(From http://www.christinyou.net)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN? There is much confusion among the general public, as well as the religious community, concerning what it means to be a “Christian.”
Does it mean assenting to a particular belief-system?
Does it mean consenting to a prescribed morality pattern?
Does it mean changing and improving one’s behavior?
Does it mean joining a church organization?
Does it mean practicing regular rituals of worship?
Even those who call themselves “Christians” seem to have much difficulty articulating and verbalizing what it means to be a Christian. Their ambiguous explanations often convey an amalgamated “mish-mash” of affirming the above-mentioned activities.
What is needed is a clear Biblical restatement of the basic spiritual reality of being a Christian. That will be our objective in this study.
In order to do so, we will divide the study by differentiating what is involved in becoming a Christian initially, and what is subsequently involved in being the Christian one has become. Thus we can consider both the commencement and the continuance of what it means to be a Christian.
Becoming a Christian We are not referring to “getting religious,” or “joining a church,” or “believing and reciting correct creedal doctrines.” The issue we address is “becoming a Christian.”
What must one do to become a Christian?
In one sense, there is nothing anyone can DO to become a Christian. Everything necessary to become and be a Christian has been done by Jesus Christ, which is why He exclaimed “It is finished!” (John 19:30). It is only by the grace-activity of God in Jesus Christ that the opportunity of becoming and being a Christian is afforded to mankind. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). There is no human performance or effort that can effect the spiritual reality of becoming a Christian… READ MORE
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