What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?
By Steven Lake
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About this ebook
Have you ever wondered what it means to be a Christian? In this little booklet I will show you the fundamental and basic elements of Christianity, of Jesus Christ, and the trademarks of those who truly follow Him.
Steven Lake
Steven Lake is a prolific author of many, many books, stories, articles, and other literature spanning a period of over twenty years. He began his long writing career in 1992 while serving in the US Army and has worked continuously to improve his craft to the great art it is today.
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What Does It Mean To Be A Christian? - Steven Lake
Introduction
What does it mean to be a Christian? Is it being part of the largest social club on Earth, or part of a congregation or even attending church regularly? Is it someone who is narrow minded and bigoted, lost in their own world of wistful fantasy and Gaelic revelry? Or perhaps someone who lives in gilded castles and dreams of one day walking on white puffy clouds lined with glistening silver while floating on angel's wings as they strum their harps of gold?
Depending on who you ask, the answers can vary. Some see Christians as idealists while others view them as the most hateful people on the planet, or even the most foolish and misguided. i.e. the religion of the dumb. But is it? What is Christianity really? Well, first we have to understand what the name implies. First off, the name Christian
is an adjective which identifies the individual with Jesus Christ, the object, focus and center of Christianity. Therefore to be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ Himself. At least from the grammatical sense.
But that still doesn't answer the question of what it truly means to be a Christian. Being named such is so much more than simply identifying with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Because it's not WHO someone is that makes them a Christian, but WHAT they are. Allow me to explain.
Our Sin
To understand what makes a person a Christian, we first have to go back to the source of our problem. Namely, our sin. We, as human beings, are depraved, sinful creatures. To understand the depth of one's sin is to understand the sheer, unfathomable depravity of even the best we have to offer before God. Yes, to God, even our best, most righteous, most exceptional of all good deeds are evil, vile, disgusting and depraved.
Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) - "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
To understand this verse properly we must first go much, much deeper than simply the words given above. The reason why is because, to the modern person, the term filthy rags
doesn't elicit the same reaction of utter and total revulsion the original author intended to convey. In the original Greek, the word for filthy rags
is ayd
which refers to a woman's period
or menstrual flux, and was the most vile, disgusting, horrific, gut wrenching thing the Jewish people of the time knew. Especially those with extensive knowledge of the Levitical code. To others however, different imagery was used. For example, when addressing the church at Philippi, Paul chose to use the word skubalon
, which is Greek for dung or excrement. This is seen in Philippians 3:5-8.
Philippians 3:5-8 (KJV) - "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which