8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
A lot of people in the world have the wrong idea of who a Christian is. Some think that a Christian is everyone who goes to Church and is committed in serving in Church. That’s not what a Christian is. The fact is that, the many ideas people have of what a Christian is don’t accurately define a true Christian. Some even think that, being the child of a pastor or being born into a Christian family makes one a Christian. That’s as true as saying that living in a garage makes you a car. You can only become a Christian when you get born again by consciously repenting of your sins and confessing Jesus as Lord of your life and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead for your justification.
There are people who believe that Jesus Christ is a prophet, and because of that, they are Christians. No, they are not! That’s not what to believe about Jesus to become a Christian. Romans 10:9-10 spells out what one needs to believe about Jesus to be born again. First, that He died for our sins, and that God raised Him from the dead for our justification. Second, confessing Him as Lord of our lives. That’s what it takes to be a Christian. Some people of certain religions will tell you that they believe in Jesus as a prophet. This cannot make anyone a Christian. A Christian is also not someone who’s nice, does good works, helps people in the neighbourhood or is a philanthropist. That’s good and we ought to do that but that cannot make you a Christian. So, philanthropists, nice people, quiet and easygoing people are not Christians until they consciously repose faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Having believed in Christ, our good works then become acceptable to God.
Similarly, a Christian is not someone who is helping out with church work. In today’s world, church is so sophisticated, in terms of service delivery. People who are not born again may be employed to help out with one thing or the other in the church such as disposing refuse in church, helping out with the cleaning of the church environment, and such other activities; but that doesn’t make one a Christian. You are a Christian because you’re born again. Period.
My Solid Front (Confession):
I am a believer in Christ Jesus. I walk in the newness of life and I am not given to fleshly things. The fruit of my righteousness abounds and abides, even as I am given to good works. I provide succour to the weak and bring hope to the hopeless. That’s my life! Amen.
Further Meditation:
Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16