What really makes you a Christian? Is it the core beliefs you have to hold, or views that put you outside of it entirely or just going to Church? Is it just the belief in God?
What makes someone a Christian?
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I know people who go to church every week out of habit, and others who follow Jesus but haven’t been able to find a church they fit in. Going doesn’t make you a Christian.
Trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior does, believing he died for our sins and rose again. James says even the demons believe in God… so that alone isn’t enough (see this).
Turning away from sin and toward Jesus. Showing up at church doesn’t settle it.
A Christian is someone God has made new through trust in Jesus as Lord. Believing a god exists isn’t enough, nor is showing up at church.
A lot of us grow up near the faith and pick up the phrases, then figure the label stuck somewhere along the way.
I spent years knowing all the vocabulary and giving the expected answers without ever asking whether I trusted Christ myself.
Familiarity feels a lot like faith, and you don’t notice the difference until something forces you to take an honest look.
Turning away from sin matters. It’s ongoing though, your whole life. Going to church helps with that part.
That James verse about even the demons believing always stops me in my tracks, because knowing facts about Jesus isn’t the same as trusting him.
I guess different people will have different answers, but to me… It’s trusting god. It tends to pull you toward His people so they should be pullled to fellowship.
