I have five questions I would like to have answered?
1 What is a Christian?
2 What position should God hold in your life?
3 What is the faith a Christian should hold in Jesus?
4 What ie re-birth?
1 What is a Christian?
The word Christian appears in the Bible three times,
A Acts 11:26
“and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Who called them Christians and why were they call them Christians? It appears that Paul and Barnabas spent a year teaching and preaching them.
B Acts 26:28
“Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”
C. 1 Peter 4:16
“but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” This sounds a lot like what Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely
say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for
your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 7:24-29 is the end of the Sermon on the Mount
The Two Foundations
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them,
may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed
against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the
rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them,
will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, a
nd the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house;
and it fell—and great was its fall.”
When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;
for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
2 What position should God hold in your life?
The Ten Commandments must have existed before Moses as his predeceases were judged by them, the two tablets presented to Moses must have been the first time they were written down. Taken from Exodus 20
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children,
on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but
showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep
My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord
will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”
The first three of the Ten Commandments define the position God should hold, and that is the most important position.
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that
which is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 What is the faith a Christian should hold in Jesus?
Faith can be one of the most difficult concepts to define. In Hebrews 11:1 Paul defines faith.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
When using the word Faith I am amazed by the comments that are given. A reply is usually something like: “you can’t see it or touch it, it has no mass” Try asking:
“Do you love someone, anyone? You can feel it, you can see it, you can experience it, isn’t that the same as love?
Jesus has used two examples of faith, the mustard seed and the fig tree. We shouldn’t forget changing lives.
4 What is re-birth?
Re-birth is the result of repentance and commitment. John the Baptist preceded Jesus.
Matthew 3:1-3
“Now in those days John the Baptist *came,
preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
Jesus tells us what is necessary to become a follower in John 3:1-15
The New Birth
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You
have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do
unless
God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot
enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not
know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him,
“Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say
to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not
accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in
Him have eternal life.”
Matthew 16:24-27
Discipleship Is Costly
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me,
he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for
My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world
and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels,
and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”
No, I didn’t forget the 5th question. Read John 14.
5 How well are you responding to the statement of Jesus?
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.“