Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,154,763 members, 7,824,189 topics. Date: Saturday, 11 May 2024 at 03:51 AM

Who Is A Christian? - Religion - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / Who Is A Christian? (503 Views)

10 Practical Ways To Battle Sexual Temptation In A Christian's Life / Things That A Christian Shouldn't Buy Or Sell / Is It Right for a Christian to Expose False Prophets and False Teaching ? (2) (3) (4)

(1) (Reply)

Who Is A Christian? by Nobody: 3:59pm On Jan 29, 2012
The word Christian is one word that means different thing to different people. To some, a Christian is anybody who bears a Biblical name such as Michael, James, Sarah, Mary etc. To another a Christian is someone who was born into a Christian family. Am I a Christian because of the name I bear or because of my family background or my being a citizen of a country regarded as a Christian country? Does my being a church member, a chorister, a pastor etc make me a Christian? To answer this question, let us take a look at the Bible from where the word Christian was first used.
According to Acts 11:26 “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” You will notice from the passage that it was the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ that were called Christians. In other words, they were called Christians because they were the disciples of the Lord Jesus. It was not because they were Jews or Greeks, neither was it because of the name they bore, nor was it because of their family background or the office they occupy in the church etc. It was simply because they were His disciples. This brings us to the next question. Who is a disciple?
According to the Oxford Advanced learners Dictionary, a disciple is a person who believes in and follows the teachings of a religious or political leader. This definition follows without any ambiguity the definition of a disciple as given by our Lord Jesus in John 8:31 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed.” A disciple of Christ (Christian) is one who is in Christ and whose lifestyle is based upon the teaching of Christ. If we look at the first part of this passage, the Lord was addressing those who believed on Him: that is those who were born-again. To be born-again means to be born from above (John 3:3). It is to be born of God (John 1:13). A person who is born-again (Christian) has the seed of God in him or her (1 John 3:9; 1 Pet 1:23). The Bible tells us in Gen 5:3 that Adam begat a son in his own likeness, after his image. Just as we have the characteristics of our parents so also when one is born-again he puts on the likeness (characteristics) of God. This is because his old life has been crucified with Christ and a new one in Christ Jesus has come (Gal 2:20; Rom 6:6). He is therefore expected to live his life like that of his heavenly Father who begat him (2 Cor 5:15; Gal 5:24).
This new creature gives himself completely to God and uses his whole body as an instrument to do what is right to the glory of God (Rom 6:13). Sin no longer reigns nor rules over him (Rom 6:12) neither does he practice sin (1 John 3:9-10). He walks in love and will not hate his brother or sister (John 13:35; 1 John 2:9-11).
From the forgoing, a Christian is person who is in Christ Jesus; a dedicated follower (disciple) of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:31). He consistently lives the life of Christ (Phi 1:21). Living a righteous life is his focus (Col 3:1-2). He seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt 6:33). He does not compromise the word of God and will not put up with those who do (2 John 9-10). It is that man who is faithful in all that the Lord has committed unto him and who seeks God’s glory in his life (1 Cor 9:16-18). A Christian will always love what God loves and will hate all that He hates.
Are you a Christian? Should the trumpet sound as you are reading this piece will you be raptured? Although we don’t pray to die suddenly but sometimes it does come without notice. If does come now, will you be received into glory? Remember that the life of a man is just like a vapour that appears for a while and then disappears (James 4:14). Don’t be deceived it is only disciples who will be in heaven. You money can’t take you there. Your position in your denomination is inconsequential. Your family background means nothing without the life of Christ in you. Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
God bless you.


I encourage you to visit www.livingseed.org and www.momentoftruthministry.com for more teachings of the Word of God.
Re: Who Is A Christian? by Lasinoh: 4:12am On Jan 30, 2012
Only Jesus Christ.
He never married and he never phocked.
The rest of you are just wasting your bloody time.
You can be best described as followers of 'Belzeebub'! kiss

(1) (Reply)

Day Of The Lord - A Great Shaking / Message For My Fellow Brothers In The North. / Judge Not, That You May Not Be Judge. What About A Judge?

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 16
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.