Where In God's Word Do We Find a "Christian" Specifically Defined?

[Monksailor]

I spent over an hour answering a post which was apparently pulled by the time I tried to post my answer to a generalized, non-specific question which could have sparked division among the ranks. They were trying to get a definition of a Christian but maybe they were REALLY trying to create derision among Christians. I can't say as I am not familiar with the poster and their history here. Well, maybe we should ask Jesus and seek in God's Word (who Jesus is.) That is ALWAYS better than trying to just get a general consensus, I think.
First, who is Christ?

• John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." One MUST read the whole 1st chptr of John to clearly see that Jesus is the Word which became flesh and that Jesus was in the beginning and is the Creator and Sustainer.
• John 4:25-26 Jesus claims to be the Messiah, Christ.

What does Jesus the Christ say one who wants to be His follower or like Him (ian suffix means "like")

• Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Now where do we specifically find the word "Christian" and its meaning?

• Acts 11:26c "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."
• In Acts ch 26 we find the Apostle Paul's explanation of what a Christian is as he mounts his defense to King Agrippa and Governor Festus to which King Agtippa responds in vs 28b, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

-20b "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds",
-23 To believe that Christ would suffer and rise from the dead and "proclaim light" to the people.

In my Bile the word is used once more in 1 Peter 4:16:

• "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." and in the following verse 17 the clear implication is that Christians "obey the Gospel of God."

Beyond that one must compile the above and any additional descriptions of who the "Messiah" or "Christ" is, like from the hundreds of verses from the OT (esp Isa:Savior from the penalty of our sins) and all of the verses Christ spoke Himself about Himself into a cohesive and comprehensive profile. Naturally, there will be a variance but Romans ch 14 informs us how to deal with that.

That is the best that I can offer with limited time. PLEASE contribute but be at peace with each other. God is the ULTIMATE and really only credible JUDGE of these things. My signature offers my basic idea of a Christian derived from the "Roman's Road" and the "Four Spiritual Laws" from CCC but it is not absolute or a defining profile. At the most basic of who a Christian is, one could say merely one who believes in Christ, John 3:16, or one could get very, very picky and get into all kinds of doctrinal discourses beyond any comprehension or ability of a new convert or one considering becoming a Christian. But VERY CLEARLY from the above we see that it IS a lot more than just believing as even satan believes in Jesus or he would not be fighting Him or His followers. Jesus followers should be showing evidence of their salvation, their repentance, through a change in their lives to obedience to the Gospel of Christ.

 

[Phil W]

I spent over an hour answering a post which was apparently pulled by the time I tried to post my answer to a generalized, non-specific question which could have sparked division among the ranks. They were trying to get a definition of a Christian but maybe they were REALLY trying to create derision among Christians. I can't say as I am not familiar with the poster and their history here. Well, maybe we should ask Jesus and seek in God's Word (who Jesus is.) That is ALWAYS better than trying to just get a general consensus, I think.
First, who is Christ?

• John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." One MUST read the whole 1st chptr of John to clearly see that Jesus is the Word which became flesh and that Jesus was in the beginning and is the Creator and Sustainer.
• John 4:25-26 Jesus claims to be the Messiah, Christ.

What does Jesus the Christ say one who wants to be His follower or like Him (ian suffix means "like")

• Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Now where do we specifically find the word "Christian" and its meaning?

• Acts 11:26c "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."
• In Acts ch 26 we find the Apostle Paul's explanation of what a Christian is as he mounts his defense to King Agrippa and Governor Festus to which King Agtippa responds in vs 28b, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

-20b "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds",
-23 To believe that Christ would suffer and rise from the dead and "proclaim light" to the people.

In my Bile the word is used once more in 1 Peter 4:16:

• "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." and in the following verse 17 the clear implication is that Christians "obey the Gospel of God."

Beyond that one must compile the above and any additional descriptions of who the "Messiah" or "Christ" is, like from the hundreds of verses from the OT (esp Isa:Savior from the penalty of our sins) and all of the verses Christ spoke Himself about Himself into a cohesive and comprehensive profile. Naturally, there will be a variance but Romans ch 14 informs us how to deal with that.

That is the best that I can offer with limited time. PLEASE contribute but be at peace with each other. God is the ULTIMATE and really only credible JUDGE of these things. My signature offers my basic idea of a Christian derived from the "Roman's Road" and the "Four Spiritual Laws" from CCC but it is not absolute or a defining profile. At the most basic of who a Christian is, one could say merely one who believes in Christ, John 3:16, or one could get very, very picky and get into all kinds of doctrinal discourses beyond any comprehension or ability of a new convert or one considering becoming a Christian. But VERY CLEARLY from the above we see that it IS a lot more than just believing as even satan believes in Jesus or he would not be fighting Him or His followers. Jesus followers should be showing evidence of their salvation, their repentance, through a change in their lives to obedience to the Gospel of Christ.

Thanks for the info.
I would describe a Christian in Paul's words in Gal 5:24..."And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

 

[Monksailor]

Thanks for the info.
I would describe a Christian in Paul's words in Gal 5:24..."And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

Well said, Phil W.

 

[BlessedCreator]

I would say all they that will be counted worthy on the day of judgement are Christians. So one must look at what requirements God has for those to enter His coming kingdom and then when you have understood what is required you can then verify whether someone is or not. But simply put the requirements are to live in obedience unto God.

They that obey Jesus Christ (God) are Christians.

