What ultimately defines whether you are a Christian or not, is not what Denomination you belong to, but whether you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in your heart. – Ravi Zacharias

Romans 10: 9-10 NLT If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

What God is requiring from us is very simple in my opinion:  Confession and Believing

Everything else is us, going through the motions of trying to live a life pleasing to God, without doing what He has asked us to do.

1 Samuel 15: 22 NLT “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

When I read this scripture, it was like a glass of ice-cold water had been thrown on me. For so long, it was my understanding from past teachings, sermons, personal observations of others, or, my ignorance, that to be a Christian, one must do all the right things. And what were those right things?

All the “Don’ts”.

You know: The “don’t” do this and the “don’t” do that. “Don’t’ be bad, cuss, steal, gossip, lust, sin, etc., etc., etc. Now before you get the wrong idea, and think that doing these things are okay, I’m simply saying that NOT doing them, does not make one a Christian.

So, what makes one a Christian? As mentioned in the scripture above, it is “confession” and “believing”.

Confession: acknowledgment; admission. (from Dictionary.com) But acknowledgment or admission of what exactly? Two things come to mind. First, admission that we are sinful. This to me is the biggest struggle that most people have. Oh, we easily state that we are not “perfect”, but we all believe that we aren’t as bad as the next person or that we inherently have some good things about us, that doesn’t quite add up to being “sinful”.

Yet, God’s Word is clear on this. For in Romans 3:23 …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (NIV).

Second, is admission that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That He is Lord. And that only through Him, are our sins forgiven. This one also is troubling for most people, because this takes control over our lives and destiny, out of our hands…so to speak. What I mean is, if we all are honest, we struggle with someone else, determining the course and direction of our lives…even God. So even if we admit that we are sinful, admitting that removal of those sins can only come through one means, is problematic for most.
We can’t help but to think that we have the ability, the strength, the knowledge, the means, the experience, to live a good, prosperous life, without the help of anyone. And this my friends becomes a huge obstacle to living the abundant life promised by God. Which is a topic for a future discussion.

Then we come to the issue of “believing”.

Believing: to have confidence or faith in the truth; to have confidence in the assertions of (a person). (from Dictionary.com). So here again, confidence or faith in what? What truth? Confidence in who?

Well the simple answer, especially if one is wanting to be a Christian or calling themselves one, is having confidence or faith the “TRUTH”, which is the Word of God (the Bible). And the “person” the “truth” speaks of, is Jesus. Without believing that the Word of God is true and that what it speaks of about Jesus is true, then it is impossible to be a Christian. At least not the Christian that Paul speaks of that will be saved.

In closing:

It really doesn’t matter what we tend to label ourselves. Mankind has been doing that in some form or another for centuries. It’s like we must call ourselves something so that we can belong to something bigger than ourselves. Even those who pride themselves on being loners. When you press them enough, they will associate themselves with some type of label…even “Loaner”.

But the bottom line comes down to what you confess you are and what you believe which will dictate truly how you live your life.

So many so-called, “Christians”, look, sound, and act like everything but what Jesus Christ’s life, teachings and actions, demonstrated while on this earth. Nor do their lives resemble what the Bible describes a follower of Christ (Christian) life should be.

But if we honestly examined our lives, we would clearly see the things we believe in, because our lives and actions show it. Not just when we are around a certain group of people, say on Sunday mornings, but each and every day.

Jesus said in John 14:12 NLT, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.

Ha, there it is again…’truth’ and ‘believes’.

I’m a Christian, not because of what I do or don’t do. But because I know/confess that I am a sinner that has been saved by grace through the sacrificial life of Jesus. I believe that the Word of God is true and that it states that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe this and live my life according to this truth. Yes, I sin. I don’t desire to, but I am under constant attack by the enemy, even my own fleshly desires and wants. This too is for a discussion for another time. But I believe the Word of God that states in 1 John 2:12 NIV, I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

Whose name? Yes, Jesus’ name.

Being a Christian is more than going to church. It more than doing “good” things or not doing “bad” things. It’s more than repeating a few words at the end of a prayer. It’s more than reading the Bible. It’s more than talking to others about the Bible.

It’s about acknowledging that our sin has separated us from the presence of God. It’s about confessing those sins to the only One, Jesus, who can forgive us of our sins. It’s believing that Jesus is exactly who He says He is and who the Bible tells us He is. It’s believing that to be restored into a right relationship with God, can only be done through knowing Christ and being known by Him.

I pray that we realize what it truly means to be called Christian and the heavenly and eternal responsibility that name carries with it.

God bless.