What is a Christian?
By Suzanne Leitz |
Are you a Christian? A Christian is someone
who, according to Romans
10:9-10, has confessed that Jesus is Lord and believes that Jesus was
raised from the dead. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is
Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it
is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
In other words, a person is saved--he becomes a
Christian--through believing in his heart that Jesus is the son of God, that
He died for our sins, and that He rose again in victory over death and the
devil. A person is saved--he becomes a Christian--when he believes this in his
heart then confesses that he believes it.
Have you ever heard someone say, "Well,
I'm TRYING to be a Christian." What does that mean? How does one TRY to
be a Christian? Either you are one or you're not. Either you believe in Christ
and confess Him as Lord or you don't.
Maybe what they really mean is that they're
trying to be good. Well, it's good to be good but that doesn't mean you're a
Christian. Being good will not get you to Heaven. The only thing that assures
you of a place in Heaven, and assures you of a right relationship with God, is
your confession of Jesus as Lord of your life, with accompanying belief in
your heart.
Now, I don't mean to say you can be a Christian
and live like the devil. Christians have been created to do good works (Ephesians
2:10). Our faith in God will be evidenced by our works of obedience (James
2:26). Jesus said if we really love Him we will keep God's Word and obey
Him (John
14:23). If you are really a Christian your actions should show it. The
good works will follow the attitude of your heart and the confession of your
mouth.
Remember the order of things. This is very
important and widely misunderstood. Of course, the devil wants to keep people
ignorant and blind of this fact. The fact is this: Once you become a
Christian, God does a work in you and makes you a new creation. The person on
the inside becomes new (2
Corinthians 5:17). You will want to do good works, but doing good
works alone does NOT make you a Christian.
Think of it this way...Why did God send his son
Jesus to die a horrible death on the cross? John
3:16-17 tells us God loved the world so much that He gave His only son,
that whoever would believe on Him would not perish, but have eternal
life. God did not send His son to condemn the world, but that the world through
Jesus might be saved. If we could make it to Heaven by being a good
person, then God would not have had to send Jesus. Jesus has bridged the
sin gap between us and God. We couldn't get to God by our works. But by
Jesus' shedding His blood as a final sacrifice for the sin of the world, we
can have a relationship with God--through believing in His son, Jesus, and
confessing Him as Lord.
©
2004 Suzanne Leitz |
