In the earliest days of the Christian movement, the followers of Jesus were not called Christians. They were called “followers of the way”. Jesus had said, “I am the way”, so they were followers of “the way”. The book of Acts tells us that the disciples were called Christians for the first time in Antioch. We use that term, “Christian” a lot. But what does it mean? That’s what this sermon is about.

First, let’s talk about what it does not mean. It does not mean simply that you have been baptized and you are a member of a local congregation. Certainly a Christian will want to do that, but there is more to it than that. It was Billy Sunday who was fond of saying, “Going to Church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” You will not want to be a Christian and not be a member of the church. But you can be a member of the church and not be a Christian.

Being a Christian does not mean that you are a member of a certain denomination. There is only one Christian church and it is divided into many parts and goes by a variety of labels, but there is only one church. And shame on those who are a part of that one church, but claim exclusive validity for their little part of it. I suspect there won’t be many labels in heaven. There won’t be “born again Christians” or “charismatic Christians” or “Bible believing Christians”, or “evangelical Christians” or “high church Christians”. No, there will just be the family of God. And I will enjoy going up to those who don’t think I’m going to be there and saying, “Surprise!”

Being a Christian does not mean that you have a certain opinion on a given subject. Too many people have their litmus tests which they apply to others, and they usually come out asking, “Do you agree with me?” The fact is, there are a number of very complex, difficult issues we confront. And sincere Christians sometimes disagree.

And, being a Christian means more than living a good, ethical life. That’s a part of it, but it’s not even the most important part of it. I don’t know where we got the idea that you can reduce Christianity to a system of ethics. I hear it all the time: “He is not a church-goer, but he’s a Christian. He’s a good man.” I’m in favor of goodness. But being a Christian is more than that.

I read somewhere about an astronomer and a pastor who were seated next to one another on an airplane flight. When they became aware of their vocations, the astronomer said, “I believe that religion can be summed up in the words, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Yes,” said the pastor, “about as much as astronomy can be summed up in the words, “Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.” No, there is more to it than ethics.

“The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” But what does it mean to be a Christian?

I.

Let me say it as simply as I know how: To be a Christian is to belong to Christ. It begins with a relationship and then expresses itself in a lifestyle.

In the tenth chapter of John, we see a beautiful picture of a loving, trusting relationship. Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, and the good shepherd knows his sheep by name. He cares for them even to the point of laying down his life for them. The sheep know his voice. They trust him. They follow him. So, that’s what it means to be a Christian. It is to know and trust Christ. It is to follow Christ. It is a relationship with Christ.

The Bible says that God has created us to be His sons and daughters, living in a loving, trusting, obedient relationship with Him. Of course, we have rebelled against that, wandered away from that. So, God has sent Jesus to get us back on track. Jesus reminds us of who we really are: we are the children of God. And, as such, we are loved unconditionally. Our worth is not something we achieve by our performance. Rather, our worth is a gift. It is a gift conferred upon us for the simple and sufficient reason that we are God’s children. And God wants us to live in the warmth and security of His love, and by that He wants to make life good for us and for all His children.

When we talk about conversion, we are talking about the process by which we come to believe all of that, and we decide to trust it and to live by it. Jesus said, “I am the way; come, follow me!” Conversion is the experience by which we come to believe that Jesus is the way, and we commit ourselves to live as if that is so.

That can happen in a variety of ways. There is no one set pattern. It can happen suddenly or gradually, emotionally or rationally, cataclysmically or quietly. God forgive those who insist that if it didn’t happen to you as it happened to them, yours isn’t valid. Nonsense! The critical, essential thing is that at some point in our lives we are able to say and mean: “I believe…I belong…I trust…I commit!” However it happens, that’s the beginning point. We start there and then we spend the rest of our lives growing into all that that means.

It’s important for us to make a distinction between “Christian” as a noun and “Christian” as an adjective. I cannot honestly say that I am “Christian”, adjective, because in so many ways I don’t look and sound like Jesus. I am not fully Christian in that sense, but I am growing, I am becoming. And, if the right thing is happening, month by month, year by year, I am looking and sounding more and more like Jesus.

