Category: Scripture Index

  • What is a Christian?

    Close-up of weathered, pitted stone carved with the Greek letters ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΩΝ, with partial lines of carved lettering above and below. A stone archway and ruins are blurred in the sunlit background.

    What’s in a name? Yesterday, I wrote about brand names and suggested that Christians be known more for how our lives reflect Jesus than for the brand names we buy and chase.  That, in turn, got me thinking about the word Christian, which appears only three times in the Bible, all in the New Testament.

    So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Acts 11:25-26 ESV

    Many scholars believe it was used by non-believers as a derogatory term, identifying them as being different from Jews.

    And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian? Acts 26:28 ESV

    King Agrippa recognized Paul’s faith as something very different than Judaism. He’s at least skeptical of the faith, if not hostile.

    Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 1 Peter 4:16 ESV

    Peter recognizes that the Christian life is different, even in how we face life’s hardships.

    The term Christian has changed over the years and, in many ways, has become far from the original beliefs to the point of being almost meaningless. In much of the world, Christian means anything from the West, which is ironic considering the faith originated in the Middle East and had European, Asian and African influences through the first centuries.

    For some people, to be Christian just means being born in a “Christian” country. That has many problems, not the least of which is that a country can never be Christian, as a country cannot have a relationship with Jesus; only people can.

    For some, it’s a derogatory term that implies low intellect, racial bias and hatred.

    What is a Christian? One source says, “A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, which is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians believe in Jesus as the Son of God and seek to live according to his teachings.”

    I would use the following as a very rough, working definition: “A Christian is a person who has been forgiven their sins through faith alone in God’s grace. This was accomplished through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross alone.” I think you could certainly refine the definition.

    How would you define the term? Let me know in your comments or by return email.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    The word Christian appears only three times in the Bible, and today it can mean almost anything. I’ve offered a very rough, working definition, so let me know how you would define it.

     

    TAKEAWAY

    The name Christian may have started as a derogatory term. Even so, Peter tells us not to be ashamed of it but to glorify God in that name.

    Over the years, the word Christian has drifted so far from its original beliefs that it’s become almost meaningless. So it’s worth asking what a Christian really is.

    To be a Christian is to be forgiven our sins through faith alone in God’s grace. Jesus Christ accomplished that through his substitutionary death on the cross alone.

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  • The Chickadee, the Magpie, and Job: Trusting God’s Plan

    Side-by-side photos of a chickadee perched on a lichen-covered branch with fresh green leaves, and a black-and-white magpie standing on a rock against a soft green background.

    In summer and winter, you can hear the “dee dee dee” of the black-capped chickadee around these parts. When it gets cold, you hear them less as they hide somewhere to stay warm. 

    They are social birds and are often seen feeding with nuthatches and other species. I’ve never seen them get aggressive at all.

    Chickadees are fascinating to watch and friendly, too. With a little coaxing and some patience, many a chickadee has been persuaded to eat from a person’s hand. Their cute coloring, friendly nature and delightful song make them a pleasure to have around.

    There are some other birds that we don’t have here but were common everywhere else I lived. Magpies are beautiful, with their black-and-white coloring, but they are also noisy and aggressive. They drive other birds away and dig in garbage. They have even been known to dive-bomb at people during the nesting season. Their shrill scream is somewhat less pleasant than the chickadee’s lovely little song.

    Magpies are quite intelligent and learn to differentiate between people, and I am told they can be taught to talk. 

    Both birds have their place in the overall scheme of things. My preference for the chickadee over the magpie does not mean the magpie has less value. Everything has a purpose in God’s overall scheme.

    Job understood that fact, even amid misfortune greater than most of us can comprehend. He was a prosperous man with a large family. In short order, all his children and their families were killed, and his wealth was stripped from him. How did he respond? With both grief and worship.

    Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:20-21 ESV

    Even then his suffering continued. Satan was permitted to attack His health;

    So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job 2:7-10 ESV

    Here in the West, we are used to instant solutions to our problems. Perhaps we have lost sight of something very important. Perhaps suffering and discomfort have a purpose. Perhaps we miss out on much of what God has planned for us by our desire to live comfortable, secure, risk-free and pain-free lives.

    Now I know that enduring magpies rather than enjoying chickadees hardly qualifies as suffering, but perhaps it suggests discontentment with God’s plan and a desire to put my own in its place. Maybe I will have to look at them with different eyes the next time I see them.

    Until next time, I pray we all learn willingly to accept the good and the bad as part of God’s plan. God is worthy of trust and praise despite our circumstances.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God

    SUMMARY

    My preference for chickadees over magpies made me wonder how often I want my plan instead of God’s. Like Job, may we accept both the good and the bad, because God is worthy of trust and praise whatever comes.

    TAKEAWAY

    Everything has a purpose in God’s overall scheme. What we prefer does not decide what has value.

    Job met devastating loss with both grief and worship. He received the bad from God as well as the good.

    Suffering and discomfort have a purpose. Wanting comfortable, pain-free lives could cause us to miss much of what God has planned for us.

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