A sermon on Christianity: What is a Christian?

Please do not misunderstand me.  I am not one of those preachers who says that there are different forms of Christianity, such as this brand, that denomination, or other types.  A Christian is one who obeys God's plan of salvation (Rom. 10:17; Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:21), who is placed by God Himself into the church of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:47; Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23).  By "forms" of Christianity, I mean:

• The Christian is INformed.  According to Deuteronomy 17:10, the process of teaching and hearing the Bible involves the recipient ("You"), the requirement ("shall do"), the realm ("All that"), the respect ("which the Lord chooses") and the result (taught).  Through faithful study, the Christian knows so much:  Christ (1 Jn. 2:3), how he or she was redeemed (1 Pt. 1:18), the emancipating power of truth (Jn. 8:32), and the danger of trying to serve both Lord and world (Js. 4:4).
  
• The Christian is REformed.  Because of Christ, we live in the time of "reformation" (Heb. 9:10).  What this means is clear from context, that the reformation was paved by the incarnation ("Christ being come"), ministration ("an high priest"), propitiation ("His own blood for us"), and redemption ("obtained eternal redemption") of the Savior (Heb. 9:11).  But, Christ also reformed the worship and the way we approach God.  Therefore, we can and must reform the way we live our lives in light of what He's done for us.
  
• The Christian is CONformed.  Christians we predestined by God to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29).  We are fashioned like unto Him.  So, we conform ourselves to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).  Through conversion, we are "made conformable unto His death" (Phil. 3:10).  To enjoy eternal life, we put to death a lifestyle devoted to willful sin.  This is possible through being confirmed to the will and desire of God's Word.
  
• The Christian is TRANSformed (Rom. 12:1-2).  There is "change" involved in pleasing God.  We change our focus (Col. 3:1-2), our priorities (Matt. 6:33), some friendships (Js. 4:4), our masters (Mt. 6:24), and our hearts (Acts 3:19).  The transforming power, of course, is in the gospel which convicts us (Heb. 4:12).

God wants Christians on this earth to make a difference in the Lord's church and in the world.  The word needs to see these forms of Christianity in our lives.  How are we doing?

 

Neal Pollard