But I have no hesitation in saying, “I am a Christian”, noun. Because when I say that I am not boasting. I am not talking about anything I have done or achieved. When I say, “I am a Christian”, I am talking about something God has done for me in Jesus, and I am saying, “I believe in that. I trust that. I am committing my life to that. I belong to Christ and for the rest of my life I intend to grow in my relationship with him.”

Do you hear it loud and clear? To be a Christian is to belong to Christ. That’s the first thing.

II.

Second, to be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s family, the Church. For 2,000 years there has never been any such thing as a solitary Christian. A solitary Christian is a contradiction in terms, like “solo symphony”. No, to belong to Christ is also to belong to all the others who belong to Christ. It’s a family of faith.

The image of the shepherd and the sheep is appropriate here. By definition, a shepherd has to have a flock of sheep. Not just a ram or a ewe or a lamb, but a flock. So, when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd”, he’s talking about all us sheep who belong to his flock. And that means we all belong together.

Now, of course, there are many kinds of sheep in Jesus’ flock: big and small, old and young, black and white, insecure and adventurous, cooperative and unruly, sheep of a variety of inclinations and opinions. In fact, there are no two sheep exactly alike. Perhaps the one thing we all have in common is that we all belong to the same shepherd, and we all respond to the same voice.

I am sure that I could not long remain a Christian apart from the family of God. I need you. We need each other. It is in the gathered company of believers that Christ is most alive and life giving.

Why would anyone want to belong to Christ without belonging to his church? It is from the church that we have heard the story of Jesus. It is the church that produced the Bible, translated the Bible, protected the Bible in times of persecution. It is here in the family of God that we are cared about, and nurtured, and encouraged, and helped in so many ways.

And, in the midst of all of that, we are privileged to reach out in mission together, sharing with others the new life in Christ that has come to us. We can do so much more together than any of us could do separately. What a privilege! Together to work with God in all the loving, life-giving things He is doing in His world.

In all the world, there is no feeling quite so good as the feeling that we are loved, that we are known by name, that others are with us, pulling for us – there is nothing quite so good as the feeling that we belong! So, that’s the second thing: to be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s family.

III.

One final thing. We have said that to be a Christian is to belong to Christ. To be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s family. And now, finally, to be a Christian is to do what Christ asks us to do.

Clearly, if we belong to Christ in faith, we will want to do what he asks us to do. And, the more we get to know him through the pages of scripture, and the more we allow his spirit to shape our lives through prayer, the more we come to know his mind and his heart, so the more we understand what he asks us to do.

There is a very popular but distorted version of Christianity which maintains that God is primarily interested in helping us to do the things that are important to us. But that’s not the way I read the New Testament. No, to be a Christian is not to have a God who will do whatever we ask him. To be a Christian is not to pray, “Not Thy will, but mine be done.” No, just the opposite. To be a Christian is to deliver ourselves to Christ, to allow him to shape our becoming, to shape our minds with his mind, to shape our eyes by his eyes, to shape our hearts by his heart, to shape our lives by his life. The goal is to reach the place where we can pray and mean that greatest of all prayers, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

And then, obediently, to do it.

What Christ asks us to do is to pass on to others those life-giving gifts that we have received from him. We have been loved, so we are to love. We have been forgiven, so we are to forgive. We have been blessed, so we are to bless. We are to live the servant lifestyle. We are to invest ourselves in behalf of the neighbor’s needs…not just when it is easy, or convenient, or inexpensive, but when it is needed!

Hear me now! The good news of the gospel is not just about what God has done for the world through Jesus. It is also about what God wants to do for the world through us, the body of Christ. That’s costly! But, we believe that by following Jesus, by doing what he asks, the abundant life is to be found, and the abundant life is to be shared. It’s clear, isn’t it: to be a Christian is to do what Christ asks us to do.

