Which word best describes you…

'good'; 'religious'; 'believer'; or a ‘Christian’?

Part 1

1-23-11

Six centuries before the birth of Christ among men, the prophet Isaiah foretold that a new name would be given to the people of God. The prophet wrote, "And the nations shall see thy righteousness and all kings thy glory: and thou shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name" (Isa. 62:2). The Lord was going to give his people a new name! This prophecy is not fulfilled until we come to the New Testament, to the eleventh chapter of Acts. By this time, Christ has come, given his blood for the sins of the world, and has been resurrected has from the dead. The church has now been established and the gospel is being preached among the nations. Thus, the stage is set for the giving of this new name, and in Acts 11:26 we read, "The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch".

The name Christian is not a term of derision. Rather, this is the new name which God gave to his people, a name to be worn with joy and with thanksgiving. The apostle Peter wrote, "If a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name" (1 Pet. 4:16). The name Christian glorifies God and honors Christ, for the name Christian cannot be spoken without pronouncing the name of Christ, our blessed Savior.

The name Christian is also an exclusive name, for, the disciples were called Christians at Antioch. To be a Christian, one must be a disciple, a follower, of Christ. To learn what discipleship means, we must go to the Bible. When we study the name Christian in the Bible, we find that the name is used in a narrow exclusive sense. The world uses the term broadly to embrace anyone who gives even lip service to the principles of Christ, but not so in the Bible. Because the word 'Christian' is so mis-applied, many believe themselves to be a Bible-defined Christian  As Jesus once said, "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." [Matt. 7:21]; so likewise, not everyone who claims to be a Christian, IS a Christian.  The Bible gives clear evidence of the characteristics of a Christian. In this evidence, we likewise have proof as to who is NOT a Christian, and why they are not.

Not all good people are Christians. Goodness is certainly a characteristic of the Christian, and without goodness one cannot be a Christian, but still not all good people are Christians. Morality is an obligation of a Christian, but morality ALONE does not make one a Christian.  Consider some good people:

Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night. There is nothing to indicate that Nicodemus was anything other than a good man, and yet, Jesus taught that he had to be born again. The Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When Nicodemus failed to understand the new birth, Jesus explained it more fully by saying, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Nicodemus was evidently a good man, but he had not undergone this new birth and without being born anew, he not enter God's kingdom!

Cornelius, the Gentile centurion was certainly a good moral man, exemplary in many traits of character, but when we read of him in Acts 10, he was not a Christian.  At this point he is described as "a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always" (Acts 10:2). It is also said that he was "a just man, well reported of by all the nation of the Jews" (Acts 10:22).  Yet, Cornelius was lost in his sins!  Where is the evidence of this?  From the words of an angel of God!  The angel told him to send for Peter...WHY??? "...who shall speak unto thee words whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house" (Acts 11:14). What "words" did Cornelius need to hear?  I submit that it was the words that Jesus gave to the apostles just before His ascension back to heaven.  They are found at the end of each of the four gospels (cf. Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; John 17:18).  These words were the words preached by Peter and the eleven on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38. They were proclaimed to every person(s) in the book of Acts who had not been born again.  They constitute the "form of doctrine" (Romans 6:17-18) that was consistently preached to sinners in the Bible, after Jesus had been made "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).  It contains commands to be obeyed "from the heart" (Romans 6:17-18).  Thus, we can read of those who will be eternally lost as including those who do NOT OBEY the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8), in addition to those who do not know God.  There are many who do not know God, but many know God, but haven't OBEYED THE GOSPEL COMMANDS THAT PERTAIN TO BEING BORN ANEW!

Only those who have been born “from above”, i.e. of water and of the Spirit (John 3:3, 5), “…glorify God in this name" (1 Pet. 4:16). As Jesus said, "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matt. 7:21

Roger Bruner