What is a Christian?

Believing – as Christians we believe in a creator God and that he has revealed himself in his son Jesus Christ. There are of course many things that we believe, which we have no space for here, but one of the key tenets of the faith is that Jesus came to offer us all reconciliation with God and the gift of eternal life. Faith is entrusting our lives to the sovereignty of God (‘Jesus is Lord’) and is more about a relationship than assent to a list of propositional truths, although it is that too as we investigate deeper.

Baptism - Jesus himself was baptised and he called us to baptise his followers in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This, if you like, is the mark of being a disciple of Jesus. For many of us, we do not have much say over this, for as young children we were baptised with water poured over us at a church font. We then can affirm this as adults through a confirmation service and/or by affirming our vows with full immersion. Increasingly, many adults are being baptised by full immersion as we see fewer babies baptised these days. It is always a very moving service with the great symbolism it entails of dying to the old self and rising out of the waters to our new self.

Behaving – Of course Jesus himself said, ‘if you love me, you will follow my teaching’. There is a recognition that we seek to live by the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Christ; which are all governed by the love of God and the love of our neighbour. We recognise we are all ‘work-in-progress’, and we all know some have got further to go than others ... that’s me! Yet we do not do it to win God’s favour, we live God’s way because God loves us and this is the good life he has called us to for our own good and that of wider society. And he gives us the strength to live this life by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Belonging – Oh dear, it had to come in somewhere didn’t it? But what a privilege and a joy, Jesus calls into the ‘Family of God’; even more than that, we are called the ‘Body of Christ’ and we are his very members. Other Christians are brothers and sisters and church is a ‘fellowship’ – a closely relating group of believers that meet together to support, encourage and enjoy themselves in community. Like all families there can be squabbles occasionally and ups and downs along the way, but this is how we learn to love and grow. So yes, we need to be going to church regularly to worship with other Christians and to hear the Word of God faithfully explained, so we can be encouraged and mature.  And it is not all insular – it is about being the welcoming family of God that enables others to find God and we all have a role to play in that venture. And many start belonging as they examine the faith for themselves before they feel able to ‘believe’ and in time ‘behave’– that’s fine!

 

But there is one further ‘B’ that I have missed out, which is the vital missing piece in the jigsaw and without which it would be all mere religion and all in our own strength and that is :

Born-again – Jesus said , ‘We cannot see the kingdom of God unless we are born-again’. By this he meant we need to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is the in-dwelling of God. It is that cementing of the relationship, when God comes to live in his children. It’s when it all becomes real for me, as if blind eyes suddenly see; cold hearts are strangely warmed; God is there; I experience his love and am able to offer it to others. And the fruits of the Spirit become evident in my life: love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. You just don’t see these in an atheist!

In short, I know I am a Christian and there is no going back – find me the nearest church now!!

 

Revd. Richard Williams

• Stone Street
• Cranbrook
• Kent
• TN17 3HA

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