Recently I read two stories which made me take a new look at my Christian commitment. Do you know the name, “Clarence Jordan”? Clarence Jordan was the founder of the Koinonia Community here in Georgia back in the turbulent days of the civil rights struggle. The Koinonia Community was a cooperative farming project, built on Christian foundations, which meant it was open to everyone who wanted to come. And, as an integrated community, it was constantly under attack, and frequently in court.

Clarence asked his brother, Robert, to defend the community in court. Robert was an attorney, later a state senator, and even a Justice of the Georgia State Supreme Court. Robert said to Clarence, “I can’t do that. You know my political aspirations. Why, if I represented you, I would lose my job. I would lose my home. I might lose everything!” Clarence said, “We could lose everything too, you know.” “That’s different”, Robert said. “How is it different?” Clarence asked. “When we were boys, you and I joined the same church on the same Sunday. And when we came forward the preacher asked me the same question he asked you. He asked us, ‘Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and will you follow him faithfully?’ I said, ‘Yes’, what did you say?”

Robert said, “Well, I follow Jesus up to a point.” Clarence said, “Could that point by any chance be the cross?” “That’s right,” said Robert. “I follow Jesus to the cross but not up on it. I’m not going to get myself crucified.” Clarence looked his brother in the eye and said, “Well, then, I don’t believe that you’re really a follower of Jesus. You’re an admirer of Jesus, not a follower. So, why don’t you go back to that church you belong to and tell them that you want to be an admirer of Jesus, not a follower.”

That’s strong stuff. It makes me take a hard look at my commitment. But it’s right on target. Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, if you do not do the things that I command you.” Why indeed! O, none of us does it perfectly, completely. But we’d better be moving in that direction. And if we want to keep company with Jesus, we had better not turn away from the costly expressions of love.

The second unsettling story is about Andrew Young. You know he is a former Mayor of Atlanta, a former Ambassador to the United Nations, a powerful political leader, and an ordained clergyman. A number of years ago, he was invited to speak at a pastor’s conference in Atlanta. At the conclusion of one of his talks, he told them about his youngest daughter. He said, “She has always been the unpredictable one.” While his other children were exceptional students, she always made it a point just to get by. While the other children focused on solid career goals, she wanted to be a dancer, or an actor, or a singer. And, while the other children paid attention to his “stern father’s voice”, that stern voice only made her eyes flare with rebellion.

He told about how, several months before, she came home and announced, “Daddy, I’m going to Uganda to work with ‘Habitat for Humanity’.” Andrew Young was shocked. He said, “Do you realize that Idi Amin has wrecked Uganda?” “Yes,” she said. “Do you understand that there is no real government in Uganda?” “Yes,” she said. “Are you aware that anybody there can do anything they want to do to you in Uganda and there is no recourse against them?” “Yes,” she said. “And you still want to go to Uganda?” “Daddy,” she said. “I am going to Uganda.”

And so, three days before he told this story, Andrew Young, powerful political leader, stood helplessly as his youngest daughter boarded a plane and flew off to Uganda to build houses. And there, at the conference, half in jest, and half in fatherly pride, he concluded, “I always wanted her to be a respectable Christian…not a real one!”

And there, at the conference, half in jest, and half in fatherly pride, he concluded, “I always wanted her to be a respectable Christian…not a real one!”

What kind of Christian are you? A respectable Christian, a conventional Christian, a “sort of” Christian, or a real Christian? Are you an admirer of Jesus, or a follower of Jesus?

That’s what it means, you know. To be a Christian is to belong to Christ. It is to belong to Christ’s family. And, it is to do what Christ asks us to do. Simply that. Simply and magnificently that.

Prayer: Father, we are grateful that You have reached out to us in Jesus. We are grateful for the new, abundant life that is ours in him. Help us now to make a new commitment to belong to Christ, to belong to Christ’s family in love, and then to follow him by doing what he asks. In his name we pray. Amen.