Acts 11
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Acts 11:25-26 NIV
Here is the first mention of the word Christian in the Bible. What exactly does it mean when someone calls him/herself a Christian? In its simplest definition, a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. The believers in Antioch were called Christians because they acted, spoke, and behaved like Christ. While it is easy to say that we are Christians, it is much harder to live it out in our daily lives. Here is a list of some areas that are very important to know and understand as we live our lives as followers of Christ:
1. Our lives need to reflect our love for God and our love for others. We need to accept God’s abounding love for us, regardless of what we have done in the past. Once we have God’s love within us, then we can reciprocate His love, as well as allow it to flow out from us to others in this hurting world. This is vitally important to being a Christian. Remember how Jesus responded when He was asked what the greatest commandment was: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments’” (Matthew 22:37-40). The more we get to know our Heavenly Father, the more in love with Him we will become. This godly love will then spill over into our lives and positively affect those around us. This will motivate us to care about others, help others, forgive others, and strengthen our relationships with others. Remember that God places specific people in our lives to whom we can show God’s love and bring them hope, joy, and encouragement.
2. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion with laws and rules to follow. We are to view God as “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9) and Jesus as our best friend. Jesus said “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). How awesome that we get to be friends with the all-mighty Creator of the universe! We need to appreciate this honor and value this relationship above anything else in our lives. We should follow the apostle Paul’s example and understand that “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NLT). Once we understand how wonderful it is to truly know God, we will see the value in obedience and following His ways. When this occurs, it no longer becomes about following rules to avoid punishment or trying to earn favor with God. But instead, it turns into the intimate, loving Fatherly relationship it was intended to be.
3. We need to pray! Prayer is how we stay connected to God, which is why the apostle Paul wrote that we should “pray continually,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This personal, direct connection to God will help to build our relationship with Him. It shows our obedience and that we value His input when we face difficult decisions. It shows our trust in Him and our faith in His power to intervene on our behalf. It is a way of expressing our gratitude for our blessings. It is also a way that we can hear from Him and become aware of His will for our lives. 1 John 5:14-15 says this about prayer: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” Let’s make sure to honor God and believe in Him enough to come to Him frequently in prayer!
4. Humility and unselfishness are essential traits for Christians to possess. True humility, not just an outward show of modesty, is a prerequisite for a Christian. Humility should come naturally at the beginning of our Christian walk. Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior means that we understand that we need saving and that we cannot do it on our own. It also means that we recognize that we are sinners and that we need to change our ways in order to be in line with God’s will. 1 Peter 5:5 commands us: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” Unselfishness goes hand-in-hand with humility. Putting our pride aside allows us to value God and others above ourselves. Jesus is our example, and He repeatedly showed the importance of serving others. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
5. We must obey God’s commands. In the Christian faith, obedience of laws and rules does not lead to salvation. So why should we be obedient? Firstly, there are consequences for disobedience. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7). Secondly, obeying God is the only way to have the abundant lives that He meant for us to have. That is why God’s commands are recorded for us in the Bible: they are for our own benefit! God cannot bless people who constantly go against His will. You do not want to miss out on God’s blessings – they are incomparable and priceless. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out…” (Deuteronomy 28:1-6. This is only a partial list, see also verses 7-13). Lastly, obedience shows our love for God. Jesus said “If you love Me, keep My commands” (John 14:15). This has proved to be so true in our own lives. The more our faith in God has grown, the more we want to obey Him. We have learned through experience that we can trust in the words of the Bible and we consistently see the benefits of being obedient in all areas of our lives.
6. Being thankful is so important, regardless of circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” A good place to start is to remember the gifts of love, mercy, forgiveness, and eternal life that we have already been given. It’s a done deal. Our circumstances cannot change the fact that we will someday be living in paradise with God. Even though these free gifts are hard to top, we can continue to add to our thankfulness by thinking about the numerous other blessings in our lives as well. This is an especially important thing to do when we are feeling weighed down by life and the stresses it can bring. “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever” (Psalms 107:1). Thankfulness is good for us. When our hearts are filled with thankfulness, we are happier, more peaceful, and more generous. What are you thankful for today?
7. We are filled with the Holy Spirit the moment we are saved. The Holy Spirit permanently resides within the body of a believer of Jesus Christ. He is always with us, to guide us, help us, comfort us, and teach us as we go through our lives. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). The more we stay connected to God through prayer and Bible study, the easier it is to be guided by the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
The above list is not a comprehensive set of rules that we are expected to follow, but more like a partial checklist to help us see how we are doing as we grow in our Christian faith. Pray for help in any areas in which you are struggling, and don’t feel condemned if you are not where you think you should be in one of these areas. Spiritual maturation is a life-long, ongoing process. Reflect back on where you were a year ago, and be excited about all the positive changes that God has worked in your life up to this point.
Here’s to another great year growing in wisdom through God’s Word and with the help of Holy Spirit!