Being a Christian
Then Agrippa said to Paul,
"You almost persuade me to become a Christian."
(Acts 26:28)
Have you ever considered what it truly means to be a Christian, what becoming a Christian really involves? Paul was a prisoner in Caesarea for two years (Ac. 24:27). When Festus became the governor, the Jews renewed their charges against Paul and plotted to kill him should he be transferred to Jerusalem for trial. Paul exercised his Roman citizenship, appealing to Caesar’s court for the justice he would never find in Palestine. Festus did not have any legitimate charge against Paul to send with him to Augustus, so he invited King Agrippa to hear Paul’s case and give a legal opinion on the matter.
The apostle Paul was given an opportunity to speak before the governor and King Agrippa, and he made the most of the occasion. Paul spoke to his audience about his conversion to faith in Jesus Christ and reasoned with them so persuasively that even Agrippa felt the power of the truth of Paul’s argument. Though King Agrippa did not become a Christian that day, his words provide an opportunity for us to reflect on just what being a Christian really means.
1) Being a Christian is a Matter of Persuasion
Before a person becomes a Christian, he must be convinced of certain facts. Christianity is not to be tried and abandoned if disliked (Lk. 9:62). Our entire heart and soul must be invested in its practice. Christianity is a matter of faith, and faith is a conviction of truth based on the evidence of the unseen (He. 11:1). The Christian’s faith is founded upon God’s word (Ro. 10:17). The gospel is the means by which God reasons with men to bring about their salvation (Is. 1:18; Ro. 1:16-17). The apostles sought to persuade men to believe in Jesus Christ by teaching them from God’s revelation (Ac. 17:2-4, 16-17).
Christianity is not merely an academic exercise. It is a rational choice made on the basis of facts, not an expression of giddy emotionalism. When we find our faith weak, it may be that we need to revisit the evidence for faith in God and renew our confidence in Jesus Christ. We need to remind ourselves of the reasons we are persuaded to believe, lest we lose sight of the importance and value of devoting our lives to God.
2. Being a Christian is a Matter of Conversion
Agrippa told Paul that he was almost persuaded to be/become a Christian. Just because a foreigner sneaks across our borders and chooses to live and work in this country does not make him a citizen. Similarly, just because someone calls himself a Christian and attends church services does not mean he is a genuine Christian. There is a process involved in making a foreigner a United States citizen, and there is a process involved in making a sinner a citizen of Christ’s kingdom. To be a Christian, one must become a Christian. He must change his life in accordance with the teachings of Christ. He must repent (Lk. 13:3; Ac. 3:19), and he must render obedience to the conditions of salvation laid out by our Lord (Mk. 16:16; Ac. 2:38). Only then can one be said to have actually become a Christian.
Anyone may claim to be a Christian, but only those who obey the gospel of Jesus Christ will be identified as such by God. There is no divine amnesty for those who seek to circumvent God’s process for kingdom membership (Ga. 3:26-27; 1Co. 12:13). Even those who have obeyed God’s word and become Christians may over time neglect the responsibilities of that relationship. Being a Christian is not merely wearing a name. It is something we are to be and to do. We need to remember the obligations of being a Christian, lest we drift away and become disloyal to our King.
3. Being a Christian is a Matter of Association
Have you ever noticed that every Christ-ian wears the name of Christ? The name indicates that we are of the household of Christ, we belong to Him. Christians are associated with Jesus Christ because He is the Lord whom we obey (Lk. 6:46), the Teacher from whom we learn (Jn. 12:48), and the Role Model we are called to imitate (1Jn. 2:6). To be a Christian is to endeavor to be like Jesus Christ. We are to walk in His footsteps and obey His holy word. The world is to see Christ living within us. Indeed, it is the presence of Christ in his life that is the Christian’s “hope of glory” (Co. 1:27).
Being a Christian is not the same as being a member of a social club or being loosely identifiable as a member of an impersonal organization. We must choose to live like Jesus: to think as He thought, to speak as He spoke, to live as he lived, and to die as he died (Lk. 9:23-24). We need to remind ourselves daily of our obligation to be like the Lord, lest we end up being more like the world.
Sadly, after hearing the power of the gospel as delivered by the apostle Paul, King Agrippa walked away without responding to it. He was almost persuaded to become a Christian. Almost persuaded but in the end, lost. Will you be like Agrippa, almost persuaded to truly be a Christian? Or will you be like the apostle Paul who was not disobedient to God but “declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Ac. 26:20)? Almost persuaded is not enough to save. We must be fully persuaded, truly converted, and diligently associated with the life and doctrine of Jesus Christ. –JME
Editorial: There is a Connection!
Men are prone to make a difference between the importance of loving and serving God, and that of acting properly toward man and duty. In much the same way that the Pharisees of the first century “split hairs” between the temple and the gold of the temple, the altar, and the gift on the altar, etc. (Matt 23:16-23), we tend to stress “Godward” actions over “manward” actions and, often, even “Godward” intentions over “Godward” actions. Instead of realizing that there is an inseparable connection between “faith and works”, “love and obedience”, etc., we look for divine approval at the point of the mental consent (faith), BEFORE (and sometimes WITHOUT) the corresponding act (obedience) which grows out of it; we expect that the mere intention to DO God’s will stands for the obligation to actually comply with it.
There is no such confusion or hair-splitting from God’s point of view! He has made it clear that He will only accept a life that contains both the intention and the response. In Luke 6:46, He says, “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” Thus, saying that Jesus is Lord is not enough! Only in responding to His Lordship by obeying Him can we truly recognize Him as Lord. Or, “loving” God apart from strict compliance with His demands is not acceptable. As He says in 1 John 5:3, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments”...
In the same way, when it comes to our duty toward our fellow men, we cannot separate such obligation from serving God. Loving man is an expression of loving God!
1Jo 4:11-12,20 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. ......If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
Just so, when it comes to “serving” God and man, there is a connection. In Matt 25:31-46, Christ equates helping needy men with serving Him (“Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me..”) When servants serve their fleshly masters, they serve Christ (Col 3:22-24); Wives are to submit to their husbands, “as unto the Lord..” -Eph 5:22) Friend, there is absolutely no way we can love or serve God and fail to show it in our actions toward our fellow men–THERE IS A CONNECTION! –The Editors
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