to explain what happened when Jesus saved him from his sins. So he built a Ring of Fire and put a worm down in the un-burnt middle. The fire began to get hotter and hotter and the worm began to feel the heat and wiggle, turn and move, and it looked as if the fire were going to burn right in on the worm. Just when it seemed as if it were impossible for that worm to be rescued, the Indian chief reached down and picked that worm away from the fire. That is exactly what it means to be saved. It means to be saved from sin. It means to be saved from eternal death, and it means to be saved from being eternally separated from the Living God.
II. A Christian Is Someone Who Stands For Christ
1. “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’” (Acts 26:28) Now to understand this part of the message you need to understand the background of the story. Paul was standing before King Agrippa. Herod Agrippa II was the great grandson of Herod the Great who slaughtered all of the little babies in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, trying to kill Jesus.
2. He had come to Caesarea with his Queen Bernice (who was also his sister) to see Porcius Festus, the procurator of Judea. Paul was being held at that time on three charges: treason, being the ringleader of a sect called the Nazarenes, and defiling the temple.
3. Now I have stood at this place called Caesarea by the Sea many times. As a matter of fact, the ancient coliseum where Paul stood before Agrippa is still standing, and you can still go to the actual spot where Paul stood and see the actual seat where Agrippa sat. Paul had come before Festus and Agrippa and offensively to give a defense, and wound up giving his testimony. That is the mark of a Christian. That is, whatever the circumstances, a Christian is ready, willing and able to be a witness for his Lord and his Savior.
4. That’s what I love about Paul. Whether he was in the city or in the country, whether he was in the prison or the palace, whether it was in the sunshine or the storm, Paul was ready to stand for Christ and to give a witness for Him. Paul had barely been saved, and the Bible says in Acts. 9:20, “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.”
5. How this world would be changed if every Christian would just simply stand for Christ when the opportunity presented itself. I read something that staggered me the other day. If one Christian won one person to Jesus Christ this year, then next year those two won one person each to Christ, then the next year those four won one person to Christ, and so on, in 33 years, the time Jesus lived on earth, four billion people would be saved.
6. Now can you just see the picture being painted here? Paul is weary and worn. His face has the texture of shoe leather; weather-beaten from the wind, rain, cold and heat of all those missionary years. His eyes were permanently narrowed by squinting into the sun. His body was tattooed with scars from beatings, stonings, and scourgings. But Agrippa said one thing to him in the first verse of Acts 26 that totally changed everything. He simply said, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”
7. At that moment, Paul’s eyes began to sparkle like stars on a dark night. His back grew ramrod straight. His face began to glow like the noonday sun. His scars began to shine like polished medals of honor. Hot words of truth began to flow from his lips like lava down a mountain.
8. The whole balance of power changed. He no longer was standing before Festus and Agrippa. They are now standing before him. He is not on the defense, he is on the offence. He was not presenting a defense or pushing for a verdict. He had his chance and he was going to simply preach Jesus.
9. That was the heart of Paul, and I believe that is the heart of a true Christian. The heart that says what Paul said in 1 Cor. 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”
10. Charles Trumbill was a great preacher who lived many many years ago. Charles Trumbill said he had one motto that guided every moment of his life. He said, “Every time I have the opportunity to guide the conversation, I am always going to direct it to Jesus Christ. That is a Christian; someone who stands for Christ.
III. A Christian Is Someone Who Suffers With Christ
1. “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. (1 Peter 4:16) When you become a Christian, I mean a real Christian, a true Christian who lives like Jesus, who walks like Jesus, who talks like Jesus, you won’t have to go looking for trouble; trouble will come looking for you.
2. Peter pulled no punches. He repeated this theme over and over and over. He said in chapter 1 and verse 6, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.” He said again in chapter 2 and verse 20, “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer for it, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.”
3. He said again in chapter 3 and verse 14, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” He said again in this fourth chapter, verses 12-14, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.”
· Acts 14:22 says, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
4. Just this past week I got an e-mail from a missionary friend of mine in Africa who told of one missionary family who was robbed at gunpoint and had their car and all their belongings stolen just outside their home. Then e-mailed me about another missionary who was trying to get through a crowd of hostile people, and someone deliberately pushed a man in front of his car and he is now on trial for murder.
5. Now that raises a question. Why do Christians suffer? The answer is very simple. Because every person is either for Christ or against Christ. You need to go ahead and understand today there is no such thing as easy Christianity. If it is Christianity it is not easy. If it is easy it is not Christianity.
6. Have you ever thought about the fact that it is the religious right that is always attacked, never the religious left? It is always the ultra conservative that is attacked, not the ultra liberal. It is always the right wing Christian who is attacked, not the left wing liberal. Can I tell you why? It really boils down to this: It is not politics, it is Jesus.
7. I know we believe in the Separation of Church and State, but I wish more Christians believed in the separation of the church and the world. Because we are not to be isolated from the world, but we are to be insulated from the world. The more you live like Jesus, the more different you will be from the world, and the more different you will be from the world, the more you will be persecuted.
8. Just listen to these promises:
· Matt. 10:22 -- “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
· 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 not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
· John 16:33 -- “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
· Phil. 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.”
9. May I tell you something. The only way you will get away from suffering with Jesus is to simply get away from Jesus. But then you will suffer even more. You think about this. When Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times, what does the Bible say he did. He went out and wept bitterly. He was absolutely miserable. Yet, over in the book of Acts when he stood for Christ and decided to suffer with Christ, and was imprisoned and beaten, the Bible says that when he was released in Acts 5:41 he and the others “departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
10. For centuries Antioch remained an important center of Christianity, but unfortunately today nothing remains from that New Testament city. Today Antakya, a city in Turkey, is all that remains of that ancient city. It speaks Turkish and Arabic, not Greek, and it is predominantly Muslim with very few Christians. I wonder if those who were saved by Christ quit standing for Christ, and refused to suffer with Christ.
11. I heard the story years ago about a group of soldiers who were fighting in a battle, and the man carrying the flag had gotten far ahead of his regiment. A private went up to the Lieutenant who was in charge and said, “Sir, do you see the flag? Tell the flag bearer to get back here with the men.” The Lieutenant replied, “No, we don’t need to bring the flag back to the regiment. We need to bring the regiment up to the flag.” Those of us who call ourselves Christians need to do the very same thing.
12. We don’t need to bring the term Christian down to the way many of us live. We need to raise the way we live up to the level of the name Christian. Then when people ask, “What is a Christian?” They will have no doubt what a Christian is, and they won’t even have to ask the question, “Are you a Christian?” Because by the way we live, walk, and talk they will know it.