What Do You Have to Know to Be A Christian?

Do you have to get everything right to be a Christian? No, but there are some things you cannot get wrong and still be a Christian. For instance, you must believe in God in order to be a Christian. But you can’t believe in just any god. You must believe in the God Who has revealed Himself through His Word to men, through His prophets, through the Law, and through Jesus Christ. If you believe in a false god, you are not a Christian, no matter how sincere you are or how well you behave. [1]

Then there is the matter of Truth. You must believe that truth exists, and that it is knowable, because Jesus declared that the Father requires men to worship Him in spirit and in truth. If there is no truth, or it cannot be known, we are unable to obey God’s clear requirement for worship. [2]

A Christian is one who is like Christ; the term was coined to refer to those who lived like ‘little Christ’s’. It is not possible to be like someone we don’t know, so in order to be a Christian, we must know the true Christ. We must know that Jesus is Christ, and we must know who Jesus is – the Son of God, and the I Am, YHWH, and Almighty God. He is not just a good man, or a great prophet or teacher. He is not a lesser god under Almighty God, or a glorified angel. He is the Sovereign Lord, Creator of all things, King of Kings, and Redeemer of men’s souls. It is only to those who receive Him that He gives the power to become the sons of God. [3]

To be a Christian, we must also know the nature of man. There are those who have fallen for the devil’s lie, that we can be like God. But man is a created being, not the Creator. We are fashioned after His image, but we are not God Himself. We do not know all, we do not possess all power, nor all authority, but are subject to the God Who does hold all creation in His hand, Who knows the end from the beginning. We must realize that every time man presumes upon God’s jurisdiction, he has violated God’s sovereignty and brought judgment upon himself. Every time man refuses God’s sovereignty, he has committed high treason, and is worthy of death. Until we recognize that man is not perfect, we cannot be a Christian. [4]

Finally, we must accept the means by which God has offered us Himself. Because man transgresses against God’s holy law, he erects a barrier between himself and God and creates an impediment to fellowship with Him. In order to restore fellowship, God has arranged for our offenses to be covered by the death of Christ in our place. We cannot possibly buy our own freedom, as we having sinned are destitute; we have nothing of value to offer except our tarnished selves. God offers to wash the filth of our sins with the blood of His Son, and we must be prepared to accept this atonement or we remain barred from His presence forever.[5]

These are the bare minimum things we must know and believe and receive if we are to be members of that body of people known as “Christians”, ones made in the image of Christ, to reflect His glory to the world, and enjoy His fellowship for eternity. [6]

Follow