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The Bible uses
several terms to refer to the Christian. This article begins a
short series of articles that will call the reader’s attention to
“A Christian Is.” So we take a look, a Christian
is…
A Disciple.
A reading of Acts 11:26 reveals, “and the disciples were first
called Christians in Antioch.” The New Testament term
disciple denotes “one who follows one's teaching”
(Vines). Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed” (Jn. 8:31). A Christian is a follower of
Christ.
A Member Of The Body.
To the Christians at Corinth Paul wrote, “For as the body is one
and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12). How does
one become a member of the body? The Bible teaches that one is
“baptized into Christ” (Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 12:13). A
Christian is a member of the body of Christ.
A Believer.
Jesus declared, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in
your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your
sins” (Jn. 8:24). A Christian believes in Christ, God (Heb.
11:6) and acts upon God’s will with obedience. A reading of
Mark 16:16 reveals, “He who believes and is baptized will be
saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk. 16:16).
A Child of God.
A Christian is “a child of God” (1 Jn. 3:9-10). This
occurs has folks are “born of God.” Jesus said,
“unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God” (John 3:5). One becomes a child of God by
hearing, believing and obeying God.
A Sojourner.
Peter penned, “I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
In what sense is a Christian a sojourner? A Christian is a
temporary resident on earth and “here we do not have an enduring
city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Heb.
13:14). A reading of Philippians 3:20 reveals, “But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the
Lord Jesus Christ.” We sing “This world is not my
home, I’m just a passing through” (by Albert Brumley).
A Servant.
To the Christians at Rome Paul wrote, “Being then made free from
sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18).
The Christian has only one Master as “No one can serve two
masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon” (Mt. 6:24). A Servant respects the authority of
his master. The Christian obeys the word of the Lord. Jesus
said, “But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things
which I say?” (Lk. 6:46). A Christian is a faithful servant
to the Lord!
A Saint.
Paul addressed the Ephesian letter “to the saints who are in
Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1).
Christians are saints “as they are set apart to the service of
God.” Paul explained to the Corinthians “But
you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor.
6:11). A person is set apart for the service of God when he or
she hears, believes obeys the Gospel.
A Soldier.
Timothy, a Christian, was exhorted to “endure hardship as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3). The Christian as a
soldier does not “wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places” (Eph. 6:12). This battle is not physical, but
spiritual. The Christian soldier takes a stand for the truth and
combats false teaching.
A Steward.
God has entrusted certain things to the Christian and “it is
required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Cor.
4:2). What do we do with our time, resources, talents and
relationships? How do we use our time, resources and
talents? There will come a day when we have to give an account of
our stewardship, as each of us will “appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
A Priest.
It’s likely that many Christians don’t view themselves as
priest, but in the Gospel dispensation they are referred to as
such. Peter penned, “ you also, as living stones, are being
built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet.
2:5). A reading of 1 Peter 2:9 reveals, “But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light.” The Christian does not
offer sacrifices such as those offered by priest under the Mosaic
dispensation, but offers spiritual worship and service to God (Rom.
12:1-2).
A Worker.
Paul commanded Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved
to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). We often sing “to the
work, to the work…let us hope and trust, let us watch, and pray,
and labor till the Master comes” (Wm. H. Doane). The
Christians work in the Lord’s vineyard (Mt. 20:1-16) and there is
much work to do!
Called of God.
In his Roman letter, Paul greeted the recipients with “among whom
you also are the called of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:6). Men
today are being called through the word of God “for it is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first
and also for the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). This calling includes
hearing the word of God, believing it and obedience. A reading of
Acts 18:8 reveals “and many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed
and were baptized.”
A Worthy Name.
In the Old Testament Isaiah prophesied God’s people would be
called by a “new name” (Is. 62:2). That new name is
revealed in the New Testament when “the disciples were first
called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). The name
Christian is a worthy name as it indicates that one is a follower or
disciple of Christ.
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