And The Lord Said

There is a lot of ways to answer this. The most common is to say, I am a believer in Jesus Christ the one and only Son of God. Although that is true, being a Christian is much more. It is knowing we have salvation, reconciliation with God and having been made a new creation. It is knowing that no matter how bad we were in our past, God has forgiven us. He has made us clean. No longer are we tortured with guilt over our old way of life or the bad things we may have done. Sin is no longer our prison or weight on our minds. It has no hold over us and we can stand in righteousness because of Jesus and the grace of God Almighty. He saved us from sin and the price demanded for sin. He alone died for our sins and became the only sacrifice accepted by God. Being a Christian gives us freedom from condemnation for sin and the assurity of forgiveness. We can live life in a new and different way. We can live with the knowledge that we are no longer a slave to our sin but are free from it. Whatever way our past life was, it no longer has to be that way anymore. Further, when we accepted Jesus as our savior, we have a new mindset as well. We can see sin more clearly and are eager to make changes in our lives to be more Christ like. That is the goal for a Cristian, to be like Christ. 

To be a Christian is not just a belief, it is also a way of life. Since God made us a new and different creature, we are to live as such. We have no desire to sin. We look at sin for what it is, a destroyer and filthy. We see sin as something we must avoid in our lives. Not in a judgmental way to see others. When I talk about how we avoid sin or look at it, I mean in our lives. We are only capable of controlling our own lives. Jesus said we are not to look at the speck in someone else’s eyes and not see he beam in our own. 

We have enough to do just keeping ourselves from sin. We can do this only through the help and counsel of the Holy Spirit. Let God judge and make aware the sins of others to them. That is not our job. God certainly did not authorize me to go around telling others of their sins. I have been ordained by God to spread His news, His gospel, His forgiveness and salvation through Christ our Lord. That is enough. Why would I want to cause grief to someone by pointing out sin or failures when I can give them the good news of forgiveness through repentance and the acceptance of Jesus as Lord? It is so much better to tell good news than bad, and besides, who am I to find fault when I have enough of my own?

To be a Christian is a way of life, a belief and faith in God’s Word. Trust in His promises and a foundation for eternity. My reward for living a Christian life is the same as anyone else’s, eternity with our Lord. But our deeds done in this Christian life will bring far more rewards from the Lord our God. While we do our best to live righteous, we are to live in humility and love. Jesus did not condemn, he offered salvation. He preached the coming kingdom of God. His last commandment was to spread the word, the truth of His coming and His forgiveness of sin for anyone who asks. He stated that all who call upon the Lord will be saved. Our mission as a Christian is to make others aware of this salvation. We cannot impose it on anyone, nor can it be forced. This offer of salvation is from the grace of our living God, and each person must choose to accept or deny. No deeds alone can get anyone into heaven, only through Jesus Christ are we saved. The Lord God said, that there is no other name by which a man can be saved.

The best answer to what it means to be a Christian is knowing you will be saved. Being in complete belief of the salvation of grace by our Lord. Knowing with certainty that you cannot be removed from His hand. No power is greater than God Almighty. This can be summed up rather well in Romans 8: