What makes a Christian?
The Bible is clear:
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Although other passages point to or talk about salvation, sometimes in the future tense, nowhere else is the means of salvation so clearly shown. Spreading the gospel is what Paul spent the rest of his life doing and lost his life for it.
When I was first shown this set of verses, as I thought about it, I realized that I now had a focus that I didn’t before. To center on the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can do. How to live our lives in this world is important enough to be included in Scripture, but to know how to have eternal life is even more fundamental.
Believe is a tricky word here. I can say that I trust a chair to hold me up, but I have not tested my faith until I sit down in it. The same is true of faith in Christ Jesus. Until I do two things, my belief is hollow, or even dead, as James puts it (James 2:17). One, I have to obey the commands that Jesus gave us, and two, I have to do the works prepared for me to do (see Ephesians 2:10). These two things are what prove my faith. We can’t work our way to heaven, but we do need to “ work out our salvation.” as the writer to the Phillipians puts it (Phil 2:12).
The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy.
Oswald Chambers (Chambers)
Paul had a single-minded purpose, to preach the gospel: “1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” Romans 1:1 (ESV). But what was this mystery that the Lord Jesus personally revealed to Paul, making him the thirteenth apostle? Furthermore, what is it precisely that a Christian can point to (focus) on as the thing that provides, he and his siblings in Christ the hope of heaven itself?
First, however, we need to clear something up. Those who believe the gospel preached in those evangelical churches have salvation. They don’t necessarily know or agree on the why or how. Pinning this down will give us a better sense of focus and confidence as we continue to grow in our sanctification in our Christian walk and as we attempt to fulfill the great commission.
To get an expert opinion, we will quote a couple of trusted primary references: “Two passages seem to give a brief summary of the evangelical message, namely, Rom 1:1ff and I Cor 15:1ff.”[i]. And to get a handle on the word translated as gospel itself:” In Paul evangelion (Strong’s 2098) has become a central concept of his theology. It means the familiar good news: That God has acted for the salvation (i.e., Redemption) of the world in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus (. . .).”[ii]
Citation
Chambers, O. (2021). The forgiveness of God. The Forgiveness of God. My Utmost For His Highest. https://utmost.org/the-forgiveness-of-god/.
[i] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol 2, pg 730
[ii] New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol 2, pg 111
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