Be Just a Christian - Lesson 7
The most important thing you will ever decide is whether you will be or will not be a Christian. This does not mean being religious or being a good person. Being a Christian is much more than that. In this lesson we will learn what a Christian is, how to become one, and how to remain one.
The word "Christian" is found only three times in the Bible:
Acts 11:26 -- "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."
Acts 28:18 -- "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
1 Peter 4:16 -- "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian."
The word "Christian" is a proper noun. You have probably learned what proper nouns are in school. Proper nouns are names of persons, places and things.
A Christian is a person who belongs to Jesus. Only people who obey the gospel Jesus gave have a right to be called Christians. A Kentuckian is a person who lives in and is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. They have that right because they were born in this State or they have moved to Kentucky to live there. A Christian is one who is born into God’s family (Read John 3:3-5 and 1 Cor. 4:15). All members of God’s family belong to Christ, are true "Christians."
The name "Christian" is a name to be worn with honor. It is an honor to be known as a Christian. Never bring dishonor or shame to the name that shows one belongs to Jesus and to Jesus alone.
James wrote: "Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?" (James 2:7). To blaspheme something is to make fun of it or to insult it. Usually one thinks of blaspheming something that is sacred. The name given to those who belong to Christ is a sacred name and a name to be worn with pride. The fact that one is a Christian should encourage goodness, honesty, and sinlessness. To betray the name Christian is like a person becoming a traitor to a just cause. The name Benedict Arnold usually causes one to think of a person who turned against his own country. Christians who live sinful lives are traitors to Christ.
The name "Christian" came from God Almighty. There was a prophet long ago whom God told to prophesy about the name Christian. The prophet was named Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied:
"And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name" (Isa. 62:2).
The prophet said that when Gentiles see righteousness out of Zion (or Jerusalem) and all kings see the glory of Israel, then this new name would be given by the mouth of the LORD. The only righteousness and glory ever to come out of Jerusalem was the proclamation that Jesus, of Nazareth, is the Messiah, the Christ, the Only begotten Son of God. That happened when Jesus fulfilled His mission here on earth. He came to set up a kingdom which would never be destroyed. He did. He came to offer salvation to all men. He did that also. Then when He was raised from the dead, He sent His apostles into all the world to preach the gospel "to every creature" (Mark 16:15). This is the word of the Lord that went out from Jerusalem (Please turn back and read Isaiah 2:1-4).
The name Christian did not come from the mouth of men, but from the mouth of God, therefore one should be happy and proud to be identified as a Christian. But men are known in religion by other names. Some are called Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Mormons, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and the list goes on and on. Have you ever wondered why these names are worn? Think about that for a while.
To be a Christian, one can be only a Christian, or just a Christian, but nothing in the Bible allows one to be a certain kind of Christian. For example, one can be a Christian, but not a "Catholic-Christian." The Bible does not teach that. The names people wear are identify them as part of what they call "Christianity." But Jesus never intended for Christians to be different, to join different religions, or to wear different names. He prayed:
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17:20-21).
If all who say they belong to Jesus would wear no other name than the name "Christian" there would be no division over what name to wear.
The way to become a Christian is the way to be saved, for they are the same. All saved people are Christians. No unsaved person is a Christian. In the Bible unsaved people are taught to hear the word (Rom. 10:17), believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), repent of their sins (Acts 3:19) and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38). Only those who do this are Christians. Have you been thinking about becoming a Christian?
Remaining faithful to the Lord is as important as becoming a Christian. Once you become a Christian you live the most wonderful life this world offers. Jesus said that we must endure to the end to be saved (Matt. 10:22) and to be faithful to death (Rev. 2:10). Along the way if a Christian slips and falls, he is to repent of his sins and ask God to forgive him (1 John 1:9). He does not need to be baptized every time he sins, but he does need to pray for forgiveness of all sins.
To be saved you can and must be just a Christian, nothing more or less. If you are of the age that you think of sin and fear that you will be lost, you are approaching an age when you need to think seriously about being saved and belonging to Jesus. Remember, you cannot say or write the word Christian without forming the word Christ first.
Questions for Study:
1. In Acts 11:26, what name is used to describe the disicples?
2. The passage says "they were called" that name. Who called them that name?
3. In Acts 26:28 who said "Almost thou persuadest me to be a" and what was he being persuaded to be?
4. How did Peter say people should suffer -- was it as a thief, or a criminal? or as what?
5. Read 1 Peter 4:16 again. Can you think of ways some might suffer according to what this verse is teaching?
6. What is the "worthy name" in James 2:7? Why do you think it is a worthy name?
7. What does the word "blaspheme" mean? How do people blaspheme the worthy name of James 2:7?
8. Is there a difference in being saved and belonging to Christ?
9. Who has the right to wear this name we’ve studied in this lesson?
10. What do people have to do in order to wear the name of Christ?
Fill in the Blanks:
1. And when he had found him, he brought him unto _______. And it came to pass, that a whole year they ___________ themselves with the _________, and taught much people. And the disciples were called ________________ first in Antioch. (Please give the chapter and verse ___________________.)
2. "Then ________________ said unto Paul, Almost thou ________________ me to be a _____________."(Please give the chapter and verse ___________.)
3. "Yet if any man _________ as a ______________, let him not be ashamed; but let him _________ God on this behalf." (Please give the chapter and verse: ____________________.)
4. "And the Gentiles shall see thy _______________, and all kings thy _______: and thou shalt be called by a ______ _________, which the mouth of the LORD shall name." (What is the chapter and verse for this? __________.)
5. "Do not they _______________ that worthy _________ by the which ye are ____________?" (Give the chapter and verse: _________________.)
True or False: True False
1. It doesn’t matter what name you wear in religion _____ _____
2. The people in Antioch started calling disciples _____ _____
Christians
3. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and names like _____ _____
that are just as good as the name Christian.
4. The name Christian means one who belongs _____ _____
to Christ
5. Everyone should wear the name Christian. _____ _____
6. There is no difference in being saved and being _____ _____
a Christian.
7. Must Christians be baptized again if they sin? _____ _____