True Christian

Dear Victorious,

You've recently written about true religions. I've also seen you refer to people who are "so-called Christians" or "self professed Christians." Apparently you think some people who claim to be Christians may not really be. (And I don't disagree.) So what is a true Christian?

Striving for Truth

Dear Striving,

A true Christian is someone who believes both inwardly and outwardly that Jesus' death on the cross was God's plan to offer them forgiveness and absolution from sin, as well as eternal life with Him - as a free gift. They have accepted that offer from God through faith - and are seeking to live a life of obedient gratitude for what God has done for them.

The problem in any society is that many people claim to believe. But what they actually believe is that God exists. Quite frankly, even Satan and his demons believe that! So simply believing in God is not what defines a Christian. Rather the definition comes from the obedience that faith always brings about.

It is very true that our obedience to God's ways is not what makes us His people. However, when we are truly His people (i.e., truly belong to Him), obedience to God's ways is really quite inevitable. Put another way, when we are true Christians, we will naturally change and live our lives the way Jesus would live them. We will begin to look more and more like Jesus as we grow in our Christian faith. The Jesus - who lives inside of a true Christian - won't allow anything else.

So rather than worry about whether or not your behavior reflects Christ, it is best to focus on growing closer to Christ. When we nurture our relationship with Christ, He changes our behaviors, our thought patterns, etc. such that we begin to look more and more like Christ.