I recently had a conversation with a friend about our children’s marriage. My friend talked about the young people’s profession, age, and race, etc. He then added, “Our son goes to church, and this fiancée is also a Christian.” He sounded very proud.
Going to church and claiming to be a Christian seem to meet the minimum requirement of the Christian faith, isn’t it?
According to Acts 11.26, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” When Jesus was on earth, it was quite fitting that His followers were called disciples. Then the Gospel spread to Antioch. Many new believers had never seen and followed Jesus. So, how to describe people who believe that Jesus is the Christ? Thus, the title “Christian” came naturally.
After two thousand years of church development, today quite a few different groups believe that Jesus is the Christ, including the Roman Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, and the Protestants. Moreover, within Protestants there are numerous denominations. In addition, there are heretical cults that borrow some Christian teachings and call themselves Christians. Just claiming to be a “Christian” does not necessarily mean that he/she shares the same values and morals with you. Simply put, the term “Christian” is not sufficient to express a person’s position of faith.
A more important consideration is to examine whether the Lord is the master in your life or not. Does Jesus occupy the most prominent position in your life? Does He govern how you use your money, time, and talents? Do you follow Him to make appropriate decisions? Is He your confidant who gives you the courage and wisdom to face tomorrow? Do you have a loving relationship with Him? Out of gratitude for His love, do you try to please Him in whatever you do?
Christians who accept Jesus as the master of their lives are those who are willing to take up their cross and follow the Lord every day. They learn to give up the pursuit of fame and fortune and adopt Jesus’ moral standards and way of life. This is the minimum requirement.
(Ken, retired pastor. Ken served in 3 different churches from 1987-2020.)
