What Is Christianity
What does it really mean to be a Christian?
What some think it is.
Individuals are referred to as Christians if they have English sounding or Biblical names or even attend Church regularly. Other times, people identify as Christians if they are from majority Christian or Western nation or were born into and raised by a Christian family.
From a biblical point of view, the above does not make you a Christian. Neither does doing good deeds, being christened in a church as a baby, or because you think Jesus was a good man and did good things, but you do not believe in Jesus as God and the son of God.
Quite simply, Christianity means believing in Jesus, following and obeying His teachings, and living as He lived.
The first part which is to believe in Jesus – you have to believe He is the Christ (Messiah), the only one that can save you from your sins and faults, and then confess with your mouth to be saved and born again.
“ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Roman 10:9 NKJV
Having faith in Jesus Christ, who is both Lord and Saviour, is the ONLY means through which we receive salvation.
The second part, you should follow and obey His teachings, living as Jesus lived.
“He who says he abides in Him (Jesus), ought himself also to walk just as He walked” 1 John 2:6 NKJV (emphasis added)
When you confess with your mouth and invite Jesus into your heart as Lord and saviour, His Spirit will dwell within you, changing you to a new person. Your old sinful nature will be transformed to doing what is right by God’s perspective. His Spirit will help you every step of the way to live in obedience as He lived.
“However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact, the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].” Romans 8:9 AMP
In summary, a Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh, who came to save them from their sins and therefore, is born again by the Spirit of God and is given a new heart (nature) that loves God and fellow human.
“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” Acts 11: 25 – 26. NIV
The disciples where first called Christians in Antioch as stated in the above verse over 2000 years ago because they were identified as followers of Jesus and His teachings. Now the question is, will you want to be a Christian?
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