Antioch Baptist Church

3988 S. County Rd. 300 W. | Greencastle, IN 46135 | Phone: 765.653.8227 | Email

 

Knowing Christ and Making Him Known

What’s a Christian?

Ask someone to define what a Christian is and you are likely to receive a variety of answers; many and widespread are the misconceptions of Christianity.  There is a difference between an outward profession and an inward reality; in other words, it is possible to be a Christian in name without being a Christian in heart.  As we determine what a Christian is, we will first determine what Christianity is not. 

What Christianity Is Not

Not Intellectual Belief

First, Christianity is not primarily an intellectual belief.  Many people assume that having Biblical knowledge is tantamount to salvation.  “I am a Christian because I believe in God and attend church,” they say.  But James 2:19 is clear, one can “believe” (i.e. give intellectual assent to) that God exists and still not be a Christian, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” 

Biblical knowledge and belief is essential to being a Christian, but it is possible to give intellectual assent to Biblical truth and not be a Christian.

Not Ethical Behavior

Maintaining a certain ethical code of conduct does not make one a Christian.  Yet many people claim to abide by the 10 Commandments, to practice the “Beatitudes”, to follow the Golden Rule, and equate that behavior with being a Christian.  The essence of Christianity is not ethics, because it is possible to live a good life and not be a Christian.

Not Ceremonial Rituals

Observance of Christian rituals and ceremonies does not a Christian make.  You’ve been baptized?  You’ve partaken of the Lord’s Table?  You’ve walked the aisle during the invitation?  That’s fantastic, and a Christian should be baptized, should partake of the Lord’s Supper, but it is possible to engage in these outward practices and still not be a Christian; the denunciation of empty religion is a warning that is repeated throughout the Scriptures.

Not Political Activism

In the Western world many people equate Christianity with a political agenda.  They define a Christian as someone who is pro-life, for a Constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage, and as someone who is for fiscal, moral, and social responsibility; however, fighting for worthy political agendas will not make one a Christian.

It is perfectly possible to believe in God, live a moral life, be religious, vote pro-life, and still not be a Christian.

What Christianity Is

What, then, is missing?  If the essence of Christianity is neither an intellectual belief, nor ethical behavior, nor ceremonial observances, nor political activism, what is it?  It is Christ!  The essence of Christianity is not a system, but a Person, and a personal relationship to that Person; then the other things fit into place, such as our beliefs and our behavior.  But Christianity without Christ is like a frame without a picture, or a body without breath.

Trusting Christ as Your Savior

In Philippians 3 the apostle Paul wrote down in one column everything that had previously seemed profitable to him (vv. 4-6): his ancestry, inheritance, upbringing, education, righteousness, and religious zeal.  In the other column he simply wrote “the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (vv. 7-10).  Paul informs us that all the stuff he once counted as important, he now considered “dung” when compared with knowing Christ.

In Philippians 3:7-10, Paul talks about knowing Christ, winning (gaining) Christ, and being found in Christ, and he explains all this in term of contrast, (v. 9), “…not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” 

Since God is righteous, it stands to reason that if we are ever to enter His presence we must be righteous too, but how can we hope to obtain God-like righteousness?  You may try to establish your own righteousness through good deeds and religious practices.  But this is doomed to failure, “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” Isaiah 64:6.  It is impossible to make yourself good enough for God. 

The only alternative to your achieving a righteous standing before God is that is that you receive it as a free gift of God through putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  For Jesus Christ lived a perfectly righteous life; He had no sins of His own for which atonement had to be made.  But on the cross He identified Himself with our unrighteousness; He took our place, bore our sins, paid our penalty, and died our death, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 

If you come to Christ in faith, trusting His as your Savior, He takes away your sins and clothes you with His righteousness; therefore, you stand before God, not in the tattered rags of your own morality but in the spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness.

Obeying Christ as Your Lord

Paul wrote of “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”.  A plastic Christian pays lip service to the authority of Christ, and to such a one Christ asks the question, “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).  When Jesus is truly your Lord, He directs your life and you gladly obey Him, bringing every part of your life under His authority: your home and family, your sexuality and marriage, your job, your money and possessions, your ambitions, and your recreations.

Christianity is Christ; a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.