What Is a Christian? Part 2

Scripture defines a Christian not by culture, family background, morality, or religious vocabulary, but by union with Jesus through repentance and faith.

The word Christian has been emptied of meaning in many places. Some use it to describe a moral person. Others mean someone raised in a church, baptized as an infant, politically conservative, or vaguely religious. But Scripture does not permit us to define a Christian by custom, sentiment, or self-identification. God Himself defines the Christian.

A Christian is a person who has been made new by the grace of God through faith in Jesus alone. A Christian is not merely someone who admires Jesus, speaks about Jesus, or borrows Christian language. A Christian is one who has been reconciled to God by the sin-atoning work of Jesus, forgiven of sins, justified by faith, adopted into God’s family, and set on the path of holiness by the Holy Spirit.

At the heart of the matter is this: A Christian belongs to Christ.

The Bible shows that humanity’s fundamental problem is not lack of purpose, low self-esteem, or poor habits. Our problem is sin. We are born in Adam, spiritually dead, hostile to God, and unable to save ourselves. We do not drift into Christianity by good intentions. We must be rescued by the grace of God.

Ephesians 2:1-5. "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

That is the condition from which every true Christian has been delivered. The Christian is a trophy of God's mercy and grace. Salvation is not a cooperative project in which God does His part and man finishes the rest. It is the work of sovereign grace from beginning to end. God awakens the dead heart, grants repentance and faith, and brings the sinner to Jesus.

So then, what is a Christian?

A Christian is first a sinner who has been humbled before a holy God. No one becomes a Christian while clinging proudly to self-righteousness. Jesus did not come to congratulate the respectable. He came to save sinners. The true Christian has stopped arguing with God’s verdict. They confess that God is right, that His Word is good, and that their sin is real, evil, and deserving of judgment.

A Christian is also one who repents. Repentance is not mere regret, embarrassment, or outward reform. It is a Spirit-worked turning from sin to God. It does not mean sinless perfection in this life, but it does mean a changed direction. The Christian no longer makes peace with sin. Sin is no longer cherished as friend, but hated as rebellion against God.

A Christian is one who trusts in Jesus alone for salvation. Not Jesus plus works. Not Jesus plus religious rituals. Not Jesus plus church membership. Jesus alone. His sinless life, His sin-atoning death, His bodily resurrection, and His perfect righteousness are the only hope of the believer.

John 14:6. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

That means a Christian is not simply “religious.” Most religious people are lost, and are on their way to Hell. A Christian has ceased trusting in personal goodness and now rests entirely on Jesus. The Christian understands that there is one mediator between God and man, and it is not a priest, sacrament, institution, or personal effort. It is Jesus Himself.

A Christian is also justified. This is one of the most glorious truths in all Scripture. To be justified is to be declared righteous before God, not because of inward merit, but because the righteousness of Jesus is imputed to the believer. This is why the gospel is such good news. God does not save by pretending that sin is small. He saves by judging sin in His Son and crediting Christ’s obedience to all who believe.

2 Corinthians 5:21. "God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

This means the Christian stands before God not on a probationary basis, but clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. The conscience may accuse, Satan may condemn, and the world may mock--but God receives every every genuine believer in Jesus.

Yet Christianity is not only pardon; it is transformation. A Christian is born again.

John 3:3. "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

The new birth is not self-improvement. It is not turning over a new leaf. It is a supernatural act of God, in which the heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh. The Christian begins to love the holy God who they once hated, and hate the sin that they once loved. There is now an inward war against sin, and a new affection for holiness, truth, and obedience.

This is why a Christian cannot be defined merely by a past decision or verbal profession. A true Christian bears fruit. Not perfectly, but truly. There is a growing pattern of love for Jesus, submission to His Word, love for His people, and separation from the world’s corruption. Where there is no transformation, there is no salvation.

1 John 2:3-6. " By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His Word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him, must walk as Jesus walked."

That is searching, and it should be. Scripture never comforts empty profession. It comforts those who are in Jesus. A Christian still battles sin, still stumbles, still grieves over weakness, but does not settle into lawless indifference. The Christian’s life is marked by repentance, faith, and increasing conformity to Jesus.

A Christian also loves the truth. Because God is triune, a Christian worships the one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Denial of the Trinity is not Christianity, but heresy. Likewise, denial that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone is a rejection of the gospel itself. A Christian may be immature, but the faith itself is not vague. Biblical Christianity is definite truth revealed by God.

A Christian perseveres. True believers are kept by the power of God. They endure not because they are strong in themselves, but because Jesus is a faithful Savior. The Christian life is not easy. It involves self-denial, trial, discipline, and warfare. But the Christian continues, because grace continues.

Perhaps the most tender way to answer the question is this: a Christian is a person who can say, however weakly, “Jesus is my only hope.” The Christian has no confidence in the flesh. They have fled from wrath to mercy, from sin to the Savior, from self-rule to Christ’s lordship.

So then, ask honestly: Am I a Christian by Scripture’s definition?
Not: Do I attend church?
Not: Was I raised religious?
Not: Am I better than others?
But: Have I been born again?
Have I repented of sin?
Am I trusting in Jesus alone?
Do I love Jesus, His truth, His people, and His ways?

The answer matters eternally.

Romans 10:9-10. "If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved."

If you are in Jesus, then be humbled and comforted. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Your sins are forgiven. Your standing before God is secure because Jesus is sufficient. Walk in gratitude, holiness, and joy.

If you are not in Jesus, do not hide behind religion. Do not soothe yourself with labels.
Come to Jesus.
Turn from sin.
Cast yourself upon His mercy.
He is a perfect Savior for all who come to Him in faith.

In the end, a Christian is not someone who has made life slightly better with religion. A Christian is someone who has been crucified with Jesus, raised to new life by grace, and now lives for the glory of God.
(The above article was AI generated.)