Why am I a Christian?
First Question: What is a Christian? (Part Three)
A Christian as I am
defining the word is a person who accepts and lives by two theologies and has
experienced an event in their lives. In
the last two chapters I defined theology 101 and theology 102 which forms the
intellectual content of the Christian faith.
But to be a Christian
as I define it requires more than a mere intellectual understanding but also an
existential experience of the living Messiah Jesus in addition to the
acceptance of this core theology. So, beyond theology we must have a personal
spiritual encounter with the resurrected person of the Lord Jesus of
Nazareth.
The verse most used
to open people to this experience is found in the book of Revelation where the
resurrected Jesus says:
" 'Behold, I
stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. “(Revelation 3:20)
The idea being that
we can have a spiritual encounter with the resurrected Jesus through the Holy
Spirit in which the presence of Messiah Jesus will come into us and we will
have a present day personal relationship and experience HIM inwardly today.
The converted rabbi
and Christian theologian Paul describes it this way to a first century
community of disciples of Jesus.
"Now I rejoice
in my sufferings for your sake, and in my body, I do my share on behalf of His
body, which is the community of believers, in filling up what is lacking in
Messiah's afflictions. Of this community, I was made a minister according to
the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully
carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been
hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His
saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Messiah Jesus in you, the hope of
glory." (Colossians 1:24-27)
So the final step in
becoming a Christian is not just to come to the conclusion that one is a moral
failure deserving just punishment by God at death and having a conviction that
Jesus of Nazareth, was God the Son who became the Son of God to be a pay the penalty
through HIS suffering for that immoral life as a substitute by the crucifixion
and provide life through HIS historical resurrection, but also to now ask the
ascended Messiah Jesus to personally enter our lives to save and transform us
from the inside out. To personally
trust in “Jesus, only Jesus” to be the one that will bring us forgiveness,
purpose for life, and inner healing.
The first century
Christian theologian Saul of Tarsus explained this way.
"But what does it say? "THE WORD IS
NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of faith
which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for
with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says,
"WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding
in riches for all who call on Him; for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF
THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."" (Romans 10:8-13)
To “call on the name
of the Lord Jesus” is to pray a desperate prayer asking HIM to save us and to
come into our lives. It is to open
ourselves to HIS spiritual presence, power, and peace. It is a desire to begin a personal relationship
with the Living LORD Jesus as prophet, priest, and king.
The term “Messiah”
means anointed prophet, priest, and king and therefore to accept and follow
Jesus is to personally accept him in these three ways.
As prophet to be the
ultimate source of truth in our lives and the greatest teacher we have in our
lives. He is for us “The Truth”.
As priest as the one
who paid for our sins and provides now an open door to intimacy to God as our
high priest. Because of Messiah Jesus we
no longer fear condemnation for our sins but undeserved favor from God at times
of need. He is “The Way” to reconciliation
with God.
As King, we ask the
LORD Jesus to be involved in every decision we make, guide us with wisdom as we
face problems, and strive to submit to HIS will in every action. We desire out of gratitude to follow HIM and
live a life of loving good works. Jesus
is our “Life” from which we gain the energy and impulse to live a life of
faith, love, and hope.
This experience and
encounter with the Living Christ in prayer and having a fellowship with HIS
presence is a vital part of being a Christian.
One can be a “Cultural Christian” and formally hold to “Theology 101”
and “Theology 102” but only when this theology is applied personally and
prayerfully is one converted into being a Christian or disciple of Messiah
Jesus.
So, when I use the
term Christian I mean a person who has accepted “Theology 101” concluding that
they justly deserve punishment for their immoral actions, trust in “Theology
102” in which the Messiah Jesus suffers for them and gives them the free gift
of eternal life through HIS resurrection, and personally encounters the living
Christ in prayer seeking a spiritual fellowship with the Lord Jesus as their
personal prophet, priest and king.
Journal Guide
1. Do you think that this "personal encounter" with the Living Jesus is needed to become a Christian? Why or why not.
2. What makes this difficult in our defining of the word "Christian"?
3. What if you tried to "call on the name of the LORD" but it seemed empty and nothing from your point of view happened?
4. How could one develop a personal relationship with the LORD Jesus?
See http://examen.me/
For ideas on how to do this.
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