What is a Christian?

Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.     Acts 11:25–26

If you look up the word “Christian” in a dictionary, you will find a variety of possible meanings, all of which accurately reflect the way the word is used in modern English speech. The truth is, however, that we shouldn’t be as interested in how the word is used by society as we are in how it is used by God. This is simply because God Himself is the one who introduced this beautiful word to the world. When Luke tells us that “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch,” he seems to be leaving the subject ambiguous. In other words, he appears to leave us wondering who it is that called them this. Did they give themselves this name? Was this a title given to them by the community or even by their enemies? A brief survey of the Greek word translated “called” in this context reveals that God is always the subject where the word is used in the New Testament (see Matt. 2:12, 22; Luke 2:26; Acts 10:22; Rom. 7:3; Heb. 8:5; 11:7; 12:25). If God is the one who invented the word “Christian” (cf. Isa. 62:2), how would He define that term? If we want to know, we only need to look at these disciples in Antioch.

A Christian is someone who has heard God’s word and obeyed it. To begin with, these people in Antioch heard “the preaching of the Lord Jesus” (v 20). This message produced faith and repentance as they “turned to the Lord” (v 21). Luke informs us that these souls were subsequently “added to the Lord” (v 24), and we learn earlier in this same document that one is “added” when he is baptized in the name of Jesus (2:41, 47). A Christian is also someone who “continues with the Lord” (v 23). Part of God’s definition of a Christian is one who has faith in Jesus, turns to Him, is added to Him through baptism, and continues with Him in obedient faith.

A Christian is also someone who shows God’s love in His heart. When these saints learned about the material needs of their brethren in Judea, they determined to send them all the aid that they could muster (vv 28–30). After all, their brethren in Judea were responsible for sending Barnabas and helping them to come to the faith and grow in it (v 22; cf. Rom. 15:27).

A Christian is someone who honors God’s pattern. They did this by not forsaking the assembly (v 26; cf. Heb. 10:25). They also respected the authority of the Jerusalem eldership when they sent their gift and entrusted it to these godly men for distribution (v 30). If God called them Christians who submitted to His pattern relative to the church and its worship, shouldn’t we be willing to do the same?

Just because you consider yourself a Christian doesn’t mean that you are one: what matters is whether or not God considers you a Christian. If you wish to be a Christian by God’s definition, you must hear the gospel and obey it, show your love for others, and honor the pattern God has established.

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