Are You Sure You Are A Christian? It is the will of God that all accountable human beings living in this age become Christians. When one fails to be a Christian, he fails to be what God desires for him to be. “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26). In a congregation in Antioch, which was composed of both Jews and Gentiles, the prophecy of Isaiah 62:2 began to be fulfilled, “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.” The name was not given in derision or mockery. It was a new name, “which the mouth of the Lord shall name.” King Agrippa heard Paul declare the glorious gospel and knew what he should be. His response was, “Almost, thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” (Acts 26:28). By preaching the gospel of Christ, men endeavor to persuade men to become Christians. The third and last time we meet the word in the scriptures is in I Peter 4:16. “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” When one suffers for being a Christian, he glorifies God and should never be ashamed to do so. It is a wonderful privilege and blessing to be a Christian. No greater honor is bestowed upon a person in this life than the honor of becoming a Christian. We should never overlook this, and continually thank God for making it possible for us to be Christians. But, are we sure that we are Christians? The scriptures do not speak of people hoping that they were Christians. They were told what to do and in so doing given the assurance that they had become children of God or Christians. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (I John 3:2). “The Spirit itself (Himself NKJV) beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; And if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ;” (Romans 8:16-17). There is must deception in the world. We can be deceived by thinking we are Christians, when we have not complied with the will of God. We need to heed the words of Peter, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” (II Peter 1:10). He spoke of making things sure, and we need to dwell upon being sure that we are Christians. It is possible for one to be: Religious and not be a Christian. The Jews, who were assembled for the Passover in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 2, were obviously religious. “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.” (Acts 2:5). Not only could they to be designated as religious, they were devout in what they believed. The word “Christian”, and what constituted becoming one, had not been preached at this time. When Paul was in Athens, he “stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitions.” (Acts 17:22). The Athenians religiously worshipped their idols, but they were far from being Christians. Another version said of them, “I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” (ESV) A Christian is a religious person, but a person may be religious and not be a Christian. This is very definitely taught with numerous examples in the scriptures. It is possible for one to be: A good man and not be a Christian. Cornelius is an example of this. “There was a certain man in Caesaea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.” (Acts 10:2). Furthermore, his servants said of him, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews” (Acts 10:22). While possessing these outstanding characteristics and engaging in these good works, he was told by an angel to send for Peter, “he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” (Acts 10:6). He needed to hear the gospel and to know about Jesus Christ. When Peter came to Caesarea where Cornelius was, he preached faith in Christ, “And commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 10:48). Christians are to be good men, but one can be a good man and not be a Christian. A Christian has put on Christ by being obedient to the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27). It is possible for one to be: A believer in Christ and not be a Christian. “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.” (Acts 26:27). Agrippa replied by saying, “Almost thou persuadest me, to be a Christian.” (Acts 26:28). He knew that becoming a Christian involved more than just believing. One must certainly believe in Christ to become a Christian, but one can believe in Christ and not obey Him to become a Christian. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou does well: the devils also believe, and tremble, But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:19-20). Devils are mentioned in the gospels as believing, but certainly they were not obedient believers as Christians must be. Penitent and not be a Christian. It is very important for one to repent of his sins. No one can be saved or become a Christian who does not repent of his sins. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (II Corinthians 7:10). “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” (Acts 17:30). On occasions, some have departed from their sinful ways and evidence a spirit of repentance. At this point, others have spoken of them as being converted and becoming Christians. This is contrary to what Peter spoke in Acts 3:19. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,” Their repenting was not all there was to being converted. They were to repent and be converted that their sins might be blotted out. This verse is akin to Acts 2:38. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” One verse reads “Repent ye therefore, and be converted”, while the other says “Repent and be baptized”. It is very definite from both of these verses that something more than repentance is necessary in one obtaining remission of sins. A Christian has truly repented of his sins, but a person may repent of his sins and never become a Christian. He may never go on to obey the other commands which Christ authorizes for one to obey in being converted and becoming a Christian. It is also possible for one: To obey an act of baptism and not be a Christian. To be a Christian one must have faith to be baptized into Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27). However, it is possible for an individual to be taught wrong and baptized for the wrong purpose. Paul encountered some at Ephesus who had been baptized, but they had not obeyed the one baptism Christ had commanded in His great commission. (Matt. 28:18-19) (Mark 16:15-16). “And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:3-5). They had obeyed John’s baptism, which at this time was archaic or not a part of present truth. (II Peter 1:12). They needed to be obedient to Christ and obey the baptism, which would place them into Christ. Being evidently sincere in heart, they realized their error, and “they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” They wanted to make it as sure as they could! There are people who are baptized believing that Christ has already saved them, and that they are already Christians. Such a baptism cannot be scriptural! The scriptures speak of men putting on Christ by being baptized into Him. (Galatians 3:26-27). There is no real meaning to baptism, if we are saved before being baptized. To be a Christian, a penitent believer, upon a confession of faith in Christ, must be baptized into Christ, but individuals can be baptized and never become Christians. How? They are taught and obey an unscriptural baptism which is foreign to that which is found in God’s word.
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