What Is A "Christian"?

I have been reading alot of books this summer while Brian Baell is with us as an intern. He's been a great servant of the Lord and he loves the Lord so much. I admire his zeal and faith that he has for Him.

In one of the books I read, an author asked a question, "What Is A "Christian""? There are many misconceptions of what a "Christian" is, even what a "Church" is. In regards to "Church", many people are thinking of a "church building" or a "church name" or a "denomination/non-denomination". But that's not the "Church" God has in mind. God's definition of the word, "Church" also in greek, "Ekklessia" means "the called-out group of people" or in other words, "children of God (people)".

If we raise the question regarding what a church is, that raises the question of what a "Christian" really is. Some people say, "I am a Christian." What they really mean by that is that they are not a Muslim, or a Jew, or a Buddhist, or a Hindu. But that does not make them a "Christian". You are not a Christian simply because you are not part of other religions. You are a Christian only to the extent that you are a follower of Christ as Savior and Lord. Simply saying you are a Christian doesn't make you a Christian. Simply saying you are part of the "real Church" doesn't make you part of the real church.

The author make a good point about the misconceptions above,

"Several years ago I (Jim) was flying home to San Diego. Seated next to me was an incredibly muscular young man. He was so phenomenally brawny that I finally decided to ask him what he did to get so big. I found out that he was preparing for the Olympics, in the hammer throw competition. I asked him why he was flying to San Diego. He explained to me that he was coming to the Olympic Training Center that is located in Chula Vista. When we landed, I got off the plane before he did, found my suitcases at the baggage claim, and went outside to meet my ride.

As I waited at the curb, I glanced to my left and saw a van from the Olympic Training Center. Inside it sat three enormously muscular men, all in their twenties. They were obviously a part of the hammer throw competition and were there to meet their friend who had been seated beside me on the plane. Since I knew his name, I decided to play a practical joke. I walked up to those three monstrous men and said, "Are you looking for Joe Smith?" (That's not his real name.) They said, "Yes." I said, "I'm him. I'm here. I'm so glad to meet you!" I began to shake their hands excitedly as though I was one of the members of their team.

It took only a fraction of a second for it to register on them what was happening. The look on their faces was first one of shock, then disappointment; then a nanosecond later, it change to a "wait a minute" kind of look. They immediately knew this was a practical joke. They said, "No you're not - surely you're not - you can't be him!"

Putting them on the spot, I quickly responded, "Why do you say that? What makes you think I'm not him?" None of them wanted to say the obvious: "Because you don't have the muscular physique to be able to do what we do. If you are on our team, we will most assuredly lose our chance to go to the Olympics." No one said that. But I could tell they were all thinking it."

There are people who say they are a part of the church, but when you spend a little bit of time with them you find out quickly they do not embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as you do, and they do not wholeheartedly follow the teachings of the Bible. Therefore, just saying you're part of the church does not make you part of the church any more than the guy saying I was on the Olympic Hammer Throw Team make me an athlete!