What Is A Christian?

The term "Christian" was first coined in Antioch and was meant as an insult. But disciples of Jesus took it as a badge of honor. It literally means a follower of Christ. Christ is the Greek version of the Hebrew word Messiah. In other words, Christian literally means follower of Jesus the Messiah, which is another way of saying a disciple of Jesus. But what is a Christian really?

There are those who believe and teach that anyone who claims to be a Christian must be accepted as a Christian. This is blatantly anti-biblical and woke nonsense. But even churches that claim to reject the lies of the "woke" hypocritically endorse this view. In Matthew 7:16 Jesus commanded we judge them by their fruits. And Paul told churches to remove the false Christians from their fellowship. But most churches ignore the Bible when it contradicts their false beliefs. In my former church, a pastor didn't seem to care that a staff member was doing all sorts of bad and sinful behavior, including things that could get the church sued for abuse. But when I made the obvious conclusion that this person wasn't a Christian the pastor finally reacted and with passion. How dare I judge that guy, even though we are told to do it in scripture. (See the article "Are We To Judge?".) Unfortunately, biblical illiteracy among the pastors is standard at that church. And failure to follow scriptural commands on church discipline is why most churches are teaching nonsense instead of God's word. Therefore we really should examine and determine what really is and is not a Christian.

If someone makes a golden calf like in Exodus 32, calls it Jesus and worships that are they a Christian? Absolutely not! That is idolatry which is forbidden in both Testaments. Idol worshipers replace God with a lie. The idol cannot save them. Only Jesus can save us.

What if some people say a guy in Massachusetts is Jesus and they worship him? He was given the name Barry at birth, but they call him Jesus now and claim he is the Messiah. Are they Christians? In no way are they Christians! They have made a fake Jesus, which is just another form of idolatry.

What if someone invents their own Jesus that will send all the people they disagree with to Hell? If you think that is a Christian you need psychological help. That is idolatry of themselves and their own thoughts, putting them above God's teaching.

What if someone says there is a fourth person in the trinity named Fred that they worship? Are they a Christian? Absolutely not! They are making up their own bogus religion with some Christian sounding terms. They are violating the direct teaching and commandments of scripture for their own nonsense. It's another form of self-idolatry.

What if someone says their identity and who they are is a thief. Then when someone points to scriptures like 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 that clearly says the unrighteous like thieves and many other kinds of sinners will will not inherit the Kingdom of God they dismiss scripture. They reply, "I don't think stealing is wrong" and "This is my identity! You are attacking me saying it's wrong!" Are they a Christian? Absolutely not! This should be another hyperbolic example like the others, but it's not. Far too many of those who claim to be a Christian believe their sinful behavior is actually good. They are calling evil good. They are denying God's morality and substituting their own. They are making an idol of their own thoughts and ideas and putting their faith in their own reasoning. No matter how people repackage self-idolatry it will not save them. To be clear, God absolutely does not accept "good intentions" as an excuse. People make up justification for the evil they do claiming they had good intentions. God is not mocked. He knows our hearts. He knows when we are trying to justify doing things we know are wrong.

What if someone says they will go to heaven because they did more good than bad and claim to be a Christian? Are they a Christian? No, they are not a Christian. This should also be a hyperbolic example as well, but it's not. Far too many of those who think they are Christians believe this nonsense. Shame on their churches and leaders for this failure to make disciples. This is the justification by works heresy. The person who believes this lie is putting their faith in their own actions and rejecting Jesus. This is making an idol of what they do. Jesus is the only possible salvation for us. (For a more detailed explanation see the article "Who Gets To Go To Heaven?")

Worshipping anything other than the real Jesus is idolatry. Looking to anything other than the real Jesus for salvation is idolatry. Making up a religion that is not what was taught by Jesus is idolatry. It is heresy to follow anything that isn't the real Jesus.

