Growing up, I called myself a Christian. Baptized as an infant, I was raised in the church, confirmed as a young teen, and believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, my Savior.
My family celebrated Christmas and Easter, I knew all the words to the Apostles’ Creed by heart, and I checked off all the boxes I thought identified me as a member of my faith.
But when I became an adult, questions loomed: What does it really mean to be a Christian? I hadn’t even memorized a single Bible verse. What was a “real Christian,” and did I qualify?
Even more, I wondered — did I believe everything it meant to still be able to call myself a Christian?
That began a time of earnest seeking when I explored the Bible and tried to understand what it really meant to be an authentic Christian.
I didn’t want my faith to be something I checked off on the form at the doctor’s office when they asked about my religious preferences. I wanted it to mean something.
The good news is that the Bible tells us very clearly what it means to be a Christian, and it’s not so complicated.
What does it mean to be a Christian? Let’s take a look.
A Christian might be better described as a “Jesus follower,” for that summarizes the crux of the faith.
Someone who is a Christian believes not only that Jesus existed, teaching and walking the earth and performing miracles, but that he truly is the Son of God and the Savior of humanity.
The word “savior” is key.
John 3:16-17 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV).
This is critical, the understanding that because of our belief in Jesus, we are saved.
Christians also understand what Jesus said about being the only path to salvation. Sometimes, the world convinces us there are multiple paths to heaven and eternal life, including general kindness and belief in God.
But Jesus was clear that he is our only path to salvation. As he said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Notice he said “the way,” not “a way.” Jesus is our Savior, period.
There’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation. We can’t be nice enough, work hard enough, or even follow all of God’s rules well enough to bypass the Son and get a room in God’s heavenly home.
Jesus is the only way. There’s nothing we can do here except surrender and acknowledge him as the only one who can save us.
Of course, understanding that Jesus is the savior usually leads to the next key point, which is understanding that on our own, we are lost. Even the kindest people commit sins, intentionally or unintentionally. We put our own self-interests before others and before God.
We rely on ourselves to achieve and think our money and our possessions are our own instead of understanding that all things come from the Lord.
Even if we’ve never murdered, lied, cheated, or stolen a day in our life, the sinful or prideful thoughts that ping through our minds convict us and build a wall between us and God.
When we choose Jesus, we also acknowledge that we are sinners. We can try our hardest not to sin, but deep down, on our own, we are lost. We can’t possibly do enough to earn our way into heaven. Only by God’s extravagant grace are we forgiven and given a new chance at life.
Acknowledging our sinful nature is an important step in our faith journey as we claim the identity of a genuine Christian. Once we confess, we then strive not to sin again.
This doesn’t always happen. Most of us sin every day, multiple times a day, often not even realizing the errors of our ways until later.
But then we look inward and see the truth. Repentance means truly feeling sorry that we did something wrong and then striving not to do it again. It’s a process that repeats itself every day, typically.
Over time, perhaps we get better at not sinning, which is actually called sanctification. It’s a process of becoming more holy, more like Christ. But this is a process and typically not achieved.
This striving for holiness leads us to the next critical aspect of Christianity: committing our life to Christ and trying our hardest to be like him.
There are a number of things that help with this step. First, surrounding yourself with other Christians is extremely helpful. Join a church and a Bible study or small life group, and begin incorporating Christian practices into your life.
Attend worship service and read God’s Word, the Holy Bible. If you’re new to the Bible start with the New Testament, particularly with the four gospel accounts: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
These review the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the New Testament offers helpful information on how the church started after Jesus’ resurrection and practical advice from key apostles on how to live the Christian life.
Pray daily and often, and know that this isn’t a prescribed formal recipe. Prayer is simply a dialogue with God. You might thank God for salvation and for his blessings, express what is troubling you, and ask him to help you draw closer to him.
Over time, you’ll begin to listen to God better and hear him guiding you. Not everyone hears God’s voice directly, but fervent prayer helps us know God and learn to rely on him.
Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Love is the root of Christianity.
When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus said the first is to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).
When we follow Jesus and start to become more like him, we start to see others the way he does. We see past the petty earthly concerns or fights or jealousies and see the soul beneath it all. We forgive hurts, and we naturally begin to care for others.
Jesus said that when we care for others, we’re caring for him. Love for others becomes love for him. In Matthew 25:31-45, he said that when we feed and clothe others, visit them in prison, tend to them in sickness, and welcome them in hospitality, we are doing this for him.
This is the true mark of a Christian.
Eventually, we find our love for others eclipses all else. As the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Originally, disciples of Jesus weren’t called Christians but “followers of The Way.” The Book of Acts tells us the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26).
Scholars say the word “Christian” comes from the Greek word christianos, meaning “little Christ.”
Stories say the term was used as a jeer, as their enemies would poke fun at them by calling them diminutive versions of their Savior — as in, “Look at those ‘little Christs.’”
This is because followers of Jesus reportedly had such a distinctly different way of behaving as compared to the rest of the world, putting into practice the love and care for others that Jesus called them to.
If you’ve read all this and are asking this question, consider that a true Christian is someone who has put faith and trust in Christ.
Christians believe that Jesus is their Savior, repent of their sins, and try their best to love others in Jesus’ name, following God’s commandments and striving to share Jesus with the world.
No one ever becomes the “perfect Christian.” It’s a process. But thank the Lord that he covers our mistakes with grace and love.
Amen. Thanks be to God!
For further reading:
What Should New Christians Know about the Bible?
5 Pieces of Advice for New Believers
3 Things New Believers Should Know about Christianity
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