## What is a Christian?

## Acts 11:26

(ACTS 11:26) "AND WHEN HE HAD FOUND HIM, HE BROUGHT HIM UNTO ANTIOCH. AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT A WHOLE YEAR THEY ASSEMBLED THEMSELVES WITH THE CHURCH, AND TAUGHT MUCH PEOPLE. AND THE DISCIPLES WERE CALLED CHRISTIANS FIRST IN ANTIOCH."

Although you and I use the word as a synonym for a believer, the word, "Christian," is not NECESSARILY a designation for every saved person. No one was CALLED a CHRISTIAN before Acts 11:26.

1. In the strict sense of the word, Noah was not a Christian.

2. Abraham was not a Christian.

3. John the Baptist was not a Christian.

4. The disciples of the Lord before the crucifixion were not Christians.

The disciples were FIRST called Christians at Antioch.

1. They were CALLED Christians; it is a descriptive term more than anything else.

2. A person can be saved, and not be Christian!

3. You can't be a Christian without being saved, but you can be saved and not exhibit Christ- like behavior.

I. A Christian Is A Sinner

(1 TIM 1:15) "THIS IS A FAITHFUL SAYING, AND WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION, THAT CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS; OF WHOM I AM CHIEF."

A. He is a sinner saved by grace.

1. Grace is the unmerited favor of God.

2. God's Riches At Christ's Expense.

3. Nothing you or I can do to merit salvation.

4. God, by His great Grace saves those who put their trust in Him.

B. He is a sinner saved by grace through faith.

1. By believing on Christ; exercising faith in what God has said concerning Christ and our need.

2. Not just a mental understanding of facts.

3. Forsaking All I Take Him.

4. Faith doesn't make sense to many people, but it is how God chooses to operate.

5. We all exercise faith in things daily.

C. He is a sinner saved by grace through faith and kept by the power of God.

1. Often we Baptists are condemned for believing that we are eternally secure.

2. Let me try to clarify this for you today.

3. Salvation is of God, not of man.

4. By definition, eternal life has a beginning but has no ending.

5. The Scriptures make it very clear that nothing can bring about the loss of eternal life.

a. We are born again...we cannot be unborn.

b. We are sealed...preserved...by the Spirit of God until the day of redemption.

(EPH 4:30) "AND GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, WHEREBY YE ARE SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION."

c. We are secure in the hand of God.

(JOHN 10:28) "AND I GIVE UNTO THEM ETERNAL LIFE; AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND."

II. A Christian Is A Son Of God

(JOHN 1:12) "BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM GAVE HE POWER TO BECOME THE SONS OF GOD, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME:"

A. A son has a permanent position.

1. No matter what I do, I will always be Harold and Madge Robinson's son.

2. Whether I am an obedient son, or a disobedient son, I am still their son.

3. It is a permanent relationship.

B. A son has prayer privileges.

1. The relationship of a son to his father is special.

2. Picture this scene: children in a toy store running from aisle to aisle picking up and looking at toys.

3. None of them can buy the toys, but all wish that they could have them.

4. A man walks up and picks up one special toy, goes to the register pays for it, and gives it to a little boy.

5. His eyes are gleaming with the reality that what he now holds in his hands is actually his...why?

6. Not just because he wanted it, but because a loving father paid the price and gave it to him.

7. God gives us special privileges as sons...we can pray and receive answers from our Father in heaven.

C. A son has precious promises

1. My father made many promises to me.

2. He kept his promises.

3. If an earthly father can do that, what about the promises we have from our Heavenly Father?

(EPH 3:20) "NOW UNTO HIM THAT IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US,"

III. A Christian Is A Servant

(ROM 6:18) "BEING THEN MADE FREE FROM SIN, YE BECAME THE SERVANTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS."

A. As a servant, the Christian has a purpose to live for and labor for his Master.

1. Really the concept of servant in the Scriptures is more in line with the term slave.

2. Slaves are owned by their masters.

3. Slaves focused on doing the will of their masters rather than their own will.

(1 COR 6:20) "FOR YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: THEREFORE GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY, AND IN YOUR SPIRIT, WHICH ARE GOD'S."

(1 COR 7:23) "YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE; BE NOT YE THE SERVANTS OF MEN."

B. As a servant, the Christian looks to God for his provision.

1. We do not look to others, nor do we look to ourselves to meet our needs.

2. God has promised to supply all that we will ever need.

(PHIL 4:19) "BUT MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY BY CHRIST JESUS."

(PROV 3:5-6) "TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART; AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING. {6} IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS."

3. The song writer said, "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth of every mine" so He will not have a problem meeting my needs.

C. As a servant, the Christian has one obligation.

1. God calls upon us to be faithful to Him.

(1 COR 4:2) "MOREOVER IT IS REQUIRED IN STEWARDS, THAT A MAN BE FOUND FAITHFUL."

2. Faithful to His commands as given to us in His precious Word.

3. Faithful to give ourselves to Him as an acceptable sacrifice.

4. To be used in His service to accomplish His plan and purpose.

So today I ask, are you a Christian? Primarily I am asking are you born again? Do you have a personal relationship with the Lord? If not, the invitation is for you to come and meet Christ at the cross.

However, there is more to being a Christian than salvation. Salvation is the beginning, but it is not the end. To be a Christian is to be Christ-like in our lives. To represent Christ to this lost and dying world. A Christian is certainly a sinner saved by grace, but a Christian is also a Son and a faithful servant.

Are you a Christian today? Why not come?