Only a person who puts their faith in the real Jesus is a Christian. Only someone who humbly acknowledges the need for Jesus is even capable of putting their faith in Jesus. A person who really has put their faith in Jesus wants to know Him. And they learn about Him in scripture. They learn His commandments and try to follow them even though they do it imperfectly. God's word is the standard and guide to keep us away from idolatry. Idolatry is foolish, stupid, destructive and evil.

To be clear, you don't have to have a perfect understanding of God or Christianity to be a Christian. That is, you don't have to get everything about Christianity right to be saved. What you need to have right is to have real faith in the real Jesus. That's it. However, it is very important to do our best to get the other things right. Getting things wrong makes it super-easy to stray from the real Jesus, to leave Christianity for a cult, to push aside God's word for the false teachings of man, or to be misled into making idols that replace the real Jesus. If anyone thinks that is an overreaction, they are dangerously naive. The study of God is called theology. And all Christians are called to be theologians, at least part-time. We will stand alone before the Judgement Seat of Jesus. The wolf in sheep's clothing someone choose to follow instead of scripture will not be there with them. That they followed a false teacher will not be an excuse. We all have scripture to guide us. Rejecting scripture for something else is rejecting God. And those will not enter Heaven.

There are some things in scripture that are what Paul called "disputable matters". These are things Christians can disagree about and still be Christians. Paul's instruction in these things for both sides not to put their views on the other. He did say there was one who was right and one who was wrong. But these are not salvation issues. A common one is the method used to do baptism. Scripture doesn't say which is right. I personally think immersion captures the symbology better. But it's not scripturally required. People can think sprinkling is the better way. And there is nothing wrong with that. Neither view is a problem unless people get unbiblical about it and make stuff up. Another is alcohol. Paul even addressed this one. He made it clear that the one who thinks it's okay to drink is the one who is right. But Paul also said a person who feels a personal conviction they shouldn't drink should follow their personal conviction. Neither is to put their own views on the other. Basically, if you can't talk about it nicely leave each other alone. Let me be clear, with a disputable matter it is a sin to try to make others follow your view. And to lie that it is a salvation issue is to commit heresy.

However, some things are indisputable matters in Christianity. Disagreeing with these puts a person outside Christianity. There aren't many. But these are basic truths that scripture is utterly clear about and are indisputable. Here is a short list of indisputable beliefs of a real Christian:

• God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today.
• God is good. It is impossible for Him to do evil.
• There is one God in three persons who always existed and created everything else.
• The three persons are the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
• The Son became man. His name was Jesus and He was the Messiah as prophesied.
• Jesus lived a sinless life.
• All of humanity has sinned and deserves punishment and death.
• Jesus died on the cross for our salvation.
• Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
• Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned.
• Our salvation is an undeserved gift we call grace.
• All we have to do is put our faith in Jesus to receive the grace of God.
• Jesus is the only way to be saved.
• We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.
• Works are the outward evidence of our inward faith and the natural result of true belief in Jesus.
• The Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.
• There are absolute moral truths, particularly those defined by the Bible.
• Satan is real.
• Hell is real.
• A Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people.
• There are false teachers who will try to lead people away from God, scripture, and the truth. Jesus called them wolves in sheep's clothing.

Anyone who denies any of these basic truths is not a Christian. They are following a false religion and are denying God's word. The theological word for a fake Christian religion is a cult. While many follow a fake leader, just as many are following their own thoughts and ideas. This is literally putting the false leader or themselves in the place of God. Trying to impersonate someone is crime in the secular culture. It's is absolute blasphemy to try to be God.

The key to being a Christian is humility. Arrogance keeps people from accepting God's teaching and His word. A humble person accepts that they need God. A humble person knows that God knows better than they do. A humble person accepts that scripture is the word of God and that they should accept its correction. A humble person can follow God's way instead of sticking to their own. A humble person is capable of being a Christian. An arrogant person insists on their own way and tries to be God.

Psalm 51:10-17
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.