1) To be a true Christian, one must be called by God, respond to that calling through faith in Jesus Christ, truly repent of sins, and seek salvation. 2) After receiving redemption through faith in Jesus, true Christians must begin living a righteous life away from sin as a new, redeemed being. 3) While there are many denominations that claim to be Christian, to be a true Christian one must follow Jesus' example by having faith in Him, repenting of sins, and living righteously according to God's word.

1. Becoming a true Christian –3rd
March2017
“However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that
name.”(1 Peter 4:16).
Firstlywe needtounderstandwhatisa true Christiananyway?Tomost,the word “Christian”is
ambiguous,eveninourso-calledChristianculture.A “Christian”in the Westernworldmaymean
anyone whoisnot an atheist,Buddhist,Hindu,Jew,orMoslem.Asaresultof thisconfusion,tosome
Christianityisanargument.Tomany,it isa performance.Toa very few,itisan experience andawayof
life.
There are manyorganizationsextantcallingthemselves“Christians”:Catholic,Anglican,Baptist,
Methodist,Lutheran,Mormon,andIndependent.There are Churchesof Christ,Churchesof God,
Episcopalians,Jehovah’sWitnesses,andUnitarians.There are Amish,Mennonites,andQuakers.There
are Pentecostals,Presbyterians,andSpiritualists.All told,thereare manythousandsof differing
denominations,sects,splits,andoffshootsinthe worldtoday,all claimingtobe “Christian.”There are
countless whoare professedunder“Christianity”:traditional,conservative,moderate,liberal,and
radical,all claimingtofollowChristbuthaving vastlydifferentandsometimesdiametricallyopposite
beliefs.
Have you everaskedyourself,“WhatdoesJesusChristthinkof the spectacle of thousandsof different,
competingdenominationsandsects—eachcallingitself ‘Christian’—andyetdifferingandbickeringover
nearlyeverydoctrine andtenetimaginable?” EvenasChristianswe come acrossdenominationsthat
promote “speakingintong’s”– withoutanyinterpretationavailedtothe listener. We can learnwhere
the apostle Paul inquiresin 1Corinthians14:23, “Supposethewhole church comes together and
everyone speaks in other languages.Andsupposevisitorsor unbelieverscome in. Won’tthey say you
are out of your minds? Theymayeveninquire isGoddivided?IsGodthe authorof confusion…certainly
not as we can learnfrom 1 Corinthians14:33, “Godisnot a Godof disorder.He is a Godof peace, just
as in all the churches of the Lord’s people.” Therefore we needto cut throughsome of the confusion
shroudingourmindsaboutreal Christianity,letusfirstestablishwhatatrue Christian is.
So whatis a True Christian? AccordingtoWebsterII’s New RiversideUniversity Dictionary,a Christianis
“a believerinChristianity;of,pertainingto,orprofessingbelief inChristianity;relatingtoChristianityor
itsadherents.”If thisWebsterII’s definitionalone were true,thenSatanthe devil isaChristian,because
we read in James 2:19, “Youbelieve there is one God.Good!Even the demonsbelieve that. Andthey
tremble!” DoesSatan believeinJesusChrist?Indeedhe does,somuchsothat he trembles at the very
thought!But that doesnotmake hima Christian!More than mere statementisrequired.Some socalled
Christians wanttobe counted IN,butnot to be counted ON...FaithinChristJesusisanimportant
criterion because Faithwithoutworksisdead,aswe can learnfrom James2:17–18, “It isthe same with
faith.If it doesn’tcause us to do something,it’sdead.18
Butsomeone will say,“Youhave faith.I do
gooddeeds.” Showme your faiththat doesn’t cause youto dogood deeds. AndI will show you my
faithby the goods deeds I do.”
The Bible usesthe wordChristianonlythree timesin Acts11:26; Acts 26:28; and 1 Peter4:16. However,
variousaspectsor referencesof Christianityare mentionedabundantly inthe gospels.We canlearnof
the betterand simplestdefinitionof a“True Christian”where the apostle Paul stated in1Corinthians
11:1, “Followmy example,justas I followthe example ofChrist.” Paul istellingustofollow the

