So many people today, particularly in the South, identify themselves as a Christian, but I think when we look at biblical descriptions of a Christ-follower and compare those to the lifestyles of professing Christians it leaves some questions regarding our understanding of being a Christian.
At the same time, people often wrestle with their salvation, so my hope is that this post will give some clarity on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. I hope this will give you confirmation regarding your salvation and encourage you to become more like Jesus or reveal your need for Him.
First, just to clarify the words, "Disciple," "Christ-follower," and "Christian" are all interchangeable terms when viewed in light of Scripture. People often think they can be a Christian, but not a disciple. The bottom line is that you're either following Jesus with Him as your Lord or you aren't.
Here a few indicators of a genuine Christ-follower. There's a lot of content here, so feel free to simply read the main points or read the content underneath as well.
Following Jesus is much more than a religious moment you had at some point in your life: In other words, you may have "prayed the sinners prayer" or even been baptized but not truly be a follower of Jesus (aka saved, a disciple, a Christian). You may be thinking, "How can this be? Doesn't the Bible say to just "Believe in your heart, confess Jesus, call upon His name, and you will be saved?" Actually it doesn't say this...
What
Romans 10:9-13 says is that you must confess Him as
LORD and call upon the name of the LORD in order to be saved/become a Christian. In other words, you can have a religious moment where you become more aware of God but never surrender to Jesus as Lord. To admit that Jesus is LORD means you also admit you aren't; therefore, you are submitting to His authority as LORD. I think a lot of people have been told and believe that simply having a religious experience means they're saved, yet it's a surrender of our wills and lives that places us into a relationship with Jesus. However, the relationship with Jesus does have a starting point, so there must be a...
Moment of Repentance, Surrender, and Spiritual birth: In
John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that He must be born again. In
Mark 1:15, Jesus says the Kingdom of God (a new way of living) has come near, so repent and believe. Likewise in
Acts 2, we read of repentance and belief at the point of salvation. The point here is there must be a time in your life when you've surrendered to Jesus as Lord and allowed Him to point your life in a new direction (repentance, spiritual birth). The way to know if this moment has happened is to consider whether your behavior and the general desires of your life reflects that of a life submitted to His Lordship. From this moment, your life should be a...
Life that is marked with the work of the Holy Spirit: Galatians 5 is an excellent read regarding the day-to-day work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christ-follower. As is
John 16:5-15. By the way, the well-known "fruit of the Spirit" list isn't to be viewed as multiple "fruits" which you may have some but not others. It's "fruit" meaning singular, one fruit. In other words, the Spirit WILL develop ALL of these in a follower of Christ as one fruit, not separate, multiple ones. Jesus says in
John 15:8 that we prove to be disciples by the fruit we bear, not by whether or not we've had a religious moment.
Do you seek to interact closely with other disciples of Jesus?
Is there an eagerness and a willingness to tell others about Jesus through your words and actions?
Followers of Jesus understand that He has saved them for a purpose... make disciples. It's sad how so much of our "church" activity does very little to accomplish and equip people for this mission. Look at these Scriptures. The call to reach others is part of the call to follow Him.
Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17, Matthew 28:19, John 17:18, Acts 1:8
Do you use Scripture and prayer to guide you in decisions related to finances, how you spend your time, relationships, and how you live your life? 1 John 2:3-6 shows us that Jesus' commands should influence our decision making in all areas of our life so that we will walk as Jesus walked. Obedience is evidence of your salvation.
While there's much more I could get into regarding indicators of a true believer, here's 3 common things I hear/see that may indicate someone has only had religious moments and no real spiritual birth.
Someone speaks of their "church", denomination, and/or their pastor more than they do Jesus. While this may seem strange to think that it would happen, I way too often hear people talk very, very little about Jesus when I ask them about their spiritual journey. When you've truly met Jesus, you can't help but to speak about Him... speak a lot about Him when asked. While a church, pastor, etc may have played a part in your journey to God, they shouldn't be at the forefront of your spiritual story.
They church shop for the best church programs for their kids all the while ignoring the fact that they as a parent are to be the primary spiritual influence in their kids life. Again, if you've truly met Jesus, wouldn't you want to be the one who is shaping your kids view of Jesus? Why would you rely on people you don't even know (which is the case if you're church shopping) to shape your kids view on Jesus? The church can and should help in this process, but trust me, no matter how "Disney-like," relevant, or cool the programs are, they can't replace the role you play as a parent.
Their contentment with God is based upon how they feel about a church or church service... Examples: The music was great today, so I feel great. The pastor called me when I missed, so I feel loved and cared for. I got to play in the band today, so I'm important. There's nothing wrong with feeling energized, cared for, or important, but all too often our whole identity of God is wrapped up into our church experience.
