What is a Christian?
OK, to explain what a Christian is let's turn it around and look at what
a Christian isn't.
You're not a Christian by going to church.
Christianity is called a religion but its not about being religious (although churches, ours
included, sometimes slip into this trap). Christianity is about being in a
relationship with God. The going to church bit comes out of this. Church is
where Christians worship God together, encourage and help each other - it should
be like a happy family. (You can be a Christian without going to church but if you're
really a Christian you should want to go. It's also not recommended - it makes being
a Christian very hard - like a coal taken out of being
a Christian very hard - like a coal taken out of a fire you cool down.)
You're not a Christian by believing in God.
The devil believes in God. (Yes he's real too - he just likes you to think that
he's not 'cause he can be more effective that way.) Obviously the devil isn't a
Christian. What else is needed? To put God in charge of your life. This doesn't
mean giving up all your freedom, just freedom to do things which aren't good for
you and for others. There are things we do which are wrong, which God wouldn't
do and we need to say sorry to him for them. There are also things in our life
which we can't attain by ourselves such as lasting peace, love and satisfaction
and being good enough to get into heaven. If we say "I can't do it - I want to
follow you God" then he will come into our life and turn it around.
You're not a Christian by being good.
And you don't get to heaven by being good. We just can't do it by ourselves -
we can never be as good as God no matter how hard we try. If you take two people
who are very different they would probably find it difficult to live in the same
house. It's the same with us - we cannot live with a totally holy God - not in this
life or the next. Then there's the universal law that every wrong-doing deserves a
punishment - again that involves separation from God and the good things that
come from h and the good things that
come from him, both in this life and beyond. But there is good news - we can "borrow"
the goodness of Jesus in order to live with God. He was God and man (confusing I know - don't ask me to explain) which meant he was able to live on this earth without doing
anything wrong. And not only that but we can let him take all our punishment for
everything we've done wrong. In fact he's already done it by taking a death sentence
and being executed on a cross. How do we? By receiving the gift, saying thank you
and sticking with the friend who has done so much for us.
You don't have to be good before becoming a Christian.
Following on from the previous section we don't have to try to be perfect before we can approach God. He takes us as we are as long as we have a willingness to change.
You're not a Christian by being Christened/Baptised.
(Or even by being "Confirmed") A public acknowledgement of being a Christian should
follow a conscious decision to follow Jesus. These are not a way of becoming one.
A Christian doesn't wait until death to experience heaven.
Being a Christian is not about being bored in church and waiting until you die to
find out if heaven is real. As you walk with God you enjoy a taste of heaven here on
earth. When you make peace with God you will find make peace with God you will find a peace in your life, also an underlying
joy (you're not guaranteed to always be happy) and a sense of being loved by God. As well
mending us spiritually God heals us emotionally and even physically. God provides his Holy
Spirit to help us understand him and the bible, worship him and behave differently.
Christians don't just worship the same God as every other religion.
Other religions say that Jesus was just a man or do not even mention him. They say that
you must work your way into heaven by being good and doing good things. These things
directly contradict what Jesus said. Conflicting statements cannot all be true - only one can be and in the same way there can be only one religion which is true. Which is it? You must choose - it's a matter of life or death. For me the God of the bible makes
sense. It doesn't make sense that God would want me to spend the rest of my life not knowing if I've scored enough points to get into heaven. God's not like that -
he wants us to know we are safe with him. He wants us to get to know him.