What does it mean to be Christian?

Christianity is the most influential religion the world has ever seen, with around 2.4 billion adherents today. When a third of the world would call themselves Christian, a natural question is: Exactly what makes a person Christian? What is it that makes this third of the world so different?

Is it the belief that Jesus is the son of God? Perhaps use of the Bible as a moral compass, or regular attendance of Christian services ? Maybe manifesting the qualities that Jesus had, or living a selfless life?

A safe place to start is usually with some etymology. Christian, meaning follower of Christ, has its roots in a word which means anointed one, with the end of the word indicating adhering to or owned by.

A cornerstone of Christianity is the idea that salvation is by grace, and not by works. This is stated pretty clearly in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.


Consequently most Christians will be quick to say that being a Christian really is as simple as "saying yes" to Jesus. Once you decide that Jesus is your Lord you shall be saved and you become a Christian. Simple. However, the next verse in the chapter says this:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.


This passage indicates that believing in Jesus is both necessary and sufficient to receive God's grace, which in turn is both necessary and sufficient to be made new in Christ. The three events, though well-ordered, are in fact equivalent. The occurrence of one implies the others, and the lack of one negates the other two.

Therefore, although works are not a prerequisite for salvation, the lack of them certainly implies the lack of salvation, and therefore works will always (and only) follow salvation. Clearly having a vague notion of belief in Jesus is not enough.

This makes sense anyway. A belief in Jesus that does not radically change your life is clearly not a genuine belief. Surely the only sane response upon a full comprehension of the gospel and of grace is a life completely changed!

The question is: am I doing enough? If not, what is wrong? Am I not trying hard enough? Do I not really believe? Paul has this to say in 2 Corinthians 5, from verse 13:

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!


Paul is saying that he is fundamentally no longer living for himself, but instead for the glory of God, having completely surrendered his life to Jesus. This is not some abstract philosophical view, but a hour-by-hour reality shift. His beliefs do not form part of his identity, rather they consume his entire life! Charles Hodge provides us with a scripturally consistent view on what it means to be a Christian:

 "A Christian is one who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, as God manifested in the flesh, loving us and dying for our redemption; and who is so affected by a sense of the love of this incarnate God as to be constrained to make the will of Christ the rule of his obedience, and the glory of Christ the great end for which he lives."


The bottom line is that it really does all come down to belief. But not in the way we usually think of belief. Believing in Jesus is not something we decide on and then continue with our lives. It is not something we decide on and make sure we go to church once, twice, or ten times a week. It is a truth which will completely change every aspect of how you view, and how you live you life.

If you think that Jesus was just a good teacher, that Christianity is the good life, and that Christians should have the least regrets if they are mistaken, think again. Let us look at the bits of Scripture often avoided when preaching about what it is to be a Christian.

Acts 14;22, Paul said, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom."
John 15:20, Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you" 
2 Timothy 2:12, Paul said, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

And finally, in Luke 14:25-33, Jesus said, "If you want to become my disciple you must hate everyone else by comparison ... and if you do not carry up your own cross and follow me you cannot be my disciple, but don't begin until you count the cost ... you cannot be my disciple without giving up everything you own."

Becoming a Christian is an altering of the way you view you life. A realisation that Jesus is sovereign and that you want Him to be in complete control of your life. A passion for His kingdom that is worth living for, and dying for. An overwhelming desire to be like Jesus, and to do everything that you do to being Him glory. 

And it will bring hardship. Paul could have hardly said that he was indifferent whether it was all real or not, because he had such a fun life, and no more could anyone else who has advanced the gospel. Living for Jesus involves laying down your life in sacrifice, not living your life as you otherwise would in the hope that being well respected will draw others to God when they see how cool/intelligent/rich/happy you are. That will never bring glory to the crucified Christ.

Being a Christian is not easy. If it is, you're doing it wrong. I certainly feel like I am doing it wrong most of the time! To an extent this may just be a case of "The spirit is willing but the body is weak" but if the most exiting thing about Christianity is anything but seeing God glorified then something is seriously wrong. 

This isn't supposed to be accusatory - or at least if it is I am speaking to myself as much as anybody else! If it all feels a bit overwhelming and impractical I hope these practical pointers from John Piper are of some use.

1. It means that whenever I am called upon to choose between anything in this world and Christ, I choose Christ.
2. It means that I will deal with the things of this world in ways that draw me nearer to Christ so that I gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him by the way I use the world.
3. It means that I will always deal with the things of this world in ways that show that they are not my treasure, but rather show that Christ is my treasure.
4. It means that if I lose any or all the things this world can offer, I will not lose my joy or my treasure or my life, because Christ is all.

Now that was the reckoning that Paul reckoned in his soul (v. 8): "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Christ is all and all else is loss.

And finally we arrive at Matthew 7:21:

 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter."

Don't be that guy.