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Friday, August 09, 2013

Essential Christianity - What Makes a Christian

There are, in our world, two categories of people. There are those who are Christians and there are those who are not. Before proceeding with the question of what doctrines are essential to Christianity, we must first figure out what makes a Christian. Or, in the words of the Philippian jailer, "What must I do to be saved?" Clearly what makes a Christian is not the same thing as that of what Christianity is constructed. Just as a door is the way into a house, the house still has necessary structures not necessary for entering but necessary for holding it together. So what is the door?

We might draw our answer from that very jailer's question. Paul gave an answer that should be sufficient. The problem, of course, is that we run the risk of taking it too lightly. So what was Paul's answer? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:31). Easy, right? "Believe!" End of story. But be careful. If you conclude that "believe" is the end of the story, you weren't paying attention. You see, "believe in Jesus" is not sufficient cause for salvation. Someone told me, "I believe in Jesus" and went on to qualify it with "my Mexican gardener." Humor, of course, but you see the point. Yes, we need to believe, but believe in what? Not just any Jesus. So who is it in whom we must place our faith in order to be saved?

The text says "the Lord Jesus Christ". Each word is significant. The first is "the", indicating "the one and only." "There is there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). First, then, is the necessary belief that there is no other. One way. Not a way, but only one.

Who is that one way? That would be Jesus. Well, we're clear on that, aren't we? Perhaps. There are, however, those who claim to be Christians without believing that any such person ever existed. Jesus was a historical person. He was the son of Mary. He grew up in Nazareth. He was a carpenter. That Jesus. No other. Nor was He a fictional character, a myth, a story. He was a real person, and if you aren't convinced it is a real person in which you are placing your faith, you aren't going to be saved.

And there are other people who claim that He was someone else. He was a prophet or one of many sons of God. That's not the same Jesus. That's some other Jesus. No, this one is specific, and no other will do. He was born, the only Son of God, lived in Israel until He was crucified, was buried and rose again. All of this is necessary. This is the "Jesus" in view, and no other will do.

Of course, we all know that Jesus was His first name and Christ was His last, right? No, of course not. Christ was not a name; it was a title. Jesus -- the One in whom you are placing your faith for salvation -- is the Jewish Messiah. He was the One foretold of old. He came as promised and will come again as promised as King. He was the Suffering Servant and will be the Triumphant King of kings. That Jesus. Jesus, the Christ. Not just the carpenter, but the promised Messiah.

And I've neatly danced around a very important term in the whole thing, haven't I? One other key descriptive from Paul is found in the second word of the phrase. It is "Lord". The Greek is kurios. It refers to the supreme authority, the controller, the master. The whole notion of placing your faith in a "Buddy Jesus" is not found here. The idea of trusting in a "laughing Jesus" isn't included. No, this Jesus, this Christ, in whom we are going to trust to provide salvation, is Lord. If you're not ready for a Master, you're not ready to be saved. All of this is found in the formula, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved."

Can you believe in another Jesus, a Jesus who isn't Lord, a Jesus who was a myth, a Jesus who was not the Jewish Messiah, some other Jesus, and be saved? No, absolutely essential to becoming a Christian is faith placed in this particular Jesus and no other. Essential.

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