What Is A Christian? Defined.

Many people call themselves Christians. There are many perceptions in the secular culture as to what constitutes a Christian. Let’s start by defining what a Christian is not.

One might be surprised that living a good moral life does not make a person a Christian, though that should be a result of. Many who are not Christians live a good clean and moral life, even atheists. How about going to church or being religious? I heard someone say a long time ago that being in a church does not make one a Christian anymore than being in a garage makes you a car. That is funny, but so true.

Now I will define a Christian. The first thing to recognize is the need of forgiveness and God’s grace. Sin is simply separation from God, and falling far short of God’s standard of righteousness in thought, word, or deeds. By this definition, even good people are sinners in need of forgiveness. Whether one has lived a good life, or has done really bad things, either way, when a decision is made to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, having faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, they become a Christian. When this decision is made the Holy Spirit of God resides in a person’s life, giving them a new nature. This is what it means to be “born again, as recorded in John 3:4-6.

When this takes place, a person is “delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”(Colossians 1:23-14).

There is, however, a spiritual battle between the old sin nature and the new nature given by the Holy Spirit. There are elements of the sin nature, but a person is being transformed by God’s grace and the working of the Holy Spirit. There is a battle between the flesh and the spirit. Some Christians take longer than others to see transformation. We are on different levels of spiritual maturity. Romans 8:5 says, “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit.” But the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 become more and more evident in a Christian’s life as he or she allows the Holy Spirit to work.

Just because a person is still showing evidences of the sin nature does not mean they are not a Christian. On the flip side, people should not call themselves Christian if they have not made that decision, no matter how religious they are, or how moral and righteous of a life they have lived.

One must also adhere to the belief that Jesus literally and bodily rose from the dead. Romans  15:14 says,“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain and your faith is vain.”

In summary, the definition of a Christian is a person who has acknowledged they are a sinner in need of God’s grace and forgiveness, has accepted  Jesus as his or her personal Savior, and believes that he rose from the dead.