Articles
The Essential Question
In Matthew 13, Jesus told the apostles the Parable of the Weeds. Older versions use the word tares for weeds. Jesus describes a farmer who sowed wheat in a field, but his enemy came and sowed tares in his field. The farmer's servants told him what his enemy had done. The tares look like wheat until it is time for the harvest. The farmer told the servants to let the tares grow with the wheat because trying to remove them would damage the wheat crop. Satan has sown tares in the Christian religion. Evidence of his work is the dizzying array of sects and doctrines that have divided the religion. Satan uses this division to turn people away from Jesus.
Many years ago, J.S. Lamar presented a sermon entitled "The Essential, the Important, the Indifferent." He noted that the various sects claimed to be Christian and that their conflicting doctrines drove men away from the truth. He remarked that theologians argue over various points without ever considering an essential question; "What constitutes a Christian?" He said,
"Who gives any earnest thought or devotes any serious attention to the question, What constitutes a Christian? How a Christian should live, how he should worship, how he should be governed, how he may best promote the interest of his church, are practically of no consequence until it has first been determined how he is to be a Christian at all. And this, the leading, all-important, the absolutely essential question, is still awaiting solution and settlement."
Mr. Lamar appealed to Scripture to settle the question, and that is the right place to go. Jesus, through his and the apostles’ teaching, told us how to be a Christian.
Scripture says God so loved the world that he sent Jesus here to save us (John 3:16-17). I do not know of a Christian sect that would deny this, and as far as I can determine, all teach this fundamental truth of the gospel. Jesus came to give himself for our sins and reconcile us to the Father (Gal. 1:3-4). God acted first because man could not remove the sin that separated him from God. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:8-10)
Paul taught us that God's grace saves us through faith. But what is it a person must believe to be a Christian? Paul says that righteousness based on faith says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9 ESV). Again, nearly every Christian sect teaches that you must believe these fundamental things. Some maintain this is all that is required to be a Christian. The problem with that thought is some are clearly not Christian and believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised him from the dead. Satan and his minions believe this, and they are not saved (Jas. 2:19). Jesus’ brother James tells us that "faith without works is dead " (2:17). James teaches saving faith motivates one to obey God (2:22-24).
From the beginning of the gospel proclamation, repentance was preached as necessary to be a Christian. In Peter's second recorded gospel sermon, he told his listeners, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19; cf. 2:38). The person who would be a Christian must stop practicing sin.
During his ministry, Jesus addressed how a person can enter the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came and discussed this question with him. Jesus told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was confused by Jesus' statement, and Jesus restated his teaching, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." What does Jesus mean by being "born of water and the Spirit?"
When Jesus ascended to heaven, he commanded, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). Why baptize people? Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). In the first gospel sermon, Peter taught those who wished to respond, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Near the end of his life, Peter wrote, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21).
God, through his grace, did his part to save people. He sent Jesus to save us from our sins. Our part is to respond to the gospel. To respond and become a Christian, one must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised him from the dead. The person who would be a Christian must turn away from sin and to God (repent). To be a Christian, we must have our sins washed away through immersion for the remission of our sins. The word of God teaches the person who does these things is a Christian.
Are you a Christian?
