What does being a Christian really mean?

In today’s society saying you are a Christian puts you in a certain classification of religion. In the past, it was sort of a thing you did if you were from the USA.

Jesus tells what a Christian really is when he told Nicodemus in John 3:3 ‘‘Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

We are not Christians because we’re born into this religion.

In John 3, Jesus tells of the sin that God holds against the sinner in verse 16 ‘’Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Jesus shed his blood at the cross, which paid for all mankind’s sins. All one has to do to be saved is make Jesus Christ Lord and Savior.

To be a Christian, what does it mean? Romans 10:9 says it:

‘’That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’’

Really, if a person doesn’t believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, doesn’t believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, and doesn’t believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the very deity of God, how can one make a heart-felt commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ?

You must be born again is what Jesus said. That is a spiritual experience the moment you believe in your heart and accept Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit comes and abides in you. The fact is, before one is saved, his spirit is dead unto the Lord. When Adam sinned in the garden his fellowship and relationship with God was broken, his spirit was dead unto the Lord.

When one isn’t born again, they do not see the light of the gospel, the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them so they cannot understand the word of God.

For a nonbeliever to reject the gospel of John and believe the Bible is not the inspired word of God, just a book, or even to believe in evolution and not creation, is evidence of a non-committed life and questionable as a Christian.

Be not deceived, you must be born again, and that is only possible if you believe in his word and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Make Jesus your Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead.

It is not possible to be saved if you only believe Jesus was a great man who walked on this earth 2,000 years ago, of course, he was a great man but he is the Son of God.

Jesus was here at the beginning, John 1:1 says ‘’in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him...’’

A Christian’s word (confession) should line up with the Bible in faith, not talk against it in unbelief.

That is why Romans 10:9-10 starts out about what you say ‘’that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus... and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.’’

You can’t say Jesus was just a man or that you don’t believe in the resurrection and then say you’re Christian. Sorry, yes, I know you should not judge. Well, we can evaluate the fruits of a person and know that disbelief in God’s word is not a fruit of a Christian.

There is only one way to God the Father, that is through Jesus, the Son of God.

Lavon Barve works with Cup of Life Ministry in Wasilla.

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