What's In A Name?

The name "Christian" is tossed around a lot these days. It originally meant something to the effect of "disciple of Christ" or "follower of Christ", but today it's so watered down that there are even those who say there are "Christian" drunkards, drug addicts, homosexuals, pornographers, and so on. Bunk. Jesus came to die on the cross to save us from our bondage to sin, not so we could revel in it and slap a label on ourselves to make us feel better and give us a false sense of security.

There are a lot of people who believe they are Christians, but are so in name only. They may go to church. They may do church work. They may have said the "sinner's prayer". They may have been baptised. They may go to Bible studies. They may have gone to seminary. They may even hold a leadership position in a church. And they may be wrong about who they think they are because they never really turned from their sin and turned to the Lord.

Jesus never told people to "come forward" or "pray this prayer". That's an American cultural thing. He told people to turn from their sin and follow him.

So if there is no marked change in your life to show evidence that you're a Christian, don't shrug it off, examine yourself, as Paul encouraged us to do, to see if you really fit the bill. When you turn your life over to Christ, you're washed, you go through a transformation.

Does that mean a Christian is perfect? By no means. There is a difference between committing sin and practicing sin. A Christian can definitely still stumble into sin. I know from first hand experience, and let me tell you, it's miserable. The Lord convicts you, and hard sometimes. You know shepherds would sometimes break the legs of the wandering lambs so they would learn to stay with the shepherd? The same goes for our good shepherd.

So what's in a name? Sometimes not much anymore. But there should be.

Grace and Peace