What does it mean to be a Christian
Definition of Christian Marian Webster Dictionary
1a:one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ
b(1):DISCIPLE sense 2
(2):a member of one of the Churches of Christ separating from the Disciples of Christ in 1906
(3):a member of the Christian denomination having part in the union of the United Church of Christ concluded in 1961
2: the hero in Bunyan's Pilgrim's ProgressChristian adjective
Definition of Christian (Entry 2 of 2)
1a:of or relating to Christianity Christian scriptures
b:based on or conforming with ChristianityChristianethics
2a:of, relating to, or being a Christian Christian responsibilities
b:professing Christianity a Christian affirmationa Christian country
3:treating other people in a kind or generous way has a very Christian concern for others
What does it really mean to be a Christian? It seems to me that this term is used too loosely nowadays. Can you give me a brief, easily understandable definition?
The term “Christian,” as we understand it, refers to anyone, man, woman, or child, who trusts in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and Lord and who strives to follow Him in every area of life. As evangelicals, we place great stress on the importance of an individual’s personalrelationship with Jesus Christ. We believe that this relationship is lived out by way of prayer, study of God’s Word, fellowship with God’s people, and service to others in Jesus’ name. There’s an important sense in which Christian faith has to be expressed in the context of community with other believers. But in the final analysis, it’s an intensely personal and individual matter, not a question of church membership or doctrinal orientation. The Bible backs us up in this regard: ” Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13; Joel 2:32).
That said, we should point out that Focus on the Family has always been on the side of what C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity. Lewis used this term to refer to that body of core Christian truths which is common to believers from all kinds of church backgrounds. In other words, we are not committed to a particular denominational understanding of what it means to be a “Christian.” We’re an interdenominational ministry, and we strive to remain faithful to the spirit of St. Augustine’s famous motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
It’s worth adding that our definition of Christianity also takes serious account of the pronouncements of the historic councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon. These councils formulated important theological definitions and made crucial statements about the Trinitarian nature of God and the “hypostatic union” of the human and the divine natures in Jesus Christ. As we see it, these biblical principles are indispensable in gauging the true “Christianness” of any particular body of religious teachings.
To say this another way, we don’t necessarily believe that a “Christian” is simply anybody who claims to “believe in Jesus” and to “follow His teachings.” If this were true, we would have to concede that the Gnostics, the Manicheans, the Arians, the Marcionites, the Docetists, and the first-century Judaizers were also faithful members of the fold. This is something that the writers of the New Testament and the Fathers of the early church were clearly unwilling to do.
If you’re asking us to identify personal “attributes” or “characteristics” that distinguish a true Christian from a non-Christian, we would have to say that Christ’s own definition is still the best. The “mark of the Christian” (as the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer called it) is love. “By this all will know that you are My disciples,” said Jesus, “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
It’s also important, of course, to give some measure of credence to a person’s verbal confession of faith. But beyond this, it’s impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules by which time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to lightto distinguish the real disciples from the mere posers. As Jesus indicated in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13), that is a question that God Himself will resolve on the Day of Judgment. “Therefore judge nothing before the the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Strong's Concordance Christianos: a Christian Original Word: Χριστιανός, οῦ, ὁ Part of Speech: Noun, MasculineTransliteration: Christianos Phonetic Spelling: (khris-tee-an-os')Definition: a Christian
Usage: a Christian.
What does God's word say a Christian is?
There are people all around the world that clam to be a christian but have no idea what it means to “Be A Christian” so lets start here.
John 3:3 Except a man be born again He can not enter the Kingdom of God. This is step one. Just how do you do that?
Romans 10:9
New International Version
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
New Living Translation
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
English Standard Version
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Berean Study Bible
that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Berean Literal Bible
that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him out from the dead, you will be saved.
King James Bible
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Not only do you have to confess with your lips “words” you have to believe in your hart “soul” that God raised Him from the dead.
There is a very important word in there and that is believe You can not just mouth the words because someone says you have to.
Confess Greek dictionary Strong's Concordance
Confess
homologeó: to speak the same, to agree Original Word: ὁμολογέω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: homologeó Phonetic Spelling: (hom-ol-og-eh'-o) Definition:to speak the same, to agree Usage: (a) I promise, agree, (b) I confess, (c) I publicly declare, (d) a Hebraism, I praise, celebrate.
Believe
Strong's #4100: pisteuo (pronounced pist-yoo'-o) from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
What happens when you do this. Ezekiel 36:26
New International Version
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
New Living Translation
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
English Standard Version
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Berean Study Bible
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
King James Bible
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
God does not pull your heart out of you and give you a new one. A "new heart" and a "new spirit" are one and the same; that is, a renewed one; renewed by the Spirit and grace of God; in which a new principle of life is put; new light is infused; a new will, filled with new purposes and resolutions; where new affections are placed, and new desires are formed; and where there are new delights and joys, as well as new sorrows and troubles; the same which in the New Testament is called the "new man",
and the new creature.