Today's
reading from Acts impacts the people down through history. The first disciples of Christ became known as
people who followed in Christ's footsteps, loving, healing and teaching people
everywhere they went. I am reminded of
the Star Trek: Next Generation episode called Darmok – and anyone who's seen
that episode knows immediately what I'm referring to. Barnabas and Paul in Antioch were two
disciples who were the first referred to as "Christians."
But today, the
question must be asked: what is a
Christian? The basic answer that I was
always taught was that a Christian is someone who believes Christ is the Son of
God, who died for my sins and the sins of the whole world, that we should have
eternal life. That definition has
apparently changed over the years, depending on who you ask.
At its very
base, the word Christian literally means a follower of Christ. But as Christian sects began to arise, people
began to discriminate between how
people lived their lives as Christians and the methods by which they worship. These days, the word Christian is often used
as an adjective rather than a noun, and in today's political climate, it can
often be used in a derogatory manner. Before
dismissing that concept, think about the difference between a Christian and a
religion. Think about our own actions,
and ensure that you are following in Christ's footsteps.
Oftentimes
people will describe someone who is religious or has high moral values but who
may or may not be a true follower of Jesus Christ as a Christian. Many people
who do not believe and trust in Jesus Christ consider themselves Christians
simply because they go to church. But going to church, serving those less
fortunate than you, or being a good person does not make you a Christian. Going
to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a barn makes you
a horse. Being a member of a church, attending services regularly, and giving
to the work of the church does not make you a Christian.
A Christian is
a person who has put faith and trust in the person and Godhood of Jesus Christ,
including His death on the cross as payment for sins and His resurrection on
the third day. John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” The mark of
a Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word (1 John 2:4, 10). We believe that Christ gave us two sacraments –
Baptism and Communion. "Baptism is
the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of
Christ's Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is
union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God's family - the
Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit." (Episcopal Catechism) A Christian is indeed a child of God, a part
of God’s true family, and one who has been given new life in Jesus Christ.
Now generally,
and we certainly hope it to be true, by truly being a Christian, our behavior, attitude and actions will reflect
that we have chosen to be followers of Christ.
As I said in my last sermon, they will know we are Christians by our
love.
Would not get the Next Gen reference.
ReplyDeleteThe second to the last paragraph reminds me a bit of why as a young man in the church I think I was confused about the pathway to salvation. In my rebirth experience, which took place on a street corner, I was presented with the simple steps that brought many of us of the 60s and 70s to Christ during the Jesus Movement or Revolution. Those then there remember. I was a baptized & confirmed church boy, but had not gotten the 'how to' of my part, the internalization of the 'believe' part Philip shares with the Ethopian who is reading the scriptures. Are there others like me that need this unlocked? I think so. It is a bump perhaps needed to be taken. I am not shy at laying out that simple path for the one seeking. They can spend the rest of their lives living out the journey.