 

[Victoria Yu]

The term "Christian" actually appeared during the time of Acts, in Acts 11:28, where it talks about there are disciples who are called Christians in the region of Antioch. Christian is also the disciples, the disciples of Christ. Just like the great commission that Jesus gave to the twelve disciples before He ascended to heaven that we are told to make disciples of all nations towards the end of the earth. Then, we have to think about what does it means to be a disciple of Christ. Disciples mean a follower of Christ or student of Christ, since we are a student, we only need first know and follow the teaching of Christ.

 

[Jaxxi]

I spent over an hour answering a post which was apparently pulled by the time I tried to post my answer to a generalized, non-specific question which could have sparked division among the ranks. They were trying to get a definition of a Christian but maybe they were REALLY trying to create derision among Christians. I can't say as I am not familiar with the poster and their history here. Well, maybe we should ask Jesus and seek in God's Word (who Jesus is.) That is ALWAYS better than trying to just get a general consensus, I think.
First, who is Christ?

• John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." One MUST read the whole 1st chptr of John to clearly see that Jesus is the Word which became flesh and that Jesus was in the beginning and is the Creator and Sustainer.
• John 4:25-26 Jesus claims to be the Messiah, Christ.

What does Jesus the Christ say one who wants to be His follower or like Him (ian suffix means "like")

• Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Now where do we specifically find the word "Christian" and its meaning?

• Acts 11:26c "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."
• In Acts ch 26 we find the Apostle Paul's explanation of what a Christian is as he mounts his defense to King Agrippa and Governor Festus to which King Agtippa responds in vs 28b, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

-20b "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds",
-23 To believe that Christ would suffer and rise from the dead and "proclaim light" to the people.

In my Bile the word is used once more in 1 Peter 4:16:

• "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." and in the following verse 17 the clear implication is that Christians "obey the Gospel of God."

Beyond that one must compile the above and any additional descriptions of who the "Messiah" or "Christ" is, like from the hundreds of verses from the OT (esp Isa:Savior from the penalty of our sins) and all of the verses Christ spoke Himself about Himself into a cohesive and comprehensive profile. Naturally, there will be a variance but Romans ch 14 informs us how to deal with that.

That is the best that I can offer with limited time. PLEASE contribute but be at peace with each other. God is the ULTIMATE and really only credible JUDGE of these things. My signature offers my basic idea of a Christian derived from the "Roman's Road" and the "Four Spiritual Laws" from CCC but it is not absolute or a defining profile. At the most basic of who a Christian is, one could say merely one who believes in Christ, John 3:16, or one could get very, very picky and get into all kinds of doctrinal discourses beyond any comprehension or ability of a new convert or one considering becoming a Christian. But VERY CLEARLY from the above we see that it IS a lot more than just believing as even satan believes in Jesus or he would not be fighting Him or His followers. Jesus followers should be showing evidence of their salvation, their repentance, through a change in their lives to obedience to the Gospel of Christ.

Well, Jesus was not a Christian. We should look to the Apostles to find those answers and emulate them. I have often wondered if we should actually act more Jewish because Jesus was of the Jewish religion. We should believe what He believed, identically. He believed the Old Testament, plus that He was the Messiah and that is what we should follow. Why don't Christians practice the Jewish traditions? Wouldn't Jesus have? Christians should not have stopped doing what Jesus would have done- I mean if we are true followers. No?

 

[Jaxxi]

I spent over an hour answering a post which was apparently pulled by the time I tried to post my answer to a generalized, non-specific question which could have sparked division among the ranks. They were trying to get a definition of a Christian but maybe they were REALLY trying to create derision among Christians. I can't say as I am not familiar with the poster and their history here. Well, maybe we should ask Jesus and seek in God's Word (who Jesus is.) That is ALWAYS better than trying to just get a general consensus, I think.
First, who is Christ?

• John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." One MUST read the whole 1st chptr of John to clearly see that Jesus is the Word which became flesh and that Jesus was in the beginning and is the Creator and Sustainer.
• John 4:25-26 Jesus claims to be the Messiah, Christ.

What does Jesus the Christ say one who wants to be His follower or like Him (ian suffix means "like")

• Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Now where do we specifically find the word "Christian" and its meaning?

• Acts 11:26c "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."
• In Acts ch 26 we find the Apostle Paul's explanation of what a Christian is as he mounts his defense to King Agrippa and Governor Festus to which King Agtippa responds in vs 28b, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

-20b "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds",
-23 To believe that Christ would suffer and rise from the dead and "proclaim light" to the people.

In my Bile the word is used once more in 1 Peter 4:16:

• "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." and in the following verse 17 the clear implication is that Christians "obey the Gospel of God."

Beyond that one must compile the above and any additional descriptions of who the "Messiah" or "Christ" is, like from the hundreds of verses from the OT (esp Isa:Savior from the penalty of our sins) and all of the verses Christ spoke Himself about Himself into a cohesive and comprehensive profile. Naturally, there will be a variance but Romans ch 14 informs us how to deal with that.

That is the best that I can offer with limited time. PLEASE contribute but be at peace with each other. God is the ULTIMATE and really only credible JUDGE of these things. My signature offers my basic idea of a Christian derived from the "Roman's Road" and the "Four Spiritual Laws" from CCC but it is not absolute or a defining profile. At the most basic of who a Christian is, one could say merely one who believes in Christ, John 3:16, or one could get very, very picky and get into all kinds of doctrinal discourses beyond any comprehension or ability of a new convert or one considering becoming a Christian. But VERY CLEARLY from the above we see that it IS a lot more than just believing as even satan believes in Jesus or he would not be fighting Him or His followers. Jesus followers should be showing evidence of their salvation, their repentance, through a change in their lives to obedience to the Gospel of Christ.

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself Galatians 6

So we are to fulfill the law of Christ. Would this mean Love your neighbor as you love yourself? Was that the law they are talking about?