2. exampleswe learnaboutJesusChristasstatedinthe bible whichisGod’sword.Thisis a majorstepin
definingatrue Christian,butthere is more…
We can learnthat to become aTrue Christian,we needtobe Called, Chosenand Faithful.The Bible gives
us additional details.Forinstance,anindividual mustbe calledbyGodtobe consideredaChristian.
Jesusstatedthat:“Manyare invited,but few are chosen.”(Matthew22:14). The callinghasto do with
an invitation.Manyare invited,butonlysome answerthe call. Whatisthiscallingfrom, and whatisit a
callingto?It isa calling frombeinginsinanddarknesstoGod’s Lightas we can learnfrom 1 Peter 2:9,
“But Godchose youto be hispeople. Youare royal priests. Youare a holynation.Youare God’sspecial
treasure. You are all these thingsso that youcan give himpraise. Godbroughtyou out of darkness
intohis wonderful light.” GodcallswhomHe will’ outof the spiritual darkness whichis definedbySin,
deceitandsinfulness thatsmothersthisworldandrevealstothemHiswondroustruth.
That callingentailsanunderstandingof thatprecioustruth. Iam sinful andneedGodto save me. If we
obedientlyrespond tothatcalling,we can come out of thisspiritual darkness.We needtohave faithin
JesusChristas onessavior,trulyrepentforone’ssin,andseeksalvation.Thenhe orshe can alsobe
amongthe chosen. Then,if we remainfaithful,we canclaimthe promise thatwe will jointhe Kingof
Kingsinthe familyof God: “They will make war againstthe Lamb. But the Lamb will have victory over
them. That’s because he is the most powerful Lord of all andthe greatest King ofall.His appointed,
chosen andfaithful followerswill bewith him.” (Revelation17:14). As thisverse explains,tobe eligible
to receive thatpromise we must followthe example of JesusChrist, be “called,chosen,and faithful.”
An importantquestionis:“Whatkindof people doesGodcall? We can learnthatGod most oftencalls
people whodon'tviewthemselvesashighandmighty.He doesn’tneed Bill GatesforHimmoney or
Presidents fortheirpowerorlikewise, butwhoinsteadseeproblemsinthemselves. The lostsheep that
needGod. Theyare more humble andteachable because theycanmore readilyrecognize and
acknowledge theirhumanweaknesses.Thatispartof the reasonGod chooses“notmany wise,not
manynoble,”butrather those thatthe worldoften “views”asfoolishandweak althoughtheymayNOT
physicallybe so...Theymore readilysee theirneedforGod'shelp.Onthe otherhand,those whosee
themselvesaspowerfulandself-sufficientusuallyfail tosee aneedforGod or His help. We can learn
from1 Corinthians1:26-27, “Brothers andsisters, thinkof what youwere when Godchose you. Not
manyof you were consideredwise by humanstandards.Notmany of youwere powerful.Not manyof
you belongedto importantfamilies. 27
ButGodchose the foolish thingsofthe worldto shame the
wise. Godchose the weak thingsof the world to shame the strong.”
Salvation,Redemption andRighteousness are tremendouslyimportantconceptsin Christianity. Itis
fromsalvationandredemptionthatwe are freedfromthe penaltyof sin,because JesusChristpaidthe
price inour stead. Biblically,salvationreferstothe act of beingsavedfromthe eternal consequencesof
sin. We can learnfrom Matthew 1:21,“She isgoing to have a son. Youmust give himthe name Jesus.
That’s because he will save hispeople fromtheir sins.” The central theme of RedemptioninScripture is
that God has takenthe initiativetoact compassionatelyonbehalf of those whoare powerlesstohelp
themselves.The Gospel makesclearthatdivine redemptionincludesGod'sidentificationwithhumanity
inits plight,andthe securingof liberationof humankindthroughthe obedience,suffering,death,and
resurrectionof HissonJesusChrist.Thiswaywe receive Redemption
But becomingaTrue Christiandoesnotendthere…Afterreceiving redemption,asChristianswe needto
begintolive a Righteouslife…aNewlife consciouslyawayfromsin…anew entityhaving moral
perfection asrequiredbyGodto enterheaven beingthe ultimateGoal forall Christians.Toachieve this

3. we needtolive a Righteouslife. However,the Bibleclearlystatesthathumanbeingscannotachieve
righteousnessthrough ourownefforts: “Sonoone will be consideredright with Godby obeyingthe
law. Instead,the law makes us more aware of our sin"(Romans3:20).We can developrighteousness
throughfaithinJesusChristas one’sSavior.Christ,the sinlessSonof God,tookhumanity's sinupon
himself andbecame the willing,perfectsacrifice,sufferingthe punishmentmankinddeserved. Godthe
FatheracceptedJesus'sacrifice,throughwhichhumanbeingscan become justified.
Therefore tobecome atrue Christiansyouneed Faithin Christ-> Repentingforone’ssin and sinful lives
-> SeekGod’sForgiveness->Receive Salvation -> Thenhave Redemption(the actionof savingorbeing
savedfromsin,error,or evil) ->Begina new life of Righteousness(the state of moral perfection
requiredbyGodto enterheaven) ->The True Christian.