James 1:22-25“But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
According to an NPR statistic I once read there are over 7.2 billion people in the world and one third of those people claim to be Christians. Furthermore, in an ABC news article they stated that eighty-three percent of all Americans identify themselves as Christian. If so many people claim to be Christians this makes me ask myself,“What actually is a Christian?” Are those who just sit in church on Sunday mornings Christian? Are those who visit church twice a year for Christmas and Easter Christians? Does going to church even have anything to do with being a Christian?
To answer my questions the first thing I did was turn to scripture and start flipping pages. I found that the word Christian is only used three times in the entirety of the Bible. Once in Acts 11:26, once in Acts 26:28, and once in 1 Peter 4:16. I looked to chapter four of Peter’s first epistle for some answers, given that the other two did not provide the insight I was looking for.
1 Peter 4:16 “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”
So this passage above gives just a little context of what a Christian looks like. It’s someone who glorifies God’s name even in the midst of suffering.
Still wanting more of an understanding I started researching the origin of the word. I discovered that the word is derived from the Greek word Christianos which means a “Christ follower.”
This is exactly what we see in Matthew 4:18-19.
Matthew4:18-19 “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.””
Jesus was calling Peter and His brother Andrew, to follow Him. He was calling them to be Christians. Simply put, a Christian is a pursuer of Christ.
That being said the next logical question to ask myself was how. If being a Christian is being a pursuer, how do you be a pursuer? If “to follow” is a verb and it requires action on our part, what actions do we need to take?
These actions are usually summed up in one word—relationship. And the relationship is fourfold.
The first part of the relationship is Prayer.
As a Christian we are to spend time in prayer. It’s our communication with the Lord and it needs to cover every moment of every day.
1 Samuel 12:23-24“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you.”
Samuel considers it a sin against the Lord to not pray for the people God has entrusted him to shepherd over. Furthermore, Paul even goes as far as to say we should go every day praying without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
The Second part of the relationship is The Word.
As a Christian we should spend our days in the Word of the Lord. This is one of the ways the Lord speaks to us and we should not go a day without being filled with His words.
Psalms 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
The third part of the fourfold relationship is Worship.
As a Christian we should spend time in worship to our King. We should not go a day without giving glory to our God as the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Psalms 96:1-4 “Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.”
Jesus himself, tells us what happens if we were to keep quiet in our worship.
Luke 19:37-40 “As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
The last and final piece to the relationship is Obedience.
In Mark 16:15 we are told to preach the gospel to all of creation.
Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
And in Matthew 28:18-20 we are told to make disciples of all the nations.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
These are the tasks Jesus has entrusted us with and these are the commandments we are to follow out. Hear them in the words of David Platt from his book Radical:
“Regardless of what country we live in, what skills we possess, what kind of education we have, or what kind of salary we make, Jesus has commanded each of us to make disciples, and this is the means by which we will impact the world. Indeed, Jesus has invited us to join with him in the surprisingly simple journey of spreading the gospel to all nations by spending our lives for the good of others and the glory of God.”
All of these are practical steps we should take as a Christ follower. So now I ask you how many of the 2.4 billion people in the world that claim Christianity actually carry out these actions of being a Christian?
It’s not many, and I’ll prove it to you.
Matthew 7:21-23 “”Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
This. Is. Scary.
Jesus is saying on the day it counts the most people are going to come before him and still not get it! He telling us that not every who claims to be a Christian actually is.
You see the term “Christian” has become so diluted by our culture today it’s hard for us to distinguish what a Christian actually is. Its meaning has strayed so far from its original biblical meaning. We should stop and ask ourselves, are we true Christ followers of Jesus? Is that where our heart is?
A pastor and mentor, from back home in the States, named Justin Edgerly, once put it this way in a sermon of his, and it has stuck with me ever since:
“Christianity should not be saved for private meeting such as church but should be something we live out daily.”
We should never only be Christians in church.
Jesus tells us in Matthew what it looks like to follow Him.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
And Stephen from the early church is a perfect example of someone who denied himself for the sake of the cross. We are told in Acts 6 that He was a man full faith and power who performed many great signs and wonders. However, Stephen was not on the scene long before he was persecuted and killed for his faith.
Just like Stephen we are told we will be persecuted for our Christ follower status.
John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”
But not only are we told that we will face persecution but we are told to embrace it.
1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.”
We are told to rejoice in our trials because we are partaking in Christ’s suffering.
Now I want to stop and clarify something; I don’t want you to get me wrong.
Living out your relationship—taking these steps to follow Christ—will not save you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ by which we are saved is good news of something that has happened in the past and it’s not a ritual we need to preform to achieve salvation.
It’s not works we need to complete. It’s love we need to accept.
James 2:14-17 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
However, James is telling us that our works will not produce faith, but our faith should produce works. Our works should be evidence of our salvation. If we have authentic faith first, these actions of being a Christian will follow us.
Things I hope you take away:
1st. Our relationship with Christ should be evidence of our faith in Him.
2nd. Our relationship with Jesus should be filled with; Prayer, Scripture, Worship, and Obedience to evangelize and spread His glory.
3rd. Our salvation is not earned but given.
Probably the most important thing we can do as a Christian is to spread his Gospel and raise up leaders by Discipleship.
So I encourage you to go, pickup your cross daily, deny yourself, and follow Jesus. Be a Christian.
