Lines in the Sand: Christianity

In our currrent era, it is considered impolite to expose differences. Instead, "true love" is expressed by seeking common ground. However, the church (and individual believers) have lost their relevance as they have sacrificed the truths that make distinction. The following is a series devoted to drawing the line between genuine Biblical faith and not.

The Problem with Past Labels
Many times we try to identify those whom God has called to Himself with different names and titles. Unfortunately, this practice, even when titles are borrowed from Scripture, has proven rather inadequate over time.

Christian In Acts 11:26, we find that Antioch is the first place that referred to Jesus' followers as "Christians." Without a doubt, these "little christs" were given the name due to their allegiance to Jesus Christ. The name started as a recognition of true devotion to Jesus Christ. However, as Jesus' name spread, and people enjoyed the benefits of living in proximity to Christians, many people began to adopt the name. A casual look at Barna surveys (whatever you believe about his conclusions) will show that many call themselves christians but do not believe in a Biblical Christ. The name no longer means a disciple of Jesus, but rather means an conservative American, or even a church goer. To many in the west, "christian" simply means a non-atheist.

The Way Paul began to persecute those who belonged to The Way (Acts 9:2). It was probably the earliest designation for those who were considered a sect of Judaism. However, as Judaism continued to reject the Messiah, it became clear that these followers of Christ were not merely a sect. Two thousand years removed, "The Way" is a pretty vague classification. Organizations like The Way International have also taken the name hostage.

Born Again Wow, Danny is reaching a new low, you're probably thinking. Now he's decided to debate the words of Jesus! Obviously, that would be foolhardy. However, when Jesus explained to Nicodemus his need for spiritual birth, He was not instituting a title for the spiritually reborn for all of eternity. This too has been taken hostage by others. No longer is my spiritual birth tied to the atonement paid by Jesus Christ and His transfer of righteousness to me through faith alone. Today, being "born again" can refer to any kind of spiritual awakening regardless of the nature of the spirit. I also believe those within Christianity have distorted the initial point of "born again," turning it into a "one time decision" rather than seeing that it is an introduction to new life evidenced by your continuation as a new person.

Believer Do you believe in God? Do you believe the Bible? Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe Jesus died on a cross for you and me? Do you believe Jesus provided your salvation? While a genuine follower of Christ believes all of those things, a belief in each of those things does not ensure salvation. James 2:19 states that even demons believe in God and that He is One. The object of our belief must be defined.

Brother In my humble opinion, this has plagued the church the most. If a man identifies himself as our "brother," then who am I to say otherwise. However, 1 John 3:1 reminds us that we become children of God, that is not our natural position. Becoming brothers and sisters is not something born out of our own will, or out of a compassionate choice to be unified. We only become adopted into God's family through Jesus Christ, and those who haven't come to Christ are not my brother and sister. It sounds rude to need to hear a clear articulation of the gospel before counting someone else as your brother/sister, but to do less lowers the bar of the gospel.

I've spent some time trying to think of a label to give a person who has repent of their sin and trusted Christ's atonement on the cross alone for their salvation. Christian, born-again, believer or "the way" do not give us an indication of the person's spiritual condition. Contrary to contemporary thought, labels are useful and unavoidable. It is helpful to have a term to identify people rather than "those-who-have-repented-of-their-sin-and-trusted-Christ's-atoning-sacrifice-alone-for-their-salvation." However, we can not use those terms alone as a tool of evangelism (Are you a Christian? Are you a believer? etc.)

We must also be willing to draw a line (and hold to it) to determine if a person is truly one of God's sheep. For, to quote Mark Dever, the wolf does not hand you a business card that says "wolf" on it.