Sunday, February 1, 2015 am
GOING ON TO PERFECTION (2015)
What It Means to Be a Christian (1)
What is a Christian?
a.
The word is a derivative
of the Greek word, Χριστιανός, (christianos), and is defined as, “one
who identifies himself as a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ.”
(L&N 11.35); “one who is associated with Christ” (BDAG).
NOTE: As we use this term, we need to be clear in our discussion of what
it is. Many in the world,
both believers and unbelievers alike use the term to describe the above
definition is a broad sense – EVERYONE who believes in Jesus as savior,
regardless of religious affiliation.
Many in the denominational world used the term to describe those
who they THINK are saved, who may or may not be following Jesus’
instructions.
WHEN I use the term in this study, I am speaking of one who has
obeyed the gospel and is a TRUE follower of Jesus based upon the
Biblical plan of salvation.
Thus in THAT SENSE he is “one who identifies himself as a
believer and follower of Jesus Christ.”
b.
The word is used 3 times
in NT.
i.
Acts 11:26 where Paul
and Barnabas are in Antioch and we read, “And the disciples were first
called Christians in Antioch”.
This “calling” could be a divine calling, for in Isaiah 62:2 we
read, “The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your
glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord
will name.”
ii.
Acts 26:28, where Paul
is giving a defense before King Agrippa and appeals to him about
believing the prophets.
Agrippa responds, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
It is a text in which the gospel is rejected and he refuses to
become a Christian.
iii.
1 Peter 4:16, “Yet if
anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify God in this matter.” A text that calls for us to be
faithful, even in the face of persecutions.
c.
How does one become a
Christian? (brief review)
One becomes a Christian by obeying the gospel.
Hearing, believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized for
the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38).
Galatians 3:27 tells us when you are baptized into Christ you put
on Christ. Romans 6:3-4
tells us we are “buried with Him
through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.”
a.
You are a new creation –
i.
“Born again” – John
3:3,5 - as Jesus told
Nicodemus, you must be “born again” of water and the Spirit.
1 Peter 1:22-23 tells us we are “born again” of incorruptible
seed through the word of God.
ii.
Romans 6:3-4 tells us
that when you come up out of the water, you are “raised to walk in
newness of life.”
iii.
2 Corinthians 5:17 tells
us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old
things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2
Corinthians 5:17, NKJV)
iv.
When you become a
Christian, you have been given a new lease on life.
All your sins have been washed away and it’s a chance to start
over.
It’s not a miracle where your sinful desires are suddenly wiped out, but
you ARE forgiven! You need
to accept that forgiveness.
b.
You are a child of God -
i.
When one becomes a
Christian, he is added to God’s family.
ii.
Galatians 3:26-28
describes us as sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
This text ties this relationship to baptism as well.
iii.
Romans 8:16-17 tells us
that we are children of God, and as children we are heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ.
iv.
Consider what a
privilege it is to be identified with God and with Jesus.
1 John 3:1 tells us, “Behold what manner of love the Father has
bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the
world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”
v.
But being a child of God
also comes with responsibilities.
We are to submit ourselves to our heavenly Father, just as we
would our earthly father (Eph. 6:1-3).
We are to obey Him. 1
Peter 1:14 describes us as obedient children.
When we disobey, He might even chastise us (Heb. 12:5-11)
c.
You belong to God –
i.
Romans 6:3-4 tells us we
are raised to walk in newness of life.
The context is one that reminds us that while we are freed from
the bondage of our sin, we are now servants of God Romans 6:16-19
reminds us that we are slaves of the one we present ourselves to obey.
Having obeyed from the heart “that form of doctrine” (see vs. 3-4
– baptism) and having be set free from sin, we are now slaves of
righteousness. See also vs.
22-23 which describes what being His slave actually means.
ii.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
tells us that the price was paid for us and therefore we are to glorify
God in our bodies.
iii.
Redeemed means that a
price was paid. Jesus paid
that price – Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Gal. 3:13, etc.
iv.
Belonging to God means
we live for Him. We are His
servants, stewards, slaves.
We must obey Him. We
serve Him with a loyal heart.
1 Peter 2:9-10 describes us as “His own special people.”
d.
You live by faith
-
i.
Faith means that we
trust God and we believe Him (not merely believing IN Him).
It is a firm persuasion that motivates our lives.
Hebrews 11:1 describes this faith
ii.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us
that without faith we cannot please Him
iii.
It is fundamental to our
salvation – Romans 1:16, John 3:16, etc.
iv.
2 Peter 1:5 puts our
faith at the very foundation of what we build on.
v.
Some 5 times in the New
Testament we read of the faith of Abraham and that “it
was accounted to him for righteousness.”
(Romans 4:3, 5, 22, Galatians 3:6 & James 2:23, see also Gen.
15:6) In Abraham we see the
type of faith we need as Christians – he developed an unwavering trust
in God. BUT, it was also a
faith that OBEYED God! As a result, God was pleased with him.
vi.
Faith needs to govern
our lives – Galatians 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:7 – we walk by faith, not by sight.
vii.
This is something easy
to say, but it is not that easy to do!
Faith becomes a challenge when obeying God conflicts with that
which is comfortable. But
that is also when we show God how much we do trust Him.
How much we truly are Christians.
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 says,
“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards
that one be found faithful.”
The word, “faithful” is a derivative of the same root word as
faith and believe and means to be one worthy of being trusted.
In other words, our faith in God is such that He has faith in us
to do the right thing.
We will address this
faith in greater detail later this year.
e.
You are blessed
i.
The blessings we all
experience in this life are innumerable.
But as Christians, there are other blessings – spiritual
blessings – we enjoy in Him.
ii.
You have peace with God
–
Sin produces enmity with God.
But because of Jesus (i.e. we become Christians) the enmity that
existed before is gone – Ephesians 2:14-15Rom. 5:1, “Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ,”
Phil. 4:7 – when we
trust God, “the peace that passes understanding will guard our hearts.
iii.
You have the privilege
of prayer –
Heb. 4:15-16 – because of Jesus, we have an advocate to the Father.
WE can approach Him in prayer as Christians.
Consider also Heb. 7:24-25, 1 John 2:1-2
1 John 5:14-15 speaking to Christians he said that the confidence we
have in Him – we can ask and He will hear us.
(He may not answer the way we want, but He hears.
AND He knows what is best.)
iv.
You have hope –
Christians have something better to look forward to when this life is
over.
As Paul gave a defense to Felix he said, “I have hope in God, which
they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the
dead, both of the just and the unjust.” (Acts 24:15)
This hope caused him to live
with a pure conscience and without offense (vs. 16)
1 Peter 1:3 speaks of God who according to His abundant mercy has
begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ… Colossians 1:5 describes it as a hope laid up in heaven.
Hebrews 6:19 describes it as our anchor in heaven.
When we are facing troubles, discouragement, and setbacks, this is
something we must continually keep in our minds.
f.
You have
responsibilities
i.
Along with our
blessings, we have obligations.
Contrary to what many teach, we are called upon to remain
faithful to Him.
ii.
We have a responsibility
to be faithful children, serve God and trust Him as we have discussed
above.
iii.
We also have a
responsibility to be different than the world.
We are different
iv.
And we need to keep
growing – the very premise of our discussion this year.
2 Peter 3:18. 2 Corinthians
4:16, Romans 12:2 – we are to be renewed day by day.
That is something we must be striving to do.
Our
whole goal this year is to prefect our lives as Christians.
May this lesson remind us what
being a Christian is about.
And with that, may we strive to be better in our pursuit of eternal
life.