Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church
A Christian has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and lives for the renown of Christ. He has submitted to, lives surrendered to, and is sanctified to his God. A Christian comes after Christ and denies himself, takes up his cross daily and follows Christ (Luke 9:23). In this brief write-up, I will elaborate on the question: what is a Christian?
A Christian is a...
1. Holy man.
A Christian is positionally holy for he has been united to Christ by faith and because of His new heart, and his new position before God, and His new nature granted by divine favor, he longs to live out in his conduct what he has become in his position. He repents of his sin and trusts in Christ. He is positionally righteous and justified because He is in Christ and he longs to live a holy, set apart, distinct, Christ-filled, Christ-enthralled, Christ-centered, and Christ-pursuing life. He hates sin & loves his God!
2. Prayerful man.
A true Christian is a praying man. If a man does not pray to God, then he does not know God and therefore is not a Christian. Prayer is the lifeblood of the believer. It is the pulse that reveals whether there is life or not. Prayer is communion with God and the believer cannot get enough of this. He quiets himself to meet with God, pour out his heart before God, thank God for salvation, pray for greater holiness, and intercede for God’s people. Christians pray.
3. Serious man.
Christians understand that eternity is fast approaching for everyone. The believer in Christ cannot contain the joy he has that Christ has borne his hell and satisfied divine wrath. And because of this, he lives with a holy pursuit, with a holy seriousness, with a holy vengeance for purity, for godliness, for truth, for Christ. He fights in the Christian life with a holy earnestness and a serious demeanor. He doesn’t trifle with life. He is serious about life & about His God.
4. Evangelistic man.
A soul that Christ has redeemed is a soul that earnestly longs for others to go to heaven and escape divine punishment. O how Christians long to save souls! Christians know what they’re saved from, and who they’re saved by, and what they’re saved to, and they long to proclaim this gospel and plead with others to repent and trust Christ.
5. Worshiping man.
God seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. That means that God seeks true worshipers. A true Christian worships God. To worship is to respond to God’s revelation about Himself with awe, praise, wonder, and obedience. A Christian worships God as a way of life and repents when he sins. A Christian loves to worship and longs for heaven. He communes with God in His Word and as God reveals Himself there, the believer responds with joy, obedience, proclamation, awe, and integrity.
6. Churchgoing man.
No true Christian abandons Christ’s body, the Church. All true Christians join themselves to Christ as the Head and His body, the Church. A Christian longs to be with God’s people. He cannot get enough of the faithful, biblical preaching of the Word, corporate worship with God’s people, prayer, singing, fellowship, and the ordinances. A Christian loves Christ and Christ’s body.
7. Humble man.
Nothing is more antithetical for a redeemed sinner by grace than to live with pride. Pride is the first sin, the root of all sin, and the devil’s sin. Pride is anti-God and, of course, God hates pride. A Christian is humble because he knows what he deserves and he has received God’s grace in Christ and thus he lives humbly. He lives near the cross. He hides in His Christ. He is lowly.
8. Expectant man.
A Christian knows that salvation is nearer now than when he first believed. Christ will return quickly. He is near! He diligently labors for his Master and he watchfully anticipates the any-moment coming in the clouds. O the man of God is a man of eternity! He expects heaven! He longs for heaven! He longs for his Christ. He hopes for heaven for there he’ll see his God.
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