Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, August 12, 2018 (Dad would have been 84 today. 1934-1992) Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister What It Really Means To Be A Christian Acts 11:19-26 (NKJV) Our scripture text comes to this evening from the eleventh chapter of the Book of Acts. And let's read verses 19-26. ACTS 11:19-26 (NKJV) 19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
I N T R O D U C T I O N On the day you were born, or shortly there-after, your parents gave you a name by which you have been and will be identified your whole earthly life. *You may like your name or hate it.but like it or not, ITS YOURS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! Unless you decide to pay to have your name changed. *Your name is on your birth certificate..your baptismal certificate and one day it will be on your death certificate. *Your name is listed in the telephone book, the church membership roll book and the I.R.S. record book. *Your name is on your driver s license and your marriage license and your hunting and fishing license. *Your name is on your car insurance, your health insurance and your homeowners insurance. *Every time you write a check..every time you use your credit card every time you take out a loan you have to sign your name. *And one day, when your earthly life is over your tombstone will bear your name Your name is special! Your name is your IDENTITY. *********************************************************** But there is another special name you wear besides the name you were given on the day you were born, and that is the name you were given on the day you were born again. verse 26 And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
To us, the name Christian is a very special name..a name of great honor! But there are some things about that name Christian that might surprise you. *For one, it might surprise you to know that other than here in Acts 11:26, the name Christian only appears two other times in all the New Testament..It is is mentioned again in Acts 26:28 where King Agrippa said to Paul, You almost persuade me to become a Christian....And then in I Peter 4:16 Peter writes, Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. *Something else that might surprise you about the name CHRISTIAN is that originally it was not a name of honor or respect, but rather a name of mockery and ridicule. Pay close attention to the wording of verse 26 in our text... verse 26 And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Up until this time, followers of Jesus Christ had been called a number of different things like: disciples..saints believers..brothers witnesses..and people of The Way. It appears that the name Christian was a derogatory name tagged on the followers of Christ by unbelievers. Originally it meant Christ-one's or Little Christs. In its early usage, to call a follower of Christ the C word was similar to calling a black person the N word today. Tacitus, a first century Greek historian wrote, The vulgar call them Christians. In other words, refined, sophisticated people would not even say the word Christian. It was a term used only by foul-mouthed heathens.
But in time, the followers of Christ began to see the name Christian as honorable. To them the name meant to share the reproach of Christ. They were not ashamed to be called Christians...in fact, they considered it to be the highest honor to be identified as the Christ- one's or the little Christ's! ************************* ************************* Sadly, today the name christian has lost a great deal of its uniqueness and significance. * Some people call themselves a Christian simply because they go to Church every now and then. But the truth is, going to Church every week doesn't make one a Christian any more than going to the Moose Lodge every week makes one a moose. * Some people think of themselves as Christians because they live decent, moral lives. * Some believe they are a Christian because their name was added to some Church roll book years and years ago. * Others believe they are Christians because their parents are Christians or because they were raised in a Christian home. *Others believe they are Christians because they say a prayer every now and then or read their Bible on occasion. The best way to clear up all confusion and misunderstanding about WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN is to go to the source of all truth and that is the word of God. Let's consider Three Truths the Bible teaches us...
TRUTH #1: A TRUE CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO IS CLOTHED WITH CHRIST Galatians 3:26,27 (NKJV) 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 1. You can tell a lot about a person by the clothes they wear. For example, if you see five or six guys walk into a restaurant wearing military fatigues and army boots you would naturally assume those men are soldiers. Of if you walk into a hospital and see a man or woman wearing blue scrubs you would naturally assume that he or she is a nurse. 2. A true Christian is one who is clothed with Jesus Christ. Paul says, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. One cannot call himself a true Christian without putting on the righteousness Christ. 3.. Well how does one put on the righteousness of Christ? Many have been led to believe that all one has to do to put on Christ is to simply pray the sinner's prayer. It is interesting to note that this so-called sinner's prayer is nowhere to be found in the Bible. It greatly concerns me that hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of people are basing their salvation on the fact that they prayed a prayer that isn't even in the Bible. About the nearest thing we find to the sinner's prayer is found in Jesus' Parable of The Pharisee and The Tax Collector in Luke 18. Remember the Pharisee prayed, God, I thank You that I am not like other men---extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess.
