What is a Christian?

People were first called Christians not very long after Jesus was crucified (Have a look in the Bible at Acts chapter 11 and verse 26) The word was used to describe "Followers of Christ" - Christ being another name used for Jesus. This idea of a Christian being a follower of Jesus seems the most useful for today - and corresponds to the New Testament (Bible) meaning.

Unfortunately the word Christian is often confused with the idea of "English" or "Western". This isn't very helpful, since clearly there are many people living in "The West" who make no claim to be Christians, and indeed may be followers of other religions. Equally there are many people who follow Jesus who live in India, China or elsewhere. Further confusion arises when people from, for example, majority Muslim countries look at the general moral state of many western nations and equate that with Christianity!

Accepting the idea that a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ now leads on to the question: "What does it mean to follow Jesus?" 

We can look at what this meant for the very first Christians in New Testament times. When Jesus was a man, alive and walking around this earth, he chose his very first followers (also known as disciples). They had to leave what they were doing and literarily follow him around, learning from him and working with him. Clearly they had to trust him completely. These days Jesus is no longer physically living on earth, but following him still means letting him go first, and making decisions in accordance with what you believe he wants. It still involves trusting him and loving him.

A bit of a struggle?

So is being a Christian merely a long uphill struggle trying desperately to do the right thing, maybe following various rituals, and hoping that eventually God will be pleased with you?

Thankfully not! The Bible makes it very clear that that just wouldn't work - because however much we try we'd never meet God's standards (perfection!). The only way I can ever meet God's standards is if my shortcomings (i.e. sins) are forgiven and then I'm given help to live a better life. It explains that that is why Jesus, God's son, came to earth and was allowed to die. Because he hadn't done anything wrong God is able to accept his death as the payment of the penalty due for my sin, and the sin of every person. All I have to do is admit that I do indeed not measure up to God's standards (let's face it I probably don't measure up too well even to the standards I set for myself as being OK!) - and ask his forgiveness.

Naturally it doesn't make a lot of sense to ask forgiveness unless I commit myself to trying, with God's help, to live according to his wishes in the future. That's where what Christians call "making Jesus Lord" comes into it - it means putting Jesus in control of my life. Still sounds a bit difficult doesn't it? Yes, it is difficult living as a Christian - but God has provided his Holy Spirit to help us, in other words we're not on our own.

In summary... 

Being a Christian has nothing to do with where I was born, or my skin colour. Instead it describes someone who admits they are unable to please God and asks for his forgiveness and help for the future, as they start to follow Jesus. This forgiveness is promised by God on the basis of the penalty for sin paid by Jesus when he was crucified.

If you would like to find out more about how to become a Christian, some other web sites you might find helpful  are listed below. If you have questions please email us using this form and we'll do our best.

Other web sites you may find helpful (Crosslinks has no control over the content of these sites)

reJesus -  explains who Jesus is, and how faith in him changes lives.

Clubberstemple - a youth site.