The lowly tax collector who couldn't even raise his eyes toward heaven, beat his breast and cried, God, be merciful to me a sinner. Jesus told that parable to illustrate the difference between trusting in one's own goodness and righteousness and trusting in the goodness and righteousness of Christ. Is it biblical to trust in the righteousness of Christ for one's salvation? Yes! Is it biblical to confess one's sins to God? Yes! Is it biblical to recite a prayer for one's salvation? NO! 3. God s Word plainly reveals the Plan of Salvation for those who are sincerely looking for the truth: (A) First of all we must have A BELIEVING FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. JOHN 3:16-18 (NKJV) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ACTS 16:31 (NKJV) So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. It is absolutely impossible to be saved without believing in the One who died to save us from our sins. One cannot call himself or herself a Christian without believing in the LORD JESUS CHRIST! (B) But not only does the Lord command us to have a believing faith, God always requires that we REPENT OF OUR SINS. To repent means to change one's mind and heart. True repentance involves a turning away from sin and turning towards God. LUKE 13:3 and 5 (NKJV) I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
Remember after Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, the people came under such conviction by the message that they asked Peter, What shall we do? (to be saved) v. 38 Then Peter said to them, Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (C) But not only does God command us to have a BELIEVING FAITH and to REPENT OF OUR SINS.God also commands that we MAKE A CONFESSION OF FAITH. MATTHEW 10:32,33 (NKJV) 32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. ROMANS 10:9,10 (NKJV) 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Remember that day you gave your life to Christ and made that great confession of faith, I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. That was not to be a one-time confession. That is to be our confession of faith, our testimony all the days of our life. We are never to be ashamed to identify ourselves with Christ. GOD commands us to have a BELIEVING FAITH. HE commands us to REPENT OF OUR SINS. HE commands us to MAKE OUR CONFESSION OF FAITH BEFORE MEN. (D) And God also commands us to be BE BAPTIZED or IMMERSED FOR THE REMISSION OF OUR SINS. Remember that scripture I read just a moment ago from... ACTS 2:38 (NKJV) Then Peter said to them, Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And remember that scripture I read earlier from... GALATIANS 3:27 (NKJV) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And listen to these words of the apostle Paul in... ROMANS 6:4-6 (NKJV) 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 4. So this is TRUTH #1: A CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO HAS BEEN CLOTHED WITH CHRIST,, more specifically one who has been clothed in the righteousness of Christ. ********************* Now here is... TRUTH #2: A TRUE CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO HAS BEEN CHANGED BY CHRIST II Corinthians 5:17 II Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 1. CHANGE is one of the identifying marks of every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. (A) A true believer experiences a CHANGE in IDENTITY from being a child of the DEVIL to being a child of GOD. JOHN 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.
(B) A true believer experiences a CHANGE in DESTINY. Before we accepted Christ our destiny was hell; but through Christ and Christ alone, our destiny is now heaven. Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJV) 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (C) A true believer experiences a CHANGE in PURPOSE. Before we came to know Christ as our Savior we lived to please OURSELVES. But as saved believers our new purpose in life is to live to please GOD. Romans 12:1,2 (NKJV) 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (D) A true believer experiences a CHANGE in PRIORITIES. Before we came to know Christ we had our sights set on EARTHLY things. But since we came to know Christ our sights are to be set on HEAVENLY things. COLOSSIANS 3:1,2 (NKJV) If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (E) A true believer experiences a CHANGE in MASTERS. Before we accepted Christ we were slaves to SATAN. But Christ broke the chains that bound us and set us free to be His bond-servants. ROMANS 6:22 (NKJV) But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
2. None of these changes are possible through human effort or human will. These changes can only come about by entering into a life-changing, soul-saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So our first truth was this: A TRUE CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO HAS BEEN CLOTHED WITH CHRIST. Our second truth was this: A TRUE CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO HAS BEEN CHANGED BY CHRIST. Now here is our third truth... TRUTH #3: A Christian Is One Who Has Made A FAITHFUL COMMITMENT To CHRIST Luke 9:62 LUKE 9:62 (NKJV) But Jesus said to him, No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. 1. When we think of those who were first called Christians in the city of Antioch, one thing is for certain: they were totally committed to Christ, even if it meant persecution or death itself. 2. After Christ arose from the dead and later ascended, His apostles knew that if they continued to follow Jesus and continued to preach Jesus that it would likely result in their deaths, and it did! Other than Judas who hanged himself, ten of the eleven original apostles died martyrs deaths. They were faithful unto death. 3. Just before the apostle Paul was executed by Nero, Paul wrote these words to young Timothy... II TIMOTHY 4:6-8 (NKJV) 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
4. In many countries today, to make a commitment to Jesus Christ virtually insures pain, suffering and persecution. As a matter-of-fact, nearly 200,000 Christians are martyred world-wide each year. 5. Here in America, our church roll books are filled with names of people who haven t darkened the doors of a church building in years. I m talking about the names of people who one time made a DECISION, but did not make a LASTING COMMITMENT TO JESUS CHRIST. illustration: Think of a marriage. Its one thing to make a decision to marry someone and walk down an aisle and say I DO!...But it takes faith, and courage, and perseverance to remain faithful to that commitment until death do us part. Likewise, it s one thing to walk down the aisle and make a decision to accept Christ..But it s a totally different matter to make a LIFELONG COMMITMENT to LOVE JESUS and SERVE JESUS and LIVE FOR JESUS and REMAIN FAITHFUL TO JESUS! REVELATION 2:10b (NKJV) Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ****************
C O N C L U S I O N ILLUSTRATION: The late evangelist, A.W. TOZIER once wrote. A A real christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, and gives away so he can keep. Tomorrow we will go back into the world. Every person we cross paths with...every stranger we meet...is a soul who desperately needs Jesus. Let us never be ashamed to stand up and be counted among those who are true followers of the LORD JESUS CHRIST!